U.S.Departmentof Transportation Office ofthe Secretory otTransportation



### Mr. James D. Hinde DirectorofAviation ABQ Intemational Sunport PO 

### Box 9948 Albuquerque,NM 87119-1048 DearMr. Hinde: Assmtam Soctetary


### January 18, 

### 2013 1200 NewJersey Ave. SE. Washington. DC 20500

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### Thank you for your letterto Secretary ofTransportation Ray LaHood, supporting the application ofSouthwest Airlines (Southwest) for two within-perimeter slot exemptions at Ronald Reagan WashingtonNational Airport (DCA). Southwestproposes to serve Houston's William P. Hobby Airportwith one nonstop round trip per day from DCA, with service beyond to Albuquerque. Secretary LaHood asked that I respond to you on his behalf. We received SouthwesCs application on December

### 5, 2012. Othertimely applications were received from JetBlue Airways, proposing one nonstop round trip to Jacksonville International Airport, Florida, and from US

### Airways, proposing one nonstop round trip to Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City. As the matteris still pending, Icannotcomment onthemerits ofthe points raised in your letter. However, Icart assure you that all applications received bythe U.S. Department of Transportation willbe given due and careful consideration. The Department's action on this matter is being administered through a public docket, which allows all interested parties the opportunity to comment. Following our normal practice, I 

### am placing acopy ofyour letter and this response in docket number DOT-OST-2000-7182. Iappreciate your interest 

### in this matter. Sincerely yours,

Susan L. Kurland Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs

# CITY OF ALBU-Q!)ERQ!JE

Richard J. Berry Mayor December 12, 2012 The Honorable Ray LaHood Secretary ofTransportation U.S. Department ofTransportation 1200 New JerseyAvenue, S.E. Washington, DC 20590 Re: Southwest Airlines' Application for Nonstop HOU-DCA Service; Docket No. DOTOST -2000-7182 Dear Secretary LaHood: I write in strong support of SouthwestAirlines' (Southwest's) application to provide daily nonstop service between Houston's William P. Hobby Airport (Hobby) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). Along with proposed follow-through service to/from Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ), Southwest's proposed expansion at DCA will benefit thousands oftravelers looking for a more convenient and less expensive way to get to/from the nation's capital. Th.e ABQ-DCA market is overpriced and underserved. The Greater Albuquerque area boasts a population of nearly a million people. Among the area's major employers are Kirkland Air Force Base and Sandia National Laboratories, two majorfederal installations that rely heavily on access to/from Washington, DC. Despite the size and importance ofthe Greater Albuquerque area, existing commercial air service between DCA and ABQ is relatively sparse, indirect and expensive, due in large part to DCA's 1,250-mile perimeter that restricts long-haul air service. For this reason, I strongly support Southwest's application for weekday, roundtrip DCAHOU-ABQ service. There is strong demand within the GreaterAlbuquerque area for better and more frequent service to/from DCA. We are especially pleased to have ABQ's largest airline, Southwest Airlines, offer this service. For over 41 years, Southwest has been a leader in offering dependable, high-quality, low-cost air service. I can think of no better airline to offer one-stop, same plane service between DCA and ABQ, which Southwest proposes to start bythe end of2013.

James D. Hinde Director ofAviation P.O. Box 9948 Albuquerque, NM 87119- l048Southwest's application is clearly in the public1S interest, and we respectful\y urgeyour approval. Thank you foryour attention to this matter. Respectfully,

# 9~nf=~ James D. Hinde, C.M., Aviation Director' 

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