JAYINSLEE 

Governor 

December 8, 2014 

STATE OF WASHINGTON 

Office of the Governor 

The Honorable Anthony Foxx 

U.S. Department ofTransportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE 

Washington, DC 20520 

Dear Secretary Foxx: 

I am writing to urge the Department to keep the only direct flight from Seattle to Haneda Airport 

in Tokyo, Japan. 

I understand that the Department recently received a request to reallocate Seattle's service to 

Haneda to another U.S. city (Docket-DOT -OST -2010-00 18). I strongly oppose moving 

Washington State's only direct flight to Haneda to another city which already has the valuable 

Haneda service. 

Japan is a top trading partner to Washington State and our third-largest export market, behind 

only China and our neighbor Canada. Tokyo is Seattle's top international destination. We have 

a long and fruitful relationship with Japan, their residents, businesses and communities, 

including sister ports and sister cities. Having service directly between Sea-Tac Airport and 

Haneda serves our longstanding relationship and connection. 

We benefit from companies in Seattle creating jobs and trade in several industries including 

aerospace, technology, retail and e-commerce, as well as a number of travel-related businesses. 

Our air cargo and ocean cargo are dominated by Asian markets, with many of our agricultural, 

aerospace and technology companies doing extensive business with Japan. Domestic and 

international travel will continue to increase to Seattle because of our diverse corporate base, 

strong economy, favorable geography and focus on international trade. 

Our flight to Haneda will continue to benefit from the increased flying to Seattle and is critical to 

our efforts to support trade between Washington State and Asia. Delta has moved its Asian hub 

to Sea-Tac, more than doubling its employment in our region to nearly 3,000. Since 2013, 

Delta's flights from Sea-Tac Airport also doubled to nearly 100 peak-day departures. 

In 2013, the Department rightly believed that the best use ofthis slot was Seattle because it 

would provide the first nonstop Haneda service on a significant mainland U.S.-Tokyo route that 

currently lacked service and would provide a number of western cities with their first one-stop 

P.O. Box 40002 • Olympia, Washington 98504-0002 • (360) 902-4111 • www.governor.wa.gov 
The Honorable Anthony Foxx 

December 8, 2014 

Page 2 

connecting opportunity to Haneda. Other cities or states that the Department may be considering 

already have multiple direct flights to Haneda. 

I ask that the Department allow Washington to keep its only direct service to Haneda. Thank 

you for your consideration of my request. 
DOT -CST -2010-0018 

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 

I hereby certify that one copy of the foregoing letter from Washington State 

Governor Inslee to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Foxx regarding Docket 

DOT OST 2010 0018 and the Port of Seattle was served this 9th day ofDecember, 2014, 

on all parties identified on the attached service list via electronic mail. 

howard.kass@aa.com 

abigail.donovan@aa.com 

robert. wirick@aa.com 

charles.hunnicutt@thompsonhine.com 

patricia.snyder@thompsonhine.com 

jhill@cooley.com 

perkmann@cooley.com 

bberlin@cooley .com 

dan. weiss@united.com 

thomas. bolling@united.com 

steve.morrissey@united.com 

gmurphy@crowell.com 

Mike.Donatelli@alpa.org 

dino.atsalis@alpa.org 

Doug.Ralph@alpa.org 

sascha. vanderbellen@del ta.com 

chris. walker@delta.com 

paul. gretch@dot. gov 

brian.hedberg@dot. gov 

brett.kruger@dot. gov 

todd.homan@dot.gov 

peter .irvine@dot. gov 

englets@state.gov 

cristinasa@state. gov 

eugene alford@ita.doc.gov 

info@airlineinfo.com