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January 6, 2014

Marc L. Warren

Acting Chief Counsel

Federal Aviation Administration

800 Independence Avenue, S.W.

Washington, D.C. 20591

Re: Joint Petition of Republic Airline Inc. and Shuttle America Corporation

for Confirmation that No Amendment to FAA Exemption No. 7370G is

Needed, or, in the alternative, to Amend Exemption No. 7370G

(FAA Docket No. FAA-2002-13734)

Dear Mr. Warren:

FAA Exemption No. 7370G, issued on July 9, 2012, granted Republic Airline Inc.

(“Republic”) an exemption to use slot number 1497 (“Slot 1497”) at Ronald Reagan

Washington National Airport (“DCA”) until September 30, 2017. Slot 1497 has been

used for DCA-Madison service under the Frontier Airlines (“Frontier”) brand. Following

the sale of Frontier, Frontier has advised Republic that it will not continue to hold out

service between DCA and Madison as of March 1, 2014. Shuttle America Corporation

(“Shuttle America”), Republic’s sister company,1plans to continue using Slot 1497 for

service to Madison, Wisconsin, on or about March 1, 2014, under the Delta Connection

brand.

1

Shuttle America and Republic are both wholly-owned subsidiaries of Republic Airways Holdings

Inc. (“RJET”).
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Acting Chief Counsel, FAA

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Republic and Shuttle America request confirmation that Exemption No. 7370G

authorizes Shuttle America to use Slot 1497 as proposed for the reasons stated in

Section II below. In the alternative, Republic and Shuttle America request an

amendment of Exemption No. 7370G to the extent necessary to allow Shuttle America

to operate Slot 1497 beginning on or about March 1, 2014, as a Delta Connection

service for the reasons stated in Section III below. Use of Slot 1497 by Shuttle America

is necessary to allow the continuation of Madison’s only nonstop service to DCA and,

indeed, to the entire Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area.2

In order to ensure the continuity of nonstop DCA-Madison service, Republic and

Shuttle America request expedited action on this Joint Petition and, pursuant to 14

C.F.R. § 11.87, waiver of the publication requirement. First, the Joint Petitioners are

seeking confirmation that the proposed service by Shuttle America is consistent with the

exemption, so an amendment of the exemption would not be needed. Second, if the

FAA determines that amendment to the exemption is necessary to accommodate the

operations described herein, no new precedent would be set by the granting that relief3.

Third, to the extent that the FAA believes it needs to publish this request for notice and

comment, Republic and Shuttle America request that the comment period be reduced

from 20 days to 5 days. The Frontier branded service will cease on March 1, 2014, and

an expedited process is necessary to ensure that the Madison-DCA service continues

2

Slot 1497 is used for a Madison to DCA arrival flight. The DCA to Madison departure utilizes a

DOT issued slot slide exemption.

3

The FAA has previously transferred the exemption from one RJET subsidiary to another when it

was transferred from Midwest to Republic in 2000.
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Acting Chief Counsel, FAA

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without interruption and that there is some advance time to market the Delta Connection

service.

In further support of this request, Republic and Shuttle America state as follows:

I. Background.

Exemption No. 7370 was originally granted to Midwest Express Airlines, Inc. in

2000. The exemption was transferred to Republic when its parent Republic Airways

Holdings Inc. (“RJET”) acquired Midwest.4 The latest renewal (the seventh5) of the slot

exemption was issued by letter dated July 9, 2012, signed by Kathryn B. Thomson,

Chief Counsel (Exemption No. 7370G). In that renewal, the FAA stated that “a 5-year

extension is appropriate for this non-controversial exemption because it provides

certainty for Republic and the flying public.” As requested by Republic, the FAA also

changed the time period for Slot 1497 to 1800, concluding that “this amendment does

not negatively impact operational efficiency at DCA.”

Republic currently uses Slot 1497 to operate a flight from Madison to DCA under

the Frontier Airlines brand. This flight represents the only nonstop service between

DCA and Madison. Frontier has been sold and has advised Republic that it does not

plan to continue the DCA-Madison service. In order to preserve this important MadisonDCA service, Shuttle America, Republic’s corporate affiliate, plans to use Slot 1497 for

service between DCA and Madison as a Delta Connection flight beginning on or about

4

Letter dated October 30, 2009, issued by Rebecca B. McPherson, Assistant Chief Counsel for

Regulations.

5

See Exemption No. 7370, dated October 19, 2000, renewed December 23, 2002 (No. 7370A),

February 15, 2005 (No. 7370B), August 8, 2005 (No. 7370C), June 25, 2007 (No. 7370D), July 10, 2009

(No. 7370E), June 14, 2010 (No. 7370F), and July 9, 2012 (No. 7370G) through September 30, 2017.
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Acting Chief Counsel, FAA

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March 1, 2014, pursuant to its existing fee-for-service/codesharing agreement with

Delta Air Lines.

The compelling reasons that supported the original exemption and the seven

extensions remain fully valid. The use of Slot 1497 by Shuttle America will preserve the

continuity of important and beneficial nonstop service between DCA and Madison.

II. Shuttle America’s Use of Slot 1497 Would Be Fully Consistent With FAA

Exemption No. 7370G.

Condition No. 1 of Exemption No. 7370G states that “the operation authorized by

the grant of the exemption may be conducted only in the 1800 hour.” Shuttle plans to

continue to use Slot 1497 in the 1800 hour for the Madison-DCA service.

Condition No. 3 of Exemption No. 7370G states as follows:

“This slot may be utilized only by Republic for a flight marketed under one

of the Republic brands.”

Shuttle America’s proposed operation with Slot 1497 would be consistent with this

condition as well.

First, Condition No. 5 states that the operation authorized by Exemption No.

7370G “is subject to the provisions of 14 C.F.R. part 93, subparts K and S”. Under 14

C.F.R. § 93.213(c), Republic and Shuttle America are deemed to be “a single operator”,

as they are both wholly-owned subsidiaries of RJET:

“For purposes of this subpart, if an air carrier, commuter operator, or

other person has more than a 50-percent ownership or control of one

or more other air carriers, commuter operators, or other persons, they

shall be considered to be a single air carrier, commuter operator, or
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Acting Chief Counsel, FAA

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person. In addition, if a single company has more than a 50-percent

ownership or control of two or more air carriers and/or commuter

operators or any combination thereof, those air carriers and/or

commuter operators shall be considered to be a single operator.

A single operator may be considered to be both an air carrier and

commuter operator for purposes of this subpart.” (emphasis added)

Accordingly, Republic and Shuttle America are considered to be one-and-the-same

carrier under the FAA’s slot rule. Thus, the reference in Condition No. 3 that the slot is

to be used “only by Republic” encompasses Shuttle America.

Second, Shuttle America’s proposed operation of Slot 1497 as a Delta

Connection service is also consistent with Condition No. 3’s requirement that the slot be

utilized “for a flight marketed under one of the Republic brands.” Shuttle America has

registered the trade name of “Delta Connection” with the Department of Transportation

pursuant to 14 C.F.R. Part 215. See DOT Notice of Registration of Trade Name, June

30, 2005 (acknowledging registration of the trade name “Delta Connection” by Shuttle

America for use in its operations). This is similar to Republic having registered the trade

name Frontier with the Department pursuant to Part 215. Shuttle America’s use of its

registered trade name, Delta Connection, should likewise be considered “utilized ... for a

flight marketed under one of the Republic brands.”

Republic and Shuttle America therefore respectfully submit that no waiver or

amendment to Exemption No. 7370G is necessary because Shuttle America’s proposed

operation of Slot 1497 as a Delta Connection service at the designated time for the

same market (Madison) would be consistent with the terms and conditions of Exemption

No. 7370G.
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Acting Chief Counsel, FAA

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III. To The Extent Necessary, A Waiver of or Amendment To Exemption No.

7370G Is Warranted To Authorize Shuttle America To Use Slot 1497.

To the extent necessary, Republic and Shuttle America request that the “brand”

condition be waived and/or that Exemption No. 7370G be amended to authorize Shuttle

America as a permitted user of Slot 1497 and to authorize it to operate under the Delta

Connection brand.

1. Amending the Exemption to permit Shuttle America’s use of Slot 1497 for

continued service to Madison is supported by compelling public interest factors.

First, the continuation of the Madison-DCA flight is critically important to Madison,

the capital of Wisconsin. The Madison-DCA service is the only nonstop service

between Madison and the Nation’s capital. There are no other nonstop DCA flights to

Madison. Indeed, there is no other nonstop service between Madison and the entire

Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area. The Madison-DCA flights are very popular, as

evidenced by consistently high load factors. The DCA-Madison nonstop flights have

average load factors of approximately 75%. And, nearly 60% of the traffic uses the

nonstop flights.6The high load factors and relatively high connecting ratio indicate that

not all passengers can get on the nonstop flights and are indicative of the need to

preserve the nonstop DCA services.

The inability to use Slot 1497 would force the discontinuation of this important

DCA-Madison service because Republic/Shuttle America have no slot exemptions to

cover the 1800 DCA arrival from Madison. (Shuttle America will use a DOT slot slide

6

Load Factor: T-100 (YE Jul2013); Local/Connecting: DOT O&D Survey (YE Jun2013).
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Acting Chief Counsel, FAA

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exemption for the DCA-Madison departure.) Republic has been advised by Delta that it

has no flexibility to allocate slots to cover this flight.

Second, Shuttle America would enhance the DCA service by offering dual-class

ERJ aircraft (instead of Republic’s single-class service offering), thereby further

enhancing competition and service options for business and leisure travelers on this

route. Moreover, passengers on the Delta Connection flights would have access to

Delta’s global frequent flyer program and to enhanced connectivity options.

Third, Exemption No. 7370G was granted and renewed seven times because it

was in the public interest to serve smaller communities. Shuttle America, Republic’s

sister carrier, would continue to use Slot 1497 to benefit a small Midwestern community

as it was intended, and, in so doing, would continue using the Exemption to provide

important consumer, competition, and other public benefits.

2. Amending the Exemption to permit Shuttle America’s use of Slot 1497 for

continued service to Madison would not adversely affect safety or operational efficiency

at DCA. Shuttle America would simply operate Slot 1497 in the same time period,

1800, as the current operation by its sister carrier, Republic, with similar ERJ aircraft. It

would not represent an “additional” flight at DCA or Madison, but rather would retain the

current operational status quo. As the FAA determined when it extended and amended

Exemption No. 7370 to authorize service in the 1800 hour, “this amendment does not

negatively impact operational efficiency at DCA.” Similarly, in approving the transfer of

operating authorizations at LaGuardia Airport from American Airlines to Southwest

Airlines and Virgin America, the FAA concluded, “[a]ir traffic control procedures ensure
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Acting Chief Counsel, FAA

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the safety of operations conducted at LGA regardless of the number or operator of slots

involved. Accordingly, the FAA finds there is no adverse effect on safety.” FAA Grant

of Waiver, issued on December 2, 2013, at 2. That conclusion applies with equal force

here.

IV. Conclusion.

Republic and Shuttle America request that the FAA promptly confirm that no

amendment is needed for Shuttle America to use Slot 1497 pursuant to Exemption No.

7370G, or, in the alternative, promptly amend Exemption No. 7370G as requested

above.

Respectfully submitted,

______________________

Robert E. Cohn

Patrick R. Rizzi

Hogan Lovells US LLP

Counsel for Republic Airline Inc. and

Shuttle America Corporation

cc: Bryan Bedford

Ethan Blank