BEFORE THE 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 

•. Motion of 

ALASKA AIRLINES, INC. 

For confidential treatment ofl>art241 

Submissions under 14 C.F.R. § 302.12 

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Docket OST -96-163 7 

MOTION OF ALASKA AIRLINES, INC. 

FOR CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT OF 

PART241 SUBMISSIONS UNDER RULE 12 . 

Please forward all comnmnications concerning this motion to: 

Brandon Pedersen 

Executive VP/Finance and CFO 

ALASKA AIRLINEs; INC. 

19300 International Boulevard 

Seattle, Washington 98188 

(206) 392-5763 

May_\_, 2012 

Kyle B. Levine 

Deputy General Counsel 

ALASKA AIRLINES, INC. 

19300 International Boulevard 

Seattle, Washington 98188 

(206) 392-5292 

Counsel for 

ALASKA AIRLINES, INC. 

Page I of 4 -MOTION OF ALASKA AIRLINES, INC. FOR CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT OF 

PART 241 SUBMISSIONS UNDER RULE 12 

I t.1 
Motion of 

BEFORE THE 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 

ALASKA AIRLINES, INC. 

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. Docket OST-96-1637 

For confidential treatment of Part 241 

Submissions.under 14 C.P.R.§ 302.12 

MOTION OF ALASKA AIRLINES, INC. 

}fOR CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT OF 

PART241 SUBMISSIONS UNDERRULE 12 

Pursuant to section 302.12 of the Department's Rules of Practice, Alaska Airlines, Inc. 

("Alaska") hereby moves to withhold from public disclosure for a period often ye.ars certain 

commercially-sensitive information contained in Schedule B-7 ("Airframe and Aircraft Engine 

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Acquisitions and Retirements") of its Part 241 filings for the quarter ending March 31, 2012. An 

unredacted version of Schedule B-7 is filed simultaneously with this Motion marked · 

"Confidential Treatment Requested Under§ 302.12." 

In support of its Motion, Alaska offers the following points and authorities: 

1. The data for which confidential treatment is sought is being disclosed to the 

Department pursuant to Part 241 of the Department's economic regulations. The majority of 

information contained in Alaska's Part 241 filings will enter the public domain, where it will be 

available for inspection and copying .by members of the public, including foreign and domestic 

competitors of Alaska and competitors of Alaska's aircraft and engine suppliers. 

Page 2 of 4- MOTION OF ALASKA AIRLINES, INC. FOR CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT OF 

PART 241 SUBMISSIONS UNDER RULE 12 
2. Certain price and cost data contained in Schedule B-7 are highly sensitive and 

confidential. More specifically, Schedule B-7 reflects the cost of coinlnercial aircraft and 

engines Alaska purchased or leased from The Boeing Company. 

3. The commercially-sensitive information found in Schedule B-7 should be 

withheld from public disclosure pursuant to Exemptions 3 and 4 of the Freedom of Information 

Act (5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(3) and (4)) (the "FOIA") and legal authority interpreting the FOIA. 

4. Under Exemption 3, information in agency records should.be withheld from the 

public if it is specifically exempted from disclosure by a statute, provided that the statute "(A) 

requires that the matters be withheld from the public in such a manner as to leave no discretion 

on the issue, or (B) establishes particular criteria for withholding, or refers to particular types of 

matters to be withheld." Section 1104 of the Federal Aviation Act (49 U.S.C. § 1504) 

specifically requires the Department to withhold information from production under the FOIA if 

its release would "adversely effect the competitive position of any carrier in foreign air 

transportation." Public release of the aircraft and engine cost data to Alaska's competitors would 

have exactly this adverse effect. 

5. Exemption 4 extends confidential treatment to records that are "commercial or 

financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential." 5 U.S.C~ § 

552(b)(4); see also Gulf and Western Industries. Inc·. v. United States, 615 F.2d 527, 529 (D.C. 

Cir. 1979). These price and cost data contained in Schedule B-7 are of this nature and, 

additionally, "would customarily not be released to the public by [Alaska].'' See National Parks 

and Conservation Association v. Morton, 498 F. 2d 765, 766 (D.C. Cir. 1974) (citing S. Rep. No. 

813, 89th Cong., 1st Sess. 9 (1965)). Finally, if released under the FOIA, price and cost data 

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Page 3 of 4 -MOTION OF ALASKA AIRLINES, INC. FOR CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT OF 

PART 241 SUBMISSIONS UNDER RULE 12 
concerning Alaska's aircraft transactions have the potential ''to cause substantial harm to the 

competitive position of the person from whom the information was obtained." Id. at 770. 

WHEREFORE, Alaska respectfully requests the Department of Transportation to 

withhold the redacted portions of the attached document(s) from public disclosure for a period of 

ten (I 0) years. 

May_l_, 2012 

Respectfully submitted, . 

Kyle B. Levine 

Deputy General Counsel 

ALASKA AIRLINES, INC ... 

19300 International Boulevard 

Seattle, Washington 98198 

(206) 392-5292 

Page 4 of 4 -MOTION OF ALASKA AIRLINES, INC. FOR CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT OF 

PART 241 SUBMISSIONS UNDER RULE 12