## u.s. Department ofTransportation Office ofthe Secretary ofTransportation 

### The Honorable Kirk Watson Texas State Senate P.O. Box 12068 Austin, TX 78711 DearMr. Watson: AssistantSecretary
April 20, 2012 OL!



### Thankyou for yourletterto Secretary ofTransportation Ray LaHood, supporting the application ofSouthwestAirlines for two beyond-perimeterslotexemptions at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). Southwest's applicationproposes to serve Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Texas, with one round trip perday from DCA. SecretaryLaHood asked me to respond to your letter. Underauthority granted in the FAA Modernization and Refonn Act of2012, the U.S. DepartmentofTransportation will be awarding to new entrant or limited incumbent carriers atotal ofeight slotexemptions at DCA, which would support four daily round trips. We received Southwest's application on March 12. Othertimely applications were received from Air Canada, proposing one round trip to Vancouver, British Columbia; AlaskaAirlines, one round trip to Portland, Oregon, and one round-trip to San Diego; FrontierAirlines, one round trip to Colorado Springs and beyond to San Diego; JetBlue Airlines, one round trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and oneround trip to Austin, Texas; Sun Country Airlines, one round trip to Las Vegas; and Virgin America, Inc., two round trips to San Francisco. As the matteris still pending, I cannot commenton the merits ofthe points raised in yourletter. However, Ican assure you that all applications the Departmentreceived will be given full and fair consideration and will be evaluated against the selection criteria specified in the statute. The Department's action on this matteris being administered through apublic docket, which allows all interested parties the opportunity to comment. Following our normal practice, Iam placing acopy ofyour letter and this response in docket numberDOT-2012-0029. Iappreciate your interest in this matter.

··,; 

### Sincerely yours,

S san L. Kurland Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International AffairsCOMMITIEES: TRANSPORTATION & HOMELAND SECURITY -VICE-cHAIR BUSINESS &COMMERCE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT HIGHER EDUCATION NOMINATIONS March 22,2012

The HonorableRayLaHood SecretaryofTransportation U.S. Department ofTransportation 1200 New JerseyAvenue, S.E. Washington, DC 20590 

### KIRK WATSON STATE SENATOR

DISTRICT 14

Re: Docket DOT-OST-2012-0029 Dear Secretary LaHood: CAPITOL ADDRESS P.O. Box 12068 ROOM E1.810 AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711 512/463-0114 FAX 512/463-5949

I am the State Senator representing Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA) in Austin, Texas. I write in strong·support ofSouthwest Airlines' application for a pair ofbeyond-perimeter slot exemptions at Washington National Airport. With these beyond-perimeter slot exemptions, Southwest proposes to operate the first-ever "capital-to-capital" nonstop flight between ABIA and Reagan National Airport. I believe such service is long overdue and deserving of your Department's favorable consideration. Southwest has operated in Austin since 1977. For the past 35 years, both Southwest and Austin have grown and prospered. While I served as Austin Mayor, I was pleased to oversee the construction ofABIA and the relocation ofthe Austin airport from its previous site to its current location on the former Bergstrom Airbase. Since the reopening ofthe Austin airport at ABIA, it has beenrecognized many times for quality, level ofservice and passengerexperience. Last fall, ABIA earned a place on the Airport Council International's Roll ofExcellence for airports that**~** have ranked among the top five in Airport Service Quality for five consecutive years. Only 14 airports in theworld received this recognition. Today, Austin-area residents benefit from tl:.e variety of air service options resulting from a healthy and competitive environment at ABIA. In 2011, a re\:ord 9 million passengers used ABIA. However, despite a strong overall level ofcompetition at ABIA, the airport currently lacks nonstop service to National Airport. As a result, current travel options between ABIA and National Airp01t are limited and relatively expensive.



### S10-120329-019March 22, 2012 Page2 of2

Southwest's proposal would provide much needed low-cost carrier. competition to an un-served route. This will produce lower fares for Washington and Austin-area consumers and will stimulate further demand for air travel between these two capital cities. In fact, Southwest's average fare for flights ofthe same distance as Austin-DCA is more than 50% less expensive than the average fare in the Austin-DCAmarket today. Moreover, Southwestproposes using a Boeing 737-800.aircraft with 175 seats to serve this route. Such a large aircraft will increase capacity significantly in the Austin-Washington market. It will also maximize the use of scarce beyond-perimeter slot exemptions. It will increase job opportunities in order to service the new daily flight and to accommodate the increase passenger · traffic. Austin's high tech economy and research heavy academic institutions generate significant passenger traffic between the capital cities. Direct Austin-DCA service will meet an existing need, strengthen the economic ties between the two cities and help grow the economy. Forthesereasons, Irespectfullyrequest the Department ofTransportation grant a pairofbeyondperimeter slot exemptions to Southwest so it canbegin Austin-Washington nonstop air service. Sincerely,

Kirk Watson



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