u.s. Department of 

Transportation 

Office of the Secretary 

or transportation 

The Honorable Pete Lee 

Colorado House of Representatives 

State Capitol 

Denver, CO 80203 

Dear Mt. Lee.: 

May 3, 2012 

1200 Nf,!W J~rs~y Ave,, SJL 

wasliington, PC 20890 

Thank y().u for your letter to Secretary ofTranspottation Ray LaHood, supporting the application 

of Frontier Airlines for two beyond-perimeter slot exemptions at Ronald Reagan Washington 

National Airport (DCA). Frontier's application proposes to serve Colorado Springs, Colorado. 

with one round trip per day fi·om DCA, with direct service beyond to San Djego, CaHforn.ia. 

Secretary LaHood asked me to respond to your letter. 

Under authority granted in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of2012, the 

U.S. Department of Transportation will be awarding to new entrant or limited incumbent 

carriers a total of eight slot exemptions at DCA, which would support four daily round trips. 

We received Frontier's application .on March 12. Other tin1ely applications were received fmm 

Air Canada, prpposing one round trip to Vancouver, British Columbia; Alaska Airlines, one 

round trip to Portland, Oregon and one t·mmd trip to San DiegQ; JetBlue Airlines, one round trip 

to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and one round trip to Austin, Texas; Southwest Airlines, one round trip 

to Austi.n and San Diego beyond~ Sun Country Airlines, one rour1d trip to Las Vegas; and Virgin 

America, Inc.,two round trips to San Francisco. 

As .the matter is stiU pending, I carmot comment on the merits of the points raised in your letter; 

However, I can assure you that all applications the Department received will be given full and 

fair col1Sideratitmand will be evaluated against the selec.tion criteria specified in the statute. 

The Deparllnent's action on this matter is bejng administered through a public docket, which 

allows all interested parties the opportunity to comment. Following olll' normal practice, I am 

placing a copy ofyour letter and this response in docket number DOT-2012-0029. 

I appreciate your interest in this matter. 

Sincerely yours, 

Robert A. Letteney 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for 

Aviation and International Affairs 
~t.IJte Re~sel\tative 

Ptm!LB~ 

1600. WeJ!t Clle)'cntle Road 

CoJora!)o ~. rings, ColorJido &W06 

C!IIJ!t 8'66·2932 

B. 19460.·2834 

ft.m:ai.l: )ieteJee.bouse@~tate.eo:us 

COLORADO 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

April18, 2012 

The .Honorable Ray LaHood 

Secretary of Transportation 

U.S. Department ofTransportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

WashingtOJ:t, D.C. 20590 

STATE CAPITOL 

DENV!i!'.R 

Member; 

Judiciary Coml1llnee 

Local Oovemm:ent Cqmm)ltee 

Re: Application of Frontier Airlines for Two Beyond~Perhneter.~lot Exemptions for Ronald 

Reagan Washington National Airport- Colorado Spijng~'Artport Nm1stop Service (Docket DOT·OST-2012-0029) . . . . . .· . . 

Dear Secretary LaHood: 

As the State Represen:tat~ve from House District 18. the downtown area of Colorado Springs, 

Colorado, I am acutely aware of the needs ofthe business community. It has come to my 

attention that Frontier Airlines has applied for tw9 slot e.x:emptions at the Ronald Reagan 

Washington National Airport (DCA) to provide non-stop service to the Colorado Springs Airport 

(008). Titis bid win serve as a valued benefit for air passengers Wilhin the Colorado.Spdngs 

area and surrounding communit.ies. 

Colorado Springs is the home to five military bases, including Fort Carson, the United States Air 

Force Academy, Peterson Air Force Base, Schriever Air Command and NORAD as well as 

several defense contractors including Boeing, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Northrop 

Grumman, ANC Research & Development LLC, Man Tech Space Systems, Mac Aulay-Drown, 

ITT Corporation, Imprimis Inc .. , Textron Defense Systems, Raytheon ,CO~ CM!ber Cnrporl;ltion~ 

Mannatek S,olutioris LLC, Colsa Corporation, .and ot}:lers. 01:1r ~corrof11Y is inextri¢ably linked to 

Washington, D.C. For an economy dependent on ,the linkage with military .and govern.tnent 

facilitie~ in Washingtort,'D~c~. thi~ service wouid be a gteat Benefii'to-"6ur communitY. · · 
Secretary Ray LaHood 

Pagel 

Aptif l8,.20t2 

Furthermore, the Pikes Peak region of Colo:t:ad:o is a maJor tourist destination for East Coast. 

travelers. The establishment ofnon-stap serViCe ·betwee:n Colorado Springs a:nd DCA would 

greatly enhance connectivity for the business, military and tourist travelers. This air service 

would provide !:U)Other significant asset to our cotrutmnity to enhance its attractiveness to 

businesses !:Uld peoJ:1le considering it as a perm®ent home. Thank you for y,our fav.orable 

consideration. of this application. 

Pete Lee 

State Representative 

House District 18 

oc: Dave Csintyan, The Greater Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce~ President 

Rich Guy, Computer Resources, President 

Chris Jenkins. Nor'wood Development Group, President 

Ron Butlin, Colorado Springs Downtown Partnership, Executive Director