US Department of Assistant Secretary- •-''•'-'• O r C 11/'. 1 rv^r;t200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Transportation Washington, DC 20590 

Office o( the Secretary iji j HAY 2 b P h U2 

of Transportation 

OCT 2 5 2010 

Mr. Steven D. London 

Executive Vice President & 

Chief Operating Officer 

Bekum America Corporation 

P.O. Box 567 

Williamston, MI 48895-0567 

Dear Mr. London: 

Thank you for your letter of October 15 to Secretary LaHood supporting Sun Country 

Airlines to serve Lansing, Michigan, in the ongoing slot-exemption proceeding at Ronald 

Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). The Secretary has asked that I respond to 

your letter directly. 

As you know, the U.S. Department of Transportation commenced a proceeding on 

August 30 to reallocate two DCA slot exemptions that are currently being used by 

Republic Airline, Inc. (Republic). Republic has been using these two slot exemptions for 

DCA - Kansas City service. These slot exemptions may be used to serve any medium 

hub or smaller airport within the 1,250-mile perimeter of DCA. 

We have received a total of five proposals, briefly outlined below: 

• Sun Country to serve Lansing with 129- or 162-seat aircraft; 

• Republic Airline, Inc., branded as Frontier Airlines, to continue to serve Kansas 

City, Missouri, with 99-seat regional jet aircraft; 

• Southwest Airlines Co., to serve Kansas City utilizing 137-seat aircraft; 

• US Airways, Inc., to serve Pensacola, Florida, utilizing 76- or 86-seat regional jet 

aircraft, depending on the season; and 

• Air Tran Airways, Inc., to serve either Fort Myers or Sarasota, Florida, utilizing 

either 117- or 137-seat aircraft. 

As the slot exemption proceeding is competitive and is currently under review by the 

Department, I am sure you understand that I cannot comment on the merits of the 

proposals. I assure you, however, that the Department will fully consider all of the 

proposals, and make its award based on the selection criteria detailed in the governing 

statutes. 
Mr. Steven D. London 

Page 2 

As is our normal practice, I am placing a copy of your letter and my response in Docket 

DOT-OST-2000-7182 as a contact outside the record of this proceeding. I appreciate 

your interest in obtaining access to the Nation's capital. If I can provide further 

information or assistance, please feel free to call me. 

cerely yours. 

jusan L. Kurland 

Assistant Secretary for 

Aviation and International Affairs 
BEKUM AMERICA CORPORATION 

1140 West GiiiKi River. P.O. Box 567. Williamstoii, Michigan USA 4889J-0367 PHONE:5I7-«5J-433l FAX:517-655-4121 

October 15, 2010 

Honorable Ray LaHood 

Secretary of Transportation 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

RE: SUN COUNTRY AIRLINES APPLICATION - #DOT-OST-2000-7182 

Dear Secretary LaHood: 

Please accept this letter of support for the Sun Country Airlines Application. Lansing is the 

home of Michigan's state government, Michigan State University, several major insurance 

companies, General Motors, hundreds of state associations and a vibrant corporate 

community whose needs for air service have been demonstrated to far exceed the 

commitment currently being demonstrated by the airlines serving our region. The MidMichigan Business Travel Coalition represents more than 200 businesses, governmental and 

educational organizations in the Mid-Michigan area and to that end, we write this letter to 

support and request approval of the Sun Country application referenced above. 

Bekum America Corporation is an international company with headquarters in Berlin, 

Germany. From its Berlin, Germany base, Belaim operates 5 manufacturing facilities in 4 

countries on 3 continents. In addition to international travel, Belcum's employees travel 

extensively in the United States. Industry standard meetings are frequently held in 

Washington DC and direct air service between Lansing and Washington DC is a vital 

service not only for meetings in the nation's capital but also for connecting through the 

Atlantic seaboard and international destinations. 

Periodic surveys of members of the Mid-Michigan Business Travel Coalition's travel habits 

consistently show that Washington DC is the number one destination of our business 

travelers. As the home of Michigan's state capitol, direct service to Washington DC is of 

vital in^)ortance to our region. Accordingly, Bekum America Corporation joins the 

Lansing community to request your approval of the Sun Country slot application. 

Sincerely, 

Steven D. London 

Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer 

SDL/lk 10-178