BEFORE THE

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

_____________________________________ )

Application of )

)

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS, INC. ) Docket OST

- 2009

- 0200

)

For renewal of e xempti on a uthority between )

the United States and Aruba pursuant to )

49 U.S.C. § 40109 )

_____________________________________ )

APPLICATION OF AIRTRAN AIRWAYS, INC.

F OR RENEWAL OF EXEMPTION AUTHORITY

Communications with respect to this document should be sent to:

Bob Jordan Robert W. Kneisley

President Associate General Counsel

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS, INC. Leslie C. Abbott

9955 AirTran Boulevard Senior Attorney

Orlando, FL 32827 SOUTHWEST A IRLINES CO.

1901 L Street, N.W., Suite 640

Washington, D.C. 20036

bob.kneisley@wnco.com

(202) 263

- 6284

January 10 , 20131 BEFORE THE

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

_____________________________________ )

Application of )

)

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS, INC. ) Docket OST

- 2009

- 0200

)

For renewal of E xempti on A uthority between )

the United States and Aruba pursuant to )

49 U.S.C. § 40109 )

_____________________________________ )

APPLICATION OF AIRTRAN AIRWAYS, INC.

FOR RENEWAL OF EXEMPTION AUTHORITY

P ursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 40109 and Subpart C of Part 302 (14 C.F.R.)

, AirTran

Airways, Inc. (“AirTran”) 1 hereby files this Application for Renewal of Exemption

A u t h o r i t y with the Department of Transportation (“DOT” o r “the Department” ) to allow

AirTran to continue to provide scheduled foreign air transportation of per sons, property

,

and mail between points in the United States and Aruba

. By Order dated September 4,

2009 , the Department granted AirTran authority to serve Aruba

. DOT renewed the

exemption authority for a two year period by Notice of Action Taken on April 18, 2011 in

this Docket

. The current exemption is scheduled to expire on April 18, 2013

. 2 To

ensure no interruption of scheduled service, AirTran respectfully requests prompt

renewal of its exemption authority for a minimum of two years

.

1 AirTran Airways, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Southwest Airlines Co.

2 To the extent necessary, AirTran relies upon the automatic extension provisions of 5 U.S.C. § 558(c) to maintain the

subject authority in effect beyond the expiration date, pending DOT action on this Application.2

Renewal of the subject exemption is in the public interest for the same reason s

that supported the original issuance of authority for Aruba service. AirTran currently

serves Aruba from Baltimore

- Washington International Airport (BWI), Atlanta (ATL)

, and

Orlando International Airport (MCO). AirTran’s service has provided consumers in each

of these markets with high

- quality, low

- cost travel options and low

- fare competition

.

AirTran provides this service with Stage III Boeing 737

- 700 aircraft configured for 137

seats . C ontinuation of A i r T r a n ’ s U

. S

. - A r u b a service is c l e a r l y in the public interest.

AirTran c ontinues to be fit, willing and able to conduct the services described in

this A pplication . In fact, the Department recently granted AirTran exemption authority to

provide service in several other international markets

. See , e.g.

, Dockets OST

- 2012

-

0190 (DEN

- SJD )

, OST

- 2012

- 0001 (MDW

- CUN), a nd OST

- 2011

- 0205 (SAT

- MEX)

.

AirTran requests that the Department take official notice, pursuant to Rule 24 of the

Department's Rules of Practice, of all data on file with the Department necessary to

establish AirTran 's fitness.

The requested renewal of exemption authority is fully consis tent with the aviation

agreement between the United States and Aruba

, which does not limit U.S. carrier

capacity between the two countries

. AirTran requests that the Department renew its

authority so that it can continue to provide this service under the Agreement

.3

WHEREFORE, AirTran Airways , Inc. resp ectfully requests renewal of its

exemption authority under 49 U.S.C. § 40109 for a minimum of two years to provide

scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail between the United

States and Aruba

.

Respectfully submitted,

______________________ Robert W. Kneisley

January 1 0 , 20134 C ERTIFICATE OF SERVIC E

I hereby certify that on January 1 0 , 2013 , a copy of the foregoing was served via

e

- mail on the following persons:

msinick@ssd.com (Alaska Airlines)

francis.heil@aa.com (American Airlines)

Robert.wirick@aa.com (American Airlines)

sascha.vanderbellen@delta.com (Delta Air Lines)

rob ert.cohn@hoganlovells.com (Frontier Airlines)

Patrick.rizzi@hoganlovells.com (Frontier Airlines)

Robert.land@jetblue.com (JetBlue Airways

jhill@dowlohnes.com (JetBlue Airways & Hawaiian Airlines )

perkmann@dowlohnes.com (JetBlue Airways & Hawaiian Airlines)

dkirstein@yklaw.com (Spirit Airlines)

John.Fredericksen@suncountry.com (Sun Country Airlines)

dan.weiss@united.com (United Air Lines)

howard_kass@usairways.com (US Airways)

ben.slocum@usairways.com (US Airways)

pmurphy@lopmurphy.com (USA3000)

jegillick@zsrlaw.com (Virgin America)

barbara.russell@virginamerica.com (Virgin America)

susan.kurland@dot.gov

paul.gretch@dot.gov

esta.rosenberg@dot.gov

brian.hedberg@dot.gov

brett.kruger@dot.gov

info@airlineinfo.com

__________________________ Leslie C. Abbott