Docket DOT-OST-2010-0018 

Index of Support Letters 

Seattle-Haneda 

Political 

1. Washington State Congressional Delegation

2. Mayor, City of Seattle

3. Seattle City Council President

4. King County Executive

Connecting Airports who rely on Seattle as their International Gateway 

5. Bellingham International Airport Bellingham, Washington

6. Boise Airport Boise, Idaho

7. Glacier Park International Airport Kalispell, Montana

8. Juneau International Airport Juneau, Alaska

9. Missoula International Airport Missoula, Montana 

10. Tri-Cities Airport Pasco, Washington

11. Walla Walla Regional Airport Walla Walla, Washington

12. Yakima Air Terminal Yakima, Washington

Economic and Trade Organizations 

13. Association of Washington Business

14. Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce

15. Trade Development Alliance of Greater Seattle

16. Washington Council on International Trade

P.O. Box 1209

Seattle, WA 98111-1209 

Tel: (206)787-3000 

Fax: (206) 787-3252 

www.portseattle.org


City of Seattle

Edward B. Murray

Mayor

January 21, 2015

The Honorable Anthony Foxx

Secretary

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE

Washington, DC 20520

Dear Secretary Foxx:

As Mayor of Seattle, I write to request that the Department allow Seattle-Tacoma International 

Airport to keep its only direct flight to Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan. 

As you know, the Department recently received a request to reallocate Seattle’s service to 

Haneda to another U.S. city. (Docket-DOT-OST-2010-0018). It would be contrary to the public 

interest to move Washington State’s only direct flight to Haneda to another city which already 

enjoys the valuable Haneda service.

Seattle and Japan have a long history as key trading partners, and Tokyo remains Seattle’s top 

international destination. 

Collectively, the Seattle and Tacoma ports form the nation’s 3rd largest marine cargo load 

center, due largely to trade with Asia. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is also a major aircargo hub for our region. Seattle is home to eight Fortune 500 companies ranging from 

aerospace, technology to retail, e-commerce and travel-related businesses.

The number of domestic and international flights will continue to increase in and out of Seattle 

because of the city’s diverse corporate base, strong economy, favorable geography, and focus 

on international trade. The air transport between Haneda and Seattle is critical to our 

expansion of trade between Seattle and Asia. 

Delta Airlines is demonstrating its long-term commitment to this region by moving its Asian 

hub to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, more than doubling its employment in our region 

to nearly 3,000. Since 2013, Delta’s flights from Sea-Tacoma International Airport also doubled 

to nearly 100 peak-day departures. 

Office of the Mayor

Seattle City Hall, 7th Floor Tel (206) 684-4000

600 Fourth Avenue Fax: (206) 684-5360

PO Box 94749 Hearing Impaired use the Washington Relay Service (7-1-1)

Seattle, Washington 98124-4749 www.seattle.gov/mayor
In 2013, the Department rightly believed that the best of use of this slot was Seattle because it 

would provide the first nonstop Haneda service on a significant mainland U.S.-Tokyo route that 

lacked service to that city. The Haneda connection also provides a number of western cities 

with their first one-stop connecting opportunity to Haneda. Other cities or states requesting 

the Haneda slot already have multiple direct flights to Haneda. 

We hope the Department will allow Washington to keep its only direct service to Haneda. 

Thank you for your consideration of our concerns. 

Sincerely,

Mayor Edward B. Murray

City of Seattle














CHAIR

Mr. Josh Gaul

K&L Gates

VICE CHAIR

Mr. Bill McSherry

The Boeing Company

TREASURER

The Honorable Stephanie Wright

Snohomish County Council

SECRETARY

The Honorable Clare Petrich

Port of Tacoma Commission

PAST CHAIR

Mr. William Glassford

The Commerce Bank

The Honorable Anthony Foxx

Secretary

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE

Washington, DC 20520

Dear Secretary Foxx:

I am writing on behalf of the Trade Development Alliance of Greater Seattle to request 

that the Department allow Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to keep its only direct 

flight to Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan. 

The Department is considering a request to reallocate Seattle’s service to Haneda to 

another U.S. city. (Docket-DOT-OST-2010-0018). It would be contrary to the public 

interest to move Washington State’s only direct flight to Haneda to another city which 

already enjoys the valuable Haneda service.

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is the fastest growing airport on the West Coast, 

reflecting the Seattle region’s rapid business expansion. Seattle has a long and 

distinguished history with Japan as a key trading partner. It is our 3rd largest destination 

for exports, 2nd largest source of foreign direct investment, and one of our largest 

sources of international tourists. It is a key market for our economy where 40% of jobs 

are tied to international trade. And Tokyo remains Seattle’s top international destination. 

The Seattle and Tacoma ports together form the nation’s 3rd largest marine cargo load 

center, driven by trade with Asia. Sea-Tac Airport is also a major air-cargo hub for our 

region. Seattle is home to eight Fortune 500 companies from a wide range of industries 

including aerospace, technology, retail, and e-commerce, as well as a number of travelrelated businesses.

The number of domestic and international flights will continue to increase to Seattle 

because of the city’s diverse corporate base, strong economy, favorable geography, and 

focus on international trade. Our flight to Haneda will continue to benefit from the 

increased flying to Seattle and is critical to our efforts to expand trade between Seattle 

and Asia. Delta is committed to making this flight a success year-round.

In 2013, the Department rightly believed that the best of use of this slot was Seattle 

because it would provide the first nonstop Haneda service on a significant mainland U.S.-

Tokyo route that lacked service to there. The Haneda connection also provides a number 

of western cities with their first one-stop connecting opportunity to Haneda. Other cities 

or states requesting the Haneda slot already have multiple direct flights to Haneda. 

We hope the Department will allow Washington to keep its only direct service to Haneda. 

Thank you for your consideration of our concerns. 

Sincerely, 

Sam Kaplan

President

1301 - 5th Avenue Sam Kaplan

Suite 1500 President

Seattle, WA 98101 USA

Phone: 206-389-7301

Email: tdags@seattletradealliance.com

Website: www.seattletradealliance.com

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Honorable Tom Albro

Port of Seattle

Mr. Randy J Aliment

Williams Kastner

Mr. Larry Brown

International Association of Machinists

The Honorable John Chelminiak

City of Bellevue

Mr. Dennis Clark

Fairmont Olympic Hotel

The Honorable Dow Constantine

King County

The Honorable John Creighton

Port of Seattle

Mr. Gregory Dalzell

Wells Fargo Bank

Ms. Maud Daudon

Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce

Mr. Dan Dixon

Swedish Health Services

Ms. Kristi England

APCO Worldwide Inc.

The Honorable Jean Godden

City of Seattle

The Honorable Bruce Harrell

City of Seattle

The Honorable John Lovick

Snohomish County Executive

The Honorable Pat McCarthy

Pierce County Executive

Mr. Fraser Mendel

FM Legal Group

The Honorable Ed Murray

Mayor of Seattle

Mr. John Mohr

Port of Everett

Mr. Mike Peters

City of Seattle

Mr. Joe Ritzman

SSA Marine

Mr. Tom Robertson

Microsoft Corporation

Mr. Stan Savage

The Commerce Bank

The Honorable Raymond Stephanson

Mayor of Everett

Mr. David K.Y. Tang

K & L Gates LLP

Mr. Thomas Taylor

US Bank

Mr. Herald Ugles

ILWU/PMA

The Honorable Pete von Reichbauer

King County

Mr. John Wolfe

Port of Tacoma

The Honorable Stephanie Wright

Snohomish County

Mr. Georges Yates

Perkins Coie LLP

Mr. Tay Yoshitani

Port of Seattle

 
January 15, 2015

The Honorable Anthony Foxx

Secretary

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE

Washington, DC 20520

Dear Secretary Foxx:

I am writing on behalf of the Washington Council on International Trade to request that the Department allow 

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to keep its only direct flight to Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan. 

The Department is considering a request to reallocate Seattle’s service to Haneda to another U.S. city. (Docket-DOTOST-2010-0018). It would be contrary to the public interest to move Washington state’s only direct flight to Haneda 

to another city that already enjoys the valuable Haneda service.

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is the fastest-growing airport on the West Coast, reflecting the Seattle region’s 

rapid business growth. Washington state has a long and distinguished history with Japan as a key trading partner, 

and Tokyo remains Seattle’s top international destination. 

The Seattle and Tacoma ports together form the nation’s 3rd largest marine cargo load center, driven by trade with 

Asia. Sea-Tac Airport is also a major air-cargo hub for our region. Seattle is home to eight Fortune 500 companies 

from a wide range of industries including aerospace, technology, retail, and e-commerce, as well as a number of 

travel-related businesses.

The number of domestic and international flights will continue to increase to Seattle due to the city’s diverse 

corporate base, strong economy, favorable geography, and focus on international trade. Our flight to Haneda will 

continue to benefit from the increased flying to Seattle and is critical to our efforts to expand trade between 

Washington state and Asia. Delta is committed to making this flight a success year-round.

In 2013, the Department rightly believed that the best of use of this slot was Seattle because it would provide the 

first nonstop Haneda service on a significant mainland U.S.-Tokyo route that lacked service to that city. The Haneda 

connection also provides a number of western cities with their first one-stop connecting opportunity to Haneda. 

Other cities or states requesting the Haneda slot already have multiple direct flights to Haneda. 

We hope the Department will allow Washington to keep its only direct service to Haneda. Thank you for your 

consideration of our concerns. 

Sincerely, 

Eric Schinfeld

President, Washington Council on International Trade