BEFORE THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION WASHINGTON, D.C.

) Application of ) ) SPIRIT AIRLINES, INC. ) Docket OST-2011-_____ ) for an exemption pursuant to ) 49 U.S.C. § 40109 ) (Fort Lauderdale, Florida – Toluca, Mexico) ) )

APPLICATION OF SPIRIT AIRLINES, INC. FOR AN EXEMPTION

Communications with respect to th is document should be sent to:

Joanne W. Young David M. Kirstein Kirstein & Young, PLLC 1750 K Street, N.W. Suite 200 Washington, D.C. 20006 (202) 331-3348 (202) 331-3933 Attorneys for SPIRIT AIRLINES, INC.

January 18, 2011

NOTICE: ANY PERSON MAY FILE AN ANSWER TO THIS APPLICATION. ANSWERS MUST BE FILED IN TH IS DOCKET, AND SERVED UPON THE PARTIES LISTED ABOVE, ON OR BEFORE FEBRUARY 2, 2011. WE WILL POLL U.S. CARRIERS.BEFORE THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION WASHINGTON, D.C.

) Application of ) ) SPIRIT AIRLINES, INC. ) Docket OST-2011-_____ ) for an exemption pursuant to ) 49 U.S.C. § 40109 ) (Fort Lauderdale, Florida – Toluca, Mexico) ) )

APPLICATION OF SPIRIT AIRLINES, INC. FOR AN EXEMPTION

Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 40109 and Subpart C of the Department’s Procedural Rules,

14 CFR § 302.301, et seq. , Spirit Airlines, Inc. (“Spirit”) applies for an exemption from 49

U.S.C. § 41101 authorizing it to enga ge in scheduled foreign ai r transportation of persons,

property and mail between Fort Lauderdale, Florid a, on the one hand, a nd Toluca, Mexico, on

the other hand and to designate Spirit for such service.

In support of this applicati on, Spirit states as follows:

1. Spirit is a corporation organized and ex isting under and pursua nt to the laws of

the State of Delaware. Its pr incipal office is located at 2800 Executive Way, Miramar, Florida

33025. Spirit currently serves 45 destinations in the United States, Central America, the

Caribbean, and South America.

2. Spirit was founded in 1980, and has gatewa ys in Detroit, Michigan and Ft.

Lauderdale, Florida. It is the leading low-fare carrier serving routes between the U.S. and the

Caribbean, as well as Latin America, currently serving 25 destinations in this region.Application of Spirit Airlines Ft. Lauderdale – Toluca Exemption Page 2 of 4
3. Spirit is a citizen of the United St ates within the meaning of 49 U.S.C.

§40102(a)(15). Its President and two-thirds of its Board of Directors and other managing

officers are U.S. citizens, and at least 75 percent of its voting stock is owned and controlled by

U.S. citizens.

4. Spirit’s Ultra Low Cost Carrier (“UL CC”) services provide significant public

benefits and advance the public interest by maki ng low cost air travel much more available

between the U.S. and Latin America at a time wh en economic and cultural ties between the U.S.

and Latin America are on the rise. Specifically, Spirit plans to expand its low fair service to

Mexico. Since 2004, Spirit has operated competit ive service between Ca ncun, Mexico and Fort

Lauderdale and provided an important travel option to the public. Spirit now seeks to expand its

service to Mexico by bei ng the first airline to offer direct flights between Fo rt Lauderdale and

Toluca. As the state capital of Mexico State, To luca is the center of the fifth largest urban area

in Mexico, has a large number of cultural tourism destinations, and is second only to Mexico

City in the number of museums. Importantl y, Toluca’s proximity to Mexico City enables

passengers seeking non-stop service to the capitol city of Mexico to have the additional low-fare

option of flying into Toluca. Al so, through its Fort Lauderdale ga teway Spirit offers low-fare

connecting service from Toluca to many communities in the Untied States.

5. Spirit’s proposed service is authorized by Annex I sections A1.a., B.4. and B.7. of

the U.S.-Mexico Bilateral Air Transport Agreement as amended, which permits the United States

to designate up to two U.S. carrier s to serve this market. No U.S. carrier currently is designated

to provide service between Ft. Lauderdale and To luca so Spirit’s servic e clearly would advance

the public interest by establishi ng a convenient low-cost alterna tive for travel between South

Florida and Toluca/Mexico City.Application of Spirit Airlines Ft. Lauderdale – Toluca Exemption Page 3 of 4
6. The Department has repeatedly found Sp irit fit, willing, and able to provide

scheduled air transportation of persons, property, and mail. 1 Spirit holds a Certificate of Public

Convenience and Necessity to provide interstate air transportation of persons, property and mail

(Order 98-7-6), a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for foreign air transportation

of persons, property, and mail to all open-skies countries (Order 2007-7-3), and a consolidated

certificate of authority to provide combination service to limited-entry markets (other than

Mexico) and non-open skies markets. See Order 2010-1-12. Additiona lly, Spirit has been a

designated carrier for the U.S.-Mexico city pair of Fort Lauderdale-Cancun since spring of 2004.

There have been no material changes within the Company that would affect those prior fitness

findings.

7. Spirit will initially operate flights tw ice a week between Fort Lauderdale and

Toluca, and will add service depending on market demand. It will begin service on or about

June 3, 2010 using Stage 3 Airbus 145 seat A319 and 178 seat A320 aircrafts. The initial

service schedule is set forth at Exhibit NK-1.

8. Spirit will continue to abide by all of the conditions and limitations the

Department attaches to exemption authorities.

9. Spirit’s annual expected fuel burn of 492,710 gallons is well below the ten million

gallon threshold specified in Se ction 313.4(a)(1) of the Department ’s regulations. Approval of

Spirit’s application does not qualify as a major regulatory action under Part 313 of the

Department’s rules.

WHEREFORE, for the foregoing reasons, Spirit respectfully requests that the

Department grant the exemption authority requ ested above for a minimum period of two years

1 Spirit requests that the Department take official notice of the financial information it provides the Department on a regular basis in its Form 41 reports.Application of Spirit Airlines Ft. Lauderdale – Toluca Exemption Page 4 of 4
and designate Spirit for this service. Spirit furt her requests any different or additional relief that

the Department may deem necessary.

Respectfully submitted,

Joanne W. Young David M. Kirstein Kirstein & Young, PLLC 1750 K Street, N.W. Suite 200 Washington, D.C. 20006 (202) 331-3348 (202) 331-3933 Attorneys for SPIRIT AIRLINES, INC.

January 18, 2011EXHIBIT NK-1



## S PIRIT 

## A IRLINES 

## , INC.

F ORT 

### L AUDERDALE 

### (FLL)

– T OLUCA 

### (TLC) S ERVICE

Departure Arrival Flight Stops Frequency Equipment

FLL 10:30 TLC 12:55 533 0 Tuesday Friday 319/320

TLC 13:55 FLL 18:05 534 0 Tuesday Friday 319/320

Notes:

1. All times listed are local times.CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that I have this day served the foregoing “Applicati on of Spirit Airlines, Inc. for an Exemption” by email on the following persons:

pmurphy@lopmurphy.com nssparks@fedex.com rpommer@atlasair.com bkeiner@crowell.com hershel.kamen@coair.com dan.weiss@coair.com sascha.vanderbellen@delta.com jeff.morgan@delta.com bruce.rabinovitz@wilmerhale.com jeffrey.manley@united.com robert.land@jetblue.com msinick@ssd.com cdonley@ssd.com anbird@fedex.com dvaughan@kelleydrye.com kevin.montgomery@polaraircargo.com jrichardson@johnlrichardson.com efaberman@wileyrein.com howard_kass@usairways.com benjamin.slocum@usairways.com jhill@dlalaw.com mgoldman@sgbdc.com rsilverberg@sgbdc.com carl.nelson@aa.com mlbenge@zsrlaw.com bob.kneisley@wnco.com kquinn@pillsburywinthrop.com Robert.cohn@hoganlovell.com Sophy.chen@hklaw.com Anita.mosner@hklaw.com mchopra@jamhoff.com russell.bailey@alpa.org donna.kooperstein@usdoj.gov dwight.moore@ustranscom.mil john.allen@faa.gov urskr@state.gov gmeyer@broward.org esta.rosenberg@dot.gov brian.hedberg@dot.gov Linda.lundell@dot.gov

Lyndsey Grunewald January 18, 2011