U.S. Department of 

Transportation 

Office of the Secretary 

of Transportation 

Mr. Thomas J. Voss 

President 

The Grand Del Mar 

5300 Grand Del Mar Court 

San Diego, CA 92130 

Dear Mr. Voss: 

April 12, 2HJW , y 2 2 

Thank you for your letter to Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, supporting the application 

of Alaska Airlines, Inc., for two beyond-perimeter slot exemptions at Ronald Reagan 

Washington National Airport (DCA) to serve San Diego International Airport with one round 

trip per day from DCA. Secretary LaHood asked that I 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 Alaska's application, which also proposes one daily round trip to Portland, Oregon, 

on March 12. Other timely applications were received from Air Canada, proposing one round 

trip to Vancouver, British Columbia; Frontier Airlines, one round trip to Colorado Springs and 

beyond to San Diego; JetBlue Airlines, one round trip to SanJuan, Puerto Rico, and one round 

trip to Austin, Texas; Southwest Airlines, one round trip to Austin and San Diego beyond; Sun 

Country Airlines, one round trip to Las Vegas; and Virgin America, Inc., two round trips to San 

Francisco. 

As the matter is still pending, I cannot 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 consideration and will be evaluated against the selection criteria specified in the statute. 
Page 2, Voss 

The Department's action on this matter is being administered through a public docket, which 

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

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

I appreciate your interest in this matter. 

Sincerely yours, 

Susan L. Kurland 

Assistant Secretary for 

Aviation and International Affairs 
March 16,2012 

The Honorable Ray LaHood 

U.S .. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Ave,SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

Re: AlMka Aitlines' applicatio.n forSAN.;DCA, Docket No. DOT.;OST-2012-0049. 

Dear .Secretary Laflooo: 

The Grand Del Mar fully supports the application of Alaska Airlines for air service 

between San Diego and Washington ReaganNational Airport (I>CA). San I>iego is the 

largest region without announced .service to DCA Additionally, due to the profound 

community()£ interest between San Diego and the.nation's capital,.the region 

generates the largest passenger market dem.and without nonstop service tO .the 

convenient and close-in airport serving our nation•s capital. 

San Diego's sheer market size to Washington. coupled with thefact that San DiegoDulles average airfares are the highest of west coast cities should qualify it for a pair of 

the li:rnited slots available. The high airfare is exacerbated when factoring in taxi fares 

from Dulles to Washington's city center that average about $60 each way. This: means 

travelers between Washington's city center and San Diego via Dulles can pay on average 

close to $400 Xlne-way. 

We have numerous guests who travel between San Diego and Washington D.C.· and 

several of our employees travel to Washington D.C. to conduct business. on a monthly 

basis. Both our .guests ~d employees prefer to fly in and out of the Reagan National 

Airport because. it is by far more C()nven1ent. · · 

There are also countless other S~ Diego ... based and Washingtou~bas.ed businesses that 

are engaged in health science, telecommuniqations, and national defense that need quick. 

and. convenient access to Reagan National Airport. The Grand Del Mar has an immediate 

need for .additional nonstop air service to our nation• s capitaL Alaska Airlines service 

woqld add a needed nonstgp option to a. primacy gateway to Washington, DC. The Grand 

Del Mar joins with the San Diego Cgunw Regional Airport Authority, the San Diego 

Regional Economic Development .Corporation, .the World Trade Center San biego~ and 

the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce in support of Alaska Airlines' 

application for San Diego- Washington ReaganNational slots .. 

• G <iLf • VI !..LAS 
We tluink the Department ofTranspx:utation for the oppo:rtunityto comment on the ab!lve 

referenced docket and we hope t'o hear of a favorable review of Alaska Airlines' San 

Diego - DCA proposal· soon. 

~~-/.~ .. ~~- Thomas J. Voss 

President