U.S. Department of Transportation Office of the Secretary ofTransportation

Mr. Thomas J. Voss President The Grand Del Mar 5300 Grand Del Mar Court San Diego, CA 92130

Dear Mr. Voss: April 

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Thank you for your letter to Secretary ofTransportation Ray LaHood, supporting the application ofAlaska 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 ofTransportation will be awarding to new entrant or limited incumbent carriers a total ofeight 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 ofthe 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 ofyour 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 AffairsMarch 16,2012 The Honorable Ray LaHood 

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..Department ofTransportation 1200 New Jersey Ave,SE Washington, DC 

### 20590 Re: AlMka Aitlines' applicatio.n forSAN.;DCA, DocketNo. DOT.;OST-2012-0049. Dear.Secretary Laflooo: The Grand Del Mar fully supports the application ofAlaska Airlines for air service between San Diego and WashingtonReaganNationalAirport (I>CA). San I>iego is 

### the largestregion 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 andclose-in airportserving our nation•s capital. San Diego's sheer market size to Washington.coupled with thefact that San DiegoDulles average airfares are the highest ofwest coast cities should qualify itfor apair of the li:rnited slots available. The high airfare is exacerbated when factoring intaxi fares from Dulles to Washington's city centerthat average about $60 each way. This: means travelers between Washington's city centerand San Diego via Dulles can pay on average close to $400Xlne-way. We have numerous guests who travel between San Diego and Washington D.C.· and several ofour employees travelto Washington D.C. to conductbusiness. on a monthly basis. Both our .guests**~d** employees preferto flyin and out ofthe Reagan National Airport because. itis 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 thatneed quick. and. convenient access to Reagan National Airport. The Grand Del Mar has animmediate need for.additional nonstop air service to our nation•scapitaL Alaska Airlines service woqld add a needed nonstgp option to a.primacy gatewayto Washington, DC. The Grand Del Marjoins with the San Diego CgunwRegionalAirport Authority, the San Diego Regional Economic Development.Corporation, .the World Trade Center San**biego~** and the San Diego Regional Chamber ofCommerce in support ofAlaskaAirlines' application for SanDiego- Washington ReaganNational slots

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• G <iLf • VI !..LASWe tluink the Department ofTranspx:utation for the oppo:rtunityto commenton the ab!lve referenced docket and we hope 

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### afavorable review ofAlaska Airlines' San Diego

- DCA proposal· soon.

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# ~~- Thomas 

### J. Voss President