U.S. Department of Transportation Office ofthe Secretary OfTransportation

The Honorable Amy Klobuchar United States Senate Washington, DC 20510 Dear Senator Klobuchar: 1200 New Jersey Ave., S.E. Washington, DC 20590

Thank you for your letter, cosigned by your congressional colleagues, supportingthe application submitted bythe Duluth Airport Authority for a grant under the U.S. Department of Transportation's Small Community Air Service Development Program. The Small CommunityAir Service Development Program was established to help smaller communities address air service deficiencies, particularly issues related to high airfares or insufficient service. Underthe statute, the Department may make a maximum of40 grant awards each year, although no more than four awards maybe to communities in the same State. In order to provide communities with latitude in developing solutions to their air service deficiencies, the statute provides flexibility inthe types ofprojects that canbe funded. On June 24, the Department issued an order setting a deadline ofJuly 26 for applications. As these grant requests are pending before the Department, I cannot comment on the merits ofany particularproposal. I assure youthat the Department will give full and fair considerationto all proposals that have been properly filed. As is our standard practice, I am placing a copy ofyour letter and this response in Docket DOT-OST-2013-0120 as a contact outside the record ofthis matter. I appreciate your interest in this program. Sincerely yours,

r e,._;**~t.api'l\abR'-,..** Associ te Director Small Comm ity Air ServiceU.S. Department of Transportation Office ofthe Secretary OfTransportation

The Honorable Al Franken United States Senate Washington, DC 20510 Dear Senator Franken: 1200 New Jersey Ave., S.E. Washington, DC 20590

Thank you for your letter, cosigned by your congressional colleagues, supporting the application submitted by the Duluth Airport Authority for a grant under the U.S. Department of Transportation's Small Community Air Service Development Program. The Small Community Air Service Development Program was established to help smaller communities address air service deficiencies, particularly issues related to high airfares or insufficient service. Under the statute, the Department may make a maximum of40 grant awards each year, although no more than four awards may be to communities inthe same State. In order to provide communities with latitude in developing solutions to their air service deficiencies, the statute provides flexibility inthe types ofprojects that can be funded. On June 24, the Department issued an order setting a deadline ofJuly 26 for applications. As these grant requests are pendingbefore the Department, I cannot comment onthe merits ofany particular proposal. I assure youthat the Department will give full and fair considerationto all proposals that have beenproperly filed. As is our standard practice, I am placing a 

### copy ofyour letter and this response in Docket DOT-OST-2013-0120 as a contact outside the record ofthis matter. I appreciate your interest in this program. Sincerely yours,

ll::lR1m<:e an As ociate Director Small C munity Air Service DevelopmentU.S. Department of Transportation Office ofthe Secretary OfTransportation

The Honorable Richard M. Nolan Congress ofthe United States Washington, DC 20510 Dear Congressman Nolan: 1200 New Jersey Ave., S.E. Washington, DC 20590

Thank you for your letter, cosigned by your congressional colleagues, supporting the application submitted bythe Duluth Airport Authority for a grant under the U.S. Department of Transportation's Small CommunityAir Service Development Program. The Small Community Air Service Development Program was established to help smaller communities address air service deficiencies, particularly issues related to high airfares or insufficient service. Under the statute, the Department may make a maximum of40 grant awards each year, although no more than four awards maybe to communities inthe same State. In orderto provide communities with latitude in developing solutions to their air service deficiencies, the statute provides flexibility in the types ofprojects that can be funded. On June 24, the Department issued an order setting a deadline ofJuly 26 for applications. As these grant requests are pending before the Department, I cannot comment onthe merits ofany particularproposal. I assure youthat the Department will give full and fair considerationto all proposals that have been properly filed. As is our standard practice, I am placing a copy ofyour letter and this response in Docket DOT-OST-2013-0120 as a contact outside the record ofthis matter. I appreciate your interest in this program. Sincerely yours,

## C!Congrt~s 

# of tbe 

# ilntteb**~tatts**

Brooke Chapman Office ofAviation Analysis 1200NewJerseyAve, SE Washington DC 20590 Dear Associate Director Chapman:**7JIJ..tl!~binQ't@n, i!·~**  

### 20510 July 16, 2013

ltis with great enthusiasm that we offer our supportto the Small Community Air Service Development (SCASD) grant application ofthe Duluth Airport Authority and Visit Duluth. Duluth's SCASD application has broad support in the local community evidentby the public and private money committed as a local match. Duluth is a model candidate forthe SCASD program due to its higher fares and limited air service connectivity. A recent leakage study revealed that 49% ofpotential passengers within a 30 mile radius of Duluth choose to drive 2 \12 hoursto Minneapolis due in partto higherfares and limited connectivity. The same study also shows that 70% ofDuluth's airpassengers are outbound. These trends are reversible with the assistance ofthe SCASD program. The Duluth Airport Authority, inpartnership with VisitDuluth, has developed a plan targetingtravel from Chicagoto Duluth in an effort to attract leisure travelers to the Duluth area. This effortwill combat the 70% outbound passenger numbers directly bringing the percentage closerto an industry acceptable 50%. Increased passengersto Duluth will assistthe airport in working with each ofits airline partners to keep fares competitive and provide additional frequencies. The economic impact ofthis investmentwill also be felt in manybusinesses ofthe region as travelers stay in areahotels, eat in local restaurants, and shop in many ofthe local small businesses that call Duluthhome. The airport andthe community are on the cusp ofself-sustaining growth withthe infusion ofcapital the SCASD program can provide. We think you will agree that Duluth's application makes a strong case. Thankyou for your consideration oftheir application.

United States Senator United States Senator Richard M. Nolan Member ofCongress