1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Assistant Secretary U.S. Department Washington, DC 20590 ofTransportation 

### April 14
.. 2010 Office ofthe Secretary ofTransportation



### Mr. James E. Bennett President and ChiefExecutive Officer ;,.,',J 

### Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority 1Aviation Circle.
. Washington,·DC 20001 DearMr. Bennett: 

### Thankyoufor y'our letter supporting the application for antitrust immunity filed by All Nippon Airways, United Air Lines, and Continental Airlines. I am responding on behalfofthe Secretary;
. As you may know, the applicants-members ofthe Star Alliance-are seeking antitrust immunity to .closely coordinate flights betweenthe United States and Asia. According to the application, the alliance partners plan to launch ajoint venture for transpacific traffic. The application is administered in apublic docket, which ensures that interested parties have the opportunity to comment. The U.S. Department ofTransportation(DOT) will evaluate the application according to 

### rigorous statutory standards, beginning with areview ofthe record to determine ifit

### is substantially complete. Decisions on the application are made in consultation with the U.S. Department ofJustice's Antitrust Division following athorough analysis of competitive factors. As this matter is now pending, I'm sure you understand that I cannot comment onthe merits ofthe application. I can assure you, however, that DOT will give full and fair consideration to the application as well as any comments filed in the docket. As is our normal practice, I am placing a copy ofyour letter and this response in Docket DOT-OST-2010-0059 as a contact outside the record in this matter. I appreciate your interest in this proceeding.

usan 

### L. Kurland Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs

# - S10-09l223-049 METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON AIRPORTS AUTHORITY 

# + December 23,2009
The Honorable Raymond H. LaHood Secretary United States Department ofTransportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue, 

### S.B. Washington, DC 20590 Dear Secretary LaHood: On behalfof the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (Airports Authority), I am writing teexpress our strong support for the antitrust immunity (ATl) application filed byUnited Airlines, Continental and All Nippon Airways (ANA) with the U.S. Department ofTransportation (DOT). All three ofthese airlines serve Washington Dulles InternationatAirport (Dulles International), and United Airlines and ANA both operate flights to Japan from Dulles International. DOT approval will enable these airlinesto deliver competitive flight schedules, fares and services that will benefit not only the residents and shippers in the Washington Region, but all who use Dulles International. Moreover, DOT approval will ensure that the benefits ofthe recent Open Skies aviation agreementbetween the governments ofthe United States and Japan will go into effect when DOT grants the ATI request. Open Skies with Japan is an enormous achievement that the AirportsAuthorityhas consistently supported for many years. We congratulate the U.S. team ofnegotiators from DOT and the Department ofState for what they have achieved and believe it is now time for DOT to take the steps necessary for our carriers and ourcommunities to finallybenefit from Open Skies with Japan. We thank you for yourwork to achieve the U.S.-Japan Open Skies agreement and look forward to your approval ofthepending application.

cc: The Honorable Mark

### R. Warner The HonorableJim Webb The Honorable Gerald E. Connolly The HonorableJimMoran The Honorable Frank Wolf 

### The Honorable Tim Kaine

1Aviation Circle, Washington, DC 20001-6000 • www.mwaa.com