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

of Transportation 

April 14 .. 2010 Office of the Secretary 

of Transportation 

Mr. James E. Bennett 

President and Chief Executive Officer ;,.,',J 

Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority 

1 Aviation Circle. . 

Washington,·DC 20001 

Dear Mr. Bennett: 

Thank you for 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 between the United States and Asia. According to the 

application, the alliance partners plan to launch a joint venture for transpacific traffic. 

The application is administered in a public 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 a review ofthe record to 

determine ifitis substantially complete. Decisions on the application are made in consultation 

with the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division following a thorough analysis of 

competitive factors. As this matter is now pending, I'm sure you understand that I cannot 

comment on the 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 of your 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 behalf ofthe Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (Airports 

Authority), I am writing teexpress our strong support for the antitrust immunity (ATl) 

application filed by United Airlines, Continental and All Nippon Airways (ANA) with 

the U.S. Department of Transportation (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 airlines to 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 agreement between 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 Airports Authority has 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 our communities to finally benefit from Open Skies with Japan. 

We thank you for your work to achieve the U.S.-Japan Open Skies agreement and 

look forward to your approval ofthe pending application. 

cc: The Honorable Mark R. Warner 

The Honorable Jim Webb 

The Honorable Gerald E. Connolly 

The Honorable Jim Moran 

The Honorable Frank Wolf 

The Honorable Tim Kaine 

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