U.S. Department 

of Transportation 

Office of the Secretory 

of Transportation 

The Honorable Todd Strange 

tvlayor of Montgomery 

Montgomct;y; AL 36101-1111 

Dear Mayor Strange: 

,..: ...... 

Assistant Sacratary 

Juky 3, 2012 

1 ~00 New Jersay Aver.ue. SE 

'llasrw;gtor.. DC 20590 

Thank you lor your letter addressed to Secretary LaHood supporting the proposal submitted by 

the Montgomery Regional Airport for a grant under the U.S. Dermrtment of Transportation's 

Small Cdti1munity Air Service Development Program. The Se.cretary has requested that ~. 

respond on his behalf. · 

The Small Community Air Service I)e,;elopment 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 of 40 grant 

awards each vear. althouuh no more than 4 awards mav be to communities in the same State. ... . . - . - . . In order to provide communities \\·ith latitude in developing solutions to their air service 

dc4icicncics. the statute provides flexibility ip the types of projects that C<:l_l be funded. 

On May 15, the Department issued an order requesting that communities interested in receiving a 

grant this year lilc their applications by June 1 I. As these grant requests are pending before the 

Ol.!partmcnt. I cannot comment on the merits of any particular proposal. I assure you that the 

Department will give t'ull and fair consideration tcrnll proposals that haw been pr.operl;r tiled. 

As is our normal practice, I am placing a copy or your letter and this response in Docket 

DOT-OST-20 12-0069 as a contact outside the record or this matter. I appreciate your interest in 

this program. 

Sincerely yours. 

Susan L. Kurland 

Assistant S~.:cn;tary t'ur 

Aviation and International Arti1irs 
.... "' .. .· ~;· .· ... .. •:. 

~oft .. \l 

=.m: ..._., 

OFFlCE OFTillt MAYOR 

Tod4.Sirdngt. A·ff!Jor . 

PoOl Olnn Boa 1111 

Mon•com•'T• Alaluun; 

361CU •1111 

PH 334.625.2000 

fX 33+·625.2600 

Cil__v of Montgomery, Alabama 

. "}1'.: -; 

Honorable Ray LaHood 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Ave., SE 

Washington, D.C. 20590 

June 8, 2012 

. . D~ar Secretary LaHoocJ: 

The Montgomery Regional Airport, Montgomery, Alabama, is applying for a Small Community Air 

..... ~ervice Development (SCASD) Grant, OocketOOT-OST-2012·0069, to improve air service. The amount 

; .~(t~~ s.ra~f~s $400~00Q. The Airpo~~ A~tl:\ority ~ill match the required 20%~ qr. $80;0po .. . ~ . . . . 

, ... -, . .-:: 'This:region'has been historically underserved in air transportation since ~004 ... !'-pproving this modest 

~ grant would: . . •. . " ... -- ·.1 . .• 

. · .. ·. 

• Meet the needs of the continued. globalizing. of the local economy (Hyundai Motor 

Manufac;turing of Alabama and the new Hyundai Heavy Industries manufacturing plants are 

two prime examples); 

• Provide air service from Montgomery to Chicago which will help reduce the 47% passenger fo."" •. ' . I • /" ••. • ' 

leakage rate to Birmingham, AL, and Atlanta, GA; 

. . . ~· .. •· . . · .. •·. 'Reduce reliance on the ·conges'fed Atlanta-Hartsfield Airpo~t . as· .the major gateway into 

Monlgnmery; and 

• Help bring fare discipline to the Montgomery market (local consumers_d~e: spen~ing 40% more 

per ticket than consumers at Birmingham). 

l strongly. O,elieve that approving this grant will add jobs to our local economy and dramatically 

improve 'air transportation for Montgomery and the River Region. Thank you fc;>r considering this . . .... grant aJ?plication. 

. .... ·~·t . . •, ··•·•I 

. 510-120621-020: 

Sincerely, · .. //~ 

~fL;-· . Todd Strange · 

Mayor 

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