i'

U.S.Depottmentof 

### Transportation Off\ce oftheSecretaty ofTransparlaflon



### Mr. Mark Cafferty President/CEO SanDiego Regional Economic Development Corporation 530 BStreet, 1•

### Floor San Diego, 

### CA 92101


### DearMr, Cafferty: Thank 

### you for your

### letterto Secretary ofTransportation Ray LaHood, supporting the application of

### Alaska: Airlines, Inc., for two beyond-perimeter slotexemptions at 

### Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) to serve 

### San Diego International Airport with oneround trip 

### perday from DCA.. Secretary LaHood asked 

### tha.t I 

### respond to your letter. Under authority granted in the FAA Modernization andReform Act of2012. 

### the U.S. DepartmentofTransportation will be 

### awarding to new entrant 

### or limited incumbent 

### carriers atotal ofeisht 

### slot exemptions at DCA, which would support four daily round trips. Wereceived Alaska's application, which also proposes orie 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 Springsand beyond to San Diego; J·etBiue Airlines. one round trip to San Juan, 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;**~.tnd** 

### Virgin America\, Inc

.., two round trips to San 

### Francisco. As.

### the matteris still pending, I cannotcmnment on the merits ofthe points raised in your letter. However, I 

### can assure 

### youthat 

### aU 

### applicationsthe Departmentreceived 

### will be given full and fair consideration**~d** 

### will be 

### evaluated agaipstthe selection criteria specified in the statute.

### ...



### Page 2, Cafferty
TheDepartment's action an this matteris 

### being administered through apublic docket, which allows all interested parties the opportunity to comment. Following our nonnal practice, I 

### am placing acopy ofyour letter and this 

### response in docket nwnber DOT-2012-0029. I 

### appreciate your inlere.st in this matter. Sincerely yours,

Susan L. Kurland Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International AffairsSan Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation Match 9, 2012
The Honorable Ray LaHood U.S. DepartmentofTransportation 1200 New JerseyAve,,SE Washington, DC 20590 RE: Alaska Airlines' application for**SAN~DCA,** DocketNo. DOT-OST.;2012·0029. Dear Secretary LaHood: This letter is in support 

### .of the application orAlaska Airlines to provide one·dally roundtrip flight between Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA) and San Diego International Airport (SAN). San Diego is currently the largest market to the Washington D.C. area without .a nonstop route to DCA. A direct route from SAN to 

### DCA will provide residents of Southern California, particularly those in the greater San. Diego region, with much more convenient access to our nation's capital. Alaska is the right carrier forthis market. The airline is growing its.presence·in SanDieg<:>, recently adding four new destinations to jts SAN network. By this summer, Alaska and its regional carrier, Horizon Air, will provide an average of 19 dally flights from SANto nine destinations inthe United States and Mexico. With Alaska's strong customer service focus, track record for operational reliability and its financial strength, the carrier is bestsuitedto serve San Diego withnonstop service to DCA. San Dleg0 presents a compelling business\ case for daily service to DCA. The dense geographic corridor of San Diego's innovation research community has strong ties to federal departments such as the Food & Drug Administration and National Institutes of Health, among others. Further, San Diego is home to more active military pers<:>nnel than any region in the country, whichinherently ties our interests with those ofthe Department ofDefense. Daily SAN·DCA service would reinforce the clear lirtkages already in place between these two majortransportation hubs. I respectfully urge you to grant Alaska Airlines' application to .serve SAN·DCA. Thank you for your consideration.

# s~ Mark Cafferty President & CEO San Diego Regionai.Economic Development Corporation**.sandiegobusiness~org**