## u.s. Department of Transportation Office of the Secretary ofTransportation The Honorable Terry Orr Mayor ofBastrop 7377 Chestnut Street Bastrop, Texas 78602 Dear Mayor Orr: Assistant Secretary April 20, 2012 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590

_.j) Thankyou for your letter to Secretary ofTransportation Ray LaHood, supporting the award of beyond-perimeterslot exemptions at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) to be used for nonstop service to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS), Austin, Texas. Secretary LaHood asked me to respond to your letter. Under authority granted in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of2012, the U.S. Department ofTransportation will be awarding to new entrant or limited incumbent carriers a total ofeight slot exemptions at DCA, which would support four daily round trips. We received applications proposing to serve AUS from two carriers, Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways. Each sought two slot exemptions; which would support one daily DCA-AUS round trip; JetBlue also applied for two slot exemptions to serve San Juan, Puerto Rico. Other timely applications were received from Air Canada, proposing one round trip to Vancouver, British Columbia; Alaska Airlines, one round trip to Portland, Oregon, and one round trip to San Diego; Frontier Airlines, one round trip to Colorado Springs and beyond to San Diego; Sun Country Airlines, one round trip to Las Vegas; and Virgin America, Inc., two round trips to San Francisco. As the matter is still pending, I cannot comment on the merits ofthe points raised in your letter. However, I can assure you that all applications the Department received will be given full and fair consideration and will be evaluated against the selection criteria specified in the statute. The Department's action on this matter is being administered through a public docket, which allows all interested parties the opportunity to comment. Following our normal practice, I am placing a copy ofyour letter and this response in docket number DOT-2012-0029. I appreciate your interest in this matter. Sincerely yours,

usan L. Kurland Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs

### .Mli\i"J0. 2 0

12 8 : 4 0

PM

March 20t 2012

The Honorable Ray LaHo.od Secretary ofTransportation 1200 New Jersey A venue, S.E. Washington, D.C. 20590 Re: DocketNo. DOT-OST-2012-0029. 

### Dear Honorable Secretary 

### LaHood, 

### Na. 1937 P:



# BASTROPTX Clty

# ofBanrop

As Mayor ofthe 

### city ofBastrop, Texas I am writing to express my strong support for applications that have beett.submittedto provide dailynonstop roUndtrip flights between Ronald Reagan WashingtonNational Airport 

### a:ud Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Bastrop is a city and the county seat ofBastrop**County~** Texas. 

### Bastl'Op is locatedabout thirty miles southeast of**Aust~** and is part ofthe GreaterAustin metropolitan area.. The trade areapopulation is over 164,000 apd ourtourism industry would benefitfrom 

### expansion ofnonstop air services at 

### Austin-BergstromInternational Airport. At present nonstop service from our regionto Washington DC islimitedto flights to 

### Washington (Dulles) or 

### Baltimore/Washington futernational Airport. Those flights are inconvenient for travelers who have 

### .aneedto visitFederal 

### Government offices, legislators or organizations located in theDistrict ofColumbia and for residents 

### ofthe District ofColumbiawho want to vacation inourregion. In orderto 

### fly inor

### out of DCA, these travelers must make time.-consUllling connections. A

ward ofbeyondMperimeter slot exemptions for nonstop service between"AustinBergstrom lnten1ational Airport andRonaldReagan WashingtonNational Airport will 

### impro:ve the 

### travel options for allthe

### residents and businesses

# inBastrop· and all of Central Texas. I respectfully urge you·to grant 

### slot exemptions.to an rililine that willprovide nonstop AUS-DCA service. ·



### P.O. 80X417 Bastrop, Texa178bo'! main:**511-~31·88oo** 

### metro: 5ll·J03·B05 

### fax:**SJl·J~l·88lq** 

### m.dtyDfbastrop.org