u.s. Department 

of Transportation 

Office of the Secretary 

of Transportation 

The Honorable Terry Orr 

Mayor of Bastrop 

7377 Chestnut Street 

Bastrop, Texas 78602 

Dear Mayor Orr: 

Assistant Secretary 

April 20, 2012 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

_.j) 

Thank you for your letter to Secretary of Transportation 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 of Transportation will be awarding to new entrant or limited incumbent 

carriers a total of eight 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 of the 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 of your 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"J 0. 2 0 12 8 : 4 0 PM 

March 20t 2012 

The Honorable Ray LaHo.od 

Secretary of Transportation 

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 of the city of Bastrop, Texas I am writing to express my strong support for 

applications that have beett.submitted to provide daily nonstop roUndtrip flights between 

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport a:ud Austin-Bergstrom International 

Airport. 

Bastrop is a city and the county seat of Bastrop County~ Texas. Bastl'Op is located about 

thirty miles southeast of Aust~ and is part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area.. The 

trade area population is over 164,000 apd our tourism industry would benefit from 

expansion of nonstop air services at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. 

At present nonstop service from our region to Washington DC is limited to flights to 

Washington (Dulles) or Baltimore/Washington futernational Airport. Those flights are 

inconvenient for travelers who have .a need to visit Federal Government offices, 

legislators or organizations located in the District of Columbia and for residents ofthe 

District of Columbia who want to vacation in our region. In order to fly in or out of 

DCA, these travelers must make time.-consUllling connections. 

A ward of beyondMperimeter slot exemptions for nonstop service between"AustinBergstrom lnten1ational Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport will 

impro:ve the travel options for all the residents and businesses in Bastrop· and all of 

Central Texas. 

I respectfully urge you·to grant slot exemptions.to an rililine that will provide 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