U.S.Departnumtof Transportation Office otthe secretary ofTransportation



### Mr. JosephD. Terzi President/CEO San Diego Convention & 

### Visitors Bureau 750 BStreet, Suite 1500 SanDiego, 

### CA92101


### DearMr. Terzi; April 11, 2012

Thank 

### you foryourletter to Secre.tary ofTmnsportation Ray LaHood, supporting the application ofAlaska Airlines,**Inc.~** 

### for two beyond

.. perimeter slotexemptions atRonald Reagan WashingtonNadonal Airport (DCA) to serve.

### San Diego International Airport with one round 

### trip per&l.y 

### from DCA. Secretary LaHood asked that I 

### respond to your letter. Underauthority granted in the FAA 

### Modemi!ation and Reform Act of2012, 

### the U.S. DepartmentofTransportation will be awarding to 

### new entrant orlimited incumbent carriers atotal 

### ofeight slot exemptions at DCA, which would support four dailyround trips. 

### We received**Alaska~s** 

### application. which also proposes onedaily round trip to Portland.**Oregon~** 

### on March 12. Othertimely applications were received from AirCanada, proposing one round trip to Vancouver, British Columbia; Frontier Airlines, one round trip to Colorado Springs and beyond. to 

### San Diego; JetBlue Airllnes, one r()und trip to San Juan.• Puerto Rico, and one round. tripto Austin, Texas; Southwest Airlines, one round trip to Austin and San Diego beyond; Sun CountryAirlines, one round trip to .Las Vegas; andVirgin America, 1no:., two round trips to San Fmnciseo. As the matteris 

### still pending, l cannotcomment on the merits oftbe points raised in your letter. However, 1can assure you that all applications the Departmentrec•ived will 

### be given full and fair consideration and will be evaluatedagainst the selection criteria specified in the .statute.

### Page 2, Terzi
The 

### Department's action on this matter is being administered through a

### public docket; which 

### allows all interested parties the opportunity to comment Following ournormal practice, Iam placing a

### oopy ofyourletter and this 

### respOnse in docket numberDOT-2012-0029. I 

### appreciate your interest in this matter. Sincerely yours,

usan L. 

### Kurland Assistant 

### Secretary for Aviation 

### and International AffairsFrom: To: Subject: Date: Ktm..SQtQ. on behalf**of~** LaHood. Ray COSD Letter in support of Alaska's SAN-DCA proposed service; docket no. DOT-OST-2012-0029 Tuesday, March 13, 2012 7:40:28 PM
Dear Secretary LaHood, On behalf ofthe San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau, we fully support Alaska Airlines' application for air service to connect the Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA) arid the San Diego International Airport (SAN). Currently, San Diego is one ofthe largest areas without announced direct service connecting the Reagan National Airport to San Diego. When traveling to and from our respective areas, travelers tend to fly in and out ofthe Dulles Airport, as they offer direct flights. This can add up to an additional $400 in transportation costs per individual when traveling from Washington's city center to San Diego, as it is necessary to factor in taxi fares and shuttle costs to the Dulles Airport.
As one ofthe most popular destinations in the United States, San Diego offers a unique and varied Southern California experience with our spectacular coastline, world-class attractions, hotels, dining and activities. By adding nonstop service from the Reagan National Airport to San Diego, this will help to make our destination more competitive and attractive for both leisure and group travel. Likewise, there is a huge demand for travelers from our area who require quick access to the Reagan National Airport. Alaska Airlines would be providing a much needed nonstop option to a primary gateway to Washington, DC.
We thankyou for your consideration and look forward to hearing about the favorable review ofthe direct Alaska Airlines San Diego to Reagan National flight route. Ifthere is anything I can personally assist you with, please don't hesitate to let me know.
Best regards,
Joe Terzi Joseph D. Terzi President & CEO San Diego Convention &Visitors Bureau 750 8 Street Suite 1500, San Diego 92101 Phone: 619-557-2831 Fax: 619-696-9371 jterzj@sdcyb org**~** Please consider the environment**b~fore** printing this e-mail..

-**connect:~ I~**  I tacebook I**~I~** IfllW: Im 

### This e-mail and any attachments may contain confidential and privileged information. Ifyou are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately by return e-mail, delete this e-mail and destroy any copies. Any dissemination or use of this information by a person other than the intended recipient is unauthorized and may be illegal.