UL5.D«porrtni«ltOf Assisfanf Secretary •• ' v t ^^i '.i it.'r. ; 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Transportatio n _^ Washington, DC 20590 

Office Of the Secretary •. ''\ i.; /": P I* 1| 2 

of Transportation 

OCT 2 5 2010 

Mr. Mark Becker 

Chairman 

Board of Directors 

Sarasota Convention & Visitors Bureau 

766 Hudson Avenue, Suite A 

Sarasota, FL 34236 

Dear Mr. Becker: 

Thank you for your letter of October 7 to Secretary LaHood supporting AirTran Airways, 

Inc. (AirTran) to serve Sarasota, Florida, in the ongoing slot-exemption proceeding at 

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). The Secretary has asked that I 

respond to your letter directly. 

As you know, the U.S. Department of Transportation commenced a proceeding on 

August 30 to reallocate two DCA slot exemptions that are currently being used by 

Republic Airline, Inc. (Republic). Republic has been using these two slot exemptions for 

DCA - Kansas City service. These slot exemptions may be used to serve any medium 

hub or smaller airpon within the 1,250-mile perimeter of DCA. 

We have received a total of five proposals, briefly outlined below: 

• Sun Country to serve Lansing, Michigan, with 129- or 162-seat aircraft; 

• Republic Airline, Inc., branded as Frontier Airlines, to continue to serve Kansas 

City, Missouri, with 99-seat regional jet aircraft; 

• Southwest Airlines Co., to serve Kansas City utilizing 137-seat aircraft; 

• US Airways, Inc., to serve Pensacola, Florida, utilizing 76- or86-seat regional jet 

aircraft, depending on the season; and 

• Air Tran Airways, Inc., to serve either Fort Myers or Sarasota, Florida, utilizing 

either 117- or 137-seat aircraft. 

As the slot exemption proceeding is competitive and is currently under review by the 

Department, I am sure you understand that I cannot comment on the merits of the 

proposals. I assure you. however, that the Department will fully consider all of the 

proposals, and make its award based on the selection criteria detailed in the governing 

statutes. 
Mr. Mark Becker 

Page 2 

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

DOT-OST-2000-7182 as a contact outside the record of this proceeding. I appreciate 

your interest in obtaining access to the Nation's capital. If I can provide further 

information or assistance, please feel free to call me. 

icerely yours, 

A 

iusan L. i^irfland 

Assistant Secretary for 

'iation and International Affairs 
SARASOTA 

A N D HER ISIANO S 

CONVENTION i VISITORS BUREAU 

766 Hv<if}n Al.tniit Smtt A 

Saroiata. fJortdo 3+236 

1 941.985.099 1 

October 7,2010 

The Honorable Ray H. LaHood 

Secretary of Transportation 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. 

Washington, DC 20590 

Re: Docket OST-2000-7182 

Dear Secietaiy LaHood: 

We are writing to express our support for the application of AirTran Airy/ays Inc. for the two 

available Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) within-perimeter slots being 

allocated by the Department in Docket OST-2000-7182 to provide nonstop service from Sarasota 

Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) to DCA. 

The Sarasota Bradenton area has only one daily nonstop on a regional jet to Washington, DC, 

even though it is the sixth largest destination market fixjm this area. With over 750,000 residents 

and our prime location as a leisure destination for tourists, SRQ can certainly support additional 

service, and it would be a great help to the tourism industry in this region, which has suffered as 

a result of the BP oil spill. This new service also would mitigate the negative economic impact 

the recession has had on the commimity and the airport. 

While AirTran also offers an alteftnattve lo awaid the route to Southwest Florida International 

(RSW), we ask that the slot be awarded to AirTran conditioned on the slot be utilized for SRQ. 

bi addition to enhancing competition and lowering fares at Sarasota Bradenton International 

Airport, the proposed service would increase connectivity to destinations in the Northeast and 

Midwest, critical markets for our region. 

Thank you for your consideration: 

Sincerely^^ 

Mark Becker 

Chairman 

Board of Directors 

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