0 

U.S. Department of 

lrantporiatlon 

Offlceoffhe Secretary 

ot rronspottatfon 

Mr. John Blem 

General Manager 

Courtyard Inn Mission Valley 

S9S Hotel Circle South 

San Diego, CA 92108 

Dear Mr. Blem: 

April 11 • 2012 lD! Z 

Thank you for your letter to Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, supporting the application 

of Alaska Airlines, Inc.~ for two beyond-perimeter slot exemptions at Ronald Reagan 

Wuhington National Airport (DCA) to serve San Diego International Airport with one round 

trip per day from DCA. Secretary LaHood asked that I respond to your letter. 

Under authority granted in the FM Modem.ization 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 Alaska's application, which also proposes one 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 Springs and 

beyond to San Diego; JetBlue Airlines, one round trip to San. Juan, PuertO Rico, and one ro!lncl 

trip to Austin, Texas; Southwest Airlines, one roun4 trip to Austin and San Diego beyoud; Sun 

CountrY Airlines, one ro!lnd trip to Las Vegas; and Virgin America, Inc., two ro.und. trips to San 

Francisco. 

As the matter is still pending, I cannot comment on the merits of th~:: points raised in your lettert 

However, I can 'assure you that all applications the Department received will be given fu1l and 

fair consideration and will be evaluated againstthe selection criteria specified in the statute. 
Pagel.Blem 

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, 

Susan L. Kurland 

Assistant Secretary for 

Aviation and International Affairs 
Courtyard by Marriott• 

. San Diego Mission Valley/Hotel Circle ,. 

595 Hotel Circle South 

San Diego, CA 92108 

T 619.291.5720 F 619.297.7362 

courtyard.com/sancm 

3/16/12 

The Honorable Ray LaHood 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Ave, SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

Re: Alaska Airlines' application for SAN-DCA, Docket No. DOT-OST-2012-0029. 

Dear Secretary LaHood: 

Courtyard by Marriott San Diego/Mission Valley fully supports the application of Alaska Airiines for air service between 

San Diego and Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA). San Diego is the largest region without announced 

service to DCA. Additionally, due to the profound community of interest between San Diego and the nation's 

capital, the region generates the largest passenger market demand without nonstop service to the convenient 

and close-in airport serving our nation's capital. 

San Diego's sheer market size to Washington coupled with the fact that San Diego - Dulles average airfares are the 

highest of west coast cities should qualify it for a pair of the Hmited slots available. The high airfare is exacerbated 

when factoring in taxi fares from Dulles to Washington's city center that average about $60 each way. This means 

travelers between Washington's city center and San Diego via Dulles can pay close to $400 one-way on average. 

There are also countless other San Diego-based and Washington-based businesses that are engaged in health 

science, telecommunications, and national defense that need quick and convenient access to Reagan National Airport. 

Courtyard by Marriott San Diego/Mission Valley has an immediate need for additional nonstop air service to our 

nation's capital. Alaska Airlines service would add a needed nonstop option to a primary gateway to Washington, DC. 

Courtyard by Marriott San Diego/Mission Valley joins with the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, the San 

Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, the World Trade Center San Diego, and the San Diego Regional 

Chamber of Commerce in support of Alaska Airlines' application for San Diego - Washington Reagan National slots. 

We thank the Department of Transportation for the opportunity to comment on the above referenced docket and we 

hope to hear of a favorable review of Alaska Airlines' San Diego- DCA proposal soon. 

S~oomly, ~~ 

John Blem, General Manager 

Courtyard Inn Mission Valley 

595 Hotel Circle South 

San Diego, CA 92108 

()peratecl under a license agreement from Marriott International, Inc. 

,.., Contains 30% oost oonsumer fibers ~.