U.S.Department of Transportation Office ofthe Secretary ofTransportation

Mr. Ruben Barrales President and CEO April 12, 2012

San Diego Regional Chamber ofCommerce 402 West Broadway, Suite 1000 San Diego, CA 92101-3585
Dear Mr. Barrales: 

### OLt

Thank you for your letter to Secretary ofTransportation Ray LaHood, supporting the application ofAlaskaAirlines, Inc., for two beyond-perimeter slot exemptions at Ronald Reagan WashingtonNational 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 inthe FAA Modernization and Reform Act of2012, the U.S. Department ofTransportation will be awarding to new entrant orlimited incumbent carriers a total ofeight 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, onMarch 12. Othertimely applications were received from Air Canada, proposing one round trip to Vancouver, British Columbia; FrontierAirlines, one round trip to Colorado Springs and beyond to SanDiego; JetBlue Airlines, one round trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and one round trip to Austiri, Texas; Southwest Airlines, one round trip to Austin and San Diego beyond; 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 onthe merits ofthe points raised in your letter. However, I can assure youthat all applications the Department received will be given full and fair consideration and will be evaluated against the selection criteria specified in the statute.Page 2, Barrales
The Department's action onthis matter is being administered through a public docket, which allows all interested parties the opportunity to comment. Following ournormal practice, I am placing a copy ofyour letter and this response in docket number DOT-2012-0029. I appreciate your interest inthis matter. Sincerely yours,

Susan 

### L. Kurland Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs

# .. "" SAN DIEGO REGIONAL

### ·~ CHAMBEROF**~COMMERCE**
March 8, 2012

The Honorable Ray LaHood U.S. Department ofTransportation 1200 NewJersey Ave, SE Washington, DC 20590 Emerald Plaza 402 West Broadway, Suite 1000 San Diego, California 92101-3585 (619) 544-1300 www.sdchamber.org

Re: Alaska Airlines' application for SAN-DCA, DocketNo. DOT-OST-2012-0029. Dear Secretary LaHood: This letter is in support ofthe application ofAlaskaAirlines to provide one daily round trip flight between Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA) and San Diego International Airport (SAN). SanDiego is the largest marketto the Washington D.C. area without a nonstop route to DCA. A directroute from SAN to DCAwill provide residents ofSouthern California, particularly those inthe greater San Diego region, with muchmore convenient access to our nation's capital. Alaskais growing its presence in San Diego, recently adding four new destinations to its SAN network. By this summer, Alaska and its regional carrier, Horizon Air, will provide an average of 19 daily flights from SANto nine destinations inthe United States and Mexico. Alaska's is well suited to serve San Diego with nonstop service to DCA. Direct service between DCA and SAN is an important linkthat will help with economic development, business investment andjob creation in SanDiego. Major SanDiego industries including military/defense, technology and research 

### & development depend onthe connection between our region and ournation's capital. Thousands ofpublic and private sectortravelers would benefit from a direct flight. I respectfully urge you to grant AlaskaAirlines' application to serve SAN-DCA. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely,
.

Ruben Barrales President & CEO San Diego Regional ChamberofCommerce