U.S. Department of 

Transportation 

Office of the Secretary 

of Transportation 

Mr. Ruben Barrales 

President and CEO 

April 12, 2012 

San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce 

402 West Broadway, Suite 1000 

San Diego, CA 92101-3585 

Dear Mr. Barrales: 

OLt 

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 

Washington 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 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 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 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 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. 
Page 2, Barrales 

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 
.. 

"" REGIONAL SAN DIEGO 

·~ CHAMBER OF ~COMMERCE 

March 8, 2012 

The Honorable Ray LaHood 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey 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, Docket No. DOT-OST-2012-0029. 

Dear Secretary LaHood: 

This letter is in support of the application of Alaska Airlines to provide one daily round trip flight 

between Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA) and San Diego International Airport (SAN). 

San Diego is the largest market to the Washington D.C. area without a nonstop route to DCA. A 

direct route from SAN to DCA will provide residents of Southern California, particularly those 

in the greater San Diego region, with much more convenient access to our nation's capital. 

Alaska is 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 SAN to nine destinations in the 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 link that will help with economic 

development, business investment and job creation in San Diego. Major San Diego industries 

including military/defense, technology and research & development depend on the connection 

between our region and our nation's capital. Thousands of public and private sector travelers 

would benefit from a direct flight. 

I respectfully urge you to grant Alaska Airlines' application to serve SAN-DCA. Thank you for 

your consideration. 

Sincerely, . 

Ruben Barrales 

President & CEO 

San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce