U.S. Department of 

Transportation Assistant Secretary 1200 New Jersey Ave., S.E. 

Washington, DC 20590 

Office of the Secretary 

of Transportation 

Mark D. VanLoh, A.A.E. 

Director of Aviation 

Kansas City International Airport 

601 Brasilia Avenue 

P.O. Box 20047 

Kansas City, MO 64195-0047 

Dear Mr. V anLoh: 

APR 0 7 2014 

Thank you for your letter to Secretary F oxx regarding the application of Southwest 

Airlines Co. (Southwest) to provide service between Kansas City International Airport 

(MCI) and Washington-Reagan National Airport (DCA) on a pendente lite basis. 

Secretary Foxx asked that I respond to you on his behalf. 

t· ..... :.l 

As you state, Frontier Airlines (Frontier) announced it would cease service on the DCAMCI route effective January 31,2014, following the carrier's sale to a private equity 

flrm, thereby relinquishing the DCA slot exemptions it had previously been awarded for 

this service. 

As you may know, on January 27, 2014, the Department issued Order 2014-1-16, which 

confirmed our grant to Southwest of pendente lite authority to operate MCI-DCA service 

using the former Frontier slot exemptions. It is my understanding that Southwest has 

already begun operating the flights. This temporary grant of authority will minimize 

consu.nler inconvenience and is made without prejudice to the Department's decision on· 

longer term authority. 

I appreciate your interest in this issue. As is normal practice in such matters, I am 

placing a copy of your letter and my response in Docket DOT-OST-2000-7182, as a 

contact outside the record of the case. 

If I may be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me. 

Susan L. Kurland 

Assistant Secretary for 

Aviation and International Affairs 
March 7, 2014 

Aviation Department 

Kansas City Imernational Airport 

601 Brasilie~Avenue 

Kansas City, Missouri 64153-2054 

P.O. Box 2004 7 

Knnsas City, Missouri 64195-0047 

The Honorable Anthony Foxx 

Secretary 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

West Building 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

Re: DOCKET OST-2000-7182 

Dear Secretary Foxx: 

Director 

Deputy Director 

Accounting 

Economic Development 

Engineering 

Human Rc$ourccs 

lntom1at ion Services 

Marketing 

(816) 

24.3-3100 

241-.3180 

243-3120 

243-3020 

243-3030 

243-3010 

243-3140 

243-3160 

On behalf of the Kansas City Aviation Department, owner and operator of Kansas City 

International Airport (MCI), I write to convey my strong support for approval ofthe application 

by Southwest Airlines Co. (Southwest) to provide service between Ronald Reagan Washington 

National Airport (DCA) and. MCl. . 

Southwest has been operating this service between DCA and MCI since it was awarded on a 

pendent lite basis last month. Approval of Southwesfs application will ensure that there is 

minimal disruption of service on this important route. In addit1on, Southwest's service will 

preserve the only competitive nonstop service between DCA and MCI. Currently, the only other 

nonstop service in this market is provided by US Ai1ways with regional jet aircraft. In contrast, 

Southwest's service is being provided with 143-seat Boeing 737 airplanes, fully leveraging the 

limited DCA slot exemptions and providing the only mainline aircraft service on this route. 

Kansas City International Airport serves nearly ten million annual passengers from Iowa. 

Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma. These states and the communities within them have 

important ties to the federal government and the Washington,D.C. area. Ensuring that there is 

no disruption of service would provide significant benefits to both business and leisure travelers 

in this region. Last year approximately 272 passengers per day each way traveled from MCI to 

DCA with the ci.1rrent limited no11-stop service. 

510-140318-021 

FAX 

143-J 170 

24.3-311.3 

243-3171 

243-3070 

243-3071 

243-3C72 

243-3172 

243-317! 
1 

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The Honorable Anthony Foxx 

Page2 

March 7, 2014 

Southwest has served Kansas City since 1982 and currently offers 72 daily flights to 25 cities. 

As the nation's largest ccurier in terms of originating domestic passengers boarded and the 

largest airline at MCI, Southwest is well positioned to ensure this service is a continued success. 

Accordingly, I respectfully urge your prompt approval of Southwest's application. 

Mark D. VanLoh, A.A.E. 

Director of Aviation 

cc: Susan.kurland@dot.g;ov 

Todd.homan@dot.gov 

James.Dann@dot.gov 

John.allen@faa.gov 

Brian.ctr.meehan@faa.gov 

S1D-140318-021