U.S. Departmentof Transportation Assistant Secretary 1200 New Jersey Ave., S.E. Washington, DC 20590 Office ofthe Secretary ofTransportation

MarkD. VanLoh, A.A.E. Director ofAviation Kansas City International Airport 601 BrasiliaAvenue P.O. Box 20047 Kansas City, MO 64195-0047 DearMr. VanLoh: 

## APR 072014

Thankyou for your letter to Secretary Foxx regarding the application ofSouthwest Airlines Co. (Southwest) to provide service between Kansas City International Airport (MCI) andWashington-ReaganNational Airport (DCA) on apendente lite basis. Secretary Foxx asked that I respond to you on his behalf. t·
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As you state, FrontierAirlines (Frontier) announced 

### itwould cease service onthe DCAMCIroute 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 youmay 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 Southwesthas already begun operating the flights. This temporary grant ofauthority will minimize consu.nler inconvenience and is made withoutprejudice to the Department's decision on· longer term authority. I appreciate your interest inthis issue. As is normal practice in suchmatters, I am placing a copy ofyour letter andmy response in DocketDOT-OST-2000-7182, as a contact outside the record ofthe case. IfI may be offurther assistance, please do nothesitate to contactme.

Susan L. Kurland Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International AffairsMarch 7, 2014 AviationDepartment Kansas City ImernationalAirport 601**Brasilie~Avenue** Kansas City, Missouri64153-2054 P.O. Box 20047 Knnsas City, Missouri 64195-0047

The Honorable Anthony Foxx Secretary U.S. Department ofTransportation West Building 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590 Re: DOCKET OST-2000-7182 Dear Secretary Foxx: Director DeputyDirector Accounting Economic Development Engineering HumanRc$ourccs lntom1ationServices 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 regionaljet 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 ofservice 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.



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### I ! ' 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 ofSouthwest's application.

Mark D. VanLoh, A.A.E. Director ofAviation

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