U.S.Depal tment of 

Transportation 

Office of the Sectefary 

ofTransportation 

Dr. Terry Grimm 

President and Senior Scientist 

NIOWAVE 

1012 North Walnut Street 

Lansing, MI 48906 

Dear Dr. Grimm: 

Assistant Secretory 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE · Washington, DC 20590 

SEP 14 2015 

Thank you for your letter regarding continued service between Lansing's Capital Region 

International Airport (LAN) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). As you 

noted, Sun Country has announced that it will discontinue that service on October 1, 2015, and 

you support American Airlines' request to replace Sun Country's nonstop LAN-DCA service. 

Secretary Foxx has asked me to respond on his behalf. 

As you may be aware, the Department of Transportation (Department) along with the Federal 

Aviation Administration (FAA) enabled this service by granting Sun Country two slot exemptions 

(over and above the slot ceiling) at DCA. The exemptions were granted explicitly to Sun Country 

to provide nonstop LAN-DCA service with the proviso that they be returned to the FAA if Sun 

Country ceased operations in the LAN-DCA market. Since Sun Country announced that the 

service will be discontinued, the Department has received a proposal from American Airlines to 

provide replacement nonstop LAN-DCA service. The FAA has opened a docket for this 

proceeding (FAA-2015-3491), with public comments on the matter due by September 17,2015. 

We are currently reviewing what steps to take next. 

I have sent a similar response to each cosigner of your letter. If I can provide further information 

or assistance, please feel free to contact me. As is our normal practice, I am placing a copy of 

your letter and this reply in the docket. 

Sincerely, 

Susan L. Kurland 

Assistant Secretary for 

Aviation and International Affairs 
U.S. Department of 

Transportation 

Office of the Secretary 

of Transportation 

Mr. Mark P. Sinila 

Chief Financial Officer 

NIOWAVE 

1012 North Walnut Street 

Lansing, MI 48906 

Dear Mr. Sinila: 

Assistant Secretary 

SEP 14 2015 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

Thank you for your letter regarding continued service between Lansing's Capital Region 

International Airport (LAN) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). As you 

noted, Sun Country has announced that it will discontinue that service on October 1, 2015, and 

you support American Airlines' request to replace Sun Country's nonstop LAN-DCA service. 

Secretary Foxx has asked me to respond on his behalf. 

As you may be aware, the Department of Transportation (Department) along with the Federal 

Aviation Administration (FAA) enabled this service by granting Sun Country two slot exemptions 

(over and above the slot ceiling) at DCA. The exemptions were granted explicitly to Sun Country 

to provide nonstop LAN-DCA service with the proviso that they be returned to the FAA if Sun 

Country ceased operations in the LAN-DCA market. Since Sun Country announced that the 

service will be discontinued, the Department has received a proposal from American Airlines to 

provide replacement nonstop LAN-DCA service. The FAA has opened a docket for this 

proceeding (FAA-2015-3491), with public comments on the matter due by September 17,2015. 

We are currently reviewing what steps to take next. 

I have sent a similar response to each cosigner of your letter. Ifl can provide further information 

or assistance, please feel free to contact me. As is our normal practice, I am placing a copy of 

your letter and this reply in the docket. 

Sincerely, 

Assistant Secretary for 

Aviation and International Affairs 
U.S. Department of 

Transportation 

Office Of the Secretary 

Of Transportation 

Mr. Jerry Hollister 

Chief Operating Officer 

NIOWAVE 

1012 North Walnut Street 

Lansing, MI 48906 

Dear Mr. Hollister: 

Assistant Secretary 

SEP 14 2015 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

Thank you for your letter regarding continued service between Lansing's Capital Region 

International Airport (LAN) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). As you 

noted, Sun Country has announced that it will discontinue that service on October 1, 2015, and 

you support American Airlines' request to replace Sun Country's nonstop LAN-DCA service. 

Secretary Foxx has asked me to respond on his behalf. 

As you may be aware, the Department of Transportation (Department) along with the Federal 

Aviation Administration (FAA) enabled this service by granting Sun Country two slot exemptions 

(over and above the slot ceiling) at DCA. The exemptions were granted explicitly to Sun Country 

to provide nonstop LAN-DCA service with the proviso that they be returned to the FAA if Sun 

Country ceased operations in the LAN-DCA market. Since Sun Country announced that the 

service will be discontinued, the Department has received a proposal fror:n American Airlines to 

provide replacement nonstop LAN-DCA service. The FAA has opened a docket for this 

proceeding (FAA-2015-3491), with public comments on the matter due by September 17, 2015. 

We are currently reviewing what steps to take next 

I have sent a similar response to each cosigner of your letter. If I can provide further information 

or assistance, please feel free to contact me. As is our normal practice, I am placing a copy of 

your letter and this reply in the docket. 

Sincerely, 

Susan L. Kurland 

Assistant Secretary for 

Aviation and International Affairs 
August 13,2015 

Secretary Anthony Foxx 

U.S. Department ofTransportation 

1200 New Jersey A venue SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

NIOWAVE, INC 

l012 N01tb Walnut Street 

Lansing, Ml 48906 

Phone: (517) 999~3475 

Fax: (517) 999-3626 

www.niowaveine.com 

RE: American Airlines Slot Exemption- Docket Number FAA.-2012-0089 

We respectfully ask the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and U.S. Department of 

Transportation (DOT) to immediately authorize American Airlines' request to continue nonstop daily 

air service between Capital Region Internatiqnal Airport (LAN) and Ronald Reagan Washington 

National Airport (DCA). 

Our Lansing based company, Niowave Inc., builds superconducting accelerators for a number of 

federal agencies. Officials from our company have regularly taken the LAN-DCA Hight to meet \vith 

Department of Energy, Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security officials. We 

would continue to use this route on a regular basis should Atnerican Airlines' request be approved. In 

addition to regular Niowave passengers, numrrous US Government officials have used the LAN-DCA 

route as a convenient way to visit our site. 'These visitors include a US Senator and a US Navy 

AdmiraL Having a convenient and low cost direct night to Washington has helped our business grow, 

and a continued route will fm1her aid our expansion et1orts. 

Your at11rmative decision will help till the void created by Sun Country Airlines' decision to end its 

LAN-DCA flights on October 1, 2015. The LAN-DCA route is vital to maintaining low fares and 

convenient schedules for passengers such as Niowave staff that regularly travel to Washington and 

more than 30 other destinations in the eastern United States. Equally important, American Airlines 

also has pledged to introduce three daily flights in 2016 from Lansing to Chicago O'Hare International 

Airport {ORD), providing mid-Michigan travelers with direct connections to 115 destinations. 

Again, we urge immediate approval by the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation 

Administration of American Airlines' application to begin providing service from Lansing to 

Washington, D.C., on November 2015. 

Thank you for considering our request. 

~~ D~rryGrimm 

President & Senior Scientist 

Mark Sinila 

Chief Financial Ofticer 

2010 Department of Page 1 of 1 

510-150821-010