fa5 • •PORWiON 

^ ^ ^ . ,,..- pn-:n,vr,.-y . •? 

ULS. Departmen t o f Assistant Secretary - ' - ' -' ' "' '''^'' 'H200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Trtinsportatlo n Washington, DC 20590 

Office Of the Secretary ' • 'Vl'2b P 1" U \ 

of Transportation 

OCT 2 5 2010 

Mr. David B. Brower 

Assistant Vice President, 

CFO and Controller 

Michigan State University 

305 Administration Building 

East Lansing, MI 48824 

Dear Mr. Brower: 

Thank you for your letter of October 7 to Secretary LaHood supporting Sun Country 

Airlines to serve Lansing, Michigan, in the ongoing slot-exemption proceeding at Ronald 

Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). The Secretary has asked that I respond to 

your letter directly. 

As you know, the U.S. Department of Transportation commenced a proceeding on 

August 30 to reallocate two DCA slot exemptions that are currently being used by 

Republic Airline, Inc. (Republic). Republic has been using these two slot exemptions for 

DCA - Kansas City service. These slot exemptions may be used to serve any medium 

hub or smaller airport within the 1,250-mile perimeter of DCA. 

We have received a total of five proposals, briefly outlined below: 

• Sun Country to serve Lansing with 129- or 162-seat aircraft; 

• Republic Airline, Inc., branded as Frontier Airlines, to continue to serve Kansas 

City, Missouri, with 99-seat regional jet aircraft; 

• Southwest Airlines Co., to serve Kansas City utilizing 137-seat aircraft; 

• US Airways, Inc., to serve Pensacola, Florida, utilizing 76- or 86-seat regional jet 

aircraft, depending on the season; and 

• Air Tran Airways, Inc., to serve either Fort Myers or Sarasota, Florida, utilizing 

either 117- or 137-seat aircraft. 

As the slot exemption proceeding is competitive and is currently under review by the 

Department, I am sure you understand that I cannot comment on the merits of the 

proposals. I assure you, however, that the Department will fully consider all of the 

proposals, and make its award based on the selection criteria detailed in the governing 

statutes. 
Mr. David B. Brower 

Page 2 

As is our normal practice, I am placing a copy of your letter and my response in Docket 

DOT-OST-2000-7182 as a contact outside the record of this proceeding. I appreciate 

your interest in obtaining access to the Nation's capital. If I can provide further 

information or assistance, please feel free to call me. 

f\ /ySusan L. Kurland 

/ / Assistant Secretary for 

Aviation and International Affairs 
S10-101019-013 

MICHIGAN STATE 

UNIVERSIT Y 

October?, 2010 

OFFICE OF THE 

CONTROLLER 

Michigan State University 

305 Administration Building 

Eatt Lansing, Ml 

48824-1046 

517/355-5020 

FAX: 517/432-5269 

http://ctlr.msu.edu/ 

The Honorable Raymond L. LaHood 

Secretary of Transportation 

United States Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

Ref: Sun Country Airlines Application - #DOT-OST-2000-7182 

Dear Secretary LaHood: 

The major goal of the Capital Region International Airport and the Mid Michigan 

Business Travel Coalition is to provide air service from the Lansing area to top 

destinations. Prior to 2005 and after Independence Air left the mid-Michigan area, we 

recognized Washington, DC as the top destination for mid-Michigan businesses and 

have diligently worked to bring in air service to support these businesses and state 

government. Michigan State University (MSU) flies approximately 1600 flights per year 

between Lansing and Washington, DC. 

As the individual responsible for overseeing business operations, including travel 

support for MSU, I am well aware of the University's need for this service and the degree 

to which MSU could support such service. MSU has a governmental affairs office in 

Washington, DC which draws out staff from our East Lansing campus to Capitol Hill. 

MSU has strong ties to the federal govemment and its agencies in Washington, as 

Michigan State has a major role in research supported by the federal government. For 

example, in the fiscal year 2009 - 2010, MSU worked with 16 federal agencies on 2200 

federal projects for a total of $292 million. 

In addition, Michigan State University earned the privilege of building the Facility for 

Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) on its campus. Funded by the Department of Energy Office 

of Science, Office of f^udear Physics, this state of the art endeavor is drawing scientists 

from across the worid and support and interest from Washington, DC. FRIB will cost 

approximately $600 million to establish and will take several years to design and build. 

Michigan State University's core mission is to advance knowledge and transform lives 

through the provision of an outstanding education to its students, conducting research 

benefiting the world, and advancing outreach, engagement, and economic development 

activities that are research-driven, and lead to a better quality of life for individuals and 

communities around the globe. A major contributing factor to the accomplishment of this 

mission is our ability to access and wori< with our country's leaders and the federal 

agencies supporting the framework of our country. 

Michigan State University is one of the top 10 research institutions in the United States. 

Sun Country's air service from Lansing to Washington, DC will not only support our 

MSU is »n «fflmi«tfv«-«ctiion, 

«qu*l^ppottunity tmploytr. 
The Honorable Raymond L. LaHood 

October?, 2010 

Page 2 

research efforts, but it will also boost Michigan State University's endeavors to do so in 

an efficient and effective manner. Further, MSU is committed to the economic 

development of the region and the state of Michigan. Sun Country's service will 

contribute to this effort by affording jobs in the greater Lansing area in addition to 

providing non-stop service to our nation's capital. 

Thank you for your consideration of Sun Country's proposal. Mtohigan State University 

is hopeful that you will endorse their non-stop service t)etween Michigan's capital city 

and our nation's capital. 

Sincerely, 

David B. Brower 

Ast Vice President, CFO 

and Controller 

Chairman, Mid Michigan Business Travel Coalition 

c: Lou Anna K Simon, President 

Steven Webster, Vice President for Governmental Affairs