u.s. Department 

of Transportation 

Office of the Secretary 

of Transportation 

SEP 11 2014 

Mr. Keith D. Goodwin 

President and CEO 

East Tennessee Children's Hospital 

2018 Clinch A venue 

Knoxville, TN 37916 

Dear Mr. Goodwin: 

Assistant Secret.ary .; i'·-· 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

• . • Washington, DC 20590 

Thank you for your letter, addressed to Secretary Foxx, supporting the proposal submitted by the 

Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority for a grant under the U.S. Department of 

Transportation's Small Community Air Service Development Progran1. Secretary Foxx asked 

that l respond to you on his behalf. 

The Small Community Air Service Development Program was established to help smaller 

communities address air service deficiencies, particularly issues related to high airfares and 

insufficient service. Under the statute, the Department may make a maximum of 40 grant 

awards each year, although no more than four may be to communities in the same State. To 

provide commtmities with latitude in developing solutions to their air service deficiencies, the 

statute provides f1exibility in the types of air service development projects that can be funded. 

On June 30, the Department issued an order setting a deadline of July 31 for applications. As 

these grant requests are pending before the Department, I carmot comment on the merits of any 

particular proposal. I assure you, however, that the Department will give full and fair 

consideration to all proposals that have been properly filed. 

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

DOT -OST -2014-0113 as a contact outside the record of this matter. I appreciate your interest in 

this program. 

Susan L. Kurland 

Assistant Secretary for 

Aviation and International Affairs 
August 20, 2014 

The Honorable Anthony Foxx 

Secretary 

United States Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

RE: Docket DOT-OST-2014-0113 

Dear Secretary Foxx: 

I am writing you to encourage the Department's approval of the application of the Metropolitan 

Knoxville Airport Authority and the Competitive Airfare Partnership under the 2014 Small 

Community Air Service Development Grant program. 

Average airfares at Knoxville have historically been well-above the national average. Our high 

airline fares have been a burden on local business, have stymied economic development, and 

have forced both local and visiting leisure travelers to either drive or not travel at all. Members 

of our management team and medical staff routinely plan trips around driving to Nashville, 

Charlotte, North Carolina or even Atlanta to find reduced fares and preferred flight times. These 

kinds of decisions increase travel time, decrease professional time on the job and increase 

personal risk associated with extended driving associated with using these remote airports. 

Knoxville's grant application seeks to address this issue by increasing airline competition at 

McGhee Tyson Airport. Through increased price competition we will be able to increase use of 

the airport which in turn will create the opportunity for increased flight flexibility which then in 

turn results in increased use. If the grant application is approved, Knoxville will be able to 

recruit and provide startup marketing support for new low-fare airline service at our airport. The 

impact of the additional low-fare flights would be dramatic and immediate. 

I hope that the Department will help the East Tennessee region reduce the cost of air travel for 

business, government, and leisure travelers by approving Knoxville's Small Community Air 

Service Development Grant application. It will be great for East Tennessee Children's Hospital. 

Keith D. Goodwin - President and CEO 

KDG/slm 

510-140902..020