· U~$.~t:tepartl'jle:i:lt 

at ,.,unsf>al1atton 

Offh:::e of the Se:Otamry ot tr~sp~ooflon · 

Mt. 'Gary V/. Re~A(;)lds 

Perkins&Co 

1211 SW Fifth Avenue, s,..ne tOOQ 

Portland,.QR 97204-3110 

Deat Mr. R:eyn0:l(Js~ 

April llll 2012 

!0: 03 

Thank you. for your letter to Se~retatY ofTransportation Ray.JJaHO'od, .. supporting tbe·£lPPiiea~i~' 

ofAlaska t\id1fies, lnc. for two beyond.-perimeter slot exemptions>at ROnald Reagan Washingttl:n 

Natipnal.Airport (DCA). Alaska's appli~ation proposes to serve Portland International Airport 

With ~Dneround tdtlper day from DCA, ·Secretary JJaHood has asked me m respond{(:) your 

letter. 

Un.r ~tOothy grl\Ulte(J in th¢ FAA M6derriizatlon and Reform .Act of20l2, the . . u.s~ ~Partrneilt ,of Transpottation will·. be awarding to new entrant or limited incumbent 

camers.a total ofelght slpt.exemptions at DCAj· which would support tour daily round trips. 

We. re.ceived Alaska's appHcation, wl1ici1 also· proposes • one daily rountl trip to Sliri Dieg.<l, on 

March .12. .Other. ~rnelY appll(:atiQns'were received ftomAir Canada, proposing <>ne r<>und trip 

tQ.Vau(louver, Britisl;t Columbia;. Frontier Airlines, one round trip, to Color~do • Springs and 

bey<:md,toSan DiegtJ; JetBl:ue Airlin~s,, one round trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico; and one round 

trip to Austin. Texas; Southwest Airlines~,oneround trip to Austin and San Diego beyom:l; Sun 

Country Airlines, one round trip to JJas Vegas~ and Virgin America, Inc.) two round trips to san 

Francisco. 

As them'atter is still pending, I cannotcomment9n the,merits pfthe points raised in your letter. 

However, l(:an,ass.\lre you t11atall applications tbe Departmenrreceived will be gi.verdUil,and 

fair .odn'sideration :and. will be evaluated a~ainst the selection. criteria specified in. the statut.e, 
the Q~panment'$ action Qn this ma;tter is b~ing administered throJJgh a public dociket, which 

*llows allintereste:d,parties the oppprtUhity to comment. FoUo\Wingow rt'Ormal practiC'e,,I ·am 

placing acep)Y of your letter and this responsein docket number DOT.-2012~0029 . 

. Susan L. Kurland 

Assistant Secretar:Y:for 

Avl~tiop andlntet;n:atiqnal Aff~rs 
· / .. 0 PERKINS d:~ CO 

March 14,2012 

The Honorable Ray LaHood 

U.S. Department ofTransportation 

1200 New Jersey Ave, SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

1211 SW Fifth Avenue, Suite 1000 

Portland, Oregon 97204-3710 

Re: Alaska Airlines' application for POX-DCA; Docket No. DOT-OST-2012-0029. 

Dear Secretary LaHood: 

Telephone: 503.221.0336 

Fax: 503.294.4378 

This letter is in support of the application of Alaska Airlines to provide one daily roundtrip flight between 

Reagan National Airport (DCA) and Portland lntemational Airpot·t (POX). 

We are told that the Pot1land-Vancouver region is the second largest market to Washington DC, in terms 

of passengers per day, without nonstop service to DCA. It is the ideal candidate for such service. 

Nonstop service from Oregon/southwest Washington is limited to just a single daily flight between POX 

and Washington Dulles (lAD). With nonstop service from POX to DCA, Oregon/southwest Washington 

residents will benefit from enhanced competition and no longer be forced to use less convenient and more 

time-consuming service to reach our nation's capital. 

Alaska Airlines and its regional sister carrier, Horizon Air, have a large hub presence at POX, operating 

an annual average of more than 640 flights per week to 33 destinations. As a result, Alaska's nonstop 

flight would also improve service levels to Washington, DC for the Oregon cities of Eugene, Medford and 

Redmond, in addition to the greater Portland-Vancouver region. Importantly, Alaska has a strong 

customer service focus, reliable operational performance and financial strength. In sum, we are fortunate 

to have regular access to the best performing airline in the country. These qualities make Alaska the ideal 

carrier to provide Oregon/southwest Washington t·esidents with their first nonstop service to DCA. 

I respectfully urge you to grant Alaska Airlines' application to provide POX-DCA service. Thank you for 

your consideration. 

Very truly yours, 

PERKINS & COMPANY, P.C. 

Gary W. Reynolds 

S10-120J15-022