U.S.Departmentof Transportation Offlc•ofthe Secretary ofTransportation



### Mr. Jim Unger 

### Vice President Hornblower Cruises &Events 2825 Fifth Avenue San DiegQ, CA 92103

Dear Mr. Unger: April 11, 2012



### Thank yQUfor your letterto Secretary ofTransportation Ray LaHood, supporting the application 

### ofAlaskaAirlines, Inc., for two**beyond~perimeter** 

### slot eKemptions at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) to serve San Diego International Airport with one round trip per

### day from DCA. Secretary LaHood asked that 

### I respond to yQur letter. Under authority granted in the 

### f'AA Modernization and Reform Act of20 12, the 

### U.S. Department ofTransportationwillbe awarding to newentri:Ult or limited incumbent carriers atotal ofeight slot eKemptions at DCA, which would support four daily round trips. We received Alaska's application. which also proposes one daily round trip to Portland. Oregon,

.on March**12~** 

### Other timely applications were received from Air Canada1 

### proposing one round

trip to Vancouver, .British**Columbia~** 

### Frontier Airlines, one ro.und trip to Colorado Spri'ngs and beyond to San Diego; JetBlue AirJines. one round trip to San

## Juan. Puerto Rico, and one round trip to Austin, Texas; Southwe.st Airlines, one round trip to 

### Austin and San 

### Diego beyond; Sun Country Airlines, one round trip to Las Vegas; and Virgin**America~** 

### Inc., two round trips 

### to Sl:lll 

### Francisco. As the matteris still pending, Icannot comment on the merits ofthe points raised in your letter. However, J 

### can assure you that all applications the Department received will be given full and fair considerationand will be evaluated against the selection criteria specified in the statute.

### Page 2, Unger
The Department's action on this matter is being administered through a public docket. which allows aU interested the opportunity to comment. Following our normal practice, I 

### am placing a

### copy ofyour letter and this response in docket number DOT"20 12-0029. 

### Iappreciate yourinterest in 

### this matter.

# s~~:"~,~
Susan t, 

### Kurland Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs

# f1 lfORNBLOWElt CRUISF.S & EVENTS

2825 FIFTH AVENUE, SAN DIEGO, CA 92103 TEL: 619·688-8700 FAX:619-686-8733 hornblower.eom

March 16,2012 The Honorable Ray LaHood U.S. Department ofTransportation 1200 NewJersey Ave, SE Washington, DC 20590 Re: Alaska Airlines' application for**SAN~DCA,** Docket No. DOT-OST-2012-0029. Dear Secretary LaHood: HornblowerCruises & Events fully supports the application ofAlaska Airlines forair service between San Diego and Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA). San Diego is the largest region wnhout announced service to DCA. Additionally, due to the profound community of Interest between San Diego and the nation's capital, the region generates the largest passenger market demand without nonstop service to the convenient and close-In airport serving our nation's capital. San Diego's sheer market size to Washington coupled with the fact that San Diego- Dulles average airfares are the highest ofwest coast cities should qualify itfor apairofthe limited slots available. The high airfare is exacerbated when factoring in taxi fares from Dulles to Washington's citycenter that average about $60 each way. This means travelers between Washington's city centerand San Diego via Dulles can pay on average close to $400 one-way. There are also countless other San Diego-based and Washington-based businesses that are engaged in health science, telecommunications, and national defense that need quick and convenient access 

### to Reagan National Airport. <ORGANIZATION NAME> has an immediate need for additional nonstop air service to our nation's capital. Alaska Airlines service would add aneeded nonstop option 

### to aprimary gatewayto Washington, DC. <ORGANIZATION NAME>joins with the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, the Wortd Trade Center San Diego, and the San Diego Regional Chamberof Commerce in support of Alaska Airtines' application for San Diego

- Washington Reagan National slots. We thank the Department ofTransportation for the opportunity

### to comment 

### on the above referenced docket

n ope to hearof afavorable review of Alaska Airlines' San Diego- DCA proposal soon.

# ·i~-- n er**\m>~:r-t!ti,esident** lower Cruises & Events

L REV • LONG BEACH • NEWPORT BEACH • SAN FRANCISCO " BERKELEY ,. OLD SACRAMENTO