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# r~ 'i ' REGIONALOFFICEo j 

# Y& SUSTAINABLE TOURISM 

# LJ~KE P
. AC i D 

# (VB October 28, 2013 Bob Bevilacqua, Town Supe rvisor Town of Harrietstown 39 Ma i n St reet Saranac Lake , NY 12983 Dear Supervisor Bevi l acqua, I am writ i ng in strong support of maintaining essential air service from the Ad i rondack Reg i onal A i rport to Boston while request ing an expans i on of essen t ial air servi ce to the New York Metropolitan area. As president of the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST), I know that the New York metropolitan area represents a major feeder market for our tourism dependent reg i on . Opening another transportation link will not only provide increased , convenient a i r access to the Adirondacks from this important population base, it w i ll also provide another marketing outlet, and provide a business travel component to support our regional businesses. S i nce 2010 our incumbent a i rline, Cape Air, has been operat i ng increased fl i ghts in summer on their Boston - Saranac Lake route. We request t h at this summer-seasonal increase in frequency be codified in the RFP's frequency specification
. Frequency and schedule convenience is key to the success of our airport and local economy. At the same t i me, we are most eager to connect our airport with the New York metropo li tan area, in addition to the thriving hub connectivity we have at Boston. We do not want to divert to New York one of our just three daily authorized fre q uenc i es (leaving only two flights to the hub at Boston) as that would undermine the cri tical mass of frequencies necessary for a vibrant connect i on with the national air transportation system . An RFP soliciting four daily 

### flights in summer would allow an airline like Cape Air to retain critical mass of frequency to the Boston hub (at least 3 dai l y n on-stop fl i ghts) and using a 4th EAS frequency add incrementa l service to the New York City market, which is our primary source market for vis i tors. We note with adm i rat i on th e success of Cape Air' s Lebanon - New York City service in the EAS program, and understand that Cape Air i s eager to 

### add flights between Saranac Lake and New York City under the auspices of the EAS program.

2608 MAIN STREET. LAKE PLACID , NY 129~6 518
-523-2'i'i5 WWW. lAKEPLACID . COMROOST i s the acc redited desti n at ion market i ng o rga n ization respons i b l e for p romot i ng

t h e S a ra n ac Lake, La ke P l ac i d , La ke C h am pl a i n , Sc h roo n La ke , a nd W hiteface reg i o ns of t he Adi ro n dacks
. As a p rim a ril y drive-to d esti nat i o n, i nc re ased vi s i to r and bus i ness air access to our Ad i rondack region has t h e potentia l to drive sign ifi can t econo m ic impact fo r our tou ri sm- d ependen t co m mun i t ies. On behalf of ROOST , I w rite to request that DOT ca reful l y co n side r the increased ri ders hi p at o ur airport ove r t h e last s i x years a n d request DOT exp l i c i tl y so li c i t in t he fo rthcom in g E AS RFP a s u m m e r- seaso n in c rease in ca pac ity in acco rd with our s u m mer i nf l ux of passengers. Th an k you for your cons i de ratio n. S i ncerely ,

J a m es B
. McKe nn a , pres i dent/CEO

2608 I v I A I N ST R E E T
. LA K E P LAC I D , N Y 1 29 < ; 6 51 8-523-2 'i ' i 5 WWW
. LA K E P LAC I D
. (OM