### u.s.Departmentof Transportation Office oftheSecretary ofTransportation .J.SSistant Secretary



## OCT

## 252010

Mr. Richard S. Waid CEO Mark P. Riley Luxury International 242 S. Washington Boulevard, #368 Sarasota, FL 34236 DearMr. Waid: 1 :'00 ,'Jew Jersey Ave S E ,Vash,r.gl0n. CC 20590

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# -- .'

Thankyou for your letter ofOctober6 to Secretary LaHood supportingAirTranAirways, Inc. (AirTran) to serve Sarasota, Florida, in the ongoing slot-exemption proceeding at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). The Secretaryhas asked that I respond to your letterdirectly. As you know, the U.S. Department ofTransportation commenced a proceedingon August 30 to reallocate two DCA slot exemptions that are currentlybeing 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 orsmallerairport within the 1,2S0-mileperimeterofDCA. Wehave received a total offive proposals, briefly outlined below:
• Sun Countryto serve Lansing, Michigan, with 129- or 162-seat aircraft; • Republic Airline, Inc., branded as FrontierAirlines, to continue to serve Kansas City, Missouri, with 99-seat regionaljet aircraft; • Southwest Airlines Co., to serve Kansas City utilizing 137-seat aircraft; • US Airways, Inc., to servePensacola, Florida. utilizing 76- or 86-seat regionaljet aircraft, depending on the season; and • Air Tran Airways, Inc., to serve eitherFort 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, Iam sure you understand that Icannot comment on the merits ofthe proposals. Iassure you, however, that the Department will fully consider all ofthe proposals, and make its award based on the selection criteriadetailed in the governing statutes.Mr. Richard S. Waid Page 2
As is ournormal practice, I am placing a copyofyour letter and my response in Docket DOT-OST-2000-7182 as a contact outside the record ofthis proceeding. I appreciate your interest in obtaining access to the Nation's capital. IfIcan provide further information or assistance, please feel free to call me.

Assistant Secretaryfor Aviation and International AffairsS10-10 I() 19-())-+

# U~~=U.GC.~=Dm 

# MARK P.RILEY

I LUXURY INTERNATIONAL, INC.

October 6. 2010
The Honorable Ray H. LaHood Secretary ofTransportation U.S. Deportment ofTransportation 1200 NewJersey Avenue. S.E
. Washington, DC 20590 RE: Docket OST-2000-7182 DearSecretary LaHood: 

### RealEstate &

### Development

We are writing to express our support for the application of AirTran Airways Inc. for the two available Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) within-perimeter slots being allocated by the Department in Docket OST-2000-7182 to provide nonstop service from Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) to DCA. The Sarasota Bradenton area has only one daily nonstop on a .egional jet to Washington. DC, even though it is the sixth largest destination market from this area. With over 750.000 residents and our prime location as a leisure destination for tourists. SRQ can certainly support additional service and it would be a great help to the tourism industry in this region. which suffered a significant impact from the BP oil spill. This new service would also mitigate the negative economic impact the recession has had on the community and the airport. While AirTran also offers an alternative to award the route to Southwest Florida International (RSW). we ask that the slot be awarded to Airtran conditioned on the slot be utilized for SRQ. In addition to enhancing competition and lowering fares at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport. the proposed service would increase connectivity to destinations in the Northeast and Midwest, critical markets for our region. Thankypu for your consideration. Sinc

Mark P. Riley Luxury International

www.markpri1ey.com