U.S. Department ofTransportation Office ofthe Secretary ofTransportation 

### Mr. L.M. Smith Assistant Secretary 

### April 19, 2012

Chairman, Board ofPort Commissioners Port ofSan Diego P.O. Box 120488 San Diego, CA 92112-0488 DearMr. Smith: 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590



### Thankyou for your letterto Secretary ofTransportation Ray LaHood, supporting the application ofAlaskaAirlines, Inc., for two beyond-perimeter slot exemptions at Ronald Reagan WashingtonNational Airport (DCA) to serve San Diego International Airport with one round trip perday'from DCA. Secretary LaHood asked that I respond to your letter. Under authority granted inthe FAAModernization and Reform Act of2012, the U.S. Department ofTransportationwill be awarding to new entrant orlimitedincumbent carriers a total ofeight slotexemptions at DCA, which would support four daily round trips. We received Alaska's application, which also proposes one daily round trip to Portland, Oregon, onMarch 12. Othertimely applications were received from Air Canada, proposing one round trip to Vancouver, British Columbia; FrontierAirlines, one round trip to Colorado Springs and beyondto San Diego; JetBlue Airlines; one round trip to SanJuan, Puerto Rico, and one round trip to Austin, Texas; SouthwestAirlines, one round trip to Austin and SanDiego beyond; Sun CountryAirlines, one round trip to Las Vegas; and Virgin America, Inc., two round trips to San Francisco. Asthe matter is still pending, I cannot comment onthe merits ofthe points raised inyour letter. However, I can assure youthat all applications the Departmentreceived will be given full and fair consideration and will be evaluated against the selection criteria specified inthe statute. The Department's action onthis matter is being administered through a public docket, which allows all interestedparties the opportunityto comment. Following ournormal practice, I am placing a copy ofyour letter and this response in docket number DOT-2012-0029. I appreciate your interest inthis matter.

# Sin"/~01' Susan L. Kurland Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs

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Marr::h 1 f:l, 20 ·12

The Honorable Ray LaHood U.S. Department of Transportation '1200 New Jersey Ave, SE Washington, DC 20690 Re: Alaska Airlines' Application t'or SAN-DCA. Docl<et No. DOT-OST-2012-0029 Dear Secretary LaHood: The Port of San Diego fully supports the application ol' AlasI<a Airlines for air service between San Diego and Washington Rea9an National Airport {DCA). San Diego is the largest region without announcEJd service to DCA. Additionally, due to the profound community of inten;!st between San Diego and the nation's capital, the region generates the largest passenger market dernancl without nonstop servi1;e to the convenk:ml and close-in airport seNing our nation's C<."lpital. San Diego's sheer market size to Washington couplecJ with the tact that San Diego·- Dulles average airfares are the highest of west coast cities should qualify it 'for a pair ofthe limited slots available. The hiHh airfare is (:?xacerbated when f::1ctoring in taxi tares from Dulles to Washington's city center that averag<1 about $60 each way. This means travelers between Washington's city center and S"'m Diegel via DuHes 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, telecornrnunications, and national defenst-; that need quick and convenient access to Reagan National Airport. The Port of San Diego l1;;1s an immediate need tor additional nonstop air service to our nation's capital. Alaska Airlines service would add a needed nonstop option to a primary gateway to Washington, 

### DC. The Port of San Diego joins with the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, tile San Diego Regional Economic

-- Development Corporation, the World Trade Center San Diego, and the San Diego Regional Chamber of Cornrnerce in suppmt of Alaska Airlines' application for San Diego- Washington Heagan National slots. We ttlanf< 

### tht? Oepartrnent of Transportation for the opportunity 

### tc1 comment on the above referenced docket and we hope to hear

## or a favorable review of Alaska Airlines' San DiegoDCA proposal soon. Sincerely,**-~·~··,.._,...,,~**.....---......___.......**._.~**.............__ ..•.Wilt**-~**.. M. Smitll Chairrnan Board of Pori**Commh:>sion~':r::;**



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