Wisconsin Technology Council

455 Science Dr # 240 | Madison, WI 53711 | ph: 608.442.7557 | fx: 608.231.6877 | www.wisconsintechnologycouncil.com

January 16, 2014

The Honorable Anthony Foxx The Honorable Michael P. Huerta

Secretary Administrator

U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 800 Independence Avenue, SW

Washington, D.C. 20590 Washington, DC 20591

Dear Secretary Foxx and Administrator Huerta:

On behalf of the Wisconsin Technology Council, which is the independent, non-profit 

science and technology advisory group to the state of Wisconsin and its tech community, 

I write to urge you to prevent the discontinuation of non-stop air service from Dane 

County Regional Airport (MSN) in Madison, Wis., to Washington, D.C. (DCA).

As you know, Republic Airways recently divested Frontier Airlines, which resulted in the 

termination of a flight agreement, therefore ending non-stop service from Madison to 

Washington, D.C. (DCA) in the near future.

We strongly support the request of Republic Airlines to allow Shuttle America to 

continue direct flights to DCA under the Delta Connection brand – utilizing the available 

Republic Airways slots.

The Dane County Regional Airport serves the city of Madison, which is the capital of 

Wisconsin, as well as a much larger region that extends into much of Wisconsin and 

northern Illinois. The retention of DCA service to Washington’s preferred airport is vital 

to our community, our region, and the travelers who make the MSN-DCA run one of the 

busiest and successful at the airport.

If Shuttle America is not able to continue the Madison-DCA flights, direct access to this 

critical “capital-to-capital” service will be lost and citizens and businesses will feel the 

loss. Such a break in service would not be in the public interest. Here are some reasons 

why we believe this service is vital to Wisconsin’s technology community:

 The D.C. area is home to federal agencies (such as the Food and Drug 

Administration) that regulate the life sciences sector and which provide important 

support for academic researchers. That also includes the National Institutes of 

Health, the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes for Standards and 

Technology, the Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. 

Department of Energy, among many more.
Wisconsin Technology Council

455 Science Dr # 240 | Madison, WI 53711 | ph: 608.442.7557 | fx: 608.231.6877 | www.wisconsintechnologycouncil.com

 The UW-Madison has ranked among the nation’s top five research and 

development universities for more than 20 years in a row. This year, the UWMadison will spend more than $.11 billion on R&D projects, about two-thirds of 

which stems from federal grants. Air connections for UW-Madison faculty and 

researchers – who also support private companies in the region – are vital.

 The UW-Madison ranks third nationally among academic institutions in total 

patents issued in the latest reporting year. That means there is significant air 

traffic related to the U.S. Patent and Trade Office in the Washington area.

 The world’s largest electronic health records company, Epic Systems, is located 

in the Madison area. It has about 6,800 employees today and continues to grow. A 

significant portion of that workforce is “in the air” constantly to maintain and 

install software at major medical facilities and clinics. A significant portion of 

that work is located in the D.C. area.

 While known as the nation’s government center, the Washington area, including 

northern Virginia and suburban Maryland, is home to a number of tech companies 

in sectors such as information technology, pharmaceuticals and more. Those are 

precisely the kind of partners who work with tech-based companies in the 

Madison area, of which there are more than 600, according to our latest figures.

 Those local companies work in spaces such as biotechnology, bio-agriculture, 

medical and bio-medical research, micro-electronics, contract R&D, software and 

Internet services. Collectively, they represent $6.6 billion in annual sales, revenue 

and government awards or contracts.

 About 10 percent of our region’s total employment is in the high-tech area, a 

significant share of the total private sector employment.

On behalf of Wisconsin’s technology community, I strongly urge the Department to 

move swiftly to grant the request of Republic Airlines to use available DCA slots for 

Shuttle America service to DCA to prevent a temporary disruption to this important daily 

service. It is our understanding the secretary alone has the discretion to grant the relief 

sought by Republic and to determine what circumstances qualify as “exceptional” under 

49 U.S.C. § 41714(d). It would seem there is no more exceptional circumstance or 

exceptional need than to allow Republic to continue a successful and established nonstop 

service linking Madison and DCA.

If you have questions or need more information, please contact me.

Sincerely,

Thomas W. Still, president