u.s. Deportm~n'f: 

of TranSP10rtaffcm 

·orrr~ .of lhe secrstarv 

.QfTrdmpor:tot!Qn.. · 

The FlonorableiJ?iona .Ma, 

Calfft?rtiia .. f{ttu~.o;fRepre$enmtives 

Post Office Box 942·849 

Sacramento, CA 94249 

Deat'Ms~ Ma: 

"'! , ... lfiJ· j1 .i /''"\ '· • I 

1:20'o Nov. ae""'Y Awnu«~, IE' WlW\llitl!~li. ~ 2~ 

Thank you for yout l~tterto Secr~taty of Transpott~Uon Ray t~Iiood •. S,uppo~ing tb,e,application 

of Virgin Am~ca., Inc. for four beyond~perbneter slot ~xetnptions at RomUd R~a.gan 

Wtishillgton Na'tlonal Airport' (DCA). If awarded those exemptions, Virgin America would 

provide two daily round~trrp fli:ghtS fton1 DCAtp $till f'rancfsQo. Sec~tacyL~ood. has·asked' 

tfui:B te~ondto yontletter. 

Undet ·author!~ granted in the.FAA MO'd1emizati9nart4 Re!onn Act of':itQI't,.the 

U.S~ Dep.artrheilfofT'ransportation will be awar:dingto new entrant ol'litnited inc.umbent ~ers a total of eight slot exernptionsat PCA~ whlch would support .four daily round.tdps. 

We received Virgin America's. application on March 12) 2(U2. Other timely applications were 

received from Air CanatltH pl'Oposing ~n.~ rotlhdtrip tQ Van¢ouver,, ~riUsh CQlumbia,; Alaska 

Afrlmesc •. oneround;..trip to Portland, Oregont and one round-trip to S~ri Piegp; F:rQ.nlietAirli,nes~ 

one rou.Qd trip to ~ofo~dpSpiings:an<f beyond to· SnnDi~go~ Jetl3Iue Airways, 'Orietoundtrtpto 

•San Juan~·PuertoR.ieo~ anit oneoroundtripto Austfn,.Texas;.Squthwest Airlines, one.round>tripto· 

A~tjn and San Diego b~yond; and Sun Country Airlines,. one round .trip. to Las Vegas. 

As the matter is still pending, we cannot cornmenton tbe merits of the pqirits raise~tin your l~er .. However, I can assure you that a.llapplications the,Depattment received Will be gj yen :fUU 

and fwreon$i~ttdiqn and Wilt t>e evaluated against tbe sel~tion criteria sp:ecilied.inthe.:statute; 

T1Ie:Qefrattm~t's a¢tion 011 ~is matter .is being a(hninistered through a. publlc docke~ which 

·auows·a11 fntetested.pa.rti'esthe opp¢rtunityto•c9~ment~ .. F:olloWing.o'llt'normal.prac~ice, I ant 

Plileib!l:.l:l: c.opy of your letter and this response indocketnumber DOT.;..2012-0029. 

·we app:reciate·.yourinterestih this mlitter. 

Singerelyyours. 

Susan L. Kutl@d 

.A~sistant Secretary for 

Aviation tWd Illtemational Affairs 
STATE CAPITOL 

P.O. BOX 942849 

SACRAMENTO, CA 94249·0012 

(916) 319·2012 

FAX (916) 3f9·2112 

DISTRICT OFFICE 

~ss~mhlu 

~Hfnrnht ~~gislafur~ 

455 GOLDEN GATE AVENUE, #14600 

SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102 

(415) 557·2312 

FAX (415) 557·1178 

WEBSITE 

http://www.assembly.ca.gov/ma 

The Honorable Raymond H. LaHood 

Secretary 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. 

Washington, D.C. 20590 

Re: Docket No. OST ·2012-0029 

February 29, 2012 

COMMITTEES 

AGRICULTURE 

BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS 

GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION 

PUBLIC EMPLOYEES, RETIREMENT 

AND SOCIAL SECURITY 

UTILITIES AND COMMERCE 

CHAIR, SELECT COMMITTEE ON 

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 

Application of Virgin America Inc. for "Beyond-Perimeter" Slots 

Dear Secretary LaHood: 

I am writing to-express my strong support for Virgin America's proposal to provide two nonstop 

flights between San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Reagan National Airport (DCA). With 

no current service at DCA and as the only airline headquartered in California, Virgin America is 

uniquely suited to bring meaningful competition to the largest market in the nation previously without 

nonstop flight service to DCA: the San Francisco Bay Area. 

As a"re~~lt ofth~ vJ~~k by you, your department and Congress, the President recently signed 

the FAA Modernization.and Refor~:Ac;t of-20.12~ which il')clud~d aprovis.io,n.;~l,lthori~ing you to award 

new flights between DCA and domestic airports located beyond the current' 1,250 mile perimeter limit. 

Historically, the Bay Area has been .shut out from DCA nonstop service, with.all"beyond-perimeter" 

flight awards being made to non-California airports -with th~ exception of a daily flight at Los 

Angeles. Previous DCA awards have been made to smaller markets, including: Denver (four 

roundtrip frequencies) and Phoenix (three roundtrip frequencies). In terms of passenger traffic, San 

Francisco dwarfs these and all other beyond-perimeter markets. Because SFO has been the largest 

beyond-perimeter market without non~top flights to DCA, local consumers have suffered with limited 

options .:. either travel to Washington Dulles or a one-stop connecting flight when traveling to 

downtown Washington; !),C. 

Additionally, the carrier's decision to headquarter in the Bay Area has created thou.sands of 

local jobs, and the airline has grown to over 2,500 employees, with plans to add 500 new jobs on an 

annual basis over the next three .to five years. The award of two roundtrip flights to the carrier will both 

spur continued local economic growth and ensure that SFO-DCA travelers will benefit from real 

competition. Whe making this critical decision, I urge you to consider the positive impact of improving 

the connection b een Wash.ington D.C ... and Silicon. Valley's powerful innov:ati~n-based economy. • l ' ' ' ' ' 0 0 0 o 'o ' ~ 0 A ' 0 0 

.' .. ·• T. ' , , , • ~, .;. •, '~:· :•,: ·:.: •:: , • .: ; , • ".• • .•. • • ' '•'' ' : , : , •, 'I' • • , •" '' , 

have any, questions, please. do not he,sitate to corittil.cfme. or my, ~taff: • • • M • • .. ·: : :- • \ '• •• ' • ··' • • ~ ·; ~ ' • • • •• • • •• • :, • : •• :. • ! •, ~ ·: ~ I : •• •• ; ' .,·. r .. 

· ... · ... ·. . '·' " : ... ·: •. ~ . .' ·. :_1 ~ •• . . . ~. • • ';· 

Speaker pro Tempore 

Assembly District 12 

s 10-120306-004