U.S.Departmentof Transportation Office ofthe Secretary ofTransportation

Mr. Timothy E. Kelley President/CEO IVEDC 1405 North Imperial Avenue, Suite 1 El Centro, CA 92243

Dear Mr. Kelley: Assistant Secretary April 12, 2012

Thank you for your letter to Secretary ofTransportation Ray LaHood, supporting the application ofAlaskaAirlines, Inc., for two beyond-perimeter slot exemptions at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) to serve San Diego International Airport with one round trip per day from DCA. Secretary LaHood asked that I respond to your letter. Under authority granted inthe FAA Modernization and Reform Actof2012, the U.S. Department ofTransportation will be awarding to new entrant orlimited incumbent 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, on March 12. Othertimely applications were received from Air Canada, proposing one round trip to Vancouver, British Columbia; FrontierAirlines, one round trip to Colorado Springs and beyond to San Diego; JetBlue Airlines, one round trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and one round trip to Austin, Texas; SouthwestAirlines, one round trip to Austin and San Diego beyond; Sun Country Airlines, one round trip to Las Vegas; and Virgin America, Inc., two round trips to San Francisco. As the matter is still pending, I cannot comment on the merits ofthe points raised in your letter. However, I can assure you that all applications the Departmentreceived will be given full and fair consideration and will be evaluated against the selection criteria specified in the statute.Page 2, Kelley
The Department's action onthis matter is being administered through a public docket, which allows all interested parties the opportunity to comment. Following our normal practice, I am placing a copy ofyour letter and this response in docket numberDOT-2012-0029. I appreciate your interest in this matter. Sincerely yours,

Susan L. Kurland Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International AffairsMarch 21, 2012 The Honorable Ray LaHood U.S. Department ofTransportation 1200 NewJerseyAve, SE Washington, DC 20590 Re: Alaska Airlines' application for SAN-DCA, DocketNo. DOT-OST-2012-0029. DearSecretary LaHood: IMPERIAl.. VAI..LEY ECONOMIC OEVEI..Of>MENT CORPORATION

Imperial Valley Economic Development Corporation (IVEDC) fullysupports the application ofAlaska Airlines for airservice between San Diego and Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA). San Diego is the largest region without announced service to DCA. Additionally, due to the profound community of interest between San Diego and the nation's capital, the region generates the largest passenger market demand without nonstop service to the convenient and close-in airport serving our nation's capital. San Diego's sheer market size to Washington coupled with the factthat San Diego
- Dulles average airfares are the highestofwest coastcities should qualify itfor apairofthe limited slots available. The high airfare is exacerbated when factoring in taxi fares from Dulles to Washington's city centerthat average about $60 each way. This means travelers between Washington's city centerand San Diego via Dulles can payon average close to $400 one-way. Located next doorto San Diego County, Imperial County residents are frequent visitors to the San Diego region, / using its airportforthe majority oftheirtravels. IVEDC works hand in hand with the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation in global marketing efforts forthe region, called the Cali-Baja Mega Region. Bi-national business efforts are dealtwith on adaily basis, calling forflights to our nation's capital for meetings with ourfederal leadership and industry programs which are headquartered in Washington, D.C. There are also countless other San Diego-based and Washington-based businesses that are engaged in health science, telecommunications, and national defense that need quick and convenient access to Reagan National Airport. IVEDC has an immediate need for additional nonstop airservice to our nation's capital. Alaska Airlines service would add aneeded nonstop option to aprimarygatewayto Washington, DC. IVEDCjoins with the San Diego County Regional AirportAuthority, the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, the World Trade Center San Diego, and the San Diego Regional ChamberofCommerce in supportofAlaska Airlines' application for San Diego
- Washington Reagan National slots. We thank the Department ofTransportation forthe opportunityto comment on the above referenced docket and we hope to hearof afavorable review ofAlaska Airlines' San Diego
- DCA proposal soon. Sincerely,

## ~~ Timothy E. Kelley President/ CEO

1405 N. Imperial Avenue, Suite 1, El Centro, CA 92243 Phone 760-353-8332 Fax 760-353-9149 www.ivedc.com