## .. THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20590



### The Honorable Lloyd Doggett U.S. House ofRepresentatives Washington, DC 20515 DearCongressman Doggett: April19., 2012 i7 ' v**u~** I



### Thankyou for your letter supporting the application ofSouthwest Airlines for two beyondperimeterslot exemptions at Ronald Reagan WashingtonNational Airport (DCA). Southwest's application proposes to serve Austin-Bergstrom International Airport with one round trip perday from DCA. Uuder authority granted in the FAA Modernization**~,md** 

### Reform Act**of2012~** 

### the U.S. Department ofTransportation will be awarding to new entrant or limitedincurnbellt carriers a total ofeight slotexemptions at DCA. which would support four daily roundtrips. We received Southwest's application on March 12. Othertimely applications were received from Air Canada, proposing one round trip to Vancouver, British Columbia; AlaskaAirlines, one round trip to Portland, Oregon, and one round trip to San Diego; Frontier**Airlines~** 

### one round trip to Colorado Springs and beyond to San Diego; JetBiue Airlines, one round trip to SanJuan, 

### .Puerto**Rico~** 

### and one round trip to Austin, Texas.; Sun Country Airlines, one round trip to Las Vegas; and Virgin America, Inc., two round trips to San Francisco. As the matteris .still pending, Icannotcommenton the merits ofthepoints raised in your letter. However. Ican assure you that all applications the Department received will be given full and fair consideration and will be evaluated againstthe selection criteriaspecified in the statute. The Department's action on this matter is being administered through a public docket, which allows aU interested parties the opportuni omrnent. Following ourn.ommJ practice, I am placing a copy ofyour letter and this in docket numberDOT-201 29."" ,LLOYD DOGGETT**2~fH** DISTRICT, TEXA$
COMMITIEE ON WAYS AND MEANS SUBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTH SUBCOMMITTEE ON SELECT REVENUE MEASURES SUBCOMMITTEE ON

SOCIAL SECURITY COMMITTEE ON THE BUDGET JOINT ECONOMIC COMMITTEE The Honorable Ray LaHood Secretary ofTransportation US Dept ofTransportation 1200 NewJersey Avenue, S.E. Washington, D.C. 20590 

# Q:ongrrss ofthe ianited tStatrs '!louse of1Reprrsentatioes
March 16, 2012

Re: Docket DOT-OST-2012-0029 Dear Secretary LaHood: WASHINGTON OFFICE: 201 CANNON HousE OFFICE ButLDtNG WASHINGTON, DC 20515 (202) 225-4865

DISTRICT OFFICE: 300 EAST 8TH STREET, SUITE 763 AUSTIN, TX 78701

(512) 916-5921

LLOYD.DOGGETT@ MAIL.HOUSE.GOV www.house.gov/doggett 1-866-916-5921

As the U.S. Representative for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA), I write in strong support ofSouthwest Airlines' (Southwest's) application for a pair ofbeyond-perimeter slot exemptions at WashingtonNational Airport. With these beyond-perimeter slot exemptions, Southwestproposes to operate the first-ever "capital-to-capital" nonstop flight between ABIA and National Airport. I believe such service is long overdue and deserving ofyourDepartment's favorable consideration. Southwest has operated at ABIA since 1977. For the past 35 years, both Southwest and ABIA have grown and prospered. Today, Austin-area residents benefit from the variety ofair service options resulting from a healthy and competitive environment at ABIA. However, despite a strong overall level ofcompetition at ABIA, the airport currently lacks nonstop service to National Airport. As a result, current travel options between ABIA and National Airport are limited and relatively expensive. Southwest's proposal would provide low-cost carrier competition to an un-served route. Moreover, Southwest proposes using a Boeing 737-800 aircraft with 175 seats to serve this route. Such a large aircraft will increase capacity significantly inthe Austin-Washington, DC market, as well as maximize the use ofscarce beyond-perimeter slot exemptions. Itwill also increasejob opportunities in order to service the new daily flight and to accommodate the increase passenger traffic. Forthese reasons, I respectfullyrequest the Department ofTransportation provide full and fair consideration to granting a pair ofbeyond-perimeter slot exemptionsto Southwest so it can begin AustinWashington nonstop air service. Sincerely,

Lloyd Doggett

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