### u.s. Departmentof Transportation Office ofthe Secretary ofTransportation

Mr. Rod Hershberger President and CEO 

### paT P.O. Box 1529 Nokomis, FL 34274 Dear Mr. Hershberger: ,\SSlstant Secr0tary



## OCT 252010 1200 New Jersey Ave. S E IY:lsh,ngton. DC 20590

Thank you for your letter ofOctober 6 to Secretary LaHood supporting AirTran Airways, Inc. (AirTran) to serve Sarasota, Florida, in the ongoing slot-exemption proceeding at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). The Secretaryhas asked that I respond to your letter directly. As you know, the U.S. Department ofTransportation commenced aproceeding on August 30 to reallocate two DCA slot exemptions that are currentlybeing used by Republic Airline, Inc. (Republic). Republic has beenusing these two slotexemptions for DCA

- Kansas City service. These slot exemptions may be used to serve any medium hub or smallerairport within the 1,250-mileperimeter ofDCA. We have received a total offive proposals, briefly outlined below:

• Sun Country to serve Lansing, Michigan, with 129- or 162-seat aircraft; • Republic Airline, Inc., branded as Frontier Airlines, to continue to serve Kansas City, Missouri, with 99-seatregionaljetaircraft; • Southwest Airlines Co., to serve Kansas Cityutilizing 137-seat aircraft; • US Airways, Inc., to serve Pensacola, Florida, utilizing 76- or 86-seat regionaljet aircraft, depending on the season; and • Air Tran Airways, Inc., to serve eitherFort Myers or Sarasota, Florida, utilizing either 117- or 137-seat aircraft. As the slot exemption proceeding is competitive and is currently under review by the Department, Iam sure you understand that Icannot comment on the merits ofthe proposals. Iassure you, however, that the Department will fully consider all ofthe proposals, and make its award based on the selection criteria detailed in the governing statutes.Mr. Rod Hershberger Page 2
As is ournormal practice, I am placing a copy ofyour letter and my response in Docket DOT-OST

-2000-7182 as a contact outside the record ofthis proceeding, I appreciate your interest in obtaining access to the Nation's capital. IfIcan provide further information or assistance, please feel free to call me,

'\**~usan** L. u nd 

# V',Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs" . ".,.

. October6

. 2010
The Honorable Ray H. LaHood Secretary ofTransportation U.S. Department ofTransportation 1200 NewJersey Avenue. S.E. Washington, DC 20590 RE: Docket OST-2000-7182 DearSecretary LaHood: SI()- I() I() I5-()()-l

We are writing to express our support for the application of AirTran Airways Inc. for the two available Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) within-perimeter slots being allocated by the Department in Docket OST-2000-7182 to provide nonstop service from Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) to DCA. The Sarasota Bradenton area has only one daily nonstop on a regional jet to Washington, DC. even though it is the sixth largest destination market from this area. With over 750,000 residents and our prime location as a leisure destination for tourists. SRQ can certainly support additional service and it would be a great help to the tourism industry in this region. which suffered a significant impact from the BP oil spill. As the second-largest private employer in the county. PGT Industries. Inc

.. and many Southwest Florida businesses would greatly benefit from the allocation of this slot to SRQ. This new service would also mitigate the negative economic impact the recession has had on the community and the airport. While AirTran also offers an alternative to award the route to Southwest Rmida International (RSW). we ask that the slot be awarded to Airtran conditioned on the slot be utilized for SRQ. In addition to enhancing competition and lowering fares at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport

. the proposed service would increase connectivity to destinations in the Northeast and MidWest. critical markets for our region. Thankyou foryour consideration. Sincerely.

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# !'~_~\ 

# I} ;
Rod Hershberger President and CEO

- - _ ....

# _ - 1070Technology Dr. N. Venice, FL 34275·2121 HeMig Rd

.. Salisbury, NC 28146· Tel. 941-480-1600· pgtIodustries.com