• ^ 

U.S.Depcirtmen1 of 

Transporlotion 

Office of Hie Secretary 

of Transportation 

Assisiani Sccrelary 

October 15, 2010 

; 200 New Jersey Ave S E. 

•.'hashingion. DC 20590 

Ml'. Tim Daman 

President & CEO 

Lansing Regional Chamber 

500 E. Michigan Avenue, Suite 200 

Lansing. MI 48912 

Dear Mr. Daman: 

cr 

CD 

Thank you for your letter of October 6 to Secretary LaHood supporting Sun Country 

Airhnes to serve Lansing, Michigan, in the ongoing slot-exemption proceeding at Ronald 

Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). The Secretary has asked that I respond to 

your letter directly. 

As you know, the U.S. Department of Transportation commenced a proceeding on 

August 30 to reallocate two DCA slot exemptions that are currently being used by 

Republic Airline, Inc. (Republic). Republic has been using these two slot exemptions for 

DCA - Kansas City service. These slot exemptions may be used to serve any medium 

hub or smaller airport within the 1.250-mile perimeter of DCA. 

We have received a total of five proposals, briefly outlined below: 

• Sun Country to serve Lansing with 129- or 162-seat aircraft; 

• Republic Airline, Inc.. branded as Frontier Airlines, to continue to serve Kansas 

City. Missouri, with 99-seat regional jet aircraft; 

• Southwest Airlines Co.. to serve Kansas City utilising 137-seat aircraft; 

• US Airways, Inc.. to serve Pensacola. Florida, utilizing 76- or 86-seat regional jet 

aircraft, depending on the season; and 

• Air Tran Airways. Inc., to serve either Fort 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. I am sure you understand that I camiot comment on the merits of the 

proposals. I assure you. however, that the Department will fully consider all of the 

proposals, and make its award based on the selection criteria detailed in the governing 

statute.'^. 
Ml'. Tim Diiuioii 

Pase 2 

As is our normal practice. I am placing a copy of your letter and my response in Docket 

DOT-OST-2000-7182 as a contact outside the record of this proceeding. I appreciate 

your interest in obtaining access to the Nation's capital. If I can provide further 

information or assistance, please feel free to call me. 

inaprely yours, 

lusan L. Kurlan 

Assistant Secretary for 

AHation and International Affairs 
^ 

SI0-I()I()()7-(I2() 

LAN SING REGION ALC H AMBER 

Wednesday, October 06, 2010 

The Honorable Raymond L. LaHood 

Secretary of Transportation 

United Stales Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

Dear Secretary LaHood: 

On behalf of the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce I would like loonerour 

support and request approval of the Sun Country Application #DOT-OST-2000-7182. 

Washington DC is the top travel destination from Lansing, MI. This service would 

replace the successful Independence Air service thai was lost in 2005 due to airline 

bankruptcies. Since this time, Lansing has remained one of the few state capitals without 

non-stop service to our nation's capital. 

The Greater Lansing region has a population of over 450,000 and is located within 90 

miles of 90% of the state's population. Capital Region International Airport has 

effectively implemented an airline development strategy that includes the designation of 

Port Lansing, Federal Inspection Station and Foreign Trade Zone. These recent 

developments have been instrumental in establishing a new partnership with Sun Country 

Airlines that includes direct service from Lansing to Las Vegas, Orlando, Ft. Meyers, 

Cancun and Jamaica. Additional service to Washington DC will fill a void in airline 

travel for Mid Michigan. 

Your approval of the Sun Country slot application is greatly appreciated. Thank you for 

the consideration. 

J 

Sincerely, 

im Daman 

President & CEO 

500 £. nichigan Avenue, Suite 200 

Laming. MM8912 

p 517.487.4340 

f 517.484.6910 

wvvw.lansingchamber.org