UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, DC

------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Application of )

)

AIR CHINA LIMITED )

d/b/a AIR CHINA ) Docket DOT

- OST

- 2014

- 0008

- 0001

)

For Exemption Authority Pursuant to 49 U.S.C § 40109 )

)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ANSWER OF THE WASHIN GTO N AIRPORTS TASK FORC E

Communications with r espect to th is Answer should be sent to:

Leo J . Schefer, President

Washington Airports Task Force

44701 Propeller Court, Suite 100

Dulles, Virginia 20166

Phone: 703

- 572

- 8714

FAX: 703

- 572

- 8418

leo@washingtonairports.com

Dated: February 7, 20141 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, DC

------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Application of )

)

AIR CHINA LIMITED )

d/b/a AIR CHINA ) Docket DOT

- OST

- 2014

- 0008

- 0001

)

For Exemption Authority Pursuant to 49 U.S.C § 40109 )

)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ANSWER OF THE WASHIN GTON AIRPORTS TASK FORCE

The Washington Airports Task Force ("WATF") answers in strong support of the

Application of Air China Limited, d/b/a Air China ("Air China")

, for Exemption Authority

authorizing Air China to engage in scheduled foreign air transporta tion of persons, property and

mail between Beijing (PEK) , People's Republic of China

, on the one hand, and Washington, D.C.

(IAD), United States of America, on the other hand , beginning on June 10, 2014

. The WATF

notes that Beijing in 2012 was the Nationa l Capital Region’s larg est intercontinental market

without nonstop competitive service, and submits the following in support of Air China's

application for exemption authority:

1. The WATF is a non

- partisan

, non

- profit, 501(c)(3) Virginia Corporation dedi cated

to promoting the expansion and enhancement of aviation services for Virginia and the National

Capital R egion. The WATF is focused on sustaining Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport

(DCA) and optimizing the capac i ty of Washington Dulles Internat ional Airport (IAD). We are a

results

- driven

, regional leadership organization whose members understand the linkage

between our airports, the global access they provide, and our regional economy.2

2. Air China's proposed PEK

- IAD nonstop service will provide an additional link

between the capitals of the world's two largest economies, 1 better accommodating the

governmental (including embassy and military) travel between the two cities.

3

. Air China's proposed PEK

- IAD nonstop service will also help ac commodate the

expected dramatic gains in Chinese tourists visiting the U.S. in coming years. According to the

U

. S

. Nati onal Travel and Tourism Office, t he volume of Chinese visitors is expected to grow

from 1.8 million in 2012 to a forecast 4.7 million in 2018, which will make China the country

with the largest percentage growth (219 percent) during that period among all countries of

origin to the U

. S

. 2

4

. Specific to tourism in the Washington, DC area, the proposed Air China flights

will help restore the growth of Chinese visitors to the Nation's Capital. From 2011 to 2012,

Chinese visitors to the Washington area grew by approximately 92 percent 3 , but declined in

2013. Tourism is a major industry in this region.

5

. As shown in the map and chart in Exhi bit 1, the Washington, DC area has a

substantial ethnic Asian population totaling in excess of 500,000, based on the 2010 Census.

The ethnic Chinese population, a subset of that number, totals approximately 75,000 and is

concentrated in the Northern Virgi nia suburbs and in Montgomery and Howard c ount ies in

suburban Maryland.

6

. The Washington, DC metropolitan area and its surrounding states are the

location of many large and well

- regarded colleges and universities that attract thousands of

1 See the International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook 2013, via CNNMoney.

2 See the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office's 2013 Fall Travel Forecast

. 3 See "Washington, D.C. Tourism Continues To Grow, Increased By 1 Million Visitors In 2012" by Brett Zongker, The

Hu f fington Post, May 7, 2013.3

foreign students each year , and the numbers of these students continues to grow . As shown in

Exhibit 2, China is the leading place of origin for foreign students, by far, in Washington, DC,

Maryland and Virginia , a byproduct of which is the substantial number of annual trips made by

those students to and from China. Air China's proposed PEK

- IAD flights would benefit our

universities and offer these students another travel option.

7

. Air China's proposed PEK

- IAD flights would improve passengers' travel options in

the market by adding four weekly nonstop round trips offering 1,244 weekly seats in each

direction, an increase of approximately 66 percent above the current number of weekly

nonstop seats offered by United Airlines ("United") in the market. 4

8

. The addi tion of Air China's proposed PEK

- IAD flights would enable Washington,

DC area passengers to benefit from being able to make online connections to 78 domestic

Chinese cities and 20 other Asian cities from the carrier's hub in Beijing. 5

9. The addition of A ir China's proposed PEK

- IAD flights would also allow the

continuing growth of the market to be accommodated. Despite the number of nonstop flights

in the market increasing by 61 percent from 2010 to 2012, the load factor nonetheless

remained above 81 perc ent. 6

10. The Beijing

- Washington market was the Washington, DC area's 8th largest

international O&D market in 2012 with nearly 129,000 annual passengers (or 176 passengers

per day each way [PDEWs]) , 85 percent of whom used IAD for their travel to or from PEK . Th e

2012 annual passenger number represented a growth rate of 23 percent over the market total

4 See the Air China Exemption Application for nonstop frequencies to be offered in the PEK

- IAD market, United's

online PDF timetable for its current nonstop PEK

- IAD frequencies, and Seatguru for the seating configurations of

Air China's 777

- 300ERs and United's 777

- 200ERs.

5 See the Air China website for domes tic and international route maps.

6 U.S. DOT T100 Onboard Database.4

in 2011. This market also was the area's largest international O&D market without competitive

nonstop service in 2012, making it a great opportunity for A ir China's proposed PEK

- IAD service

to be successful. 7

WHEREFORE, the Washington Airports Task Force respectfully requests that the

Department of Transportation grant the Exemption Authority requested by Air China Limited,

d/b/a Air China, in its application dated January 21, 2014, enabling the airline to begin its

proposed Beijing

- Washington (IAD) service on June 10, 2014, as desired

.

Respectfully Submitted,

_____________________________

Leo J . Schefer, President

Washington Airports Ta sk Force

44701 Propeller Court, Suite 100

Dulles, Virginia 20166

Phone: 703

- 572

- 8714

FAX: 703

- 572

- 8418

leo@washingtonairports.com

Dated: February 7, 2014

7 Diio Mi International Database.5 Exhibit 1

Page 1 of 1



# THE ASIAN POPULATION IN THE WASHINGTON , DC

METROPOLITAN AREA BASED ON THE 2010 CENSUS

SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau. Dan Keating, Laris Karklis and Gene Thorp/The Washington Post, May 25, 2011.6 Exhibit 2

Page 1 of 3



# FOREIGN STUDENTS IN WASHINGTON , DC, MA RYLA N D

AND VIRGINIA

SOURCE: Institute of International Education

.7 Exhibit 2

Page 2 of 3



# FOREIGN STUDENTS IN WASHINGTON , DC, MA RYLA N D

AND VIRGINIA

SOURCE: Institute of International Education

.8 Exhibit 2

Page 3 of 3



# FOREIGN STUDENTS IN WASHINGTON , DC, MA RYLA N D

AND VIRGINIA

SOURCE: Institute of International Education

.9 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that I, Leo J. Schefer , have today served a copy of the Answer of the Washington

Airports Task Force in support of the Application of Air China Limited, d/b/a Air China for

Exemption Authority by electronic mail upon the following:

Counsel for Air China: george.tompkinsjr@wilsonelser.com

Airline Info: info@airlineinfo.com

American Airlines: robert.wirick@aa.com

Delta Airlines: sascha.vanderbellen@delta.com

sametta.c.ba rnett@delta.com

Evergreen International Airlines: ranjit.seth@evergreenairlines.com

robert.foster@evergreenairlines.com

Federal Express: gbleopard@fedex.com

anbird@fedex.com

Polar Air Cargo: kevin.montgomery@polaraircargo.com

peter.beckett@polaraircargo.com

United Airlines: dan.weiss@united.com

Counsel for United Airlines: lhalloway@crowell.com

gmurphy@crowell.com

Counsel for United Parcel Service: anita.mosner@hklaw.com

jennifer.nowak@hklaw.com

US Airways: howard.kass@usairways.com

benjamin.slocum@usairways.com

Federal Aviation Administration: john.allen@faa.gov

U.S. Department of Transportation: esta.rosenberg@dot.gov

barbara.hairston@dot.gov

Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority: philip.sunderland@mwaa.com10 _________________________ Leo J. Schefer

Dated: February 7, 2014