. , THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION WASHINGTON, D

..C. 2059.0

Mr. Louie Key National Director AircraftMe.chanics Fraternal Association 14001 East IliffAvenue, Suite 117 Aurora, CO 80114 OearMr. Key: April 16, 2012 - L\ ;\ 

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Thank you for your letter supporting the application ofAlaska Airlines, Inc. for four beyondperimeter slot exemptionsatRonald Reagan Washington National Airf)ort (DCA). Alaska's application proposes to serve Portland International**Airport~** Oregon, and San Diego, California, each with one round trip per day from DCA. Under authority granted in the FAA Modemization and Refom1 Act of2012, the

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### U;S, Department ofTransportation

### will be awarding a total ofeight slot exemptions at DCA

### to new entrantor limited incumbent carriers, which wo1.rld support four daily round trips. We received Alaska's application on March 12. 2012• Othertimely applications were received from Air Canada, proposing one round trip to Vancouver. British Columbia; Frontier Airlines, one round tripto Colorado Springs and beyond to San**Diego~** JetBlue Airlines, one round trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and one round trip to Austin, Texas; Southwest Airlines, one round trip to Austin and San Diego beyond; Sun Country Airlines, one round trip to Las Vegas; and Virgin America, lnc,, two round trj:ps to San Francisco. As the matter is still pending. Icannot comment on the merits ofthe points raised in your letter.**However~** Ican assure you that all applications the Departmentreceived 

### will be given full and fair consideration and will be evaluated against the selection criteria specified inthe statute
.. The Department's action on this matter 

### is being administered through apublic docket, which allows all interested parties the opportunity to comment. Following our normal ractice, I atn placing a copy ofyour letterand this resp in docket number DOT**~20**1 9. I appreciate yourinterestin this

### AIRCRAFT MECHANICS FRATERNAL ASSOCIATION AMFA National Office: 14001 E. IliffAve, Suite 217 Aurora, Colorado 80114 Phone: (303) 752-2632 Fax: (303) 362-7736 National Director's Office: Telephone (720)-744-6628

The Honorable Ray LaHood U.S. Department ofTransportation 1200 NewJersey Ave, SE Washington, DC 20590 Email: Louie.Key@amfanatl.org March 6, 2012

Re: Alaska's application for PDX-DCA and SAN-DCA service, Docket No. DOT-OST-2012- 0029. Dear Secretary LaHood: Onbehalf ofthe Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, the union thatrepresents the mechanics inthe service of Alaska Airlines, I amwriting in supportofthe application of Alaska Airlines to provide one daily roundtrip flight between Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA) and Portland International Airport (PDX) and one daily roundtrip flight between DCA and SanDiego International Airport (SAN). The company has indicated that PDX is its priority route, and we concur withthat approach. Alaska Airlines has a proventrackrecord of strong customer service and operational reliability, which is a testament to the hard work and dedication ofits employees. Importantly, the company is also financially strong. Itis worth mentioning that Alaska is the only established network carrier to nothave declared bankruptcy. These factors all speak to the ability of Alaska Airlines to provide maximum consumer benefits to PDX-DCA and SAN-DCA nonstop travelers. The Portland-Vancouver region is the second largest marketto Washington DC without a nonstop route to DCA and is the ideal candidate for such service. Nonstop service from Oregon/southwestWashington is limited tojust a single daily flight between PDX and Washington Dulles (lAD). With a direct route from PDX to DCA, Oregon/southwest Washingtonresidents will benefit from enhanced competition and no longer be forced to use less convenient and more time-consuming service to reach our nation's capital. Alaska Airlines and its regional sister carrier, Horizon Air, have a large hub presence atPDX, operating an annual average ofmore than 640 flights per week to 33 destinations. As a result, Alaska's nonstop flight would also improve service levels to Washington, D.C. for the Oregon cities ofEugene, Medford and Redmond, in addition to the greater Portland-Vancouver region.
San Diego is currently the largestmarketto Washington DC without a nonstop route to DCA. A direct route from SAN to DCA will provide residents ofSouthern California, particularly
SAFETY IN THE AIR BEGINSWITH QUALITY MAINTENANCE ON THE GROUND 

## s1 0-120l306-0 113those inthe SanDiego metropolitanregion, with muchmore convenient access to ournation's capital. Alaska Airlines is growing its presence in San Diego, recently addingfour new destinations to its SAN network. By this summer, Alaska and its regional carrier, Horizon Air, will provide anaverage of 19 daily flights from SAN to nine destinations in the United States and Mexico. Onbehalfof our members, hard working Alaska Airlines employees, I respectfully urge you to grant Alaska Airlines' application to provide PDX-DCA and SAN-DCA service. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,

# ~~ LouieKY National Director

SAFETY IN THE AIR BEGINSWITH QUALITY MAINTENANCE ON THE GROUND 

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