., 

THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION 

WASHINGTON, D .. C. 2059.0 

Mr. Louie Key 

National Director 

Aircraft Me.chanics Fraternal Association 

14001 East Iliff Avenue, Suite 117 

Aurora, CO 80114 

Oear Mr. Key: 

April 16, 2012 - L\ ;\ 'i: 2 0 

Thank you for your letter supporting the application of Alaska Airlines, Inc. for four beyondperimeter slot exemptions at Ronald 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 of20 12, the . 

U;S, Department of Transportation will be awarding a total of eight slot exemptions at 

DCA to new entrant or limited incumbent carriers, which wo1.rld support four daily round trips. 

We received Alaska's application on March 12. 2012• Other timely 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. I cannot comment on the merits of the points raised in your letter. 

However~ I can assure you that all applications the Department received will be given full and 

fair consideration and will be evaluated against the selection criteria specified in the statute .. 

The Department's action on this matter is being administered through a public docket, which 

allows all interested parties the opportunity to comment. Following our normal ractice, I atn 

placing a copy of your letter and this resp in docket number DOT ~20 1 9. 

I appreciate your interest in this 
AIRCRAFT MECHANICS FRATERNAL ASSOCIATION 

AMFA National Office: 14001 E. Iliff Ave, Suite 217 Aurora, Colorado 80114 

Phone: (303) 752-2632 Fax: (303) 362-7736 

National Director's Office: Telephone (720)-7 44-6628 

The Honorable Ray LaHood 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey 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: 

On behalf of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, the union that represents the 

mechanics in the service of Alaska Airlines, I am writing in support of the 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 San Diego International Airport (SAN). The company has indicated that PDX is its priority 

route, and we concur with that approach. 

Alaska Airlines has a proven track record of strong customer service and operational reliability, 

which is a testament to the hard work and dedication of its employees. Importantly, the 

company is also financially strong. It is worth mentioning that Alaska is the only established 

network carrier to not have 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 market to Washington DC without a 

nonstop route to DCA and is the ideal candidate for such service. Nonstop service from 

Oregon/ southwest Washington is limited to just a single daily flight between PDX and 

Washington Dulles (lAD). With a direct route from PDX to DCA, Oregon/ southwest 

Washington residents 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 at PDX, 

operating an annual average of more 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 of Eugene, Medford and Redmond, in addition to the greater Portland-Vancouver region. 

San Diego is currently the largest market to Washington DC without a nonstop route to DCA. 

A direct route from SAN to DCA will provide residents of Southern California, particularly 

SAFETY IN THE AIR BEGINS WITH QUALITY MAINTENANCE ON THE GROUND 

s 1 0-120l306-0 113 
those in the San Diego metropolitan region, with much more convenient access to our nation's 

capital. Alaska Airlines is growing its presence in San Diego, recently adding four new 

destinations to its SAN network. By this summer, Alaska and its regional carrier, Horizon Air, 

will provide an average of 19 daily flights from SAN to nine destinations in the United States 

and Mexico. 

On behalf of 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 BEGINS WITH QUALITY MAINTENANCE ON THE GROUND 

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