u.s.~ot 

Traftsportaflon 

Office c:>t 1h9 Secretory of TrOnsportatfon 

Mr. Mohsen Khaleghi 

General Manager 

Hyatt Regency La Jolla 

3777 La Jolla Villaae Drive 

Stm Diego, CA 92122 

Dear Mr. Khaleghi: 

Al\SISfallt Secretary 

April U, 2012 I v f'"\(\ 

.. i1 \ ./ I '• I'• 

OS 

Thank you for your letter to Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, supporting the application 

of Alaska Airlines, Inc., for two beyond-perimeter slot exemptions at Ronald Reagan 

Washington National Airport (DCA) to serve San Diego International Airport with one ro.und 

trip per day from DCA. Secretary LaHood asked that I respond to your letter. 

Under authority granted in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, the 

U.S. Department of Transportation will be awarding to new entrant or limited incumbent 

carriers a total of eight .slat exemptions at DCA, which would support four daily round trips. 

We received Alaska's application, which also proposes one daily round trip to Portland, Oregon, 

on March 12. Other timely applications were received from Air Canada, proposing one round 

trip to Vancouver, British Columbia; Frontier Airlines, one round trip to Colorado Springs and 

beyond to San Diego; JetBiue 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, Inc., two round trips to San 

Francisco. 

AS the matter is still pending, I cannot comment on the merits of the points raised in yourleUer. 

However, I ClaD· 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. 
Page 2, Khaleghi 

The DepartmenCs action on this matter is being administered through a public docket, which 

allows all inte.rested parties the opportunity to comment. Following our normal practice, I am 

placing a copy of your letter and this response In docket munber DOT -2012-0029. 

I appreciate your interest in this matter. 

Sincerely yours, 

Susan L. Kurland 

Assistant Secretary for 

Aviation and International Affairs 
HYJ\TT 

HOTELS & RESORTS 

March 15, 2012 

The Honorable Ray LaHood 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Ave, SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

Moh~en Khaleghi 

C<.'lll!r<ll Manager 

Hy&tt Regency La Jolla 

3777 l.a Jolla Village Orive 

S.1n Diego, CA 92122 USA 

Telephone: 858.552.123-1-

FAX: 858.552.6066 

www.hyntt.com 

Re: Alaska Airlines' application for SAN-DCA, Docket No. DOT-OST-2012-0029. 

Dear Secretary LaHood: 

Hyatt Regency La Jolla fully supports the application of Alaska Airlines for air service between San 

Diego and Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA). San Diego is the largest region without 

announced service to DCA. Additionally, due to the profound community of interest between 

San Diego and the nation's capital, the region generates the largest passenger market 

demand without nonstop service to the convenient and close-in airport serving our nation's 

capital. 

San Diego's sheer market size to Washington coupled with the fact that San Diego - Dulles 

average airfares are the highest of west coast cities should qualify it for a pair of the limited slots 

available. The high airfare is exacerbated when factoring in taxi fares from Dulles to Washington's 

city center that average about $60 each way. This means travelers between Washington's city 

center and San Diego via Dulles can pay on average close to $400 one-way. 

There are also countless other San Diego-based and Washington-based businesses that are 

engaged in health science, telecommunications, and national defense that need quick and 

convenient access to Reagan National Airport. Hyatt Regency La Jolla has an immediate need for 

additional nonstop air service to our nation's capital. Alaska Airlines service would add a needed 

nonstop option to a primary gateway to Washington, DC. Hyatt Regency La Jolla joins with the 

San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, the San Diego Regional Economic Development 

Corporation, the World Trade Center San Diego, and the San Diego Regional Chamber of 

Commerce in support of Alaska Airlines' application for San Diego- Washington Reagan National 

slots. 

We thank the Department of Transportation for the opportunity to comment on the above 

referenced docket and we hope to hear of a favorable review of Alaska Airlines' San Diego- DCA 

proposal soon. 

Mohsen Khaleghi 

S10-120319-005 

(@> 

~ PiJU:vmrmd 

~t7~"'p~y~P 

Q~