SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.

Robert W. Kneisley

Associate General Counsel

1901 L Street, N.W.

– Suite 640

Washington, D.C. 20036

(202) 263

- 628 4

(202) 263

- 6291 Fax

bob.kneisley @wnco.com

_______________________________________________________________________________

December 19, 2012

Filed in the Docket Electronically

The Honorable Susan Kurland

Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs

U.S. Department of Transportation

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE

Washington, DC 20590

Re: Application of Southwest Airlines Co. for Within

- Perimeter Slot

Exemption s (DCA

- HOU); Docket DOT

- OST

- 2000

- 7182 ( Part 1 of 3 )

Dear Ms. Kurland :

Southwest Airlines is pleased to submit a total of 61 letters

– via t hree separate

submissions (due to file size limitations)

– in support of our a pplication for two within

perimeter slot exemptions for daily, nonstop service between Ronald Reagan

Washington National Airport (DCA) and Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport ( HOU ), with

single

- plane

, beyond service to Albuquerque International Sunport ( ABQ )

.

These letters come from a diverse array of federal and state elected officials

, including four U.S. Senators and 30 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives

(Part I) ; local elected officials and important state and local organizations (Part II); and

finally organizations and businesses from jurisdictions throughout the United States

(Part III). As these letters convey, the officials and organizations, and the constituents

and employees they represent, would benefit immensely from Southwest’s proposed

DCA

- HOU

- ABQ service and the large jet, low

- fare competition it would provide

.

Sincerely,

_____________________ Robert W. Kneisley

cc: All parties on Southwest’s service listLetters Supporting

Southwest Airlines’ Proposed DCA

– HOU

– ABQ Service

PART I (*contained herein)

Federal Officials

1.) Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and Senator John Cornyn

2.) Texas Congressional Delegation

– Representatives Pete Olson, Gene

Green, Ted Poe, Charles Gonzalez, John Culberson, Sheila Jackson Lee,

Michael McCaul, Blake Faren t hold, Francisco “ Quico ” Canseco, Mac

Thornberry, John Carter, Lamar Smith, Sam Johnson, Joe Barton, Randy

Neugebauer, Eddie B ernice Johnson, Kay Granger, Bill Flores, Michael

Burgess, Louie Gohmert, Ruben Hinojosa, Henry Cuellar, Michael

Conaway, Ralph Hall, Kenny Marchant, Al Green, and Pete Sessions

3.) New Mexico Congressional Delegation

– Senator Jeff Bingaman, Senator

Tom Udall , Senator

- elect and Rep. Martin Heinrich, Rep. Steve Pearce

and Rep. Ben Ray Lujan

State Officials

4.) Texas Governor Rick Perry

5.) Texas State Representative Garnet Coleman

6.) Texas State Senator Rodney Ellis

7.) Texas State Representative Sylvester Turner

8.) Texas S tate Representative Harold V. Dutton, Jr.

9.) Texas State Representative Senfronia Thompson

10.) Texas State Representative Dr. Alma A. Allen

11.) Texas State Representative Jessica Farrar

12.) Texas State Representative Ana Hernandez Luna

13.) New Mexico State Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez

14.) New Mexico Economic Development Secretary Jon Barela

PART II (*sent via a separate submission)

Local Officials

15.) Houston Mayor Annise Parker

16.) Albuquerque Mayor Richard J. Berry

17.) Houston Mayor Pro

- Tem and Council Member Ed Gonzalez

18.) Houston Ci ty Council Member Andrew C. Burks, Jr.

19.) Houston City Council Member Jack Christie, D.C.

20.) Houston City Council Member James Rodriguez

21.) Houston City Council Member Melissa Noriega

22.) Houston City Council Member Larry V. Green

23.) Houston City Council Member Stephen C . Costello

24.) Houston City Council Member Ellen R. Cohen

25.) Mario Diaz, Director of Aviation, Houston Airports System26.) James D. Hinde, Director of Aviation, City of Albuquerque/ABQ Airport

State/Regional Organizations

27.) Greater Houston Partnership

28.) Houston Area Urban League

29.) Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

30.) Tri

- County Black Chamber of Commerce

31.) Texas Travel Industry Association

32.) Texas Association of African American Chambers of Commerce

33.) Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership

34.) Greater Hobby Area Chamber of Commerce

35.) Houston East End Chamber of Commerce

36.) Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce

37.) Association of Commerce & Industry of New Mexico

PART III (*sent via a separate submission)

National Organizations

38.) Transportation Workers Union of America (TWU) Local 556

39.) Southwest Airlines Pilots’ Association

40.) International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (Dora

Cervantes, Assistant Secretary)

41.) United States Hispanic Leadership Institute

42.) VotoLatino

43.) Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund

44.) Council f or Opportunity in Education

45.) Latino Leaders Network

46.) Earth Day Network

47.) US Business Leadership Network

48.) Dialogue on Diversity

49.) Organization of Chinese Americans

50.) Japanese American Citizens League

51.) America Society on Aging

52.) National Asian American Coalition

53.) Asian American & Pacific Islander Association of Colleges & Universities

54.) National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce

Major Companies/Institutions

55.) University of Texas System

56.) George Washington University

57.) BMC Software

58.) Chicago Bridge & Iron (CB&I)

59.) Blue Bell Creamerie s, L.P.

60.) SER

- Jobs for Progress National, Inc.

61.) Winstead, P.C.RICKPERRYCOVERNOROrrrcnoFTHE GovnnNonPosroFF¡c¡Box12428AusïN,TsxAS78711(512)463-2000(VoIcn)/Dtx7-t-tronR¡I.IYSrnvtcssDecemlrer10,2012TheHonorableRaymondL.LaHoodSecretaryU.S.Departmentof Transportation1200NewJerseyAvenue,SEWaslrington,D.C.20590Dear SecretaryLaHood:Iamwriti¡gthisletter insupportofthedevelopmentofanon-stoproute betweentheWillianiP.HobbyAirport(HOU)in HoustonandRonaldReaganWashingtonNationalAirport(DCA)in Washington,D.C.Thisnew routewillhelpsupporttraveland encouragegreaterbusinessrelationsl-ripsbetweenthetwocities.TravelersfromTexasundth"Washington,D.C.areawillbenefitfi'omincreasedconrpetitionandmoreefficienttravel.Asoneofthecountry'sleadingtravelandtourismdestinations,Texas hostedmore than200milliontravelersin201I,withdirectspendingtotaling$63.2billionacrossthestate.With90percentof travelto Texasdestinationscomingfi.o¡rdomésticmarkets,increasingthenumberofdirectroutestoTexasfrom majorU.S.citieswouldfurtherboost thestate'seconon-ìy.ln2011, theHoustonareawasvisited bymorethan 33milliondomestictravelerswho,alongwithinternationalvisitors,supportedlocaljobsbyspendingapproximately$15.6billion.Houstonisamongthe toptraveldestinationsinTexasduàtoitsgrowingmeetingandconventionsnrarket,world-classshopping,intemationallyfamous theaterdistrictandmultipleprofessionalsportsteams.Houstonis alsoamajorbusinesstraveldestination,inpartduetoitsstatusasthenation'senergycapital.The¡retropolitanareais irometotheheadquartersof21Fortune500 energycompanies,includingConocoPhillipsandHalliburton.ThiscorporateconcentrationmakesHoustonavitalhuboftheu.s.andinternationaleconomies.Isupportthe developmentofthisnon-stoproutebetweentheWilliamP.HobbyAirport(HOU)andRonaldn"ugãn WashingtonNationalAirport(DCA)toprovidegreatercompetitionandmoreefficienttravelbetweenWashington,D.Ó.andTexas.ThànkyouforyourconsiderationofthisimportantroutedevelopmenteffortandyoursupportofaHOU-DCAroute'WGovernorRP:eckVrsrrvww.TrxesONLrl¡.col.lrnrO¡ncr.lr'$ørsSlrEorfinSr¡rsorTrxls

## STATE of TEXAS

HOUSE of REPRESENTATIVES



# G ARNET 

# F

. 

# C OLEMAN

STATE REPRESENTATIVE

DISTRICT 147

December 11, 2012

The Honorable Raymond H. LaHood

Secretary of Transportation

U.S. Department of Transportation

1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.

Washington, DC 20590

Re: Docket DOT-OST-2000-7182

Dear Secretary LaHood:

I write you to lend my full support to Southwest Airline’s application to begin daily, non -stop flight service

between Washington D.C.’s Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA) and Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport

(HOU).

The Houston and Washington D.C. metropolitan areas are two of the largest in the country, yet there are

currently no direct flights between the two areas’ most convenient airports. In fact, there is only one airline that

provides any service at all between DCA and the entire Houston metropolitan area, and that is through the

George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), which is more than a 20 mile drive from downtown Houston.

Allowing Southwest to provide daily, nonstop flights would introduce much needed competition to both areas,

providing more and better options for the people in and around Houston and Washington D. C.

My district, House District 147, includes Hobby Airport and much of the area it serves, including downtown.

Therefore, I know firsthand what a great, mutually beneficial arrangement this will be for both Houston and

Washington D.C.

For these reasons, I kindly ask that the Department of Transportation give serious consideration to Southwest

Airline’s applic ation to provide daily, nonstop flights between DCA and HOU. Thank you for your attention to

this matter.

Sincerely

Garnet F. Coleman

Texas State Representative

District 147December 13, 2012

The Honorable Raymond H. LaHood

Secretary of Transportation

U.S. Department of Transportation

1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.

Washington, DC 20590

Re: Docket No. DOT-OST-2000-7182

Dear Secretary LaHood:

I write in strong support of South west Airlines’ (Southwest's) application to provide daily nonstop

service between Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) and Ronald Reagan Washington National

Airport (DCA). Along with Southwest’s proposed same -plane service between Albuquerque

International Sunport (ABQ) and DCA, Southwest's proposal will benefit thousands of travelers looking

for a more convenient and less expensive way to get to/from the nation’s capital.

The ABQ-DCA market is overpriced and underserved. Greater Albuquerque boasts a population of

nearly a million people. Among the area’s major employers are Kirkland Air Force Base and Sandia

National Laboratories, two major federal installations that rely heavily on access to/from Washington,

DC. Despite the size and importance of the Greater Albuquerque area, existing commercial air service

between DCA and ABQ is relatively sparse, indirect and expensive.

For this reason, I strongly support Southwest's application for weekday, roundtrip DCA- HOU -ABQ

same-plane service. There is strong demand within the Greater Albuquerque area for better and more

frequent service to/from DCA. We are especially pleased to have ABQ’s largest airline, Southwest

Airlines, offer this service. For over 41 years, Southwest has been a leader in offering dependable, highquality, low-cost air service. I can think of no better airline to offer this vastly improved service between

DCA and ABQ, which Southwest proposes to start by the end of 2013.

Southwest's application is clearly in the public's interest, and we respectfully urge your approval. Thank

you for your attention to this matter.Sincerely,

Jonathan Barela

Cabinet Secretary

New Mexico Economic Development Department