THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20590 

The Honorable Pete Stark 

U.S. House of Representatives 

Washington~ DC 20515 

Dear Congressman Stark: 

May02,l012 

Thank you for your letter supporting the application of Virgin Americ~ Inc., for four beyondperimeter slot exemptions at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). If awarded 

those exemptions, Virgin America would provide two daily round .. trip flights from DCA to 

San Francisco. 

Under authority granted in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of2012, the 

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

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

We received Virgin Americals application on March 12, 2012. Other timely applications were 

received from Air Canada, proposing one round trip to VaMouver, Britisll Columbja; Alaska 

Airlines~ one round trip to Portland, Oregon, and one round trip to San Diego; Frontier Airline~ 

one round trip to 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 beyo11d; and Sun. Country Airlines, one round trip to Las Vegas. 

As the rJU~.tter 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 

fa:ir consideration and will be evaluated against the selection criteria specified in the statute. 

The Department's action on this matter is being administered tllrough a 

allows all interested parties. the to comment. Following 

placing a copy of your letter and t in docket number 

I appreciate your interest in 
. FORTNEY PETE STARK ·., i3Ttl DtST!U(1", (Al.lf'(lf(NIA 

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CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

WASHINGTON, DC 20515 

March 30, 2012 

The Honorable Raymond H. LaHood 

Secretary 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, Southeast 

Washington, D.C. 20590 

2:'\<J C ANNt IN !·lousE 0HK F. Btiii.DIN<; 

WASHINGTON, DC 2(1515 

(202) 225-50(15 

39300 Ctvw C~.N'I'f·:t~ DrHvE, Surw 220 

FHt.'.MON'I', CA 945.31' 

(510) 494-1388 

I'ETli.MJ\IL@MAIL.HOUSI.:.COV 

Re: Docket No. OST-2012-0029, Application of Virgin America Inc. for 

''Beyond Perimeter" Slots 

Dear Secretary LaHood: 

I am writing to express my support for .Virgin America's profosal to provide two 

nonstop flights between San Francisco International Airport (SFO and Reagan National 

Airport (DCA). With no current service at DCA and as the only airline headquartered 

in California, Virgin America is uniquely suited to bring low~fare competition to th~ 

largest market in the nation that up to this point, has gone without nonstop flight 

service between DCA and the San Francisco Bay Area. 

As a result of the work by you, your department and Congress, the President recently 

signed into law the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, which includes a 

provision authorizing you to award new flights between DCA and domestic airports 

located beyond the current 1,250 mile perimeter limit. Historically, the Bay Area has 

been shut out from DCA nonstop service, with all"beyond-perimeter'' flight awards 

being made to non~California airports (with the exception of a daily flight at Los 

Angeles). Previous DCA awards have been made to smaller markets, including Denver 

(four round-trip frequencies) and Phoenix (three round-trip frequencies). In terms of 

passenger traffic, San Francisco dwarfs these and all other beyond-perimeter markets. 

Because SFO has been the largest beyond-perimeter market without nonstop flights to 

DCA, local consumers have suffered from higher fares and limited options - they either 

must travel to Washington Dulles or take a one-stop connecting flight when traveling to 

downtown Washington, D.C. 

When making this decision, I urge you to consider the positive impact of improving the 

connection between Washington D.C. and Silicon Valley's powerful innovation-based 

economy. The allocation of two round-trip flights to. Virgin America will provide 

assurance that the Bay Area will finally have efficient and low-fare nonstop flight 

service to DCA. 

Since its launch in 2007, Virgin America has lowered fares and provided a unique new 

service option. According to the airline, when it enters long-haul markets that have less 

competition than SFO, it typically sees fares drop by one-third. In addition, the carrier's 

decision to establish its headquarters in Burlingame, California has created thousands 

of local jobs. The airline has grown to over 2,500 employees, with plans to add 500 new 

jobs on an annual basis over the next three to five years. 

s 10-120406-024 
.. 

When more airlines compete, consumers and local economies win because of lower 

fares, improved service and local job growth. Virgin America has been a case study for 

the positive impacts of competition in the Bay Area. The award of two round-trip 

flights to the carrier will spur continued local economic growth and ensure that SFODCA travelers will finally benefit from real competition.· Thank you for your 

consideration. 

Sincerely, 

Pete Stark 

Member of Congress 

S10-120406-024