THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20590

The Honorable Pete Stark U.S. House ofRepresentatives**Washington~** DC 20515 Dear Congressman Stark: May02,l012

Thankyou for your letter supporting the application ofVirgin**Americ~** Inc., for four beyondperimeter slotexemptions atRonald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). Ifawarded 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 ofTransportation will be awardingto new entrant orlimited incumbent carriers atotal ofeight slot exemptions at DCA. which would support four daily round trips. Wereceived Virgin Americals application on March 12, 2012. Othertimely 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~** oneroundtrip to Colorado Springs and beyond to San Diego; JetBlue Airlines, one roundtrip to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and.one round trip to Austin. Texas; SouthwestAirlines, 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, 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 fa:ir consideration and will be evaluated against the selection criteria specified in the statute. The Department's action on this matteris being administered tllrough a allows all interested parties.the to comment. Following placing acopy ofyour letter and t in docket number Iappreciateyour interest in. FORTNEY PETE STARK
·., i3Ttl DtST!U(1", (Al.lf'(lf(NIA •COMMltr.EE ON WAYS AND MEANS }OINT COMMtrTEE

ONl'AXATION WWW.HOU5E.GOV/STARK 

### CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WASHINGTON, DC 20515 March 30, 2012 The Honorable Raymond H. LaHood Secretary U.S. DepartmentofTransportation 1200 NewJersey Avenue, Southeast Washington, D.C. 20590 2:'\<J CANNtIN !·lousE0HKF. 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 ''BeyondPerimeter" Slots DearSecretary LaHood: I am writing to express my support for .Virgin America's profosal to provide two nonstop flights between San Francisco InternationalAirport (SFO and Reagan National Airport (DCA). With no current service atDCA 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 andthe 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 awardshavebeen made to smallermarkets, includingDenver (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 musttravel toWashingtonDulles or take a one-stop connecting flight whentraveling to downtownWashington, D.C. When making this decision, I urge you to consider the positive impact ofimproving 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 itenters long-haul markets thathave less competition than SFO, ittypically sees fares dropby one-third. In addition, the carrier's decision to establish its headquarters in Burlingame, California has created thousands oflocaljobs. The airline has grown to over 2,500 employees, withplans to add 500 new jobs on an annual basis overthe nextthree to five years.



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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 ofCongress

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