e 

us. Department of 1200 New jersey Avenue, SE 

Transportatio n ^_ _ ^ Washington, DC 20590 

Office Of the Secretary SEP 2 0 ZOll 

of Transportation 

The Honorable Howard P. McKeon -

U.S. House of Representatives '^ OQ ^ 

Washington, DC 20515 

Dear Congressman McKeon: -.? -3-f: n 

LO CO 

Thank you for your letter supporting the proposal submitted by the Town of Mammoth 

Lakes for a grant under the Small Community Air Service Development Program (Small 

Community Program). 

The Small Community Program was established to help smaller communities address air 

service deficiencies, particularly issues related to high airfares and insufficient service. 

Under the statute, the Department may use the funds to make a maximum of 40 grant 

awards each year, although no more than four may be to communities in the same State. 

In order to provide communities with latitude in developing solutions to their air service 

deficiencies, the statute provides significant flexibility in how the financial assistance 

may be used. 

On July 1, the Department issued an order requesting that communities interested in 

receiving a grant this year file their applications by August 2. As these grant requests are 

pending before the Department, I am sure you understand that I cannot comment on the 

merits of any particular proposal. I assure you, however, that the Department will give 

full consideration to all proposals that have been properly filed. 

As is our normal practice, I am placing a copy of your letter and this response in Docket 

DOT-OST-2011-0119 as a contact outside the record of this matter. I appreciate your 

interest in this program. If I can provide fiirther information or assistance, please feel 

free to call me. 

Sincerely yours. 

Aloha Ley 

Associate Director 

Small Community Program 
HOWARD P. "BUCK" McKEON 

25TH DISTRICT, CALIFORNIA 

COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES 

CHAIRMAN 

COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION 

AND THE WORKFORCE 

SUBCOMMITTtE ON HIGHER EDUCATION 

AND THE WORKFORCE 

MEMBER OF REPUBLICAN WHIP TEAM 

MEMBER OF REPUBLICAN STUDY COMMITTEE 

CONGRESSIONAL UNMANNED SYSTEMS CAUCUS 

CO-CHAIRMAN 

2184 RAYBURN HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING 

WASHINGTON, DC 20515 

(202)225-1966 T 

Congress of the Bnited States 

i^ousEofHeprEBcntatioes 

HDashington, B d 20515-0525 

26660 THE OLD ROAD, SUITE 203 

SANTA CLARITA, CA 91381 

(661)254-2111 

1008 WEST AVENUE M-14, SUITE E-1 

PALMDALE, CA 93561 

(661)274-9688 

SAN BERNARDINO, INYO, 

AND MONO COUNTIES 

(800) 565-4333 

" www.mckeon.house.gov 

July 23, 2011 

Ms. Aloha Ley 

Associate Director 

Small Community Program 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

Subject: Alaska Airlines Letter of Support 

Small Community Air Service Development Program grant application 

Docket DOT-OST-2011-0119 

Town of Mammoth Lakes 

Dear Ms. Ley, 

I want to express my strong interest in the above application from the Town of Mammoth Lakes 

for the Small Community Air Service Development Program grant for 2012 and 2013. 

Summer commercial flights to the Mammoth Lakes area via the Mammoth/Yosemite regional 

airport provide vital access for tourists coming to the area in spring/summer/fall, and improve 

the ability of the local governments to attract a broader base of new business owners, and 

second home-owners. In addition, the year-round access to Southern California and the rest of 

the US via the short flights from LAX, provides a real boost to the quality of life of my 

constituents in this area. 

Annually, visitors to the area generate nearly $400 million in direct spending to the local 

economy which yields $16 million in taxes and supports 4,500 jobs. However, many of these 

jobs are seasonal (lasting only a few months), and year-round air service facilitated by the 

continuation of spring/summer/fall flights into MMH would help to sustain many year-round 

positions. In addition, we already know that having the option to fly to MMH creates many 

incremental visitors who would not have come to area otherwise; and has a positive 

environmental impact by reducing automobile traffic on U.S. Highway 395. 

Since the spring/summer/fall service started last year with one flight daily from LAX, the public 

and private entities in the county have strongly supported the service by marketing it 

aggressively through cooperative programs, funding the infrastructure and staffing needs of the 

airport, and by directly subsidizing Alaska Airlines for the difference between the minimum 

revenue guarantee that they require and the on-board revenue generated by the passengers. 

THIS STATIONERY PRINTED ON PAPER MADE OF RECYCLED FIBERS 
DOC 

However, as the service is still in the early stages of development and the cost of operating the 

flights has increased dramatically due to the cost of fuel, the local public/private partnership 

has found itself funding the subsidy costs to maintain the flights at the expense of increased 

marketing support in order to grow the service and make the flights profitable sooner. With 

the help of the DOT Small Community Grant, the subsidy costs can be offset for the 

public/private partners and they can reinvest those funds into a more aggressive marketing 

program to help make the service profitable more quickly and allow for expansion of this key 

driver of economic development. 

Thank you for your consideration of this very important request for my constituents. 

Sincerely, 

?^:^W:S.Jc^$>sC 

Howard P. "Buck" McKeon 

Member of Congress