BEFORE THE

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

_____________________________________ Application of )

)

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS, INC. )

) Docket OST

- 2010

- 0292

under 49 U.S.C. § 40109 for renewal of )

exemption authority between )

Baltimore, Maryland and Bermuda )

_____________________________________ )

APPLICATION OF AIRTRAN AIRWAYS, INC.

F OR RENEWAL OF EXEMPTION AUTHORITY

Communications with respect to this document should be sent to:

Bob Jordan Robert W. Kneisley

President Associate General Counsel

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS, INC. Leslie C. Abbott

9955 AirTran Boulevard Senior Attorney

Orlando, FL 32827 SOUTHWEST AIRLIN ES CO.

1901 L Street, N.W., Suite 640

Washington, D.C. 20036

bob.kneisley@wnco.com

(202) 263

- 6284

September 1 7 , 20121 BEFORE THE

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

_____________________________________ Application of )

)

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS, INC. )

) Docket OST

- 2010

- 0292

under 49 U.S.C. § 40109 for renewal of )

exemption authority between )

Baltimore, Maryland and Bermuda )

_____________________________________ )

APPLICATION OF AIRTRAN AIRWAYS, INC.

FOR RENEWAL OF EXEMPTION AUTHORITY

P ursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 40109 and Subpart C of Part 302 (14 C.F.R.)

, AirTran

Airways, Inc. (“AirTran”) 1 hereby files this Application for Renewal of Exemption with the

Department of Transportation (“DOT” o r “the Department” ) to allow AirTran to continue

to provide carriage of persons, property and mail in scheduled combination service

between Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marsh all Airport (“BWI”) and

Bermuda (“ BDA ”). By Order dated December 10, 2010 , the Department originally

granted AirTran authority to this market. 2 If not renewed, t he current exemption is

scheduled to expire on December 10, 2012

. To ensure no interruption of scheduled

service, AirTran respectfully requests prompt renewal of its exemption authority for a

minimum of two years

. 3

1 AirTran Airways, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Southwest Airlines Co.

2 In this same order, DOT also granted AirTran exemption authority to provide service between Atlanta

Hartsfield International Airport (“ATL”) and BDA. However, due to market conditions, AirTr an terminated

this service in September 2011 and therefore does not seek renewal of exemption authority for this route

. 3 To the extent necessary, AirTran relies upon the automatic extension provisi ons of 5 U.S.C. § 558(c) to

maintain the subject authority in effect beyond the expiration date, pending DOT action on this

Application.2

Renewal of the subject exemption is in the public interest for the same reasons

that supported the original issuance of authority for AirTran’s ATL

- BDA and BWI

- BDA

service. AirTran’s service has provided consumers in both of these markets with high

quality, low

- cost travel options and low

- fare competition . AirTran provides this service

with Stage III Boeing 737

- 700 aircraft configured for 137 seats . C ontinuation of this

service is in the public interest.

AirTran continues to be fit, willing and able to conduct the services described in

this A pplication. The Department has granted AirTran exemption authority to provide

service on numerous other international routes, including : MDW

- CUN (Dockets OST

2012

- 0001)

, SAT

- MEX (OST

- 2011

- 0205)

, U.S.

- Aruba (OST

- 2009

- 0200), U.S.

- Jamaica

(OST

- 2009

- 0201 ) and U.S.

- Dominican Republic (OST

- 2010

- 0158). AirTran requests

that the Department take official notice, pursuant to Rule 24 of the Department's Rules

of Practice, of all data on file with the Department necessary to establish AirTran 's

fitness.

The reque sted renewal of exemption authority is fully consis tent with the 1977

Aviation A greement between the United States and the United Kingdom , which does not

limit U.S. carrier capacity on covered routes such as BWI

- BDA

. AirTran requests that

the Department renew its authority so that it can continue to provide this service under

the A greement

.3

WHEREFORE, AirTran Airways , Inc. resp ectfully requests renewal of its

exemption authority under 49 U.S.C. § 40109 for a minimum of two years to provide

scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail between Baltimore

,

Maryland and Bermuda

.

Respectfully submitted,

______________________ Robert W. Kneisley

September 1 7 , 20124 C ERTIFICATE OF SERVIC E

I hereby certify that on September 1 7 , 2012 , a copy of the foregoing was served

via e

- mail on the following persons:

msinick@ssd.com (Alaska Airlines)

robert.wirick@aa.com (American Airlines)

sascha.vanderbellen@delta.com (Delta Air Lines)

robert.cohn@hoganlovells.com (Frontier Airlines)

jhill@dowlohnes.com (JetBlue Airways)

dkirstein@yklaw.com (Spirit Airlines)

John.Fredericksen@suncountry.com (Sun Country Airlines)

dan.weiss@united.com (United Air Lines)

howard_kass@usairways.com (US Airways)

pmurphy@lopmurphy.com (USA3000)

barbara.russell@virginamerica.com (Virgin America)

susan.kurland@dot.gov

paul.gretch@dot.gov

esta.rosenberg@dot.gov

brian.hedberg@dot.gov

ben j a m i n .taylor@dot.gov

Paul Wiedefeld

Executive Director

Maryland Aviation Administration

BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport

pwiedefeld@bwiairport.com

info@airlineinfo.com

__________________________ Leslie C. Abbott