U.S. Department 

of Transportation 

Office of the Secretary 

of Transportation 

The Honorable George Garver 

Mayor of Georgetown 

113 E. 81h Street 

P.O. Box409 

Georgetown, Texas 78627-0409 

Dear Mayor Garver: 

Assistant Secretary 

April 20, 2012 

- - -------~~~~-~-

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

Thank you for your letter to Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, supporting the award of 

beyond-perimeter slot exemptions at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) to be 

used for nonstop service to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS), Austin, Texas. 

Secretary LaHood asked me to respond to your letter. 

Under authority granted in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of20 12, 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 applications proposing to serve AUS from two carriers, Southwest Airlines and 

JetBlue Airways. Each sought two slot exemptions, which would support one daily DCA-AUS 

round trip; JetBlue also applied for two slot exemptions to serve San Juan, Puerto Rico. Other 

timely applications were received from Air Canada, proposing one round trip to Vancouver, 

British Columbia; Alaska Airlines, one round trip to Portland, Oregon, and one round trip to San 

Diego; Frontier Airlines, one round trip to Colorado Springs and beyond to San Diego; Sun 

Country Airlines, one round trip to Las Vegas; and Virgin America, Inc., two round trips to San 

Francisco. 

As the matter 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 

fair consideration and will be evaluated against the selection criteria specified in the statute. 

The Department's action on this matter is being administered through a public docket, which 

allows all interested parties the opportunity to comment. Following our normal practice, I am 

placing a copy of your letter and this response in docket number DOT-2012-0029. 

I appreciate your interest in this matter. 

Sincerely yours, 

Susan L. Kurland 

Assistant Secretary for 

Aviation and International Affairs 
,l'H. In·•~ 

EORGETOWN 

TEXAS 

March 21,2012 

The Honorable Ray LaHood 

Secretary of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. 

Washington, D.C. 20590 

Re: Docket No. DOT-OST-2012-0029. 

Dear Mr. Secretary, 

MAYOR GEORGE GARVER 

CITY or GF(lRGETOWN 

As Mayor of the City of Georgetown, Texas I am writing to express my strong support 

for applications that have been submitted to provide daily nonstop roundtrip flights 

between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Austin-Bergstrom 

International Airport. 

Georgetown is a city and also the county seat of Williamson County, Texas, and is 26 

miles north of Austin with a population of 47,400 at the 2010 census. Southwestern 

University, founded in 1840, is the oldest university in Texas and is located in 

Georgeto~, about 112 mile east of the historic square. 

At present nonstop service from our region to the Washington DC region is limited to 

flights to Washington (Dulles) or Baltimore/Washington International Airport. Those 

flights are inconvenient for travelers who have a need to visit Federal Government 

offices, legislators or organizations located in the District of Columbia and for residents 

of the District of Columbia who want to visit Central Texas. In order to fly in or out of 

DCA, these travelers must make time-consuming connections. 

Award of beyond-perimeter slot exemptions for nonstop service between AustinBergstrom International Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport will · 

improve the travel options for all the residents and businesses in.Georgetown and all of 

Central Texas. =~ 

I respectfully urge you to grant slot exemptions to an airline that will provide nonstop 

AUS-DCA service. 

Sincerely, 

~?.iJ-e-- George Garver 

Mayor 

11:~ E. 8th Street I P 0. Box 409 I Georgetown, Texas 78627-040H I (512) 930-r!6fi2 I f/112) 930-:l659 !fnxl 

s 10-120330-039 www.georgetown.ol'g I mayor@gecn·getown.org