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Mr~ Steven a, Falk 

:P@Si(lentand CBO 

San FranciseoOhumber ofC6nunerce 

215 Mcmtgomery Street, I 2~11 FlPPJ' 

StW Franci~~¢~ 94'1:04 

Dear Mr, l1ttlk: 

!(]: 11 

Thank you.foryour letter to Secretary ofTransportati0n Ray LaHoodtsuppartlng:the·application 

ofVirginAmerica,Jil~· for foqr beyond•:perimeter slot ex.emptions at ~auald Reagan ·· Washington Natio.na1 Airport (DC}\:), ·I fawardeq .those· exemptions, Virgin Am~rica W:q;Uld 

provide two daiil)'! round .. tripflights.fromDCAto SanFrancisc.o. Sec.retary LaHo.odhas asked 

tbafl~p~l\d toyol1flett~r: · 

Underaltthoriiy granted in the FAA MPdemizationand Reform Aet·of2Pl2, the 

u.s. Deparbiiertt ofTra,nsportation will be awarding to new entriult t;Jtlimit¢d·incumbeJ1t 

carriers a total of eight sl()texemptiotlS at DCA,whieh would support fotir. daily row1d trips~ 

We teeeived Vt~~iri America's sl\lplication Qtl March 12,. 20 12~ Oth¢rtifuelyappl~cati(,)nS were re•~iveu~fromAir Canada, proposing one round trip, to Vat1couver~ British~ Columbia~' Alaska 

A:ir,ines~ one toWicHriptQ :PQrtlapd, ()reg(ln, @d on@: ro\)nd-trip to $anJliego; F,rontier Airlines, 

one. rountltrip'to Colorado Springs and· beyond to San Diego; JetBl!!e' Ait"Ways~ one round trip to 

San Juan,. Puerto !Uco, and one round trip to Austin, ·Texas~. S()uthwest Airlines,. one r()utfd trip to 

Austin and 8an Diego beyond; and Sun Countey:A·itlines, .pne round. trip to Las. Vegas. 

As the matte,r is still p.ending, we cannot ~;:omment on the n'lerlts ()f the p()ints mise'd in your 

l~ei' •. 86wevet, I .. cM.assureyou tga.t.all appliootionsJheDepwtrnenl~eceivedwiU be. given run: 

:andfa:it.considerati{)n ana will be evaluated agairtsttheselection :criteria specified in,th¢ statUte. 

The Departm¢nt's aeti6n on this matter is being administered through 'a public docket, which allow~ all interested ·parties the opporturtity to conunent. Followin~ our normal pro¢ti~e, ~~Ill. 

placing~ copy ofyour letter· and this response tn docket number Dbt,.zol2~0oz,9. 

We appreciate your intetesrinthis matter. 

.S~san L .. l<udand 

Assistant Sooretaryfor 

Aviation and International Affairs 
SAN FRANCISCO 

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Where smart business starts. 

Steven B. Falk 

President & CEO 

March 2, 2012 

The Honorable Raymond H. LaHood 

Secretary 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. 

Washington, D.C. 20590 

Re: Docket No. OST-2012·0029, Application of Virgin America Inc. for "Beyond-Perimeter" Slots 

Dear Secretary LaHood: 

The San Francisco Chamber of Commerce representing over 1,500 local businesses, strongly supports 

Virgin America's proposal to provide two nonstop flights between San Francisco International Airport 

(SFO) and Reagan National Airport (DCA). As the only airline headquartered here in San Francisco, Virgin 

America is uniquely suited to bring meaningful low-fare airline competition to the DCA-Bay Area routes. 

Historically, the Bay Area has been shut out of nonstop DCA service, with all previous flight awards being 

made to non-California airports- with the exception of a single daily Los Angeles flight. Prior DCA 

awa'fds:f1ave been'madEdO~a nu'mberof snialler dtie"S'an'd markets,induding Denver and Phoenix. 

Because SFO has been the largest market without nonstop flights to DCA, local consumers and 

businesses have been the ones to suffer with limited option~- essentially trave_l to Washington Dulles, or 

the option of taking a one-stop connecting 'tllght when trav~ling to downto,wn Washingto'n D.C. 

Whi:m making this criticai decision, 1 urge you to consider the positive Impact of impn:lving the · 

connectjon between Washington D.C. and the Bay Area's powerful innovation-based economy. 

Allocation oftwo round-trip flights to Virgin America- our hometown carrier-will provide assurance 

that the Bay Area will finally have efficient, modern and low-fare nonstop flight'service to DCA. It will 

also guarantee that local consumers and businesses reap the benefit that only real competition can 

provide. 

Since its August 2007launch, Virgin America has lowered fares and provided a unique new service option 

for local travelers. The Wall Street Journal went so far as to describe the low-fare airline's impact on 

fares as "the Virgin effect." 1 In addition, with fleetwide WiFi, power outlets, touch-screen 

entertainment and new aircraft, Virgin America;s inves~ment in its business-friendly product has off~,red 

an inventive new service option for tech-forward corporate travelers in the Bay Area. · 

When more airlines'tompete, consumers and regional economies win- with lower 1:ares and improved 

service. The award of two roundtrip flights to Virgin America will ensure that lqcal business travelers will 

benefit fro~ ~eal competition in the DCA rnar~~t~ Pr. beh~lfof our region, Bay ~rea travelers and the . . . . . ,· '' . . ... ···.' ,;'·' •' ')' · .. ·· ,., . . . . . 

. : t., . :. ' .. :: ·' ; ~., ': : . : . .' . 

1' . . . . '. '. ' . . . '... . . . •'· . . . . . . 

The Virgin Effect: Lower Cross-Country Fares," Wall Street Journal, October 30, 2007. ! ,,,,., .. :·· .. '. ,,. ! ·. . .. · 

235 Montgomery St., 12th Flr., San Frandsco •. CA 94104 • tel41_5 392 4520 I fax 415 392 0485 

s 10-120308-034 
business community, the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce urges you to approve Virgin 

America's proposal. 

Sincerely, 

Steve Falk 

President and CEO 

San Francisco Chamber of Commerce 

s 10-120308-034