U.S. Department of 

Transportation 

Office of the Secretary 

of Transportation 

Mr. Robert P. Bartz . 

President 

Manatee Chamber of Commerce 

P.O. Box 321 

Bradenton, FL 34206-0321 

Dear Mr. Bartz: 

JUL 5 2012 

~ .: ,· 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

.. . ~· . 

Thank you for your letter supporting the proposal s~bmitted by the Sarasota Bradenton 

International Airport for a grant under the U.S. Department of Transportation's Small 

Community Air Service Development Program. 

The Small Community Air Service Development Program was established to help smaller 

communities address air service deficiencies, particularly issues related to high airfares or 

insufficient service. Under the statute, the Department may make a maximum of 40 grant 

awards each year, although no more than 4 awards may be to communities.in the s~~e State. 

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

deficiencies, the statute provides flexibility in the types of projects that can be funded. 

On May 15, the Department issued an order requesting that communities interested in receiving a 

grant this year file their applications by June 11. As these grant requests are pending before the 

Department, I cannot comment on the merits of any particular proposal. I assure you that the 

Department will give full and fair 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-2012-0069 as a contact outside the record of this matter. I appreciate your interest in 

this program. 

Sincerely yours, 

M4~ Aloha Ley 

Associate Director 

Small Community Program 
~··-. . 

June 20, 2012 

Ms. Aloha Ley 

Office of Aviation Analysis 

1200 New Jersey Ave., SE, W86-310 

Washington, DC 20590 

Re: Small Community Air Service Development Program 

Docket DOT -OST -2012-0069 

Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) 

Dear Ms. Ley: 

Strengthening Your Business and Our Community 

National Chamber of the Year 

Three-Time Winner Florida Chamber of the Year 

U.S. Chamber 5-Star Accredited 

I am writing as the President of the.· Manatee Chamber of Commerce to express our strong support for 

the above referenced grant application to the Small Commlinity Air Service Development Program. The 

recent decision by Southwest Airlines to pull AirTran service from SRQ is a major blow to the air service 

and economic competitiveness of the entire region served by Sarasota Bradenton International Airport. 

AirTran accounted for over 360,000 passengers or nearly 30% of all passenger traffic at SRQ in 2011. 

Sarasota Bradenton also suffers from a lack of access to a westbound airline gateway. This forces local 

consumers to drive to other airports, thereby infJicting economic damage on the local economy. 

A 1997 Economic Impact Studycompleted as part of the SRQ Master Plan Update revealed that 57% 

of all enplanements at SRQ were out of area visitors spending an average of $665.00 per visit. Using 

the CY 2011 AirTran passenger traffic this equates to 102,600 visitors to the SRQ area. When 

combined with the 100,000 passengers lost due to no westbound service this equates to a loss of over 

$105,000,000 of direct visitor expenditures annually. When the multiplier effect is factored in it equates 

· ·to a loss of nearly $285,000,000 of economic impact and 2,600 jobs to the area. 

The community is partnering with the airport to match the grant funds dollar for dollar on this critical 

matter. We ask the Department consider the serious negative effects the recent approval provided to 

Southwest Airlines to acquire AirTran Airways has had on our community and approve the application 

for assistance. Thank you for your consideration. 

Cc: The Honorable Ray H. LaHood 

Secretary of Transportation 

United States Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. 

Washington, DC 20590 

PO. Box 321. l3radt:mon. FL 3-t206-c132l 

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