U.S. Department ofTransportation Office ofthe Secretory ofTransportation Assistant Secretary April 20, 2012

The Honorable MarfaE. Melendez Altieri, DMD MayorofPonce P.O. Box 331709 Ponce, PR 00733-1709 DearMayorMelendez Altieri: OLt

Thankyou for your letterto Secretary ofTransportation Ray LaHood, supporting the application ofJetBlue Aitways forbeyond-perimeterslotexemptions at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). JetBlue's applicationproposes to serve Luis Munoz MarinAirport, Puerto Rico, with oneround trip perday from DCA. Secretary LaHood asked me to respondto your letter. Underauthority granted in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of2012, the U.S. DepartmentofTransportation will be awardingto new entrantorlimited incumbent carriers atotal ofeight slotexemptions atDCA, which would support four daily round trips. We receivedJetBlue's application, which also proposes one daily round trip to Austin, Texas, on March 12. Othertimely 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; FrontierAirlines, one round trip to Colorado Springs and beyond to San Diego; SouthwestAirlines, one roundtrip to Austin and San Diego beyond; Sun Country Airlines, one round trip to Las Vegas; and Virgin America, Inc., two round trips to San Francisco. As the matteris still pending, Icannotcommenton the merits ofthe points raised in your letter. However, Ican assure you that all applications the Departmentreceived will be given full and fairconsideration and will be evaluated againstthe selection criteria specified in the statute. The Department's action on this matteris being administered through apublic docket, which· allows all interestedparties the opportunity to comment. Following our normal practice, Iam placing acopy ofyour letterand this response in docket numberDOT-2012-0029. Iappreciate yourinterest in this matter. Sincerely yours,

Susan L. Kurland Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International AffairsMarch 15, 2012 The Honorable Ray LaHood Secretary US Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, D.C. 20590 

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RE: JetBiue Airways DCA-SJU Application, Docket DOT-OST-2012-0029 Dear Mr. Secretary: I write to express my support for the application by JetBJue Airways for slot exemptions at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), to provide nonstop round trip service to San Juan, Puerto Rico, as submitted under Docket DOT-OST-2012-0029. JetBiue's plan to offer daily, round trip service will provide Puerto Rico withthe nonstop access to our notion's capitol that we have long sought. JetBiue Is Puerto Rico's hometown low-fare airline. Since JetBiue's first flight in 2002, their nonstop, large jet service on the mainland has t!xpanded from JFK to Boston, Hartford, Newark, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonvllle, while in the Caribbean, their service has expanded to key markets in the region, including St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. Maarten and Santo Domingo. JetBiue also partners with Cape Air for additional regional service connecting at San Juan. The level of direct service from San Juan to Washington has decreased over the years, while fares continue to rise. Presently, limited nonstop service from Puerto Rico is through either Baltimore Washington International Airport'or Washington Dulles, International Airport, both of which' are quite distant for travelers visiting downtown Washington or its federal government offices. The addition of this unique nonstop, a first of its kind, would provide travelers from the greater Washington area with a key connection to the Caribbean and benefit all visitors to and residents of Puerto Rico. I urge you to award JetBiue the slot exemptions necessary to provide the nonstop round trip service between Washington, DC and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

# i2.1~c)q~fh-l~ Marfa E. Melendez Altieri, DiD Mayor

PO BOX 331709 Ponce, Puerto Rico 00733-1709 * Teletono (787)284-4141 * www.visitponce.com S10-120417-036