May 21 , 2015 

The Honorabl e John F . Kerry 

Secretary of State 

U. S . Depart ment of State 

2201 C Street, NW 

Washington , DC 20520 

The Honorable Ant h ony Foxx 

Secretary of Transportation 

U. S . Depart me nt of Transportation 

1200 New J ersey Avenue , SE 

Washington , DC 20590 

The Honorable Penn y S . Pritzker 

Secretary o f Commerce 

U. S . Depa rtmen t of Commerce 

1401 Constitution Avenue , NW 

Wash i ng ton, DC 20230 

GREATER ORLANDO AVIATION AUTHORITY 

Orlando International Airport 

One Jeff Fuqua Boulevard 

Orlando , Florida 32827-4399 

RE: REQUEST FOR COMMENTS ON PRESERVING OPEN SKIES AND ENSURING COMPETITIVE CHOICE 

FOR CONSUMERS DOCKET NO . DOS-2015-0016 - DOCKET NO. DOT-OST-2015-0082 - DOCKET 

NO. 

DOC - 2015-0001 

Dear Secre t ary Kerry , Secretary Foxx and Secretary Pritzker: 

The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (" GOAA" ) apprec i ates the o pportunity to comment 

on the imp ortance of the United States' longstanding Open Skies policy to the 

customers we serve and Central Florida ' s economy. We commend the Obama Administration 

for seeki n g t h e views of the broader stakeholder community. GOAA believes it is 

imperative t h e decision in this matter is guided by the national economic interest , 

not the narrow se l f-interest of a few companies . 

Tourism is critical to Central Florida generating more than $60 billion i n economic 

activity and s u p porting more than 390 , 000 jobs last year, representing over 1/3 of all 

jobs i n our region. Our airports serve as an engine for this tourism-related 

commercial activity. In 2014 , more than 4.3 million i nternational visitors relied on 

Orlando International Airport as their gateway to Cen t ral Florida and , than ks to Op en 

Skies, we are seeing year- ov er- year growth in international passengers. 

Simply put , the abilit y of Orlando International Airport to attract int ernational 

passeng ers and so benefit the Central Florida economy is i nextricably l i n ked to Op en 

Skies. Any policy decisi on which limits or restricts Open Skies access to the US is 

u nwi se i n ou r view . 

Liter al l y , Ope n Sk i es has enab l ed Orlando to become a global tourism and trade 

destina tion with non-stop air service links to Europe , Canada , Mexico , and Central and 

South America. In t he absence of this free air service trade policy, Orlando 

I nternational Airport would be unabl e to provide the access for international visitors 

that our l ocal tourism attractions require to sustai n the area economy , support tens 
of thousands of jobs, and realize Central Florida ' s potential as the premier leisure 

destination in the world, . Rapidly expanding air service trade between Brazil and 

Orlando is an example of the power of Open Skies . According to the US National Travel 

Tourism Office (NTTO), visitors from Brazil to Orlando have soared from 74,000 in 2004 

to 7 68 , 000 in 2013 and accelerated exponentially after the US Open Skies with Brazi l 

was negotiated . Earlier this week, another new Brazilian flight was announced that 

will provide the first- ever non-stop service to Belo Horizonte. 

GOAA and Central Fl orida are direct and substantial stakeholders in this matter. In 

their April 17 letter to you , the CEOs of Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and 

American Airlines demanded that Emirates Airline ' s new Orlando-Dubai non-stop flight, 

scheduled to start on September 1, be prohibited. Specifically, for their narrow 

self-interest, they demanded a freeze on all new flights clearly authorized by the USUAE and US-Qatar Open Skies agreements retroactive to January 28, 20 15. This is 

nothing short of an invit ation for President Obama's Administration to breach 

internati ona l agreements, send a signal to the world that the US does not keep its 

word when it agrees to open its air service market on a reciprocal basis, and put 

Delta, United and American's self- interest ahead of the best interest of Central 

Florida that will receive more than $100 million in annual economic benefits from 

Orlando ' s first ever non- stop air service link to the Middle East . That is an 

invitation the Administration should emphatically decline . 

GOAA and the Central Florida economy , including tens of thousands of tourism-related 

jobs that depend on a free and unimpeded flow of international visitors through 

Orlando International , urge you to be guided by the broader national i nterest, not the 

parochial i nterest s of a few . We believe that focus will lead to the inescapable 

conclusion that Open Skies policy has produced and conti nues to produce enormous 

economic benefits for our country, and any attempt to limit or restrict existing Open 

Skies rights to protect US airlines' record-breaking profits is unwise. Neither the 

US economy nor our economy i n Central Florida can afford the Open Skies policy 

departure that is being urged in this matter. The Orl ando area certainly cannot 

afford to l ose the more than $100 million in new annual economic activity Emirates' 

new Orlando-Dubai non-stop f light will generate , and the nearly 1,500 jobs it will 

support . 

Thank you for considering our views in this extremely important matter. 

Sincerely, 

Phillip N. Brown, AAE 

Executive Director 

Frank Kruppenbacher 

Chairman