SlO-101103-018 

aS.Departmentof Assistant Secretary ' 200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Trtinsportatlon Washington, DC 20590 

Office o1 the Secretary ^ 

ot Transportation 

November 8, 2010 

Mr. Robert P. Bartz 

President 

Manatee Chamber of Commerce 

P.O. Box 321 

Brademon.l^L 34206-0321 

Dear Mr. Bartz: 

Thank you for your letter of October 6 to Secretary LaHood supporting AirTran Airways, 

Inc. (AicTran) to serve Sarasota, Florida, in the ongoing slot-exemption proceeding at 

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). The Secretary has asked that 1 

respond to your letter directly. 

As you know, the U.S. Department of Transportation commenced a proceeding on 

August 30 to reallocate two DCA slot exemptions that are currently held by Republic 

Airline, Inc. (Republic) as a result of its acquisition of Midwest Airlines. Republic has 

been using these two slot exemptions for DCA - Kansas City service. These slot 

exemptions may be used to serve any medium hub or smaller airport within the 1,250-

mile perimeter of DCA. 

We have received a total of five proposals, briefly outlined below: 

• Sun Country to serve Lansing, Michigan, with 129- or 162-seat aircraft; 

• Republic Airline, Inc., branded as Frontier Airlines, to continue to serve Kansas 

City, Missouri, with 99-seat regional jet aircraft; 

• Southwest Airlines Co.; to serve Kansas City utilizing 137-seat aircraft; 

• US Airways, Inc., to serve Pensacola, Florida, utilizing 76- or 86-seat regional jet 

aircraft, depending on the season; and 

• Air Tran Airways, Inc., to serve either Fort Myers or Sarasota, Florida, utilizing 

eitlier 117- or 137-seat aircraft. 

As the slot exemption proceeding is competitive and is cuirently under review by the 

Depaitment, I am sure you understand diat I cannot con:unent on the merits of the 

proposals, I assure you, however, that the Department will fully consider all of the 

proposals, and make its award based on the selection criteria detailed in the governing 

statutes. 
510-101103-018 

Mr. Roben P. Bavtz 

Page 2 

As is our normal practice, 1 am placing a copy of your letter and my response in Docket 

DOT-OST-2000-7182 as a contact outside the record of this proceeding. If J can piQvide 

further information or assistance, please feel free to call me. 

Sincerely yours, 

Susan L. Kurland 

Assistant Secretary for 

Aviation and International Affairs 
SlO-101103-018 

Manatee 

CHAMBER of 

COMMERCE 

Strenglhening Your Business end Our Community 

National Chamber of the Year 

Three-Time Winner Florida Chamber of me Year 

October 6, 2010 

The Honorable Ray H. LaHood 

Secretary of Transportation 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. 

Washington, DC 20590 

RE: Docket OST-2000-7182 

Dear Secretary LaHood: 

We are writing to express our support for the application of AirTran Airways Inc. for the two 

available Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) within-perimeter slots being 

allocated by the Department in Docket OST-2000-7182 to provide nonstop service from 

Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) to DCA. 

The Sarasota Bradenton area has only one daily nonstop on a regional jet to Washington, DC, 

even though it is the sixth largest destination market from this area. With over 750,000 

residents and our prime location as a leisure destination for tourists, SRQ can certainly 

support additional service and it would be a great help co the tourism industry in this region, 

which suffered a significant impact from the BP oil spill. This new service would also 

mitigate the negative economic impact the recession has had on the community and the 

airport. 

While AirTran also offers an altemfltive to award the route to Southwest Florida International 

(RSW), we ask that the slot be awarded to Airtran conditioned on the slot be utilized for SRQ. 

In addition to enhancing competition and lowering fares at Sarasota Bradenton International 

Airport, the proposed service would increase connectivity to destinations in the Northeast 

and Midwest, critical markets for our region. 

Thank you for your consideration. 

Robert P. Bartz/^ 

President 

PO. Box321,erademcin. r-L 5420&-P.121 . (y4])'-^«-3-tl 1 • Faj^: W U 74J-1H77 • w-wwNtanjiceChamber.cym . E-Nbil: 111fo@Mana1eeCh3111bcr.com 

JiradenlonOjfitc.lll lOihSucei Wesi. Bradenion, FL 34205 • tiif.ruWiJ Riinih 0//iii: fi( f/if AJtCfuff Cfriifi: 4215 Concfpi Court. Ukcwcod Ranch, FL 34211 

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