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### U.S. Departmel"!f of 

### Transportation Asslslnnl Socrolary 1200 Now Jcrsoy Avenue. SE Washington. DC 20590 

### Office of the Secretary of

### Transportation



## Mr. Bert Lemkes President

. Van Wingerden International, Inc. 4112 Haywood Road Mills River, NC 28759 

## Dear Mr. Lemkes: July 3, 2012



## Thank you for your letter addressed to Secretary LaHood supporting the proposal submitted by the Asheville Regional Airport for a grant under the U.S. Department ofTransportation'sSmall Community Air Service Development Progrom. The Secretary has requested that I 

## respond on his behalf. 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 Dcpartn1ent may make a maximum of40 grant awards each year, nlthough no more 

## limn 4awards may be to communities in the same State. In orderto provide communities with latitude in developing solutions to their air service deficiencies, the statute provides flexibility in the types ofprojects that can be funded. On May 15, the Depanmcnt issued nn order requesting that communities interested in receiving n grant.thi.s year ·ftte ttlci'r'applications by June 11. As these grant requests arc pending before the. Depanmcnt, Icannot comment on the merits orany paniculur proposal. Inssure you that the Department 

## will give full and fair consideration to nil proposals thnt have been properly filed. As is our nom1al practice. Iam placing ncopy oryour letterand this response in Docket DOT-OST-201 2-0069 as a contact outside the record orthis matter. Iappreciate your interest in this program. Sincerely yours.

Susan L. Kurlnnd 

## Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International AffairsThursday, June 07, 2012

TheHonorable Ray LaHood, Secretary U.S. DepartmentofTranspmtation 400 

## i 11 Street, SW Room 10200 Washington, 

### D.C. 20590

Dear Secretary LaHood:



### .·'·-· 4112 Hnym)Od Ro2d Mills River, NC 20759 (828) 891-4116 fax (B28) 891..1J581

On behalf

### ofVan Wingerden lntemational Inc., a horticulture business organizationrepresenting 250+ employees inthe WesternNmthCarolinaarea, we strongly support the Asheville Regional Airport's Small CommunityAir Service Development Grant, whichwill allow fqr new and improved service in ourregion. Our region is growing, and enhanced air service is imperative to the economic vitality ofour area. Quality air service aids oureconomy throughimproved access for visitors, tourism and is important to business growth and retention. Oi.Irregion has a· noted connection to the Denvermarket- both from a leisure and business travel perspec1ivt'. 

### Weknow 

### that 5% ofinbmmd travelers come from Colorado, and many more from the west. Also, significant business development is occm'l'ing by Colorado and western state-based businesses inthe Western North Carolinaregion. Enhanced air service to and from Denver and.westem states is a positive fit for the direction of growth ourregionis experiencing. However, we have experienced the loss oflow-cost air carrier AirTron in the pastyear, and as a result,have seen airfaresbegin to rise to levels much greater than ourcompetitors arc experiencing. t -· ·theAsheville Regional Airport has put together a two-fold planto mitigate therising air fares they arc experiencing due to the loss ofAirTnm Airways this year. Specifically, the plan focuses first OJl attracting 

### .tnother-Jow-cosl air service provider to .serve the Denver market, and potentially additional markets lost when Ai.rTrun was acquired by Southwest. 

### Second, lhe plan 

### ensmes that 

### sufficientmarketing will occur to support the new low-tare carder's success in 

### the WNC market, and includes a focus on strengtheningthe newly formed travel advisory group- a consortium ofbusiness leaders, economic developers and tourism representatives who meet quarterlyto discuss air service needs, advocacy and utilization. 

### ,

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