U.S. Department Assistant Secretary of Transportation Office ofthe Secretary ofTransportation 

### January 22, 2013

Mr. Bill Imada Founder, Chairman and Chief

Collaboration Officer IW Group 8687 Melrose Avenue, Suite 

### 0540 West Hollywood, CA 90069 Dear Mr. Imada: 1200 NewJnrsey Avenue. SE Washington. DC 20590



### Thank you for your .letter to Secretary ofTransportation Ray LaHood, supporting the application ofSouthwest Airlines (South\vest) for two within-perimeter slot exemptions at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). Southwest proposes to serve Houston's William P. Hobby Airport with onenonstop round trip per day from DCA. Secretary LaHood asked that Irespond to you on his behalf. We received Southwest's application on December 5, 2012. Othertimely applications were received from JetBlue Airways, proposing one nonstop round trip to Jacksonville International Airport, Florida, and from US Airways, proposing one nonstop round trip to Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City. As the matter is still pending, I cannot comment on the merits ofthe points raised in your letter. However, I can assure you that all applications received by the U.S. Department of Transportation will be given due and careful consideration. The Department's action onthis matteris beingadministered through a publicdocket, which allows all interested parties the opportunityto comment. Following ournormal practice, I am placing a copy ofyourJetter and this response in docket number DOT-OST-2000-7182. 1appreciate your interest in this matter. Sincerelyyours,

Susan 

### L. Kurland Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs'0 

# IW group

December.23, 201.2 The Honorable Ray LaHood Secretary ofTransportation 

### U.S. Department ofTransportation 1200 NewJerseyAvenue, S.E. Washington, DC 20590**Re~** Docket No. DOT-OST-2000-7182 Dear Secretary LaHood: I am a frequent flyer on several different airline carriers, including American, Delta, Southwest, United and Virgin America. Each and**ew~ry** yearforthe last 10 years, I have traveled more than 100,000from Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Washington to points all over the U.S. As a small business owner who travels weekly, I rely heavity on finding the best schedules and the best prices. Competition between the different airline companies provides mewith affordable options, an array of scheduling choices, and access from different points around the country, including th.e route between Washington, D.C. and Houston. Smaller airports such as Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) and Houston HobbyAirport (HOU) are oftentimes more convenientfor business and leisure travelers than some ofthe larger airports such as Washington Dulles (lAD) and Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH). Traveling to these smaller airports also saves metime, money ($14-20 vs. $60+ for IAD)and a great deal ofheadaches. Therefore, when



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Hon. Ray LaHood Page2 Southwest Airline$ seeks two specific slot exemptions at DCA to offer daily nonstop.service to HOU, Ifeel a need to endorse their requestwholeheartedly. Currently, there is no scheduled airline se·rvice between DCA and HOU, which makes it more complicated and costly to travel between Washington and Hou:ston. As you can well imagine, the Houston-DCA market is currently a costly and complicated situation for many travelers. By providing these slots to Southwest Airlines, we ca·n open up an underserved and currently overpriced market to more airlines. This would be welcome news for busy travelers like me. Southwest Airlines is one ofthe best-priced airline companies and I use them frequently. They are also one ofthe rnost reliable airline companies in the country, offering greatvalue, service and travel options for people who have to travel for business. We need more options atour nation's busy airportsfor business travelers. Wealso need quality.service that is reliable, timely and hassle-free. Please approve Southwest's application fortwo-slot exemptions at DCA. Also, please keep me posted on this matter. Ifyou should have any questions, comments orthoughts about this, please do not hesitate to contact me. I would be happyto offer a 

### small-business perspective on this. Thank you in advancefor your anticipated support and approval ofthese slot exemptions. Sincerely yours,**~,~ -~~**  Billlmada Founder, Chairman and Chief Collaboration Officer IW Group, Inc. (Owner of a small, minority.:owned and operatedfirm and frequent businesstraveler)

cc: Han. Janice Hahn



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