# A 

# •**~u.s.** 

### Department ofTransp()rfatlon Office 0rthe 

### seore1ary 

### of Tronspertotion



## Ms. OJ Wils91) 

## President& General Manager 

## KGW**M~dta.** 

## Gro\lp

. 1

50'1 SWJefferson 

## Stte.et Portland, 

# OR**.97~01** 

## Dear 

## Ms. WllsonT ! 

## l

< < '" •"' 

### l I ;;;,j /**'~"·** 

## ll i:J·

### Th~you 

## for 

# your**l~ttet** 

## to 

## Secretary ofTransportaticm.l\ay Lattood} 

## ·supporting the 

## applicatian ()f

## Alaska**Airlines~** 

## Inc. 

## for twQ

### beyond-peril11e~er 

## slot exemptions 

## :at.Ronald

..Reagan Washington 

## National Airport 

## (DCJ\). Alaska's

## appli~ation proposes 

## to serve

## Portlandlnt~rnationat Airpprt 

## With**o*erp~ildJrlpper** 

## day·from· DCA.. Secretary 

## UtHoodbas**~sked** 

## me to .respond to your· letter. Under 

## authority granted 

### inthe 

## FAA 

## Modernization**~d** 

## .Reform Act**o£2012~** 

## the**U.s~** 

## Department of

## Transportation will be 

## ayvatdbrgto new 

## entrant or limited incumbent catriers a total ofeight slotexemptions at 

## DCA,. whichwould 

## support four ,daily tound 

## trips.**Wereceiv~d,r\laska's:appli~tioh.** 

## which lt1so 

## proposes one,datly 

## roun<:l trip to 

## San Diego, on 

## March 12. Other·timely**appli~adons werere~eive<i** **tl;onlAirCgljada~** 

## pr<>posing one:,roundtrip to Vancouvet; 

## British**Cdlumbi~** 

## Frontier AirUn•es, 

## one 

## round trip toColorado Springs 

## and 

## beyonttJo 

## San Diego; 

## JetBlue AitHrtes; one round trip 

## to**S~** 

## Juan,**Pu~ito** 

## Ri¢o,.ana· Qneround 'trip to Austin, Texas; 

## Southwest Airliness 

## one round 

## trip to Ailstin,and San 

## Diego beyond; Sun 

## Country Airlines, 

## one· 

## round trlp.to 

## Las 

# vegf\S; 

## an:d Virgin 

## Americttt**lnc~,** 

## two round trips to 

# ,San**Frariti~Qb:;** 

## As 

## the·matter is still peoding, 1

## cannot

## comment onihe merits ofthepointsraiseq in 

## ypur letter· However; 

## lean assure you 

## that ·all applicatiomrthe DepaitplenJ**rec~ived** 

# wm be 

## given fulband fair consideration and 

## will be 

## evaluated l,lgainst 

## the selection criteria specified in the 

## statttte.

# ]fie**Department~s a~ion,**  

## on tliisntatteds tleing admintstereCI 

## through a Ptiblie**dtio~et~~wmcb** 

## ·allows all**inte:mst~d** 

## pCU'ties 

## the opportunity to.c.omment. FcHlowing,

## our normal ptaetice, 

## I am 

## placing a

## copy**of~your** 

## lettenmd this 

## response in

## docket number DOT-A012;;.;QQ29.

Sincerely yours,



## Susan l

.. 

## Kurland Assistant Secretary for 

## Aviation• and International 

## Affairs

# "

•>!,;:;!' ;::.:•· t'

'ft.-oatrellolV

'

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### n**~~** T

March 23, 2012

The Honorable Ray LaHood U.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Ave, SE Washington, DC 20590

Re: Alaska Airlines' application for POX-DCA; Docket 1\lo. DOT-OST-2012-0029.

Dear Secretary LaHood:

This letter is in support of the application of Alaska Airlines to provide one daily roundtrip flight between Reagan National Airport (DCA) and Portland**~nternational** Airport (POX).

We are told that the Portland-Vancouver region is the second largest market to Washington DC, In terms of passengers per day, without nonstop servke to DCA. It is the ideal candidate for such service. Nonstop service from Oregon/southwest Washington is limited to just a single daily flight between POX and Washington Dulles (lAD). With nonstop service from POX to DCA, Oregon/southwest Washington residents will benefit from enhanced competition and no longer be forced to use less convenient and more time-consuming service to reach our nation's capital.

Alaska Airlines and its regional sister carrier, Horizon Air, have a large hub presence at POX, operating an annual average of more than 640 flights per week to 33 destinations. As a result, Alaska's nonstop flight would also improve service levE!Is to Washington, DC for the Oregon cities of Eugene, Medford and Redmond, in addition t() the greater Portland-Vancouver region. Importantly, Alaska has a strong customer service focus, reliable operational performance and financial strength. In sum, we are fortunate to have re•gular access to the best performing**~-** airline in the country. These qualities make Alaska the Ideal carrier to provide Oregon/southwest Washington residents with their first nonstop service to DCA.

I respectfully urge you to grant Alaska Airlines' applica1tion to provide PDX-DCA service.

for your consideration.



## S10-120J27-026 5 0 N S T R E F. T • P 0 R T L A**~~** D . 0 R 9 7 2 0 1 • 5 0 :$ • 2 2 6 - 5 0 0 0