A • 

~u.s. Department 

of Transp()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 / i:J· '~"· ll 

Th~you for your l~ttet to Secretary of Transportaticm.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 in the FAA Modernization ~d .Reform Act o£2012~ the U.s~ Department of Transportation will be ayvatdbrgto new entrant or limited incumbent 

catriers a total of eight slot exemptions at DCA,. which would 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 to Colorado 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 v egf\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' 

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W H E r~ I' T I f I' N f:: W !!> <.: 0 M E $ F' I 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 

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