U. & Departmen t o f Assistan t Secretar y, - [ Tir^ri-: ' Qr'^O O Ne wJerseyAvenue , SE Thinsportatio n Washington , D C 2059 0 Offic e o f th e Secretar

y o f Transportatio n 

### \ - U !



### OC T 2520 W Mr . Joh n B . Czameck i Presiden t & CE O Clinto n County Economi c Allianc e 1280 0 Escanab aDrive , Suit e D DeWitt , M I 4882 0 Dea r Mr . Czamecki : Than k yo u for you r lette r o f Octobe r 6 t o Secretar y LaHoo dsupportin g Su n Country Airline s t o serv e Lansing , Michigan , i n th e ongoin g slot-exemptio n proceedin g a t Ronal d Reagan Washingto n Nationa l Airport (DCA) . Th e Secretary ha s aske dtha t I respon dt o you r lette r directly . A s you know , th e U.S . Departmen t of Transportatio n commence daproceedin g o n Augus t 3 0 t o reallocat e tw o DC A slo t exemption s that

ar e currentl y bein g use db y Republi c Airline , Inc . (Republic) . Republi c ha s bee n usin g thes e tw o slo t exemption s for DC A - Kansa s Cit y service . Thes e slo t exemption s may b e use dt o serv e an y mediu m hu b o r smalle r airport withi n th e 1,250-mil e perimete r of DCA . W e hav e receive datotal o f fiv e proposals , briefl y outline dbelow :

• Su n Country t o serv e Lansin g with129 - o r 162'Seat aircraft ; • Republi c Airline , Inc. , brande da s Frontie r Airlines , t o continu e t o serv e Kansa s City , Missouri , wit

h99-sea t regiona l je t

aircraft ; • Southwes t

Airline s Co. , t o serv e Kansa s City utilizin g 137-sea t aircraft ; • U S Airways , Inc. , t o serv e Pensacola , Florida , utilizin g 76 - o r 86-seat regiona l je t aircraft , dependin g o n th e season ; an d • Air Tran Airways , Inc. , t o serv e eithe r Fort Myer s o r Sarasota , Florida , utilizin g eithe r 117 - o r 137-seat aircraft . A s th e slo t

exemptio n proceedin g i s competitiv e an di s currentl y unde r revie w b y th e Department , I amsur e yo u understan dthat I canno t commen t

o n th e merit s of

th e proposals . I assur e you , however , that th e Departmen t

wil l fully conside r

all of th e proposals , andmak e it s awar dbase do n th e selectio n criteri adetaile di n th e governin g statutes .Mr . Joh n B . Czameck i

Pag e 2 A s i s our norma l practice , I amplacin g acop y of you r lette r an dmy respons e i n Docke t DOT-OST-2000-718 2 a s acontac t outsid e th e recor dof

thi s proceeding . I appreciat e your interes t i n obtainin g acces s t o th e Nation' s capital . I f I can provid e further informatio n o r

assistance , pleas e fee l fre e t o cal l me .

,/ i /^'Susa n L . Kurlan d / / ''Assistan t

Secretary for Aviatio n an dInternationa l Affair s

# I S1{)-1()H)I5-()1^ )

CL I NTO N COUNT Y ECONOMI C ALLIANC E 

# G O Jpc^tMt ± '^CiA^ed" ^ ^ai^>r\^M ± C^iiyvrv\ittect 1280 0 Escanab a Driv e

Suit e D DeWitt , M l 4882 0 517-669-134 5 clintoncountyeconoinicalliance.or g Octobers , 201 0

Th e Honorabl e Raymon d L . LaHoo d Secretar yo f Transportatio n Unite d State s Departmen t o f Transportatio n 120 0 Ne wJerse yAvenu e S E Washington , D C 2059 0 Re : Su n Countr yAirline s Applicatio n - #DOT-OST-2000-718 2 Dea rSecretar yHood : Th e Clinto n Count yEconomi cAllianc e strongl ysupport s an d request s approva l o f th e Su n Countr yApplicatio n reference d above . Clinto n Count yi s th e hom e o f th e Capita l Regio n Internationa l Airport . T o enabl e th e airpor t t o gro wan d prospe ri t i s vita l tha t th e airpor t provid e servic e t o a s man ydestination s a s possible . I n tu m thi s wil l provid e greate reconomi cdevelopmen t opportunitie s t o th e region . Non-sto p servic e t o Washingto n D C i s i n grea t deman d i n th e Greate rLansin g Region . Thi s servic e woul d replac e th e successfu l independenc e ai rservic e tha t wa s los t i n 200 5 du e t o th e airlin e bankruptcies . Sinc e then , Lansin g ha s remaine d on e o f th e fe wstat e capital s withou t non-sto p servic e t o Washington . Accordingly , th e ne wSu n Countr yservic e wil l begi n t o fil l th e voi d i n airlin e servic e fo rMid Michigan . You rapprova l o f th e Su n Countr yslo t applicatio n i s vita l t o th e economi c developmen t o f th e region . Sincerely , Joh n B . Czameck i Presiden t & CE O cc : Rober t F . Seli g