April 17, 2015 

# Houston Northvvest CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
The Honorable Anthony 

### R. Foxx Secretary ofTransportation US Department ofTransportation 1200 NewJersey Ave SE Washington, DC 20590 Dear Secretaries Foxx and Kerry: 

### 3920 Cypress Creek Pkwy 

### (FM 1960 W) Suite 

### 12C Hous ton , Texas 

### 7706E 281 -440-4160 ofc 

### 281-440-5302 fa> Chomberlnfo @HoustonNWChomber.org emal
The Honorable John F. Kerry Secretary of State US Department of State 2201 C Street NW Washington, DC 20520

The Houston Northwest Chamber of Commerce is committed to the economic health of our community, which encompasses Houston Intercontinental Airport and is home to many airport and airline employees. On behalf of the Houston Northwest Chamber of Commerce, we are writing to urge you and the Administration to open up discussions with Qatar Airways , Etihad Airways and Emirates Airlines to address issues related to subsidies and the Open Skies agreements. The Houston Northwest Chamber of Commerce members are in and around Houston Intercontinental Airport and will be negatively impacted 

### if these issues are not addressed . A strong airport is important to our members, our area small business owners and our community as a whole . These airlines are receiving subsidies and other unfair benefits worth billions of dollars. This in turn creates an unfair playing field which is counter to the structure of the agreement that the international community and airlines work with as a part of the Open Skies Agreement. It is estimated that over the last ten years the three airlines combined have received a minimum of

### $42 billion in subsidies and other benefits
. The Open Skies Agreements are a sensible and positive framework with which the airlines can operate and compete while providing customers with competitive international travel options. Houston has benefited from this and we believe this issue must be addressed . If these subsidies go unaddressed, the negative impact on areas like Houston would be devastating to our region's economy. We could face job losses at U .S
. based airlines and at the numerous small businesses in the area that benefit from the economic driver that air transportation represents . We respectfully request that you open consultations to address this very serious and important economic issue.



### cc: Senator John Cornyn Senator Ted Cruz Representative Brian Babin Representative Kevin Brady Representative John Culberson Representative Blake Farenthold Representative Michael McCaul Representative Pete Olson Representative Randy Weber Shah Ardalan , Lone Star College- University Pork. Chairman • Nancy Blackwell, AEI Engineering. Choir-Elect Juan Fresquez, Houston Northwest Medical Center. Chairman Ex-Officio • Adrian Cadena, Frost Bonk. Treasu rer Ross Radcliffe. Radcliffe Bobbit Adams Polley PLLC, Secretory • Barbara Thomason . President Platinum Member : Houston Northwest Medical Center Gold Members: Cypress Creek Mirror • GLF Magazine • Houston Methodist Willowbrook Hospital • Kindred Spring Hospital • Lone Star College Noble Entergy LLC • Prairie View A & M University • Tomball Regional Medical Center • Uniquely Focused Productionz. LLC • Wolmort mbers: AAA Plumbers • Apps 4 Profit • CH I St. Luke's Hospital - The Vintage • Citation Oil & Gas 

## 510-150424-tHO . •ct Newspaper - Spring Klein • Entelergy • Hosta La Posta • Hewlett-Packard Co. • Kelsey-Seybold Clinics Reviewit & Vida social Magazine • Roo!Tec • Spring Medical Associates • TOPS Surgical Specialty Hospital • United Airlines