U.S. Department 

of Transportation 

Office of the Secretary 

of Transportation 

Ms. Sandra McDonough 

President & CEO 

Portland Busin~ss Alliance 

200 SW Market Street, Suite 150 

Portland, OR 97201 

Dear Ms. McDonough: 

Assistant Secretary 

April 13, 2012 

if)· l ·1 ~~ • f I 

Thank you for your letter to Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, supporting the application 

of Alaska Airlines, Inc. for two beyond-perimeter slot exemptions at Ronald Reagan Washington 

National Airport (DCA). Alaska's application proposes to serve Portland International Airport 

with one round trip per day from DCA. Secretary LaHood has asked me to respond to your 

letter. 

Under authority granted in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, the 

U.S. Department of Transportation will be awarding to new entrant or limited incumbent 

carriers a total of eight slot exemptions at DCA, which would support four daily round trips. 

We received Alaska's application, which also proposes one daily round trip to San Diego, on 

March 12. Other timely applications were received from Air Canada, proposing one round trip 

to Vancouver, British Columbia; Frontier Airlines, one round trip to Colorado Springs and 

beyond to San Diego; JetBlue Airlines, one round trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and one round 

trip to Austin, Texas; Southwest Airlines, one round trip to Austin and San Diego beyond; Sun 

Country Airlines, one round trip to Las Vegas; and Virgin America, Inc., two round trips to San 

Francisco. 

As the matter is still pending, I cannot comment on the merits of the points raised in your letter. 

However, I can assure you that all applications the Department received will be given full and 

fair consideration and will be evaluated against the selection criteria specified in the statute. 
Th~,'P¢~e,rtt,s FJ,~tion ontbis matter is hefug adllllliistered through a publie dodket, whioft, 

allows all interested parties the ;opportunity to comment. Following our noun~ pr1Jctice, .I ,•mn 

placing a copy ,of your letter jJUdtllis resPP:~se ;in docket n~berDOT-20 12'"'(),029;, , / ' '' :· ,' . 

l appreciateyour.lttterestih this>matter, 

Sincerely yours, 

Susan L, Kurland 

AssisUu!tSectetary for 

Aviation and International Affairs 
PORTLAND BUSINESS 

ALLIANCE 

r.eadinv the uJav 

March 8, 2012 

The Honorable Ray LaHood 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Ave, SE 

Washington, D.C. 20590 

Re: Alaska Airlines' application for PDX-DCA; Docket No. DOT-OST-2012-0029. 

Dear Secretary LaHood: 

The Portland Business Alliance, greater Portland's Chamber of Commerce, has 

1,300 small, medium and large members in the Portland-region, representing 

some 325,000 employees. As one of Oregon's leading business associations, 

we are writing to express our support for the application of Alaska Airlines to 

provide a daily roundtrip flight between Reagan National Airport (DCA) and 

Portland International Airport (PDX). 

Many of our members travel to Washington, D.C., on a regular basis, and they 

consistently highlight the need for more nonstop service options for getting to 

and from the Washington, D.C. area. We understand that, in terms of 

passengers per day, the Portland-Vancouver region is the second largest 

market to Washington, D.C. without nonstop service to DCA. With all of the 

existing demand for flights to Washington, D.C., the Portland-region is an ideal 

location for nonstop service to DCA. Currently, nonstop service from 

Oregon; southwest Washington is limited to just a single daily flight between 

PDX and Washington Dulles (lAD). Adding nonstop service from PDX to DCA will 

benefit Oregon and southwest Washington businesses and their employees 

with the convenience of more flight options to and from Washington, DC. 

Alaska Airlines and its regional sister carrier, Horizon Air, already have a 

significant hub presence at PDX, operating an annual average of more than 

640 flights per week to 33 destinations, including locations throughout the 

Northwest. As a result, Alaska's nonstop flight to DCA would also improve 

service levels to Washington, D.C., for cities across Oregon and southwest 

Washington, in addition to the greater Portland-region . 

. Gmter l'mttantfs Chamber D/ Commerce 

200 SW Market St., Suite 150 • Portland, OR 97201 

Phone 503.224.8684 FaK 503.32,.9186 · www.porttandalliance.com 
Alaska Airlines letter 

Page 2 

This improved access to our nation's capital helps Oregon and southwest 

Washington businesses thrive and helps attract new businesses to the state. 

Alaska Airlines• strong presence, customer service focus and reliable 

operational performance make them an ideal carrier to provide nonstop 

service to DCA for Oregon and southwest Washington. We respectfully urge you 

to grant Alaska Airlines' application to provide PDX-DCA nonstop service. Thank 

you for your consideration. 

Sincerely, 

Sandra McDonough 

President & CEO 
Alaska Airlines letter 

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