January 21, 2012

Assistant Secretary Susan L. Kurland 

U.S. Department of Transportation

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE

Washington, DC 20590 Docket ID: DOT-OST-2012-0001

Subj: Public comments regarding service proposals between Chicago and Cancun by Frontier & Southwest 

Airlines /dba Airtran.

Dear Secretary Kurland:

I have read the proposals with great interest from Southwest and Frontier Airlines submitted in consideration to fly 

the single available route from Chicago to Cancun Mexico. All the information provided makes the decision 

difficult. So I have examined the proposals carefully and extracted the most important attributes between the two 

offerings. I have developed an attribute ranking matrix below to more clearly show both the proposals side by side. 

Unfortunately the weighted ranking above shows the two proposals are equal. To break the impasse I decided to 

concentrate on the small cities with service to O’Hare which would be excluded if the route was awarded to 

Southwest. I selected all the cities that have modest airline service. In many cases these cities only have service to 

O’Hare. It is not likely that these cities would have access to Cancun low cost air service if it is not available at 

O’Hare. The cities meeting this criteria are listed as follows: Burlington, IA; Decatur, IL; Dubuque, IA; Eau 

Claire, WI; Hancock, MI; Muskegon, MI; Paducah, KY; Watertown, NY; Champaign, IL; Kalamazoo, MI; La 

Crosse, WI; Manhattan, KS; Marquette, MI; Saginaw, MI; Traverse City, MI; and Wausau, WI. Even if 

Southwest were to fly out of O’Hare they would not provide Interline ticketing and baggage transfer, making use 

of the flights improbable. Half of these cities are Essential Air Service connections, making this decision even 

more important. I feel the best way to judge this situation would be to poll the Congressional Representatives of 

these small cities. If the Congresspersons feel their constituents would not be interested in low cost air service to 

Cancun, Mexico the route could easily be awarded to Southwest for the privileged Chicago market. To assist you 

in contacting the affected Representatives, I have listed their names and addresses below. 

 

Congressmen and Congresswomen of Districts Affected by 

Selection of MDW and Non-Interline Airlines

Burlington, IA Decatur, IL Dubuque, IA Eau Claire, WI

The Honorable David Loebsack 

125 South Dubuque Street 

Iowa City, IA 52240

The Honorable Robert T. Schilling 

8 S Main St Suite 200 

Canton, IL 61520

The Honorable Bruce L. Braley 

1050 Main Street 

Dubuque, IA 52001

The Honorable Ron Kind 

131 S. Barstow St. Suite 301 

Eau Claire, WI 54701

Hancock, MI Muskegon, MI Paducah, KY Watertown, NY

The Honorable Dan Benishek 

307 S. Front St., Ste 120 

Marquette , Michigan 49855

The Honorable Bill Huizenga 

900 Third St., Ste. 203

Muskegon, MI 49440

The Honorable Ed Whitfield 

100 Fountain Avenue, Room 104 

Paducah, KY 42001

The Honorable William L. Owens 

120 Washington Street, Suite 200 

Watertown, NY 13601-3370

Champaign, IL Kalamazoo, MI La Crosse, WI Manhattan, KS

The Honorable Timothy V. Johnson 

2004 Fox Drive 

Champaign, IL 61820

The Honorable Fred S. Upton 

157 South Kalamazoo Mall, Suite 180 

Kalamazoo, MI 49007

The Honorable Ron Kind 

205 Fifth Avenue S., Suite 400 

La Crosse, WI 54601

The Honorable Lynn Jenkins 

3550 SW 5th Street 

Topeka, KS 66606

Marquette, MI Saginaw, MI Traverse City, MI Wausau, WI

The Honorable Dan Benishek 

307 S. Front St., Ste 120 

Marquette , Michigan 49855

The Honorable Dale E. Kildee 

515 N. Washington Ave., Suite 401 

Saginaw, MI 48607-1370

The Honorable Dave Camp 

121 East Front Street, Suite 202 

Traverse City, Michigan 49684

The Honorable Sean P. Duffy 

208 Grand Avenue 

Wausau, WI 54403

I hope my review of the facts and research surrounding this decision is helpful in making the best choice for the 

flying public at large. 

Regards, 

PB Goodrich 

Southwest Airline Frontier Airlines

Attribute Score Attribute Score

Aircraft size 0 Aircraft size 1

Availability of interline passengers - serving the 

greatest number of the flying public 0

Availability of interline passengers - serving the 

greatest number of the flying public 1

Onboard entertainment 0 Onboard entertainment 1

Best Airport for International operations MDW 0 Best Airport for International operations ORD 1

Availability of food onboard 0 Availability of food onboard 1

Endorsement of Chicago Elected Officials 5 Endorsement of Chicago Elected Officials 0

Total 5 Total 5