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efTr~s~ol1otlon 

Ms. Rosanne Fou'st 

President &.CEO . ""''' ' "' ·, 

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~6\rf1¥blteQ t:J'<Jlif!t'Y Bco1l(:m'fic Development As$o.ciatio.n 

1301 Shoreway R.aa<4 Suite 150 

Belmont~ CA · 9:40()2 

Dear Ms •. ·Faust; 

Thank~ouforyour lettettt..:SecretaryofTtans:p.ormtkln Ray LaHood, supporting the appl:icatiort 

ofVirgin A.medc~. Inc. for.fou.r beyond.:.perimeter.slot exemptions at Ronald. Reagan 

Washington· N~tlotnil. Airport (DCA), lf a\\)arc;led tb:ose.e~elijptions, VirgPl A.m&i¢a · w¢itl(l 

provide two drulyround .. trii:> flights from DCA to San •Francisco. Secretaty.La:Hood h~tsiask.:ed 

thatt responn•to your. letter, · 

Under autborlty•granted in the FAA Moderni?.atlon and' Reform Act o£20 f2f the 

l).S. D~parttli~nfqf"franspQrtatronwilJ·be a\\fardirigto.neWentfatitotUmitedirieumbent 

catriers a. total of eight slot exempti·ons at DCAt which would support four daily round trips. 

We received Virgin Atlietloa~s applicatit)'nh~ Maroh J2~2Ql2. •Othertimely~plicati~Qs:®~ 

received. from Air Canada, proposing one mood trip to Vancouver, Btitish Columbia; Alaska 

~irtiq~s. one rot;tnd-tdp .to Portland, Oregon, and .one round:-:trip. to San Di~go; Frontier Airlines~ 

ohe:rottnd 1fip'to Colota0.9 Sprin~fntt1d b¢yond to san, Diego; JetBlue Ahways, one rotlrid :trip t() 

.San Juan, Puerto Rico, and one round trip to Austin~ Texas; Southwest Airlines, 'One roood trip to 

AU$tin and San Piego beyond; at:td sun CQuntry 1\idmes. one rovnd.' ttip to L~Vegas. 

As the rn:atter is>stiU pending, we· cannot comment <>n the merits of the points, raised in your 

letter; I!Qwever, [can .assure .you that .. u applications the O;eptgtrnent received will be given fUll 

mtd'faf:rconsitter6\tion andwlll be evahtated·agajhstthe selection criteria spe,citl~ ill:~-~~ 

}'he Depa.rb'n~nt's action on this matter is being administered thro!lgh a p.ubUc docket, which 

allows all intete.sted parties the 1opportunity to comment; Fdllowif1gtl)utnormal. practice~. I rutl 

pbtcing.a co.p.y of yo\lrletter and this response in docket number. Ddf·20 12~0029. 

We appreciate your intereSt in this tnattet. 

Su$Ul L. Kurland 

Assista:[\tSecretary for 

Aviation a.nd International Aff~ii~s 
AMCEDA 

Mateo County Economic Development Association 

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Emetlrus Advisor to the Chaliii!Qn 

Man;h 7, 2012 

The Honorable Raymond H. LaHood 

Secretary 

u:s. Department ofTraosportatton 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. 

Washington, D.C. 20590 

Re: Docket No. OST•201Z.0029, Applleattgn of Virgin Am~rlca lne • .for#Beyond,.Perlmeter'' Slots 

Dear Secretary LaHood: 

On behalf of the San Mateo County Economic Development Associathan {SAMCEDA) I wo.tild 

.like to express rny strong support for Virgin America's propo$af 'o provld~ tWo nQns,op flights \;)etwe~n 

San FranCisco International Airport (SFO) and Reagan National Airport (DCA).. .As the only airline 

headquartered here in the Bay Area, Virgin America is uniquely suited to bring rneanlngfullow .. fare 

airline competition to the DCA·San Francisco Say Area routes. 

, Historicf!lly, the B.1iY. Ar.ea, has. b.e.en shut,ol!trof; nonstop DCA s~rvice~ with ~all. pre,vious flight 

awards being made to non~California alrports - with the exception of a single daily Los Angeles flight. 

Pri.or DCA aw'ards have be~n nia'qe to a nurnber ofsmaller cities ani:frnatkets, tne;ludlng Oertver and 

Phoeni'X. ··Because SFci ·has been by far the largest market without nonstop flights to DCA, local 

consumers ~nd businesses have been the ones to suffer: with higher fares and limited options .,.. 

esselfltially':'travel to Washington Dulles, or the option of· taking a one-stop connecting flight when 

traveling to downtown Washington D.C. 

, ,.When making this critical decision, I urge you to .. consider the positive impact ofimprovlng the 

connection between Washington D.C. and the Bay Area's innovatlc,m,.based economy. Al.locationoftwo 

round-trip flights to Virgin .America .:.. our hometown carrier -will provide assurance that the flay Area 

will finally have.effleient, modern and low .. fare. nonstop flight servl~eto DCA. It will<:llso $1ll~l'f1teethat 

local consumers and businesses reap the benefit that only real competition can provide. 

Since its August 2007 launch, Virgin America has lowered fares and provided :a unique new 

service option for local travelers. The Wall Stre¢t Jovrnal went so far as to describe the le>W-fare 

airline's impact on fares as "the Virgin effect." ·

1 In addfttoo, with fleetwide Wifi, power outlet$, to.uch· 

screen entertainment and new aircraft4 Virgin America's investment in its bi:isiness:-fdendly product has. 

offered an inventive new service option fortech~forwarct corporate travelers. in tbe Bay Area. 

When more airlines compete, consumers. and regional economies win- wttli lower fares and 

improved service. The award of two roundtrip flights to Virgin America will ensure that local business 

travelers will benefit from real competition in the DCA market. On behalf of our region, Bay Are.a 

travelers and the business community, I urge you to consider Virgin America's proposal. 

Since.·.·. rei~. . . . . ~. . 

Rosano~. 

~~· Foust 

Pres1dent& CEO 

1 The Virgin Effect: lower Cros~~C:::ountrv Fares," Wall Street Journal, 'october 30, 2.oof I " ~ ' ; t ' ·," ~ t > 

1301 Shoreway Road, S!J;te·1o@ I Qelmont, California 940Q2 t. p 650.41!Mi600 'I ' F 650.413.5909 I 'www.s~m~a~org 

S10~120314-006 J ~ ' j