u.s. Department of 

Transportation 

Assistant Secretary 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

Office 01 the Secretary 

of Transportation 

OCT 252010 , " 

Mr. Peter and Mrs. Melissa deLisser 

612 Indian Beach Lane 

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Sarasota, FL 34234 ,,--

Dear Mr. and Mrs. deLisser: 

Thank you for your letter to Secretary LaHood supporting AirTran Airways, Inc. 

(AirTran) to serve Sarasota, Florida, in the ongoing slot-exemption proceeding at Ronald 

Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). The Secretary has asked that I respond to 

your letter directly. 

As you know, the U.S. Department of Transportation commenced a proceeding on 

August 30 to reallocate two DCA slot exemptions that are currently being used by 

Republic Airline, Inc. (Republic). Republic has been using these two slot exemptions for 

DCA - Kansas City service. These slot exemptions may be used to serve any medium 

hub or smaller airport within the 1,250-mile perimeter of DCA. 

We have received a total of five proposals, briefly outlined below: 

• Sun Country to serve Lansing, Michigan, with 129- or 162-seat aircraft; 

• Republic Airline, Inc., branded as Frontier Airlines, to continue to serve Kansas 

City, Missouri, with 99-seat regional jet aircraft; 

• Southwest Airlines Co., to serve Kansas City utilizing 137-seat aircraft; 

• US Airways, Inc., to serve Pensacola, Florida, utilizing 76- or 86-seat regional jet 

aircraft, depending on the season; and 

• Air Tran Airways, Inc., to serve either Fort Myers or Sarasota, Florida, utilizing 

either 117- or 137 -seat aircraft. 

As the slot exemption proceeding is competitive and is currently under review by the 

Department, I am sure you understand that I cannot comment on the merits of the 

proposals. I assure you, however, that the Department will fully consider all of the 

proposals, and make its award based on the selection criteria detailed in the governing 

statutes. 
Mr. Peter and Mrs. Melissa deLisser 

Page :2 

As is our normal practice, I am placing a copy of your letter and my response in Docket 

DOT -OST -2000-7182 as a contact outside the record of this proceeding. I appreciate 

your interest in obtaining access to the Nation's capital. If I can provide further 

information or assistance. please feel free to call me. 

Assistant Secretary for 

A viation and International Affairs 
The Honorable Ray H.LaHood 

Secretary of Transportation 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, 

S.E. Washington, DC 20590 

RE: Docket OST-2000-7182 

Dear Secretary LaHood: 

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This letter expresses support for the application of AirTran Airways Inc. for 

two available Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) slots 

being allocated in Docket OST-2000-7182 to provide nonstop service from 

Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) to DCA. 

The Sarasota Bradenton area has only one daily nonstop on a regional jet 

to Washington, DC, even though it is the sixth largest destination market 

from this area. With over 750,000 residents and our prime location as a 

leisure destination for tourists, SRQ can certainly support additional 

service. 

We ask that the slots be awarded to AirTran for utilization to SRQ. 

Thank you for your consideration. 

Sincerely, 

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Peter and Melissa deLisser 

612 Indian Beach Lane 

Sarasota, FL 34234