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U.S. Department 

of Transportation 

Office of the Secretory 

of Transportation 

The HonorableSenfronia Thompson 

Texas .House of Representatives 

PO Box2910 

Austin, TX 78768-2910 

Dear Ms. Thompson: 

Assistant Secretary 

January 18~ 2013 

1200 New Jersey Avenue. SE 

W!!shingtoo. DC 20590 

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Thank you for your letter to Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, suppo1ting the application 

of Southwest Airlines (Southwest) for two within-perimeter slot exemptions at Ronald Reagan 

Washington National AirpOit (DCA). Southwest proposes to serve Houston's William P. Hobby 

Airport with. one nonstop round trip per day i:i'om DCA. Secretary LaHood asked that I respond 

to you on his behalf. 

We received Southwest's application on December 5, 2012. Other timely applications were 

received from JetBlue Airways, proposing one nonstop round trip to Jacksonville Intemational 

Airport, Florida, and from US Airways, proposing one nonstop round trip to Will Rogers World 

Airport in Oklahoma City. 

As the matter is still pending, I camiot comment on the merits of the points raised in your letter. 

However, I can assure you that all applications received by the U.S. Department of 

Transportation will be given due and careful consideration. 

The Department's action on this matter is being administered through a public docke4 which 

allows all interested parties the opportunity to comment Following our normal practice .. I am 

placing a copy of your letter and this response in docket number DOT -OST -2000-7182. 

I appreciate your interest in this matter. 

Sincerely yours, 

Susan L. Kurland 

Assistant Secretary for 

Aviation and International Affairs 
', 

P.O. Bm: 2910 

Au~tin. lex11s 78768-2910 

(512) .Jb:l-0720 

Fax (5l2l 463-6306 

December 10, 2012 

TEXAS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

fiP+ia ~()1)1. 

The Honorable Raymond H. LaHood 

Secretary of Transportation 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. 

Washington, DC 20590 

Re: Docket No. DOT-OST-2000-7182 

Dear Secretary LaHood: 

10527 Homestead 

Houston, Tt!xos 77016 

(713) 633-3390 

Fax (713) (,:B-7830 

I write in strong support of Southwest Airlines' (Southwest's) 

application to begin daily nonstop service between Ronald Reagan 

Washington National Airport (DCA) and Houston Hobby Airport (Hobby). 

Southwest has been an important part of the Greater Houston 

community for over 40 years. Southwest continues to grow in Houston, 

and now operates over 140 daily departures at Hobby to over three dozen 

cities throughout the United States. · 

DCA is one of the few major airports not served directly by Southwest 

from Hobby. In fact, no airline flies directly between DCA and Hobby. It is 

long overdue for Houston Is downtown airport and Washington, DC's 

downtown airport to be linked with daily nonstop air service. Through new 

DCA-Houston service, Southwest proposes to attract tens-of-thousand of 

new passengers and generate millions of dollars of consumer benefits 

annually in the DCA-Houston market. 

-A: E-mail: senfmnia.thompsonii!Jhouse.>tilfc.tx.us * 
For these reasons, I respectfully ask the Department of 

Transportation to approve Southwest's application. As one of the largest 

and fastest growing cities in the United States, Greater Houston is 

deserving of more affordable and frequent access to/from the Nation's 

Capital. Thank you for your consideration of this request. 

Sincerely, 

Senfronia Thompson