The Honorable Diane Feinstein 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

Dear Senator Feinstein: 

AprillO, 2012 

"':·r<:\'1 

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Thank you for your letter supporting proposals to provide nonstop flights from Ronald Reagan 

Washington Natio.nal Airport {DCA) to the San Francisco Bay area. 

Under authority granted in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of2Q 12, 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 roundtrips beyond the 

1 ,250-mile perimeter. In addition, the statute directs the Department to make two slot · 

exemptions each for beyond-perimeter service available to four qualifying incumbent carriers at 

DCA, on the Gonditio1l that, prior to initiating dle new operations, they discontinue use of two 

slots they used for within-perimeter, large .. hub service. None of these beyond-perimeter slot 

exemptions may be used to operate multi,..aisle or widebody aircraft. 

With regard to the new entrant/limited incumbent category, on March 12, Virgin Ame.rica, Inc. 

submitted an application for four DCA exemptions, wid\ which it would provide two daily 

round-trips to San Francisco International Airport (SFO). Odler timely applications were 

received from Air Canada, proposing one round.;trip to Vancouver, British Columbia; Alaska 

Airlines, one round-trip to Portland, Oregon, and one round-trip to San Diego; Frontier Airlines, 

one round-trip to Colorado Springs and beyond to San Di~go; JetBlue Airlines, .one round-trip to 

San Juan, Puerto Rico, and one round-trip to Austin, Texa$; Southwest Airlines, one round.;trip 

to Austin, Texas, and San D.iego beyond; and Sun Country Airlines, one round.-trip to Las Vegas. 

The Department's actions on these eX:emptions are being administered through a public docket, 

which allows all int.erested parties the opportunity to comment. 

As this matter is still pending) I cannot comment on the merits of the points raised in your le.tter. 

However, l can assure you that all applications the Department receives will be given full and 

fair consideration and will be evaluated against the selection criteria specified in the statute. 

As to the exemptions for large incumbent carriers, on February 27, United Air Lines filed notice 

with the Department .of its intent to institute a daily nonstop roundtrip flight between DCA and 

SFO with Boeing 737-700 or othersuitable single-aisle, non-widebody aircraft. The filing 

indic.ated that the first SFO-DCA flight would op~te on. May 14, and the first DCA·SFO 

flight would operate on May 15. 
Page 2. 

The Honorable Diane Feinstein 

Following our normal practice~ I am placing a copy of your letter and this response in docket 

DOT -20 I 2-0029. 

I appreciate your interest in this matt 
DIANNE FEJNSTEIN 

CALIFORNIA 

~ntttb ~tatts ~tnatt WASHINGTON, DC 20510-0504 

http://felnsteln.senate.gov 

March 6, 2012 

The Honorable Raymond H. LaHood 

Secretary 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. 

Washington, D.C. 20590 

SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE ·CHAIRMAN 

COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS 

COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY 

COMMITTEE ON RUL£S AND ADMINISTRATION 

Re: Docket No. OST-2012-0029 for "Beyond-Perimeter" Slots 

Dear Secretary LaHood: 

I am writing to express my strong support for proposals to provide 

nonstop flights between the San Francisco Bay Area and Reagan National 

Airport (DCA). 

The recently enacted FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 

authorizes you to award new flights between DCA and domestic airports 

located beyond the current 1 ,250 mile perimeter limit. 

Multiple direct flights from DCA to San Francisco - the largest 

metropolitan area and largest air travel market in the country without 

nonstop service to DCA today - would provide a tremendous expansion of 

direct service, increase competition between carriers, and potentially reduce 

prices. Previous DCA awards have been made to smaller markets, including 

Denver (four roundtrip frequencies) and Phoenix (three roundtrip 

frequencies). In terms of passenger traffic, the Bay area's three major 

airports represent a market that dwarfs most other beyond-perimeter 

markets. 

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

of improving the connection between Washington D.C. and the San 

Francisco Bay Area, which is home to critical innovation-based companies. 

Allocation of multiple round-trip flights to San Francisco will provide 

S10-1:20307-031 
.. 

efficient, modem and low-fare nonstop flight service to DCA. It will also 

guarantee that local consumers and businesses reap the benefit that real 

competition provides. 

I also encourage you to consider the impact of your selection on 

consumer ticket prices. It is my understanding that some new entrants in the 

San Francisco market have a demonstrated downward impact on ticket 

prices within the markets they serve. If this is true, I hope you will consider 

this benefit when making your selections. 

Thank you in advance for considering this request. Nonstop service 

between San Francisco and DCA is long overdue, and I hope you can 

appreciate the substantial benefits it will provide. If you have any questions 

or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you for your 

consideration. 

DF/mbn 

S 10-120307 -OJ 1 

Sin~~ely, / .. 

/ 

1t/v"i--vvL------

Feinstein 

·,~ U · ed States Senator -....