ORANGE COUNTY MAYOR 

TERESA JACOBS 

P.O. Box 1393, 201 SouTH RosALIND AvENUE, ORLANDO, FL 32802-1393 

PHONE: 407-836-7370 • FAX: 407-836-7360 • Mayor@ocfl.net 

May 26, 2015 

The Honorable Anthony Foxx 

Secretary of Transportation 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

The Honorable Penny S. Pritzker 

Secretary of Commerce 

U.S. Department of Commerce 

1401 Constitution Avenue, NW 

Washington, DC 20230 

The Honorable John F. Kerry 

Secretary of State 

U.S. Department of State 

2201 C Street, NW 

Washington, DC 20520 

Re: Request for comments on preserving Open Skies and 

ensuring competitive choice for consumers 

Docket No. DOS-2015-0016 

Docket No. DOT-OST-2015-0082 

Docket No. DOC-2015-0001 

Dear Secretary Foxx, Secretary Pritzker and Secretary Kerry: 

I am writing to express my strong support for U.S. Open Skies agreements with the 

United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar and my opposition to freezing routes from the 

Gulf carriers Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airways. I understand a proposal to freeze 

new routes is under consideration with the Obama Administration, and I hope you will 

consider the negative impact such a decision would have on destinations such as 

Orlando, Florida and surrounding communities. 

Orlando welcomed more than 62 million visitors last year, making our region the 

number one tourist destination in the U.S. From our perspective, Open Skies is 

critical to growing Orlando's share of international visitors and developing Orlando 

International Airport's status as a gateway for international travelers. 
Secretary Foxx, Secretary Pritzker, & Secretary Kerry 

May 26, 2015 

Page2 

Because of the U.S. Open Skies agreement with the UAE, Emirates will start service 

this September between Dubai and Orlando - the first direct route between Dubai 

and Florida. This single route will deliver an estimated $100 million in economic 

benefits to Orlando and the Orange County economy, supporting thousands of local 

businesses and Florida jobs. 

We strongly support the Administration's goal of attracting 100 million international 

visitors to the U.S. each year by 2021 . Open Skies agreements, such as we enjoy 

with the UAE and Qatar, are critical to helping achieve that goal. They provide new 

links to fast-growing international travel markets, such as the Middle East, the Far 

East, South Asia, and Africa. The U.S. legacy carriers provide no service between 

Orlando and these important markets, so if new routes are frozen our region risks 

being shut out of the most dynamic, fastest-growing markets in the travel industry. 

Service from cities beyond Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Doha is dependent on the Gulf 

carriers' ability to carry passengers freely under Open Skies. 

This is not a case of Emirates taking traffic from U.S. carriers. Without this flight, 

there will be no air service between Orlando and the Middle East or many of the 145 

destinations across 80 countries that Emirates serves. Moreover, many competitive 

U.S. airlines welcome the service that Emirates will provide. JetBiue, an Emirates 

code sharing partner, praised the move for opening new travel options for 

passengers both traveling to Orlando and connecting to other destinations served by 

JetBiue. Attracting new international airlines such as Emirates is a key reason 

Orlando is investing $145 million to expand our airport. 

We recognize that a few U.S. airlines have come out in favor of freezing routes from 

international competitors. However, these airlines do not speak for the U.S. travel 

industry or even for all U.S. airlines. In considering the proposal to freeze new flights, 

.I hope you will keep in mind the broader, negative impact on the travel industry, the 

U.S. economy, and the Obama Administration's landmark goal of attracting 100 

million international visitors every year. 

Sincerely, 

C:=l~