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, Secreta ry Pritzke r, & Secretary Ke rry 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 Em irates 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 ou r airport . We recognize that a few U .S. airlines have come out in favor of freez ing routes from international competitors . However, these airl ines do not speak for the U.S. travel industry or even for all U .S. airlines . In cons idering 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~