January 5, 1998

Dear Sir or Madam:

Atlantic Coast Airlines (ACA) d/b/a United Express has filed an application with the U.S. Department of Transportation requesting slots at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport to serve seven smaller, underserved communities, one of which is Fayetteville, Ark., with three daily nonstop, round-trip flights. Simmons Airlines, Inc. d/b/a American Eagle has also requested these slots.

I encourage you to support the ACA request for the following reasons:

• United Express/ACA can begin service to Fayetteville’s Drake Field several months sooner than Simmons.
• United Express/ACA currently has five 50-passenger Canadair Regional Jets (CRJ) in operation and another 43 on either order or option. Simmons has yet to take delivery of its first jet aircraft, the Embraer 145 or EMB-145.
• The CRJ is a proven aircraft and has been in passenger service for more than five years. To date, five U.S. airlines operate more than 81 CRJs, compared to the EMB-145 which has one U.S. operator and which has been in service less than one year.
• The CRJ is faster than the EMB-145, and we strongly believe, a better performing aircraft designed to meet the needs of these communities.
• The CRJ is also a community friendly aircraft, with the lowest external noise of any commercial jet in service today.
• Through its marketing partner, United Airlines, United Express/ACA will offer connection opportunities in Chicago to 119 destinations worldwide, many more than Simmons can offer
• Unless the DOT considers the merits of the ACA and Simmons applications at the same time, the public benefits inherent in ACA’s application will be lost since there are not sufficient numbers of O’Hare slots to grant the requests of both carriers.

Attached is a letter of support addressed to the Secretary of Transportation, The Honorable Rodney Slater, and other information you might find useful. We encourage you to use this letter and personalize it to fit your needs. Thank you in advance for your assistance in this matter.

Sincerely,