u.s. Department of 

TronsportatJon 

OffiCe of the Secretary 

of Transportation , 

Dear Esteemed Mayors: 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Washington, DC 20~90 

October 28, 20 II 

As you are aware, our requests for comments dated October 21 are ultimately the result of 

Mesaba!Pinnacle (Delta) filing notice on July 15 to terminate service. At some point in the near future, 

Delta will be retiring its Saab 340 equipment I fear the price tag of the replacement equipment will not 

be sustainable for any length of time by this small government program. It too may be the case that 

having a short period of service with RJs followed by smaller replacement equipment will be 

counterproductive to the long-term development of air service at your communities. Finally, long-hold in 

periods by carriers held in against their will are to be avoided if possible. 

Delta has expressed a desire to be replaced at your communities as quickly as possible, and I'm sure they 

would appreciate any assistance you could offer in that regard. Consistent with Delta's desire, they sent a 

letter to the Department dated October 20, which we docketed. Since not all of you may be aware of that 

letter, I am forwarding it to you as an attachment. 

DOT too would like to expedite these cases, and so would encourage you to send in your comments as 

soon as possible. The requests for comments we sent you last week asked for your comments as soon as 

possible, by email, and not later than November 21, and we of course stand by that. However, if you 

could advance that date by a couple of weeks it would be greatly appreciated. 

That letter offered to answer your questions at any time, and I want to reiterate that offer. 

Best Regards, 

Kevin Adams 

Industry Economist 

202-366-1047 

Attachment 

Communities 

Brainerd, Minnesota; Devils Lake, North Dakota; Fort Dodge, Iowa; lntemational Falls, Minnesota; 

Iron Mountain, Michigan; Jamestown, North Dakota; Mason City, Iowa; Thief River Falls, Minnesota; 

and Watertown. South Dakota 

Cc: Air Choice One, Bemidji, Delta, Great Lakes. and Sovereign 
A. DELTA 

October 20, 2011 

Dennis DeVany 

Chief, EAS and Domestic Analysis Division 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Ave, SE 

''washington, DC 20590. · 

Re: Great Lakes Airlines, Inc. 

Dear Mr. DeVany: 

~~PARTMENT OFfRANSPORTATION .. ::C\\ET OPERATIONS 

20H OCT 2 0 P 4: 2 5 

l\lex11nder Vi!ln der Sellen 

Managing Director and 

Associate General Counsel 

Delta Air unes, Inc. 

1212 New Yorl< Avenue NW 

Washington, DC 20005 

202.842.4184 . 

sasdla. vanderbellen@delta .com 

Delta supports the EAS program, and believes in the importance of providing small communities 

with reliable air service. On October 14, 2011, in response to the Department's Request for 

Proposals, Delta submitted EAS bids in four markets, and our Delta Connection partner, 

SkyWest, submitted bids to provide Delta Connection service in five additional markets on a 

prorate basis. 

Due to the retirement of our 34-seat Saab aircraft fleet, Delta no longer has suitable aircraft to 

serve the smaller EAS markets. To that end, we are cooperating with Great Lakes Airlines to 

enhance their EAS bids in nine small communities where they recently submitted bids. If Great 

Lakes is selected, Delta intends to assist Great Lakes through an interline and ticketing 

arrangement, participation in our SkyMiles frequent flyer program, and booking capability on 

delta.com. 

Sincerely, 

w,_ .; •. •• « .. • 

~~-~ 

Alexander Van der Sellen 

cc: OST-2001-10682 

OST -2001-10684 

OST-1999-5175 

OST-2011-0135 

OST -2009-0304 

OST-2001-10642 

OST-1997-2785 

OST -1997-2785 

OST-2001-10644 

.... : .r. __ . :·.·: 

\,I.