# Q ..:;-\RTMENTO F i'.-^r u 

### ^^WIO N '"^-ERATION S US.Departm«ntO f ' ' '- " ""i'^"^''^'- ^ I 20 0 Ne wjerse yAvenue , S E Transportatto n Woshington , D C 2059 0 Offic e o f th e Secretar

y"/ I -'{i ) ' 3 f-' ^ ? : 2 0 o f Transportatio n

February 18 , 201 1 Vi aFax : (308 ) 762-256 8 Lyn n Place k Airport Operation s Manage r 32 4 Larami e Av e P.O . Bo x D Alliance , ^f

E 6930 1 Dea r Ms . Placek : I woul dlik e t o update yo u o n th e essentia l ai r servic e situatio n a

t Allianc e an d Chadro n an dgiv e yo u a

n opportunit y t o submi t

an y comment s i

f yo u wish . A s you know , b y Orde r

2011-1-10 , January 14 , 2011 , th e Departmen t solicite dproposal s fromal l intereste dai r

carrier s t o provid e servic e a t Allianc e an dChadron , Nebraska , for ane w two-year termbeginnin g Jun e 1 , 2011 . At this stage , w e woul dnormall y as k for you r preference s fo

r variou s carrie r

an dservic e options . However , i n respons e t o that order , Great Lake s Aviatio n (Great

Lakes) , th e incumbent , wa s th e onl y carrie r t o submi t

a proposal . Nonetheless , w e wan t t o giv e yo u a n opportunit y t o submi t an y fina l comment s for th e recor dtha

t you may have . A cop y o f Grea t Lakes * proposa l may b e accesse d onlin e Federa l Docke t

Managemen t

Syste m(FDMS ) at : http://www.regulations.gov / b y enterin g DOT-OST-2000-8322 . Grea t Lake s propose s t o continu e it s two-round-trip-a-da y servic e pattern a t Allianc e an dChadro n for

a n annua l subsid y of

$2,217,401 . Servic e woul db e operate dwith19

- seat Beechcraf

t 1900 D aircraft . W e ar e currentl y reviewin g Grea t Lakes ' compensatio n requirement . Pleas e not e that

th e averag e passenge r

fare s show n i n th e proposa l d o no t necessaril y reflec t th e averag e loca l far

e Allianc e passenger s woul dactuall y pay , but , rather , reflec t a prorate dportio n o f

th e total ticke t

price , e.g. , th e Allianc e - Denve r o f a n Allianc e - Denve r - Washington , D.C . ticke t tha t th e subsidize dcan'ie r

woul drealize . Also , th e fare show n i s ne t

o f certai n charge s suc ha s Federa l transportatio n security fees , excis e o r ticke t taxes , an dPassenge r

Facility Charges . O f

course , carrier s hav e th e discretio n t o charg e fare s the y dee mappropriate , an dth e passenge r fare s presente di n thei r

proposal s- 2 -

hav e bee n develope dfo

r subsid y rate computatio n purpose s only . Base do n th e cos t element s incorporate di

n th e carrier' s computatio n summaries . Great Lake s woul dhav e t o realiz e passenge r

fare s comparabl e t o th e average s show n i n thei r proposal s i n orde r

t o achiev e break-eve n o r

profitabl e operation s withou t subsidy . Yo u shouldals o not e that th e schedul e tha

t th e carrie r

ha s submitte di s illustrativ e only , an dthat

the y may mak e schedul e change s t o reflec t changin g conditions , e.g. , t o bette r mee t shiftin g connectin g hank time s a t th e hub . Th e Departmen t expect s subsidize dai r

carrier s t o maintai n well-time dan dwell-space dflight s i n orde r t o ensur e ful l compensation . W e as k that yo u submi t

any comment s yo u ma

y hav e a s soo n a s possible , bu t i n any cas e n o late r

tha n Marc h17 , 2011 . W e wil l carefull y conside r you r comment s before w e submi t arecommendatio n t o th e Assistan t Secretary for

adecision . Shoul dyou hav e any question s o r

noe dadditiona l lim e t o draf t you r comments , pleas e Je

t u s know . Pleas e sen dyou r

comment s vi ae-mai l t o EAS@dot.go v o r b y fa x t o 202-366-7638 . I

f you hav e an y questions , pleas e feel fre e t o contac t Kevi n Schlemme r

o f m y staf f a t kevin.schlemmer@dot.go v o r 202-366-3176 .Sincerely ,

Denni s J . DeVan y Chief , Essentia l Ai r

Servic e Division , X-5 3 Offic e o f Aviatio n Analysi s