Essential Air Service at 

BEFORE THE 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 

) 

) 

) 

MACON, GEORGIA ) OST-2007-28671 

) 

Under 49 U.S.C. §41731 et seq. ) 

SUN AIR INTERNATIONAL PROPOSAL 

TO PROVIDE SUBSIDIZED ESSENTIAL AIR SERICE 

!: 01 

By Order 2012-5-25, the Department requested proposals for Essential Air Service to Macon, 

Georgia. Pursuant to that order, Sun Air Express, LLC. ("Sun Air") cordially submits this 

proposal to provide subsidized air service to the community of" Macon, Georgia. 

Correspondence with regard to this document should be addressed to: 

Thomas L. Cooper 

President & CEO 

Sun Air Express, LLC. dba Sun Air International 

3201 Griffin Road, 

Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33312 

Telephone: 954-660-9865 

Fax: 954-894-0367 

E-Mail: tlcooper@gosunair.com 

Bid Summary 

Sun Air hereby offers a proposal to provide service to the community of Macon, Georgia from 

Atlanta Hartstield International Airport. Sun Air's proposed operations will be operated with 

nine-passenger twin-engine Piper Chieftain aircraft. Flights will be displayed in major travel 

agent systems including Online Travel Agencies. 

Sun Air has constructed its' proposal to incorporate the following essential elements for 

providing successful, quality air transportation in these proposed markets: 

l. LOW FARES: Sun Air will market its flights with a simple, low unrestricted price structure, 

ranging from $39 to $59 each way. The company is proj~cting net average fares approximately 

$44 each way, net of taxes. Sun Air strongly believes that low unrestricted tares are essential to 

l'acilitating passenger t1ight connections, particularly when using standard interline connections. 
,•:-

Savings to customers can be substantial. With current round trip fares to Atlanta priced at $267, 

Sun Air's local fares will be 50% to 70% lower, making them affordable to a vastly greater 

segment of the traveling public . 

. 2. FREQUENT AND CONVIENENT FLIGHTS: Macon currently receives four scheduled 

round trips each weekday, the same number proposed by Sun Air. Sun Air believes this is an 

appropriate frequency to serve the market, however we also believe that the schedules need to be 

more closely tailored to the communities' needs. Specifically, Sun Air's proposed schedule 

provides for an early morning departure from Macon, almost two hours earlier than present, as 

well as an evening return that is two hours later than the existing schedules offer. 

Sun Air plans to utilize gate space that is within the "sterile" concourse and terminal areas in 

Atlanta, avoiding the need for passengers to clear security again and allowing for the seamless 

transfer of bags to their final destination. · 

3. INTERLINE E-TICKETING AND BAGGAGE AGREEMENTS: Sun Air has provided for a 

significant investment in reservations, and distribution systems to acquire access to industry 

interline and baggage agreements with most major airlines. These agreements allow for 

passengers to complete their itinerary on a single ticket, and allow for that full itinerary to be 

displayed in Global Distribution Systems and Online Travel Agencies. 

5. A COMMITMENT TO RELIABILITY: Sun Air's operations include investment in a regional 

maintenance base, staffed by a full complement of technicians, as well as a full-time backup 

aircraft. Passenger ridership to Macon haS' qeclined precipitously over the past few years, and in 

addition to limited interline connection availability, a high number of cancellations has negatively 

impacted ridership. Sun Air is committed to the highest levels of reliability, as we believe it is 

essential to rebuilding the passenger traffic base at Macon . 

. . '· S~r.vice Proposal . . . :., . _ Sun Air will provide four ( 4) daily round trips per weekday to Macon, with two (2) daily round 

trips on Saturday and two (2) daily round trips on Sunday. All t1ights will operate on a non-stop 

basis to Atlanta Hartstieldlnternational Airport/. 

Sun Air proposes an Essential Air Service subsidy of $727 per departure tor a two-year period. 

Sun Air recognizes that this amount would put Macon above the $200 per passenger limit based 

upon the most recent traffic data. 

A review of passenger traffic prior to the tithe when the incumbent airline served the market 

paints a very different pictl1re. For example, annual ridership on the MCN-ATL segment (one 

way) has declined dramatically since 2006: 

2011 9l6 

2010 1,420 

2009 I ,423 

2008 10,579 

2007 12,473 

2006 14,682 
~ .... ', . . ··;.:'t.-•·~· .... ". '~. .... . :":- ~ . .-~- ·. .. 'l: 

~ . • .' • • ,· : '_,; •'. ' • ,. : ' .. ,__ ,I • '·' ' ' ..... ,. 

Sun Air is confident it can successfully rebLilld the traffic base, and that its proposed subsidy level 

will return the per-passenger subsidy rates to bel9w $200 over a reasonable period of time. 

A representative schedule, along with passenger, revenue and cost projections, are incorporated in 

Schedule l. 

· About Sun Air Internationai 

Sun Air Express, LLC is a ForfT:.auderdale, FL based regional airline serving Florida and the 

Bahamas, and offers on-demand air cargo services within Florida and the Bahamas; as well as 

scheduled services with four or fewer weekly flights to Cat Island, Great Harbour Cay, Chub Cay, 

and Andros Island in the Bahamas. 

Sun Air currently has a fleet of six Piper Chieftain aircraft, all owned free and clear, and is 

prepared to acquire sufficient additional aircraft needed to support the proposal awarded here. 

The airline has access to the financial resources necessary to acquire the additional equipment. 

The airline has been in opera,tion for more' than ten y~ars, and was pur-chased in.May, 2011 by 

Thomas L. Cooper. Mr. Cooper is the founder of several regional airlines, including Gulfstream 

lnternationalAirlines, where he also founded Sun Air as a subsidiary of Gulfstream. He sold his 

interests in Gulfstream to a private investment group in 2006. Mr. Cooper has been involved in 

aviation for more than 40 years, including more than 20 years as a 727 Captain for Eastern 

Airlines in addition to his extensive career with regional airlines. Since his acquisition of Sun Air 

in May of last year, he has invested heavily in new aircraft, support equipment and additional 

' · support personnel. · · · 

Sun Air received Commuter Air Carrier Authorization from the Department on June 18, allowing 

it to conduct full scheduled airline operations, subject to certain additional compliance steps 

which the airline expects to have completed shortly. 

'11'-. ··.· 

. 
. : ':·. · ·· '·: . scftEDULE 1 

Representative Timetable 

FROM 

MACON 

ATLANTA 

Projected Operations 

Passenger 

Ot'fier Revenues 

l ... 

TOTAL OPERATING REVENUE 

OPERATING EXPENSES 

Flight Operations 

·Fuel & lntoplane. 

Maintenance 

Passenger Service 

Aircraft Ownership 

Other 

Total Operating .Cost .. , .. ·. 

OPERATING INCOME/{LOSS) 

ATLANTA 

MACON 

Profit Element- 5% of Operating Costs 

Subsidy Required 

DEPT 

645AM 

945AM 

230PM 

515PM 

815AM 

llOOAM 

345PM 

630PM 

Anr:1ual 

MCN-ATL 

$ 

$ 

477,034 

.• 7,156 

484,190 

195,500 

562,162 

496,603 

717,263 

169,952 

173,240 

2,314,,720 

$(1,830,530) 

$ 115,736 

$(1,946,266) 

ARR 

740AM 

1040AM 

325PM ... 

655PM 

855AM 

1155AM 

440PM 

720PM 

. '• 

, .. 
,·;.' 

ASMs (OOO's) 

RPMs (OOOs) 

Load Factor 

Average Fare· 

EAS Subsidy per Departure 

Departures 

Block Hours 

Flight Hours 

Available Seats 

Passengers 

Avg Daily Enplanements 

. ~- .. \ 

.. ~ .. 

. -r· .. 

2,963,395 

1,333,528 

45.0% 

- $ 44.00 

$ 727 

2,677 

2,409 

1,740 

24,093 

10,842 

14.9 

In conclusion, Sun Air believes that its proposal will provide excellent levels of service to the 

community of Macon, and ensure that they have proper access to the national air transportation 

network, offering cost-effective options that meet the requirements of the Essential Air Service 

Program. 

Respectfully Submitted: June 20, 2012 

Thomas L. Coope'r · 

President & CEO 

Sun Air Express, LLC 

',..' .. ·''