EssentialAir Service at 

### BEFORETHE DEPARTMENT OFTRANSPORTATION WASHINGTON, D.C. ) ) ) 

### MACON, GEORGIA ) OST-2007-28671 ) 

### Under49 U.S.C. §41731 etseq. )


### SUNAIRINTERNATIONALPROPOSAL TOPROVIDE SUBSIDIZED ESSENTIALAIRSERICE 

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## 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 regardto this document should be addressedto: Thomas L. Cooper President& CEO Sun AirExpress, LLC. dba Sun AirInternational 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 ofMacon, 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 includingOnlineTravel 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 oftaxes. 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 segmentofthetraveling 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 thatthe 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 laterthanthe 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 transferofbags to theirfinal 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'soperations 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 ofcancellations has negatively impacted ridership. Sun Air is committed to the highest levels ofreliability, as we believe it is essentialto rebuildingthepassengertraffic base atMacon
.



## . .'·**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 

### itcan successfully rebLilld thetraffic base, and that its proposed subsidy level will return the per-passenger subsidy rates

## to bel9w $200 overa reasonable period oftime. A representative schedule, along with passenger, revenue and costprojections, 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 orfewer weekly flights to CatIsland, Great HarbourCay, 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 airlinehas access to the financial resources necessaryto acquirethe 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 ofseveral regional airlines, including Gulfstream lnternationalAirlines, where he also founded Sun Air as a subsidiary ofGulfstream. 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 ofSun Air in May of last year, he has invested heavily in new aircraft, support equipment and additional ' · support personnel. ··· Sun Airreceived Commuter Air CarrierAuthorization from the Department on June 18, allowing it to conduct full scheduled airline operations, subject to certain additional compliance steps whichthe airline expectstohave completed shortly.
'11'-. ··.·



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.scftEDULE 1 RepresentativeTimetable 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% ofOperating 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 ofMacon, and ensure that they have proper access to the national air transportation network, offering cost-effective options that meet the requirements ofthe Essential Air Service Program. Respectfully Submitted: June 20, 2012

Thomas L. Coope'r · President & CEO Sun Air Express, LLC ',..' 

### .. ·''