Martin, Michael fOST) OFJR.^HrplffPfp-^:?-'^ 

From: Charlotte Warren [charwarren04347@gmail.com] - ' rrrD'^OAT ^ 

Sent: Wednesday, September 29, 2010 9:50 AM '- ' trCilAliuNS 

To: Devany, Dennis (OST); Martin, Michael (OST) 

Subject: Comments for U. S Department of Transportation regarding D6i9<©lcPQT^S^-''9?7i^84; 

EAS Airline Contract for the Augusta, Maine State Airport ' • 

Dear sirs. 

Please ask that the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) recognize that constituents of others than the 

Augusta City Council are served by the Augusta State Airport and the airline chosen by USDOT for the EAS 

contract to serve that Airport. I recognize the Augusta City Council's desire to support the recommendations 

of its own Airport Committee. But that Committee's advice, to recommend Cape Air over US Air, is at 

complete odds with overwhelming public response to the contrary. I ask that you select to continue the 

service of USAir at the Augusta State Airport, for the reasons including those outlined below by one of my 

constituents who has contacted me with this plea: 

I am a frequent business flyer from the Augusta State Airport in Augusta, Maine, in support of continuing 

USAir/Pinnacle/Colgan as the EAS supported airline. This is a case in which the USDOT should carefully 

consider the weight it gives any recommendation by the Augusta City Council, its airport committee, or staff 

before assuming that such recommendation be heeded. These recommendations are flawed by a failure to 

have a reasonable, aimounced public input process in the important decision, and to flatly ignore the 

overwhelming support of that public which, despite the process, responded when alerted by concerned airport 

users. 

The Augusta City Council bowed to the recommendation of its Airport Committee despite what the Mayor 

and councilors described as the most public input they have had on any issue in any of their individual tenures 

on the Council. They admitted that this public input was virtually all in favor of USAir/Pinnacle/Colgan 

(hereafter referred to as USAir) retaining its service to the State Airport, hi addition, public comment 

; submitted to Augusta's newspaper, the Kermebec Journal (online version: KJ OnLine) on two occasions ran 

80 to 90 per cent in favor of retaining USAir. 

, So, first, I ask that you consider the opinion of the Augusta area public in this and understand that the City 

Council's recommendation does not reflect the opinion of even its own constituency (population 18,440), 

; much less the airport-using community of the surrounding region outside the City of Augusta (Kennebec and 

Franklin Counties alone, minus Augusta, have a population of 132,000). The overwhelming majority of the 

public who care about this issue want USAir to stay. 

Second, I ask that you consider the Airport Committee, its process leading to this recommendation, and its 

qualifications to be the foundation upon which a convincing recommendation to you and the USDOT is 

; poorly supported. The process at no time asked the Augusta Airport users, beyond the pilots and occasional 

commercial flyers on the Airport Committee, for input. The public was not invited nor welcome to attend the 

August 11 th presentations of the two carriers competing for the contract in order to ask questions and judge 

; for themselves the relative merits of the proposals. 

During the August 11 th presentations, the Committee asked for specific responses from USAir and agreed 

that USAir could get back to them with answers (e.g. one on revising prices downward.. .which it since has 

• not only answered but implemented). The Council almost made its decision on this issue during its 

informational meeting on August 12th, without benefit of the answers the Airport Committee sought and 

I without mention by the Committee chair, a Council member. The Council at the urging of the public attending 

! that this issue was too important to go without an opportunity for public input, set the special Council meeting 

1 
for August 19th instead. So by happenstance, and not with the follow-through of the Airport Committee on its 

obligation to USAir, the carrier responded to these questions. 

At the August 11th USAir presentation, a Committee member asked whether the carrier would hangar its 

plane in Augusta. It was explained that it would not, having to seek this amongst means to lower its cost to 

meet the EAS cap as it had committed to. Given the Rockland model, and confirmed at the August 19th 

Council meeting by Cape Air's stated intent to house a plane and pilot in Augusta, I question the objectivity 

with which the two Airport Committee members who are employed by the logical candidate to hangar and 

fuel the Cape Air plane made their decisions to support this recommendation. Another Committee member 

testified at the 19th Council meeting that USAir supporters had "mislabeled" a photo by showing a SAAB 

340 for use in Augusta in USAir livery. The fact that the SAABs used now in Augusta actually use this livery, 

as well as some with Colgan Air livery, demonstrates this member's lack of touch with Augusta Airport 

commercial flying operations. In fact, I am not aware of any frequent business travelers on this Committee. 

Both the Committee and the Council repeatedly belittled the needs of the business community in favor of 

potential leisure flyers, and felt they would be better served by Cape Air. For the sake of a leisure flyer getting 

discounted tickets on the occasional trip with Cape Air and Jet Blue, they ignored the Augusta business flyer 

with dozens of enplanements each year who depends on the more robust USAir system from Augusta to be 

able to earn a living in Central Maine. 

previous written by Kevin McGinnis 

Thank you for your time, 

Charlotte Warren 

Mayor, City of Hallowell 

207.441.9116