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. -~· ... ·~·~;'·,.J~~;FJ()\:~Tl~,T\Ql\1 . i ,-~,_:·c:,\: r:··~PEHt·JIO;\,!~) Swanson, Bnan (OST) 

'.···~ ;;,, ~-··' -· 1 · -- · Friday, August 17, 2012 2:35 PM 

\ l l: Q~nsaari@q.com; 'airport@cityofclovis.org'; Robert L. Scavron 

;;ell ·· (Scavlaw@comcast.net); 'scmayor@msn.com' 

'Lucero, Jane, NMDOT' (Jane.Lucero@state.nm.us); Chuck Howell 

(chowell@flygreatlakes.com); Tim Sieber [tsieber@seaportair.com] 

(tsieber@seaportair.com); Devany, Dennis <OST> (Dennis.DeVany@dot.gov) 

Soliciting Comments on EAS Proposals at Clovis and Silver City/Hurley/Deming, 

New Mexico- DUE September 10, 2012 

I would like to update you on the Essential Air Service (EAS) situation at Clovis and Silver 

City/Hurley/Deming (Silver City), New Mexico, and give you an opportunity to submit comments if you 

wish. 

In response to Great Lakes' notice of its intention to terminate scheduled air service at both 

communities, effective September 3, 2012, the Department issued Order 2012-7-20, July 17,2012, 

prohibiting-Great Lakes from suspending service at the two communities and requesting proposals from 

carriers interested in providing EAS at either or both communities for a new contract period, with or 

without subsidy. In response to that Order, we received proposals from two carriers. Great Lakes 

submitted stand-alone proposals for service at each community. SeaPort Airlines, Inc. (SeaPort) 

submitted inseparable package bids (serving both communities together) which included the use of two 

different 9-seat aircraft types (either Cessna Caravan or Piper Chieftains). 

Copies of the proposals may also be accessed online through the Federal Docket Management System 

at: http://www.rcgulations.gov, by typing "DOT -OST -1996-1902" (Clovis) or "DOT -OST -1996-1903" 

(Silver City) in the "SEARCH for: Rules, Comments, Adjudications or Supporting Documents:" 

field. Hyperlinks have been provided for your convenience; however, each carrier's proposal is briefly 

summarized below. 

Great Lakes would utilize 19-passenger Beech 1900D aircraft, its code-share agreements with United 

and Frontier Airlines at Denver International Airport (DEN) and other interline and baggage agreements 

with the majority of carriers at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), as summarized in the 

table below. 

Hub(s) Served/ Daily Annual 

Community Subsidy "' 

Service Pattern Round Trips Requirement 

Clovis DEN 2 $1,954,490 (12 weekly) 

Silver City/Hurley/Deming DENorPHX 2 . $2,098,460 (12 weekly) 

As mentioned above, SeaPort submitted proposals with two different 9-seat aircraft types, and each is an 

inseparable package. The carrier proposed to provide 18 nonstop round trips a week between each 

community and the Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ). The carrier also states that it would offer 

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a four-year contract term option at no increase in annual subsidies from the second year rate identifjed in 

table below. 

Community Year1 Year2 

/ Cessna Caravan Piper Chieftain Cessna Caravan Piper Chieftain 

: •. Clovis ' $2,160,518 $2,232,336 $2,268,544 $2,349,058 

SilverCity/ · $1,893,414 $1,943,316 $1,988,085 $2,044,643 Hurley /Deming 

Package Total $4,053,932 $4,175,653 $4,256,629 $4,393,702 

,•,.;•' 

Please note that the average passenger fares shown in,each proposal do not necessarily reflect the 

average local fare passengers would actually pay, but, rather, reflect a prorated portion of the total ticket 

price (e.g., the Silver City- Denver portion of a Silver City- Denver- Washington D.C. ticket) that the 

subsidized carrier would realize. Also, the fare shown is net of certain charges such as Federal 

transportation security fees, excise or ticket taxes, and Passenger Facility Charges. Of course, carriers 

have the discretion to charge fares they deem appropriate, and the passenger fares presented in their 

proposals have been developed for subsidy r'ate computation purposes only. Based on the cost elements 

incorporated in the carriers' computation summaries, the carriers would have to realize passenger fares 

comparable to the averages shown in their proposals in order to achieve break-even or profitable 

operations without subsidy. 

You should also note that the carriers' schedules may change to reflect changing conditions (e.g., to 

better nieet shifting connecting batik limes at the hub). 1'he Department does expect subsidized air 

carriers to maintain well-timed and well-spaced flights in order to ensure full compensation. 

We request that you submit any comments you may have as soon as possible, but in any case no later 

than September 10, 2012. Please send your comments by fax to 202-366-7638 or by email to both 

dennis.devany@dot.gov and brian.swanson@dot.gov. Our rules require that you send your comments to 

both applicants as well. If you have any questions, or need more time to reply, please feel free to 

contact Brian Swanson of my staff at 202-366-5392. 

Sincerely, 

Dennis J. DeVany 

Chief, Essential Air Service Division, X-53 

Office of Aviation Analysis 

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