Sharon Fisher

2743 3 rd Av enue Ketchikan, AK 99901 February 9, 2013

Laural yn J. Remo DOT Office of Av iation Analy sis Air Carrier Fitness Division X

- 56 1200 New Jersey

Av enue SE Wa shington, DC 20590

Dear Ms. Remo:

I am writ ing you this letter in support of Scott Air , L LC DBA I sland Air Express in Alaska. I have lived in Southeast Alaska m y entire life and I am an advocate for supporting local businesses. I have worked at the Ketchikan International Airport for almost five y e ars and for the last two y ears I have been working for Island Air Express (IAX). With my

professional experience in the aviation industry and m y personal experience with people from both Ketchikan and Prince of W ales, I hope yo u will take my opinion into c onsideration. There are man y reasons why IAX should be granted a certificate of public convenience and necessity

. Reliability

is an essential factor when considering which air carriers are fit to provide services to our rural communities. The United State s mail is one of those services. IAX is the only airline located near the postal hub in Ketchikan that is capable of fly ing in inclement weather with the use of state

- of

- the

- art instruments. There are many day s that our petitioners, Pacific Airway s and Pro mech, cannot fly due to visibility

, wind, or icing conditions. I f they

cannot fly

, they cannot provide a reliable service to Prince of W ales. At my previous job, Aero Services, I assisted Pacific Airway s in the pickup and delivery of their mail from the p ost of fice to their airport facility . I n the winter months, it was not uncommon to see the same mail Ipicked up on T uesday to still be sitting in the hangar on Friday . Meanwhile, IAX planes were coming and going without delay

. That is not fair to the resi dents of Prince of W ales nor is it fair to the reputation of the United States Postal Service. Man y people depend on the mail for medications, government checks, supplies, and other necessities to maintain daily activities in these rural communities. I t ma kes no sense to den y people their mail when there is a safe, reliable, and capable airline located on their island. Our competition serves many other communities on Prince of Wa les, but we are the onl y carrier to provide service to Klawock. For IAX, this is not about business. It’ s not about taking money

out of the pockets of our fellow air carriers. It is about providing our loy al customers and their neighbors the right to get their mail rain or shine. This is about giving back to the communities that hav e allowed us to grow into the airline we are today . With this certificate, IAX can give the residents of Prince of W ales the timel y m ail service they deserve.February 9, 2013 Page 2

In regards to the accusatory document presented by

Pacific Airway s and Promech’ s representative, Hank M yers, I would like to refute a few of his claims. While I am sure that my employ er has alread y taken care of these false allegations, I want you to know that I AX personnel are most certainl y fit to manage a certificated operation. The owners and mana gement down to the customer service representatives all take pride in their jobs. It is no one’ s intention to provide unfair and deceptive business practices as Mr. M yers had stated. The increasingl y large number of passengers that choose IAX over the comp etition will also vouch for that. The fact that our competition had to hire a muckraker to find something wrong with our operations goes to show that they are not in business to serve people, but are onl y in it for their own personal greed. Living on an i sland in Alaska has its obstacles and the mission of I AX is to help alleviate the barriers of travel for our residents. W e do not have an y interline agreements with other airlines, nor is it possible to book a reservation with us through an y other website than our own. One diminutive issue with our toll free phone number and the fine print regulations that go along with it is no reason for denial of our certification. Mr. M yers will stop at nothing to prevent us from growing our business. Our IFR service gi ves us an advantage over the competition, but that is not unfair, that is how business works. His attacks are misguided and do not reflect on the amazing service that IAX provides.
When the I nterisland Ferry breaks down, IAX delivers their parts needed to fix the boat. When other carriers cancel, IAX adds extra flights to get all passengers to their destinations. When people call and need miracles to happen, IAX tries harder than an y other airline to make that happen. W e are trul y a great compan y with amaz ing people that work hard to serve the wonderful residents of Southern Southeast Alaska. With this certificate, we can contribute the same reliability of our passenger service to the United States Mail.
The bottom line here is that it’ s not about which co mpany is going to profit from delivering mail to outlying communities. While our petitioners may lose some revenue if we begin mail operations, the benefits of receiving mail on a daily basis for most residents far exceeds the cost to the other carriers. I AX’ s main goal is to give Alaskans a reliable carrier no matter what we are transporting. I strongl y urge you to think about the people in our communities and how important this is to them. I t is with great confidence that Iguarantee Island Air Express is more than fit to continue serving our communities and become certificated so that we may serve them better

. Thank y ou for y our consideration on this matter

. Sincerely , Sharon FisherFebruary 9, 2013 Page 3