City Manager's Office 

City of Kearney 

18 East 22nd Street 

P. 0. Box 1180 

Kearney, NE 68848-1180 

July 14, 2014 

Mr. Michael Martin 

CITY OF KEARNEY HEART Of NfBR,\SKA 

United States Department of Transportation 

Office of Aviation Analysis 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE 

Room W86-4 72 

Washington D.C. 20590 

Reference DOT -OST -1996-1715 

Dear Mr. Martin: 

TELEPHONE · (308) 233-3214 

FAX · (308) 234-6399 

E-MAIL· mmorgan@kearneygov.org 

WEBSITE· www.cityofkearney.org 

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This letter constitutes the official comments of the City of Kearney regarding the results of 

the request for Essential Air Service proposals outlined in Order 2014-4-30 that was 

issued on April 29, 2014. 

We have carefully reviewed the bid proposals of Great Lakes Aviation. Our comments 

regarding the Great Lakes bid(s) are below. 

The first bid is a B1900D 9-seat option for 18 weekly trips to Denver for $2.993 million, 

resulting in a $235 subsidy per O&D. This proposal forecasts 12,750 annual passengers. 

This is roughly half the level of historic traffic in Kearney. Further, the bid as proposed 

would be in violation of the $200 subsidy per passenger cap that the Department of 

Transportation (DOT) will be enforcing starting in FY 2015. 

The second bid is a B 1900D 19-seat option for 18 weekly trips to Denver for $2.034 

million, resulting in a $75 subsidy per O&D. This proposal forecasts 27,000 annual 

passengers. This scenario is certainly better than the 9 seat bid for both the DOT and the 

community. However, there is great uncertainly on what timeline this scenario would 

come to pass. As a result, the community needs greater clarification on the timing of this 

bid. 

The third bid is an undefined proposal for 12 weekly RJ flights using the metrics of the 9-

seat option but with no forecast of passengers, fares or costs. This proposal is offered "at 

Great Lakes discretion" and we are not sure what that means. Kearney sees this as the 

most desirable option from Great Lakes. However, there are a number of unclear items 

with this bid. Great Lakes requests the "full marketing support of the communities" for this 

option. Kearney requires a greater qualitative and quantitative understanding of what this 

would require. Additionally, Kearney needs much greater clarification on when the jets 

would be available for service and what level of reliability the service would offer. If 

Kearney is to market and promote new jet service it must be consistently reliable for the 

community to use and trust the service. 
Mr. Michael Martin Page 2 July 18, 2014 

After careful consideration we are requesting that the DOT call for a re-bid of the Kearney 

EAS RFP. Our reasons include; 

~ The 9 seat bid will greatly diminish passenger traffic. This is directly contrary to the 

goals of the community and the airport. It is unclear whether the community would 

see increased reliability in air service in this scenario from today's reduced level of 

reliability. Further, Kearney would be in violation of the $200 subsidy per 

passenger cap that the DOT will be enforcing starting in FY 2015. 

~ The community needs much greater clarification on both the jet bid and the 19 seat 

81900 bid. Understanding the marketing requirements of the community, the 

timeline of when service would start, the reliability of such service, and other 

pertinent details must be spelled out in much greater detail for Kearney to get 

comfortable with these alternative bids. 

We do very much appreciate the interest that Great Lakes Aviation has shown in our 

market and we urge them to submit bids in a rebid process. We hope that Great Lakes 

and other carriers will, at the time of rebidding and in the comment period thereafter, be 

able to more fully demonstrate what their final operating plans and timelines are in much 

greater detail. 

We appreciate the Department of Transportation working with us to find the most effective 

EAS solution for Kearney. Our air service is very important to us and we want to use this 

bidding process to find an air service solution that can be a win for both the airline and the 

community. 

Sincerely, 

Michael W. Morgan 

City Manager 

We provide services, solutions, and opportunities for our community.