Order: 2014-9-21 

 Served: September 26, 2014 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 

Issued by the Department of Transportation 

on the 26th day of September, 2014 

Essential Air Service at 

BRADFORD, PENNSYLVANIA 

EL CENTRO, CALIFORNIA 

FORT DODGE, IOWA 

FRANKLIN/OIL CITY, PENNSYLVANIA 

GREENVILLE, MISSISSIPPI 

HAGERSTOWN, MARYLAND 

JACKSON, TENNESSEE 

KINGMAN, ARIZONA 

LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA 

MACON, GEORGIA 

MERCED, CALIFORNIA 

MUSCLE SHOALS, ALABAMA 

Under 49 U.S.C. 41731 et seq. 

Docket DOT-OST-2003-14528 

Docket DOT-OST-2008-0299 

Docket DOT-OST-2001-10682 

Docket DOT-OST-1997-2523 

Docket DOT-OST-2008-0209 

Docket DOT-OST-2006-25228 

Docket DOT-OST-2000-7857 

Docket DOT-OST-1996-1899 

Docket DOT-OST-2002-11450 

Docket DOT-OST-2007-28671 

Docket DOT-OST-1998-3521 

Docket DOT-OST-2000-7856 

ORDER GRANTING WAIVERS 

Summary 

By this Order, the U.S. Department of Transportation (the Department) is granting the waiver 

petitions of all of the 12 above-captioned communities. These communities’ compliance with 

49 U.S.C 41731(a)(1)(B) will be re-assessed based on Fiscal Year 2015 data (October 1, 2014, 

through September 30, 2015). 

Background 

The FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, Pub. L. 112-95, amended 

49 U.S.C. 41731(a)(1)(B) to change the definition of “eligible place” for Essential Air Service 

(EAS). The amendment states that to be an “eligible place,” a community must maintain an 

average of 10 enplanements per service day or more, as determined by the Secretary, during the 

most recent fiscal year beginning after September 30, 2012. This requirement does not apply to 

locations in Alaska and Hawaii or communities that are more than 175 driving miles from the 
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nearest large or medium hub airport.1 The Secretary also may waive, on an annual basis, the 10-

enplanement requirement for a community if that community demonstrates to the Secretary’s 

satisfaction that the reason the location averages fewer than 10 enplanements per day is due to a 

temporary decline in enplanements.2 

The tentative decision in the show-cause Order issued April 24, 2014, gave interested parties 

until May 14, 2014, to submit objections to the Department’s findings. The Department received 

objections to the show-cause Order from 11 of the 13 communities. On June 24, 2014, the 

Department finalized its tentative decision, and set procedures for communities to petition the 

Department for a waiver. Waiver petitions were due July 24, 2014. 

Of the 13 communities found ineligible for EAS based on the requirement that they enplane 10 

or more passengers per service day, 12 filed petitions for waivers. Athens, Georgia did not file a 

waiver petition.3

Below is a summary of each community’s petition. 

BRADFORD, PENNSYLVANIA 

The Department received several letters either requesting or supporting a waiver petition for 

Bradford. Tom Frungillo, the Airport Director of the Bradford Regional Airport, submitted a 

petition on behalf of the community. Mr. Frungillo stated that the community has suffered a 

temporary and steady decline in passenger enplanements since Gulfstream International Airlines 

(now, Silver Airlines) inaugurated service six years ago in 2008. Prior to 2008, he argued that 

Bradford regularly enplaned more than 10 passengers per day, except for in 2007 when 

enplanements dropped to 9.9 due to US Airways’ moving its hub from Pittsburgh International 

Airport (PIT). He also noted that the Pennsylvania Air Service Committee recently conducted a 

multi-year study of the air service needs of the EAS communities in Pennsylvania. This study 

concluded that “reliable service on a 9-seat aircraft to PIT, combined with a low-local fare 

structure can be” successful. The Department also received a waiver petition from the Bradford 

Area Alliance. The Alliance’s waiver petition echoed Mr. Frungillo’s concerns with Bradford’s 

current EAS carrier and they believe that a new carrier would result in an increase in 

enplanements. 

EL CENTRO, CALIFORNIA 

Mr. Ralph Cordova, Jr., Imperial County Executive Officer, submitted a petition on behalf of El 

Centro. He stated that the decline in enplanements is temporary in nature due to the community 

adjusting to a change in air carrier service providers, with service to different hub destinations on 

a new schedule, on a smaller aircraft type. Mr. Cordova noted that for many years, United 

Express, operated by SkyWest Airlines, built a loyal following of passengers by providing 

nonstop service to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), and Yuma, Arizona (YUM), using 

30-seat Embraer 120 aircraft. However, in 2013, United Express discontinued its service at the 

 

1

49 U.S.C. § 41731(c) & (d). 

2

49 U.S.C. § 41731(e). 

3 See www.regulations.gov and access each community’s waiver petitions by entering “DOT-OST-[each respective 

community’s docket number as described on page 1]. 
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community, and SeaPort Airlines began providing service to San Diego International Airport 

(SAN) and Burbank Bob Hope Airport (BUR), using 9-seat Cessna Caravan aircraft. Mr. 

Cordova stated that, as a result, the number of daily seats offered at the community was about 

half that offered by United Express, and connecting opportunities at the hub destinations was far 

more limited. Further, SeaPort initially lacked interline agreements with other major air carriers 

when it entered the market, however, it now has interline agreements with Alaska Airlines at 

SAN and BUR, and intends to enter into similar agreements with two other major air carriers and 

plans to join a major air carrier’s frequent flyer program in December 2014. Finally, he stated 

that the community’s “traffic levels had remained above the mandatory 10 enplanements per day 

by at least six passengers every year except for 2013.” 

FORT DODGE, IOWA 

The Department received waiver petitions from Mayor Matt Bemrich, Mr. Richard Jacobson, 

Chairman of the Fort Dodge Regional Airport Commission, Mr. Dennis A. Plautz, CEO of the 

Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance, James B. Kersten, Vice President of External Affairs and 

Government Relations at Iowa Central Community College, and Paul Trombino, III, Director of 

the IOWA Department of Transportation. Mayor Bemrich and Mr. Jacobson’s petitions both 

noted that Fort Dodge missed the 10-enplanement threshold by only 16 passengers per month, 

which they attributed 54 flight cancellations by their EAS carrier. 

FRANKLIN/OIL CITY, PENNSYLVANIA

Mr. Otho C. Bell, the Airport Director of the Venango Regional Airport, submitted a petition on 

behalf of the community. He stated that the communities’ enplanements have suffered due to its 

EAS carrier’s (Gulfstream International Airlines (now, Silver Airways)) poor management and 

service. Mr. Bell also noted that the carrier’s frequent cancellations due to its inexperience with 

northern climates and inadequate equipment were further contributing factors. Finally, Mr. Bell 

referred to a Pennsylvania Air Service Committee study that recommends that more frequent 

service to Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) with 9-seat aircraft would lift the community’s 

enplanements over the 10-enplanement bar. 

GREENVILLE, MISSISSIPPI

The Honorable John H. Cox III, Mayor of Greenville, submitted a petition on behalf of the 

community. Mayor Cox noted that passenger enplanements only recently fell below 10 per day, 

and that, historically, the community has had more than 10 enplanements per day. Mayor Cox 

attributed the decline in enplanements to poor service by its current EAS carrier, Silver Airways, 

which started service at Greenville in October 2012. In addition, the community stated that 

Silver’s ticket pricing was not designed to generate traffic, and marketing efforts were 

nonexistent. 

HAGERSTOWN, MARYLAND

Mr. Phillip Ridenour, Airport Director of the Hagerstown Regional Airport, submitted a waiver 

petition on behalf of the community. In the petition, Mr. Ridenour alleged that the community’s 

EAS carrier, Sun Air, and its former Chief Executive Officer Tom Cooper, were averse to 

adequately marketing Sun Air service, resulting in low passenger numbers. Additionally, Mr. 

Ridenour pointed out that Sun Air began service at Hagerstown with aircraft that were not fully 

equipped to operate in winter weather conditions, resulting in poor service reliability, further 
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reducing passenger use. The petition also attributed its low average enplanements in 2013 to the 

2013 government shutdown and its effects on Federal Aviation Administration operations. Mr. 

Ridenour indicated that the government shutdown led to a shortage of route-qualified pilots for 

Sun Air and delays in approvals for additional aircraft on its operating certificate and Sun Air’s 

revisions to its operations manual for cold weather operations. 

The community stated that since that time, Sun Air has hired a new CEO and other senior 

management, including a marketing director, and has established a maintenance base at 

Lancaster, PA, thereby improving reliability and ridership. 

JACKSON, TENNESSEE

The Department received two petitions requesting a wavier on behalf of Jackson: one from the 

City of Jackson and Madison County, Tennessee, and the other from the McKellar Sipes 

Regional Airport. Both petitions indicated that the community suffered a decline in 

enplanements due to poor performance and extremely high air fares offered by the community’s 

EAS service provider, Pacific Wings d/b/a Tennessee Skies. In 2011, however, SeaPort replaced 

Pacific Wings as Jackson’s EAS carrier and the petition’s noted that Jackson’ experienced an 

increase in enplanements of “240% over the previous carrier.” 

KINGMAN, ARIZONA

Mr. David French, the Executive Director of the Kingman Airport, submitted a waiver petition 

on behalf of the community. Mr. French stated that Las Vegas is the community’s logical hub 

but “it has always been a destination airport and in recent years connections into the national 

system have been reduced during daytime hours making convenient connections into the national 

system difficult.” He also stated that “the actual driving mile distance to Phoenix is debatable 

based on any given starting point in Kingman as the 175 mile defined distance is close. However, 

airline connections in PHX are also difficult, but more as a result of the physical design of 

multiple terminal structures and ground distances to cross with limited transfer times. This 

affects older passengers and families with small children which is a larger part of Kingman’s 

traveling public.” Finally, Mr. French noted that Great Lakes recently inaugurated service at 

Kingman and that “it is the best [service] Kingman has experienced since the early 1980s and it 

should be allowed to be cultivated.” 

LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA

Ms. Christina Hausner, counsel for the Lancaster Airport Authority, submitted a waiver petition 

on behalf of the community. In support of the petition, Ms. Hausner stated that passenger 

numbers at Lancaster were well above the 10 enplanement per day threshold when Cape Air 

provided service to Baltimore in 2011 and 2012; however, passenger numbers declined with the 

introduction of Sun Air. Ms. Hausner noted that Sun Air’s reliability was hampered by its 

inexperience with operating in cold weather environments, lack of proper equipment (e.g., heated 

planes, deicing), and an inability to certify pilots due to the 2013 government shutdown and its 

effects on Federal Aviation Administration staff and operations. Ms. Hausner observed that 

“[t]he first six months of 2014 has seen an 11% increase in enplanements over the same period in 

2013, demonstrating that the fiscal year ended September 13, 2013 is an anomaly and represents 

only a temporary decline in passengers.” She also stated that any issues with Sun Air that 

contributed to the temporary decline in enplanements have been corrected. 
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MACON, GEORGIA

Macon-Bibb County and the Middle Georgia Regional Airport submitted a petition for a waiver 

on behalf of Macon. In the petition, they stated that Macon suffered a temporary decline in 

enplanements due to its previous EAS carrier, Pacific Wings. Pacific Wings, d/b/a Georgia 

Skies, began EAS at Macon in 2008. While Pacific Wings served Macon, enplanements 

declined significantly, which the petitioners attribute to the carrier’s poor service and frequent 

cancellations. They further noted that prior to Pacific Wings entering the market, Macon had no 

issues with enplaning more than 10 passengers per day, and Fiscal Year 2013 was the most 

dismal era for passenger service at Macon. Silver Airways has now assumed Macon’s EAS 

route with service to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and Orlando 

International Airport (MCO), which they indicated was a positive development for the 

community’s air service. However, the petition stated that Silver Airways has been negatively 

affected by the “pilot shortage,” which has caused the air carrier to delay or cancel some flights, 

but that enplanements are trending higher. 

MERCED, CALIFORNIA 

The Department received a petition from Mr. John M. Bramble, the Merced City Manager. Mr. 

Bramble stated that from 2002 through 2008, Merced averaged 24 enplanements per day, and 

that Great Lakes started EAS at Merced in 2008. He noted that Great Lakes had serious 

operational issues at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) which negatively affected 

customer confidence, loyalty, and satisfaction, and, he believes, resulted in a decrease in 

enplanements. Mr. Bramble also noted that Merced’s enplanements exceeded 10 per day in 

Fiscal Year 2012.

MUSCLE SHOALS, ALABAMA

Barry Griffith, Airport Director of Northwest Alabama Regional Airport, submitted a waiver 

petition on behalf of Muscle Shoals. Mr. Griffith claimed that passenger enplanements only 

recently fell below 10 per day, and that historically the community has had more than 10 

enplanements per day. He attributed the decline in enplanement to poor service by the current 

EAS carrier, Silver Airways, which started service at Muscle Shoals in October 2012, and not to 

“any decline or weakness over historic traffic or revenue levels by the market.” Muscle Shoals’ 

petition included several customer complaints and newspaper articles in support of their position. 

Waiver Authority 

The waiver provision at 49 U.S.C. 41731(e) vests the Secretary with broad discretion to grant 

waivers of the 10-enplanement requirement. 

Decision 

After careful consideration of all 12 petitions, the U.S. Department of Transportation has decided 

to grant the waiver petitions of all 12 communities. 

For many of these communities, a simple comparison of their enplanement data in recent years 

demonstrates that the Fiscal Year 2013 decline in enplanements experienced by these 

communities was temporary. El Centro, Fort Dodge, Greenville, Lancaster, and Muscle Shoals 

all enplaned far more than 10 passengers per day in Fiscal Year 2012, and their Fiscal Year 2013 
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enplanements were a sharp decrease from previous years. Similarly, Hagerstown and Merced 

exceeded 10 enplanements per day every year in the past decade, except one.4 Additionally, 

both communities averaged more than 10 enplanements per day in Fiscal Year 2012. Thus, these 

communities have demonstrated to the Department’s satisfaction that their Fiscal Year 2013 

decline in enplanements is temporary. 

At the remaining communities, Bradford, Franklin/Oil City, Jackson, Kingman, and Macon, a 

comparison of recent enplanement numbers, alone, does not directly show that the decline 

experienced in these communities is temporary. Nonetheless, upon review of these 

communities’ enplanement data over the past several years, in combination with the arguments 

these communities presented in support of their waiver petitions, the Department is satisfied that 

the decline in enplanements at these communities also is temporary. For instance, despite being 

below an average of 10 enplanements per day, several of these communities showed an increase 

in enplanements from Fiscal Year 2012 to Fiscal Year 2013. Some communities experienced a 

service hiatus that resulted in decreased enplanements once service restarted; enplanements at 

some of these communities, though, have slowly begun to rebound. Additionally, for some of 

these communities, the decrease in enplanements occurred in conjunction with service issues 

related to their EAS carrier or other external factors that could be resolved with the selection of a 

new EAS provider. In light of these circumstances, these communities have demonstrated to the 

Department’s satisfaction that the decline in enplanements is temporary. 

We wish to make clear that the statute requires that communities exceed 10 enplanements per 

day during each fiscal year. Although these communities received a temporary waiver from this 

requirement, their traffic will be reassessed based upon Fiscal Year 2015 data (October 1, 2014, 

through September 30, 2015). We expect that these communities will work with their EAS 

carriers to address any issues that contributed to their Fiscal Year 2013 decline in enplanements. 

Next Steps 

The 12 communities discussed in this order are in various stages of their EAS contracts. For 

those in mid-contract, the incumbent carrier must continue to provide EAS. For those 

communities with contracts expiring soon, we will issue an RFP (Request for Proposals) soon. 

For those communities in the midst of a carrier-selection decision, we will announce that 

decision as soon as possible. We reiterate that we expect the communities and their respective 

EAS carriers to work together to ensure compliance with the 10-enplanement statute and all 

other eligibility criteria. 

This Order is issued under authority delegated in 49 CFR Part 1.25a(b). 

 

 

4 Hagerstown was not eligible for EAS during a period of time in FY2008 and FY2009.
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ACCORDINGLY, 

1. The Department grants the petitions for a waiver for Bradford, Pennsylvania; El Centro, 

California; Fort Dodge, Iowa; Franklin/Oil City, Pennsylvania; Greenville, Mississippi; 

Hagerstown, Maryland; Jackson, Tennessee; Kingman, Arizona;5 Lancaster, 

Pennsylvania; Macon, Georgia; Merced, California; and Muscle Shoals, Alabama. These 

communities will next be reassessed based on Fiscal Year 2015 data (October 1, 2014, 

through September 30, 2015). 

2. These dockets will remain open until further order of the Department; and 

3. The Department will serve copies of this Order on the mayors, civic, airport officials at 

the communities identified in this Order and the carriers that are serving these 

communities and have been selected to serve these communities. 

By: 

BRANDON M. BELFORD 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for 

Aviation and International Affairs 

(SEAL) 

An electronic version of this document is available 

at http://www.regulations.gov

 

5 49 U.S.C. 41731(a)(1)(C) requires that all EAS communities, except those in Alaska or Hawaii, have a 

subsidy per passenger under $1,000 based on end of fiscal year data. Mid-FY14 data (for the period 

ending March 31, 2014) shows Kingman’s subsidy per passenger is $1,062. If, based on end of FY14 

data, Kingman’s per passenger subsidy remains above $1000, we will address that issue in a subsequent 

Order. See Orders 2012-2-14, 2013-2-11, and 2013-6-13 for how the Department has dealt with the 

$1,000 requirement for four other communities that did not meet that requirement. The waiver granted by 

this Order does not insulate Kingman (or any other community addressed in this Order) from the $1,000 

requirement, or any other requirement for EAS eligibility.