e 

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UlS.DepCirtnwntof Assistant Secretary 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

ItaniportCrtion Washington, DC 20590 

Office of the Secretary .,. 

of Transportation 

November 8, 2010 ' ' /^ 

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CD -oVi ^ 

The Honorable Robert P. Casey, Jr. > ^§— • 

United States Senate Q OS ^ 

Washington, DC 20510 J, [^ 

en 

Dear Senator Casey: 

Thank you for your letter of October 27 to Mr. Robert Letteney expressing concern about . _ 

the Essential Air Service (EAS) carrier-selection process at Ironwood and 

Manistee/Ludington, Michigan. The EAS program is administered by the Department's 

Office of Aviation Analysis and falls under my purview. 

As you know, by Order 2010-9-26, September 27, the Department determined that the 

two applicants (including Public Charters and Charter Air Transport joint-venture) that 

submitted bids did not have the requisite operating authority necessary to provide EAS. 

As a result, the Department requested another round of proposals from air carriers 

interested in providing EAS at the two communities for a third time, due no later than 

October 18. At the request of one applicant and with support from the communities, the 

due date for proposals was extended until October 25. 

In response to the most recent request for proposals, we have received a total of five 

proposals, briefly outlined below: 

• Charter Air Transport to serve Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with 30-seat, pressurized 

turboprop aircraft; 

• Gulf stream International Airlines to serve Milwaukee utilizing 19-seat, 

pressurized turboprop aircraft; 

• Air Choice One, two options, to serve Chicago O'Hare International Airport 

utilizing 9-seat turboprop aircraft; 

• Seaport Airlines, two options depending on the hub served (Minneapolis and 

Milwaukee or Minneapolis and Detroit) utilizing 9-seat, pressurized turboprop 

aircraft; and 

• Chautauqua Airlines, d/b/a Frontier Airlines, to serve Milwaukee utilizing 37-seat 

jet aircraft. 

On October 26 my staff shared the details of the proposals with the communities and 

solicited comments and preferences. We are aware that their preliminary position now is 

to favor Frontier Airlines. However, as the carrier-selection proceeding is competitive 
X-l()l()29-()()2 

The Honorable Robert P. Casey, Jr. 

Page 2 

and is currently under review by the Department, I am sure you understand that I cannot 

comment on the merits of the proposals. However, our overall goal is to find the be^t fit 

for the communities. The Department will fully consider all of the proposals, and make 

its award based on the selection criteria detailed in the governing statutes, including the 

communities' views. 

As is our normal practice, I am placing a copy of your letter and my response in Docket 

DOT-OST-1996-1266 as a contact outside the record of this proceeding. If I can provide 

further information or assistance, please feel free to call me. 

Sincerely yours. 

Susan L. Kurland 

Assistant Secretary for 

Aviation and International Affairs 
X-l()l()2y-(){)2 

28-Oct-lO 

2010 Senate Report - Governmental Affairs Correspondence 

Control Sheet (MO), W85-328 

Control Number: 

Date DOT Received: 

Date DOT Entered: 

Member's Date: 

Member Last Name: 

Member First Name: 

Member Orsanization: 

Addressl 

Address2 

City: 

State: 

Zip 

Constituent File Name: 

Constituent Date 

Action Office: 

Subject: 

Action Offlce Code: 

Due Date: 

Member Contact: 

Pending 

Member Contact Phone: 

Closed Date: 

Remarks: 

Direct Replv/Comeback Copy 

2010-1296 

D/28/2010 

3/27/2010 

B/27/2010 

Casey 

Robert P. 

United States Senate 

Washington 

DC 

20510 

Office of the Assistant Secretary for 

Transportation Policy 

expressing your concerns Essential Air Service (EAS) 

program 

P-1 

11/26/2010 

Ed Williams 

Yes 

(202)228-5135 

Yes 

Coneressional AJHTairs Contact 
10/27/aOlO 2:27:3 3 PM Unite d State s Senat e PAGEl X-l()l()29-()()2 

ftlTN: 

FROM: 

Congressional Affairs 

U.S. Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr, 

DATE: 

SUBJECT: 

JOB: 

October 27, 2010 

From Senator Robert P. Casey 

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