May 15, 2012 

Dennis J. DeVany 

Office of Aviation Analysis 

US Department of Transportation 

400 Seventh Street, S.W. 

Washington, D.C. 20590 

SkyWest Airlines' Essential Air Service Proposal for Alpena, MI 

Dear Mr. DeVany: 

Attached is SkyWest Airlines' proposal for service at Alpena, Michigan. Our proposal is 

to provide direct service from Alpena to both Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport 

(MSP) and Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW). 

SkyWest welcomes the opportunity to serve the Alpena community. Our combination of 

safe and reliable aircraft, well-timed schedules, and access to one of the world's largest 

airline networks provides passengers quality air service and will help drive economic 

growth in the region. 

Delta Air Lines' Network 

One of the most beneficial aspects of SkyW est's proposal is that it provides Alpena 

passengers with continued access to Delta Air Lines' global network. Delta is a founding 

member of the SkyTeam alliance, providing seamless connections aboard 5,400 daily 

flights and unparalleled access to nearly all parts of the globe. 

Frequency and Schedule 

As directed by the DOT, we will offer a minimum of 12 round-trip flights per week with 

daily service to MSP and weekday service to DTW. All flights have been timed to ensure 

they offer passengers valuable flight schedules that arrive and depart on bank. This means 

that they have been optimized for maximum connection opportunities in both MSP and 

DTW, making the service convenient for business and leisure travelers. 

With approximately 400 daily departures from MSP and 475 from DTW, Delta operates 

more service than any other airline and offers great connections to destinations around 

the globe. 
Although subject to change, our proposed schedule is as follows: 

MSP 

APN 

DTW 

APN 

9:00AM 

I 2:00PM 

3:30PM 

5:55PM 

I 1:35AM 

1:00PM 

4:30PM 

6:30PM 

APN 

DTW 

APN 

MSP 

Superior Aircraft 

Service will be provided using the Canadair Regional Jet 200 (CRJ200) 50-seat turbojet 

aircraft. SkyWest was recently named the most reliable CRJ200 operator in North 

America and is one of the largest domestic operators of this reliable, comfortable aircraft 

type. 

All SkyWest CRJ200 aircraft are serviced by one of our highly-trained flight attendants 

and are equipped with a lavatory to ensure the comfort and convenience of our 

passengers. Additional details and specifications can be found in the CRJ fact sheet. 

attached to this document. 

Summary 

SkyWest believes this proposal provides the best overall option for air service in the 

Alpena community. Given the connectivity at MSP and DTW, the well-timed schedule, 

and reliable equipment, we expect to see continued growth in the number of passengers 

utilizing the service. We will also work with community and our airport partners to 

market the service. 

SkyWest is excited about the possible opportunity to provide reliable air service to 

Alpena, Michigan. 

Thank you for your consideration. 

Sincerely, 

Michael Thompson 

Vice President- Market Development 

SkyWest Airlines 
SkyWest Airlines 

Alpena, Ml Essential Air Service Sip 

5/15/2012 

APN APN 

MSP DTW TOTALS 

Number of round-trips per week 7 5 12 

Aircraft type CRJ200 CRJ200 CRJ200 

Passenger Revenue 

Passengers 12,500 10,500 23,000 

Average fare $ 89.00 $ 82.00 

Revenue $ 1,112,500 $ 861,000 $ 1,973,500 

Block Time 

Trip block time (minutes) 94 59 

Total scheduled block time 1,141 511 

Total completed block time 98% 1,118 501 1,619 

RPMS 

Passengers 12,500 10,500 

Stage length 473 198 

5,912,500 2,079,000 7,991,500 

ASMs 

Scheduled departures 728 520 

Competed departures 98% 713 510 

Stage length 47~ 198 

Available Seats 50 50 

17,217,200 5,148,000 22,365,200 

Revenue $ 1,112,500 $ 861,000 

CRJ 

Direct operating expenses Blk Hr $ 2,301.81 $ 2,572,785 $ 1,153,452 

RPM related RPMs $ 0.00341 $ 20,162 $ 7,089 

Departure related Departures $ 710.13 $ 506,635 $ 361,882 

ASM related ASMs $ 0.00932 $ 160,464 $ 47,979 

Total expenses $ 3,260,046 $ 1,570,403 $ 4,830,450 

Operating income (loss) $ (2,147,546) $ (709,403) $ (2,856,950) 

5% profit margin $ 163,002 $ 78,520 $ 241,522 

Annual subsidy requirement $ 2,310,549 $ 787,924 $ 3,098,472 

SkyWest effective rates per unit 

Cost per trip $ 4,569 $ 3,082 

Cost per passenger $ 261 $ 150 

SkyWest cost per block hour $ 2,917. $ 3,134 

Effective Subsidy rate per unit 

Subsidy per trip $ 3,239 $ 1,546 

Subsidy per passenger $ 185 $ 75 

Load factor 34% 40% 
SkyWest Airlines May 2012 

SkyWest Airlines celebrates 40 years of flight in 2012. As a leading air service provider 

offering global access to millions of people each month, SkyWest partners with the 

world's largest network carriers including United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, US Airways 

and Alaska Airlines. With a fleet of 316 aircraft, SkyWest's more than 11,000 aviation 

professionals operate more than 1, 700 flights each day to 159 destinations throughout 

North America. SkyWest is known for its industry-leading workforce, exceptional 

leadership team, and continued solid operational and economic performance. The airline 

is headquartered in St. George, Utah. 

Hubs 

Crew domiciles 

Maintenance bases 

Line stations 

Cities 

currently served 

Stations operated 

Employees 

Average number 

of daily scheduled 

departures 

Chicago O'Hare, Denver, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Portland, 

Phoenix, Salt Lake City and San Francisco 

Chicago, Colorado Springs, Denver, Fresno, Houston, Los Angeles, 

Minneapolis/St. Paul, Palm Springs, Phoenix, Portland, Salt Lake City, 

San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, Seattle and Tucson 

Chicago, Colorado Springs, Fresno, Milwaukee, Nashville, Palm Springs, 

Salt Lake City and Tucson 

Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Phoenix, Portland, 

San Francisco and Seattle 

Total: 159 (39 States, Washington D.C., 5 Canadian Provinces and 3 cities in Mexico) 

United: 137 Delta: 100 US Airways: 22 Alaska: 7 Shared: 90 

SkyWest: 68 

11,232 total 

9,131 FTEs 

United: 1,052 Delta: 545 US Airways: 94Aiaska: 24 Total: 1,715 

DEN: 135 IAH: 56 LAX: 137 ORO: 78 POX: 29 PHX: 58 SFO: 154 

MSP: 78 SLC:.154 

Passengers 24.5 million passengers 

Carried in 2011 

Total revenue 13.6 billion revenue passenger miles* 

passenger miles 

flown in 2011 *A Revenue Passenger Mile is equal to one fare-paying passenger flown one mile. 

Total aircraft in 316 (All numbers include deliveries and retirements this calendar month) 

operating fleet 

Embraer aircraft: 44 Embraer 120 turboprops 

Bombardier aircraft: J..59 CRJ200 aircraft 

92 CRJ700 aircraft 

21 CRJ900 aircraft 
Pacific 

8:00 

UNITED 

EXPRESS 

Central 

10:00 

CONNECTION 

.......... 

United E

United 

US 

E

U

EX

SKYWEST AIRLINES ROUTE MAP EFFECTIVE MAY 2012 (updated monthly, may not reflect recent service updates.) 

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·r;:ne 

JA
CRJ200 LR 

Number 

Number 

Thrust 

50 

Two General Electric CF34-381 turbofans 

8,729 pounds thrust at takeoff ' ~ .. ,..,.. . . . ~ ..._ . 

..... 

Main Entrance J 1 2 3 4 5 

Fact Sheet for 

Canadair Regional Jet 

6 

Maximum takeoff weight (Series zooLR) 

Operating weight empty 

Maximum fuel load 

Maximum payload 

7 ..... 8 9 10 11 12 13 

L Emergency Exit 

53,000 lbs 

30,500 lbs 

14,305 lbs 

13,500 lbs 

24,041 kg 

13,835 kg 

6,489 kg 

6,124 kg