Order: 2014-10-24 

Served October 28, 2014 

 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

 DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

 OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY 

 WASHINGTON, D.C. 

Issued by the Department of Transportation 

on the 28th

 day of October, 2014 

Essential Air Service at 

 

BECKLEY, WEST VIRGINIA 

DOT-OST-1997-2761 

DOT-OST-2004-18715 

 

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

ORDER SETTING ANNUAL SERVICE LEVEL AND TOTAL COSTS 

UNDER THE ALTERNATE ESSENTIAL AIR SERVICE PROGRAM 

Summary 

By this Order, we approve Raleigh County Memorial Airport’s (Beckley) application under 

the Alternate Essential Air Service (AEAS) program. The Department will enter into a 

Grant Agreement with the community to provide funding for regularly scheduled charter 

service consisting of a maximum of 1,248 annual nonstop flights between Raleigh County 

Memorial Airport (Beckley) and Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT). By the 

terms of the Grant Agreement, service will be provided utilizing 30-seat Embraer EMB 120 

Brasilia twin-engine aircraft operated by Charter Air Transport (CAT), at an annual rate of 

not more than $2,696,888. 

Background 

By Order 2012-4-32, issued on April 30, 2012, the Department selected Silver Airways 

(Silver) to provide EAS at Beckley with 12 weekly round trips to Washington Dulles 

International Airport (IAD), using 34-seat Saab 340 aircraft, for the period from 

August 1, 2012, through July 31, 2014, at an annual subsidy rate of $2,512,494.1

 

1

 Order 2012-4-32 also selected Silver to provide EAS at Clarksburg and Morgantown. 
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In anticipation of the end of that rate term, the Department issued Order 2014-2-13, on 

February 19, 2014, soliciting proposals from air carriers interested in providing EAS at 

Beckley, with subsidy support if necessary, for a new term beginning August 1, 2014. 

Proposals were due March 21, 2014. 

On March 19, 2014, Silver requested an extension, until April 17, 2014, to submit 

proposals. Additionally, on March 20, 2014, Boutique Air, Inc. (Boutique Air) requested 

an extension, until April 1, 2014, to submit EAS proposals to serve Beckley. 

The Department granted both extension requests and used Silver Airways’ requested due 

date to provide the most amount of time for air carriers to develop proposals. Therefore, 

proposals were due April 17, 2014. 

 

In response to our request for proposals, Boutique Air, City Link Air, and Silver submitted 

proposals to provide subsidized air transportation at Beckley. However, on May 14, 2014, 

the Department received multiple requests from air carriers asking that they be allowed to 

modify their proposals, which had already been submitted for consideration. The 

Department reviewed the requests and found it to be in the public’s interest to grant the 

requests. Therefore, the air carriers that submitted proposals in response to the most recent 

request for proposals had until May 27, 2014 to submit revised proposals, if they chose to 

do so. 

The complete public file for EAS at Beckley, may be accessed online at 

http://www.regulations.gov by entering Docket number DOT-OST-1997-2761 in the search 

block. 

 

Proposal of Boutique Air 

Boutique Air proposed two options, each using 9-seat Pilatus PC-12 aircraft: 1) 18 weekly 

nonstop round trips to Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) at an annual subsidy rate of 

$1,780,405; and 2) a dual-hub option of 6 weekly nonstop round trips to PIT and 12 

weekly nonstop round trips to IAD, at an annual subsidy of $2,428,138. 

Proposal of City Link Air 

City Link Air, which does not currently have the requisite authority to perform EAS, 

proposed one inseparable bid to serve Beckley and Jamestown, New York, with 18 weekly 

round trips to PIT, using 9-seat Beechcraft 200/300 aircraft, for a combined total subsidy 

of $4,441,314. 

Community Comments 

By letter dated June 18, 2014, Mr. Tom Cochran, Airport Manager of Raleigh County 

Memorial Airport, explained that Boutique Air would operate its service with single-engine 

aircraft, and the community is not willing to waive its right to twin-engine aircraft service 

at this time. Additionally, since City Link Air is not in a position to commence service 

within the near future, the community encouraged the Department to reject both proposals 

and issue a new request for proposals to provide EAS at Beckley. 
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Re-solicitation of Proposals 

At the request of the community, the Department issued Order 2014-7-11, on 

July 18, 2014, which rejected Boutique Air and City Link Air’s proposals and re-solicited 

proposals from air carriers interested in providing EAS at Beckley, with or without subsidy 

support. Those proposals were due no later than July 31, 2014. In response to the 

re-solicitation, Charter Air Transport and Sun Air International d/b/a Sun Air Express 

submitted bids for consideration. 

Proposal of Charter Air Transport (CAT)2

CAT submitted a proposal consisting of three options, each using 30-seat EMB-120 

aircraft for a two-year period: 1) 12 nonstop round trips to IAD at a requested annual 

subsidy rate of $2,798,746; 2) 12 nonstop round trips to PIT at a requested annual subsidy 

rate of $2,482,601; and 3) 12 nonstop round trips to CLT, at a requested annual subsidy 

rate of $2,696,888. 

Proposal of Sun Air Express, LLC d/b/a Sun Air International (Sun Air) 

Sun Air submitted a proposal consisting of two options, each using 8-seat Piper Chieftains 

“Panther” aircraft, for a four-year period: 1) 24 round trips per week to PIT at an annual 

subsidy request of $3,458,787; and 2) 18 round trips per week to CLT plus 6 round trips to 

PIT, at an annual subsidy request of $3,663,905. 

Community Comments 

By letter dated August 1, 2014, the Department requested community comments regarding 

this EAS selection case. In response, we received a letter cosigned by the Airport Manager 

of Raleigh County Airport, Mr. Tom Cochran, the Mayor of the City of Beckley, 

Honorable Bill O’Brien, and the Chairman of the Raleigh County Memorial Airport 

Authority, Mr. Brad Wartella. That letter explained that by unanimous consent, the 

Airport Authority has endorsed CAT’s option C proposal for 12 nonstop round trips per 

week to CLT. However, that letter expressed some concern with CAT’s “lack of interline 

ticket and bag agreements, the higher forecast segment fares and the bid notation that up to 

5 of the 12 flights per week can be one-stop.” 

Application for Alternate Essential Air Service 

On September 16, 2014, the Raleigh County Airport submitted a proposal for Alternate 

Essential Air Service. That proposal explained that the community’s existing EAS carrier, 

Silver Airways, was directed by its code share partner, United Airlines, to remove Beckley 

from its route network. Therefore a replacement carrier was needed to fill the void left by 

Silver. After carefully evaluating the proposals submitted in response to the Department’s 

request for proposals to serve Beckley, the community supported the proposal submitted 

by CAT with air transportation to CLT. However, because CAT does not have the 

 

2 By application dated August 8, 2009, in Docket DOT-OST-2009-0187, CAT requested commuter authority 

from the Department. In that application, CAT proposed to operate scheduled flights under 14 CFR Part 380, 

and therefore the Department limited CAT’s operations to 9-seat aircraft in scheduled operations or up to 30-

seats in on-demand operations. CAT cannot operate 30-seat aircraft in scheduled operations under its current 

FAA authority, and therefore the Department is prohibited from selecting CAT to operate scheduled 

operations at Beckley using 30-seat aircraft under traditional EAS. 
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requisite authority to operate scheduled service using 30-seat or larger aircraft under 

traditional EAS, the civic officials concluded that AEAS was the best strategy for 

Beckley’s air service needs. 

Alternate Essential Air Service Background 

On December 12, 2003, the Vision 100—Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act, P.L. 

108-176 (Vision 100) was signed into law, which, among other things, directed the 

Department to establish certain Community and Regional Choice Programs.3

One of those is AEAS. Congress established this Pilot program to provide communities 

with an alternative to the traditional EAS-type service. Typically, the EAS program pays 

subsidy to regional air carriers to provide two or three round trips a day to a major hub 

airport with twin-engine aircraft. The AEAS program is designed to allow communities to 

forego their EAS for a prescribed amount of time in exchange for receiving a grant to 

spend in a variety of ways that might better suit their individual needs.4 These options are 

defined in statute and include more frequent service with smaller aircraft, on-demand air 

taxi service, scheduled or on-demand surface transportation, regionalized air service, 

purchasing an aircraft, or other transportation services permitted by the Secretary. Each 

community awarded a grant must execute a Grant Agreement with the Department before 

it begins spending funds under a grant award. By notice dated July 27, 2004, the 

Department established AEAS and invited communities to submit proposals under the 

program. 

Decision

After careful consideration of this matter, including the comments of local officials, the 

Department has decided to approve Raleigh County Memorial Airport’s application for 

AEAS, pending execution of a Grant Agreement. 

This decision is based on the community’s clear support of CAT’s proposal to provide 

service to Charlotte. In its application for AEAS, the community lists three critical factors 

to ensure successful air transportation at Beckley: 1) reliable air service, 2) reasonable air 

fares, and 3) quality customer service. The community’s position is that CAT offers the 

most potential to address these factors. Additionally, access to Charlotte will provide 

travelers to and from Beckley with access to a large hub airport that includes a large 

number of connecting destinations on a variety of airlines. The Department is also satisfied 

that the service levels and grant request by CAT are reasonable. 

Eligibility Discussion 

To maintain eligibility in the AEAS program, communities must comply with all eligibility 

requirements that apply to traditional EAS communities. Beckley is exempt from the $200 

 

3 See Appendix A for a copy of the statute. 

4 Under no circumstances could a community participate in both the traditional EAS Program and the AEAS 

Program at the same time. Communities choosing to withdraw from the AEAS Program may request to be 

reinstated in the traditional EAS program, but there could be a hiatus in service. 
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per passenger statutory limit5 because it is more than 210 miles from the nearest large or 

medium hub airport; however, the Department wishes to remind CAT and Beckley about 

the enacted law FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-95) that 

established a subsidy cap at $1,000 per passenger regardless of distance from hub airport.6 

The Department fully expects the community and CAT to work cooperatively to ensure 

subsidy rates remain below the $1,000 per passenger level, as well as address the concerns 

raised above in the Community Comment section. 

ACCORDINGLY,

1. The Department selects the application of Beckley, West Virginia, as submitted by the 

Raleigh County Memorial Airport, for Alternate Essential Air Service, for two years upon 

execution of a Grant Agreement with the Department and beginning December 1, 2014, 

ending November 30, 2016, subject to compliance with all eligibility criteria; 

2. The Department directs Raleigh County Memorial Airport and any carrier that it 

contracts with to provide service at Beckley, including Charter Air Transport, Inc., to retain 

all books, records, and other source and summary documentation to support claims for 

payment, and to preserve and maintain such documentation in a manner that readily 

permits its audit and examination by representatives of the Department. Such 

documentation shall be retained for seven years from the service date of this Order or until 

the Department indicates that the records may be destroyed, whichever comes first. Copies 

of flight logs for aircraft sold or disposed of must be retained. The air carrier may forfeit 

its compensation for any claim that is not supported under the terms of this Order; 

3. This docket will remain open pending further Departmental action; and 

 

 

5 Congress first established the $200 ceiling under P.L. 101-164 for fiscal year 1990, and reestablished it in 

fiscal years 1994-1999. The ceiling was made permanent by P.L. 106-69, the Department of Transportation 

and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2000. 6 See 49 U.S.C. § 41731(a)(1)(C). 
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4. The Department will serve copies of this Order on the Mayor of Beckley, the Airport 

Manager of Raleigh County Memorial Airport, Sun Air Express d/b/a Sun Air 

International, and Charter Air Transport, Inc. 

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 
 

 

 

49 U.S.C. § Sec. 41745. Community and regional choice programs 

(a) ALTERNATE ESSENTIAL AIR SERVICE PILOT PROGRAM 

(1) ESTABLISHMENT - The Secretary of Transportation shall establish an alternate essential 

air service pilot program in accordance with the requirements of this section. 

(2) ASSISTANCE TO ELIGIBLE PLACES - In carrying out the program, the Secretary, instead 

of paying compensation to an air carrier to provide essential air service to an eligible place, may 

provide assistance directly to a unit of local government having jurisdiction over the eligible 

place or a State within the boundaries of which the eligible place is located. 

(3) USE OF ASSISTANCE - A unit of local government or State receiving assistance for an 

eligible place under the program may use the assistance for any of the following purposes: 

(A) To provide assistance to air carriers that will use smaller equipment to provide the 

service and to consider increasing the frequency of service using such smaller equipment 

if the Secretary determines that passenger safety would not be compromised by the use of 

such smaller equipment and if the State or unit of local government waives the minimum 

service requirements under section 41732(b). 

(B) To provide assistance to an air carrier to provide on-demand air taxi service to and 

from the eligible place. 

(C) To provide assistance to a person to provide scheduled or on-demand surface 

transportation to and from the eligible place and an airport in another place. 

(D) In combination with other units of local government in the same region, to provide 

transportation services to and from all the eligible places in that region at an airport or 

other transportation center that can serve all the eligible places in that region. 

(E) To purchase aircraft to provide transportation to and from the eligible place or to 

purchase a fractional share in an aircraft to provide such transportation after the effective 

date of a rule the Secretary issues relating to fractional ownership. 

(F) To pay for other transportation or related services that the Secretary may permit.