TheHonorable Ray LaHood SecretaryofTransportation U.S. DepartmentofTransportation 1200NewJerseyAvenue, SE Washington, DC 20590

DearSecretaryLai-Iood, WASHtNGTON, DC 20:HO

June**6~**2012

We are writing onbehalfofthe communityofAlpena, Michigan, regardingEssential AirService (EAS)atAlpenaCountyRegional Airport.
As youknow, the DepartmentofTransportationhas receivedfourbids to provide AlpenaEAS service. Thecommunityhasreviewedthebids anddeterminedwhich airlinetheyfeel is thebest fit fortheregion. We askthattheDepartmentgive the enclosedletterfrom thecommunity strong considerationinselectingareplacementto DeltaAirlines.

Thankyoufor yourattentipntothis matter.

Sincerely,

SenatorDebbie Stabenow SenatorCarl Levin

# City

# ofAlpena

May 30,2012
Mr. Dennis DeVany Chief, Essential Air Service Division Office of Aviation Analysis Department ofTransportation 1200 NewJerseyAvenue SE, Washington, D.C. 20590
Reference DOT-OST-2009-0300
Dear Dennis,
This letter is the formal response of the City of Alpena

. to the Department's request for our comments regarding aircarrier bids to provide Alpena EAS received by May 15, 2012.
I will begin by thanking the Department for having faith in our ability to draw carrier interest in our air service market. We are overjoyed to have worked with SkyWest Airlines and for that carrierto decideto bidto provide Delta branded regional jetservice at ourairport.
The SkyWest Airlines bid is supported by the Mayor of Alpena, the Chairman of the Alpena Board of Commissioners, the Chairman of the Alpena County Regional Airport Committee, the Airport Manager, the Executive Director of the Alpena Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Target Alpena Director of Economic Development. All have been directly involved with this entire process. SkyWest is one .of the largest regional airlines in the nation, consistently profitable and well known to provide excellent customer service and reliable flight operations. Furthermore, SkyWest proposes to provide Alpena with service to Detroit and Minneapolis underthe DeltaAir Lines brand and code, which is what we currently have. With Delta branded regional jets we have seen record traffic demand and could potentially generate25,000 total O&D in 2012.
We recognize that the SkyWest service pattern is different than what we currently have, with a single trip to DTW and a single trip to MSP compared to the current twice daily DTW service. We understand from SkyWest that the current proposal is based on the current availability of aircraft and we understand that the schedule proposal contained in the bid document may change.Nevertheless, our endorsement of SkyWest as our replacement carrier Is very strong. There is simply no comparison between that proposal; a network branded and coded regional jet operated by a large, well regarded regional airline to major hub airports including ourtraditional hub of Detroit, and the other proposals submitted for Department consideration.
We believe that SkyWest's bid is clearly the best bid. It preserves true network carrierservice at Alpena and the carrier forecast projects the most passengers. It offers us the best chance to growourtraffic and eventually reduce oreliminate subsidies entirely.
With regard to the other proposals, while we appreciate the Interest of each carrier in our market, we decline and reject each proposal for reasons outlined**bel~w.** Air Choice One- This carrier submitted afive option bid package in our last round of bidding. At that time we submitted to the Department a lengthy response letter outlining a host of very significant concerns regarding the proposal package. Briefly, our concerns outlined in that letter were:**~** Three proposals using single engine 9-seat Caravan aircraft on a306 mile flight to ORD where the blocktime would exceed two hours. These are rejected out of hand.**~** Two proposals using 7-seat Piper Navajo aircraft on the same 306 mile saga to ORD, again with block times exceeding two hours. Our letter outlined in great detail serious flaws in the carrier's block time and payload assumptions for this aircraft type at such a long distance. · · · ·**~** The carrier lacks any ticket and bag agreements and the Department itself is concerned enough about this situation to have granted Air Choice One only a one year award at two cities near Chicago, with a stipulation to the carrier that it must make progress on T&B's byearly2013 orface a re-bid ofthose routes.**~** The three round trip Navajo bids of the carrierwould generate atotal of less than 12,000 annual seats; given the significant payload restrictions that aircrafttype would take trying to operate 306 miles to ORD. This cannot be a serious proposal for a market generating around 25,000 annual passengers currently.**~** Even the four round trip Navajo bids would only generate less than 16,000 annual seats. Given how clear we made our concerns reQarding the earlier Air Choice One bids, we were surprised to see the carrier bid again and the first five options of the new bid are identical to those we clearly rejected earlier. The carrier has added an option for Jetstream turboprop aircraft in its latest bid package in options 4 to 7. However, the carrier has no Jetstream aircraft in operation, no experience operating the aircraft type, and no operating certificate under which to operate them atfull capacity.
We appreciate the carrier's relentless interest in Alpena. The carrier's proposals are at best illsuited to the Alpena market. Chicago O'Hare is too far away for Caravans and Navajos, the carrier has no ticket and bag agreements, and a definite lack of understanding of how long it takes a small plane to ·make the flight to Chicago, which may call into question for the Department, the soundness ofthe carrier's cost projections and therefore its entire bid proposal. 

# =====AlPENA=====

MICHI4AN'SAllvtNSHCREADI, Aerodynamics, Inc and Public Charters- We appreciate the interest of this partnership of air service companies in our market. The operating partner, ADI, does not have the requisite authority to operate Part 121 at this time. The partnership between the operating carrier and Public Charters is unclear to us and how our air service would be sellable to the general public uncertain. This combination of concerns causes us to reject the bid. We thank the two carriers fortheir interest. Sovereign Air, Inc.- This carrier has no FAA operating authority and beyond that no ticket and bag agreements. The carrier's proposal envisions B1900D or Jetstream 32 aircraft operating between Alpena and Detroit with a block time of 41 minutes. Regional jets take about an hour and the Mesaba SF340s took about 1:15 when they flew here. Such a huge error in the bid document calls into question the entire cost structure of the proposal. We appreciate the carrier's interest in Alpena but reject the bid.
In summary, we again thank the Department for working with us and giving us the time needed to find a strong replacement carrier in SkyWest. We wholeheartedly endorse that carrier and Its bid to replace Delta. We appreciate the interest in our market expressed bythe otherairlines but reject each ofthe other bids for reasons outlined above.
Best regards,

# ~ Matthew

### J. Waligora MayorofAlpena