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CITY OF MERCED 

"Gateway to Yosemite' 

Merced Regional Airport Telephone 209/385-6873 Fax 209/388-8994 

June 25, 2010 

Dennis J. DeVany 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

Office of Aviation Analysis, X-53 

W86-308 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. 

Washington, DC 20590 

Re: Order No. 2010-5-4, Order Requesting Proposals 

Dear Mr. DeVany, 

The Merced Regional Airport Authority (MRAA) has reviewed the Department of Transportation 

(DOT) 2010-5-4, Order Requesting Proposals, as well as the response by Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. At 

a special meeting held Jime 22, 2010 MRAA commissioners, airport staff, and interested community 

members met to discuss the proposal and provide comments for DOT consideration. 

The MRAA recommends moving forward with another two year essential air service contract. Overall, 

MRAA Commissioners support Great Lakes Airlines and appreciate airline senior staff support and 

involvement in the Merced community. 

However, MRAA Commissioners unanimously agree on five areas that either need improvement or 

focused consideration. We believe our ultimate goal is shared by DOT, Great Lakes Airlines and the 

City of Merced - - to provide the regional community with the best service possible to encourage greater 

passenger utilization and increase enplanements to levels expected for a region of this size. Addressing 

these five areas will help accomplish our shared goal. 

1. Aircraft Reliability. Aircraft reliability has plummeted since Farmington, NM became the 

prime maintenance facility and origination point of aircraft flying the Merced/Las Vegas 

route. From January 1, 2010 up to today, 23.6 percent of scheduled flights have been 

cancelled. In the first six months of operation, September 2008 - February 2009, (prior to 

Farmington, NM operations) only 1.8 percent were cancelled. We further note that this 

recently acquired maintenance facility was purchased from U.S. Airways/Mesa and serviced 

the Mesa aircraft that provided EAS service between Merced - Visalia - and Las Vegas. As 

you will recall, the Mesa flights suffered very high numbers of cancellations for mechanical 

reasons. 
2. Our desire for larger aircraft caimot be over stated. We realize EAS is a contract for a 

minimum of two flights a day to a medium or large hub, 15-seat aircraft or larger, etc. By 

switching to the EMB-120 our enplanements would increase exponentially. Feedback from 

the community expresses a desire for an aircraft with restroom facilities. In addition, Merced 

is a community with an aging demographic. A number of enplanements are lost by elderly 

people who cannot fly in the Beech-1900. In addition, the high number of cancellations due 

to mechanical problems has called into question the reliability of the service among the 

passenger population. With several prospective passengers now expressing concern about 

booking passage out of Merced, we believe that a change to larger, newer aircraft would be 

highly beneficial in winning back the travelling public. The goal of realizing a significantly 

greater number of enplanements sufficient to enable the Merced Regional Airport to reach 

the 10,000 annual passenger number necessary to qualify for grant fiinds would be more 

readily achieved with the larger aircraft. 

3. Las Vegas as a destination and preferably McCarran International Airport. In the Great 

Lakes Airlines proposal Denver, Ontario, Los Angeles, and Orange County are listed as 

possible destinations at Great Lakes Airlines discretion. While we are not opposed to adding 

service to Denver or Southern California, Las Vegas as a destination and the connections 

offered at McCarran International Airport have worked well with our community. 

Historically, we have experienced the greatest number of annual enplanements with Las 

Vegas as the destination. 

4. Great Lakes Airlines Station Staff. MRAA Commissioners believe local Great Lakes 

Airlines staff should be more visible in the community and engaged in local events to include 

participation, or at a minimum, a presence at monthly MRAA meetings. 

5. Financial contributions by Great Lakes Airlines toward marketing scheduled service. 

Advertising to build awareness and increase enplanements is expensive and the recently 

mounted publicity campaign in support of the recent inauguration of Merced - Las Vegas 

flights was timed to maximize passenger service. With recent problems in reliability, 

however, awareness of the airport and the airline has been shown in a negative light. One 

idea is to tie the financial contribution proportionally to aircraft reliability. More dollars as 

reliability goes down and vice versa. 

We realize some of these issues are not Essential Air Service contract considerations. As stated earlier, 

our goal is to provide the best service possible and continue to increase enplanements in our region. We 

strive for continuous improvement in all areas of our airline service and we are confident that Great 

Lakes Airlines shares the same goal. Thank you for your sustained support for the Merced Regional 

Airport. 

Respectfully, 

c/Janet E. Yoimg 

I Chair, Merced Regional Airport Authority