Order: 2012-3-4

Served: March 6, 2012

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

on the 6th day of March, 2012

Essential Air Service at

MUSCLE SHOALS, ALABAMA

GREENVILLE, MISSISSIPPI

LAUREL/HATTIESBURG, MISSISSIPPI

TUPELO, MISSISSIPPI

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

DOCKET DOT-OST-2000-7856

DOCKET DOT-OST-2008-0209

DOCKET DOT-OST-2001-10685

DOCKET DOT-OST-2009-0305

ORDER REQUESTING PROPOSALS

Summary

By this Order, the Department is requesting a third round of proposals from airlines interested 

in providing Essential Air Service (EAS) at any or all of the four communities captioned above. 

Proposals are due by April 10, 2012. (See Appendix A for a map.)

Background

By a series of Orders, the Department selected Mesaba Aviation, Inc., operating as Northwest 

Airlink (now Delta Connection) to provide subsidized EAS at Greenville, Laurel/Hattiesburg 

and Tupelo, MS, and Muscle Shoals, AL.1

On July 15, 2011, Mesaba filed notices to terminate their subsidized service at 24 EAS 

communities, including these 4. We issued Order 2011-9-5, September 13, 2011, requesting

proposals for these four communities. In response, we received proposals from Multi-Aero Inc. 

d/b/a Air Choice One (Air Choice One) and SeaPort Airlines, Inc. (SeaPort). Both carriers 

proposed service with single-engine aircraft, whereas all of the communities are entitled by 

statute to service with twin-engine aircraft. Since all four communities refused to waive their 

right to twin-engine aircraft, we had no choice but to reject those proposals and solicit another 

round of proposals that meet the minimum aircraft requirements.

By Order 2011-11-29, November 23, 2011, we requested a second round of proposals for the 

four communities listed above. In response to that Order, we received proposals from Air 

 1 See Orders 2010-7-12, 2010-5-16, 2011-1-24 and 2010-5-18.
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Choice One, Citizens Capital Corp. d/b/a Blue Sky Airlines (Blue Sky), SeaPort, and Sun Air 

Express, LLC. (Sun Air). Air Choice One and SeaPort once again proposed service with single 

engine aircraft, which all four communities refused to waive their right to twin-engine aircraft. 

Blue Sky and Sun Air proposed service with larger aircraft but currently do not have the 

authority from either the Federal Aviation Administration or the Department to operate such 

service. We, therefore, have no choice but to reject the current proposals and solicit another 

round of proposals that meet the minimum EAS statutory requirements.

 

Request for Proposals 

Air carriers should file their proposals no later than April 10, 2012. After that date, our staff 

will docket proposals, thereby making them public, and shortly afterwards will provide a 

summary of the proposals to the communities and ask them for their final comments. We will 

give full consideration to all proposals filed in a timely manner. 

Interested air carriers should prepare their proposals with every expectation that their initial 

proposals will also be their final and only proposals. We retain the discretion to negotiate 

proposals with carriers when we deem it desirable. We also retain the discretion to reject 

outright all unreasonable or unrealistic proposals and solicit a new round of proposals.

Carrier proposals should be submitted to the Department with all materials merged into a single 

document. In addition, because the document will be published on www.Regulations.gov, each

page should be formatted to be viewed online.

We are here providing interested carriers with some basic information to serve as guidance 

when they prepare their proposals, but we will not prescribe an exact format. We expect 

proposals to adequately describe the service being proposed and the annual amount of subsidy 

being requested. The applicants can make their own judgments as to the level of detail they 

wish to present; however, they might want to include proposed schedules as well as supporting 

data for their subsidy requests, such as projected block hours, revenues and expenses. We 

strongly encourage clear, well-documented proposals that will facilitate their evaluation by the 

affected community and the Department.2

Carriers are also welcome to propose more than one option, if they choose; they need not limit 

themselves to those requirements if they envision other, potentially more attractive service 

possibilities -- different hubs, frequency or equipment, for example -- with subsidy 

requirements that remain competitive. The community and air carriers are encouraged to work 

together in advance of the due date for proposals to craft a service pattern that is desirable to 

the community and meets the operational needs of the airlines.

 2 In selecting a carrier to provide subsidized Essential Air Service, 49 U.S.C. 41733(c)(1) directs us to consider 

four factors: (1) service reliability; (2) contractual and marketing arrangements with a larger carrier at the hub; 

(3) interline arrangements with a larger carrier at the hub; and (4) community views. In addition, the 

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008, Public Law 110-161, provides that when selecting a carrier to provide 

EAS, the Department may consider the relative subsidy requirements, thus codifying a factor that we have 

considered since the inception of the program. Interested carriers should also be aware that our general 

provisions governing EAS will be included in the selection order as part of our authorization of subsidy for the 

selected service. Appendix C of this Order contains those general provisions.
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Proposals should provide sufficient capacity to accommodate historical levels of traffic. In 

order to assist carriers in developing traffic and revenue projections for their proposals, we 

have provided a summary of historical passengers in Appendix B. We expect service levels

that are comparable with what the community currently receives, with service to Atlanta, 

Memphis, Nashville or any large- or medium-hub that offers access to the national air 

transportation system utilizing twin engine aircraft. Specifically, for proposals with 15-seat or 

larger aircraft, the Department expects proposals for three round trips each weekday and 

weekend (18 a week). For 30-seat or larger aircraft, we expect proposals for two round trips a 

day (12 a week). For proposals with 8/9-seat aircraft, we would expect proposals for four

round trips a day (24 a week). Should the community agree to single-engine aircraft, in effect 

waiving their right to twin-engine aircraft, we would consider the waiver to apply only to the 

two-year carrier-selection at hand, i.e. we would not assume that the community would waive 

its rights for all time. As always, we will formally solicit the communities’ views on any 

service options we receive before making a long-term, carrier-selection decision.

Given that we are requesting service to a total of four communities, carriers should be very

clear as to whether their proposals are for individual cities or part of a larger, inseparable 

package. 

Other Carrier Requirements 

The Department is responsible for implementing various Federal statutes governing lobbying 

activities, drug-free workplaces and nondiscrimination.3 Consequently, all air carriers 

receiving Federal subsidy to support EAS must certify that they are in compliance with 

Department regulations regarding drug-free workplaces and nondiscrimination, and those 

carriers whose subsidies exceed $100,000 over the life of the rate term must also certify that 

they are in compliance with the regulations governing lobbying activities. All carriers that plan 

to submit proposals involving subsidy should submit the required certifications along with their 

proposals. Interested carriers requiring more detailed information regarding these 

requirements, as well as copies of the certifications, should contact the Office of Aviation 

Analysis at (202) 366-5903. The Department is prohibited from paying subsidy to carriers that 

do not submit these documents.4

Community and State Comments 

Civic officials are welcome to submit comments on the proposals at any time. As noted earlier, 

we will provide a summary of the proposals to the civic parties and ask them to submit their 

final comments shortly after April 10, the due date for carrier proposals.

This Order is issued under authority delegated in 49 CFR 1.56a(f) and re-delegated to the 

Director, Office of Aviation Analysis.

 3 The regulations applicable to these areas are: (1) 49 CFR Part 20 – New restrictions on lobbying; (2) 49 CFR 

Part 21 – Nondiscrimination in federally-assisted programs of the Department of Transportation – Effectuation of 

title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; 49 CFR Part 27 – Nondiscrimination on the basis of disability in programs 

and activities receiving or benefiting from Federal financial assistance; and 14 CFR Part 382 – Nondiscrimination 

on the basis of disability in air travel; and (3) 49 CFR Part 29 – Government-wide debarment and suspension (nonprocurement) and government-wide requirements for drug-free workplace (grants).

4 The certifications are also available on the web at http://ostpxweb.dot.gov/aviation/index.html.
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ACCORDINGLY, 

1. We request that carriers interested in providing Essential Air Service at Muscle Shoals, AL,

Greenville, MS, Hattiesburg/Laurel, MS, and/or Tupelo, MS, submit their proposals, with or 

without subsidy requests, no later than April 10, 2012. The proposals should be emailed to: 

EAS@dot.gov with the title “Proposal to Provide Essential Air Service at (specify the EAS 

community and corresponding docket number from the first page);5

2. These dockets will remain open until further order of the Department; and

3. The Department will serve a copy of this Order on the Mayors and Airport Managers of the 

above mentioned communities, Capital Citizens Corp. d/b/a Blue Sky Airlines, Multi-Aero Inc. 

d/b/a Air Choice One, SeaPort Airlines, Inc., Sun Air Express LLC., and the service list for this 

Docket.

Persons entitled to petition the Department for review of this Order under the Department’s 

Aviation Economic Regulations, 14 CFR 385.50, must file such petitions within ten (10) days 

after the date of service of this Order.

This Order will be effective immediately, and the filing of a petition for review shall not 

preclude its effectiveness.

By:

TODD M. HOMAN

Director

Office of Aviation Analysis

(SEAL)

An electronic version of this document is available online at

www.regulations.gov

 5 Questions regarding filings in response to this Order should be directed to Michael Martin at 202-366-6494, or 

via email at michael.f.martin@dot.gov.
Appendix A

Area Map
APPENDIX B

Page 1 of 4

Historical Origin-Destination Plane Traffic1

Muscle Shoals, Alabama

Quarter Year Deplanements Enplanements

Total 

Traffic

Enplanements 

per Day

3 2008 1,190 1,209 2,399 15

4 2008 1,552 1,573 3,125 20

1 2009 925 942 1,867 12

2 2009 1,094 1,161 2,255 14

Annual 

Totals 4,761 4,885 9,646 15

3 2009 2,240 2,336 4,576 29

4 2009 2,397 2,455 4,852 31

1 2010 1,501 1,562 3,063 20

2 2010 2,071 2,194 4,265 27

Annual 

Totals 8,209 8,547 16,756 27

3 2010 2,175 2,257 4,432 28

4 2010 2,561 2,661 5,222 33

1 2011 1,709 1,775 3,484 23

2 2011 1,866 1,915 3,781 24

Annual 

Totals 8,311 8,608 16,919 27

 1 Source: USDOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransStats Intermodal Database, Schedule T-100.
APPENDIX B

Page 2 of 4

Historical Origin-Destination Plane Traffic1

Greenville, Mississippi

Quarter Year Deplanements Enplanements

Total 

Traffic

Enplanements 

per Day

3 2008 1,360 1,443 2,803 18

4 2008 1,530 1,504 3,034 19

1 2009 965 1,026 1,991 13

2 2009 1,564 1,556 3,120 20

Annual 

Totals 5,419 5,529 10,948 17

3 2009 2,075 2,154 4,229 27

4 2009 1,487 1,526 3,013 19

1 2010 1,055 1,088 2,143 14

2 2010 1,419 1,492 2,911 19

Annual 

Totals 6,036 6,260 12,296 20

3 2010 1,852 1,928 3,780 24

4 2010 2,058 2,100 4,158 26

1 2011 1,390 1,488 2,878 19

2 2011 1,925 2,018 3,943 25

Annual 

Totals 7,225 7,534 14,759 24

 1 Source: USDOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransStats Intermodal Database, Schedule T-100.
APPENDIX B

Page 3 of 4

Historical Origin-Destination Plane Traffic1

Hattiesburg/Laurel, Mississippi

Quarter Year Deplanements Enplanements

Total 

Traffic

Enplanements 

per Day

3 2008 2,987 2,899 5,886 37

4 2008 3,273 3,054 6,327 40

1 2009 2,553 2,166 4,719 31

2 2009 3,373 2,897 6,270 40

Annual 

Totals 12,186 11,016 23,202 37

3 2009 4,087 3,885 7,972 50

4 2009 4,143 4,019 8,162 52

1 2010 3,230 2,928 6,158 40

2 2010 3,395 3,121 6,516 42

Annual 

Totals 14,855 13,953 28,808 46

3 2010 3,777 3,645 7,422 47

4 2010 4,253 4,072 8,325 53

1 2011 2,974 2,876 5,850 38

2 2011 3,926 3,844 7,770 50

Annual 

Totals 14,930 14,437 29,367 47

 1 Source: USDOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransStats Intermodal Database, Schedule T-100.
APPENDIX B

Page 4 of 4

Historical Origin-Destination Plane Traffic1

Tupelo, Mississippi

Quarter Year Deplanements Enplanements

Total 

Traffic

Enplanements 

per Day

3 2008 3,861 3,873 7,734 49

4 2008 4,019 3,805 7,824 50

1 2009 3,189 3,254 6,443 42

2 2009 3,667 3,783 7,450 48

Annual 

Totals 14,736 14,715 29,451 47

3 2009 3,114 3,121 6,235 39

4 2009 2,795 3,155 5,950 38

1 2010 2,480 2,380 4,860 32

2 2010 3,095 3,256 6,351 41

Annual 

Totals 11,484 11,912 23,396 37

3 2010 3,631 3,631 7,262 46

4 2010 3,820 3,478 7,298 46

1 2011 2,736 2,733 5,469 36

2 2011 2,966 3,233 6,199 40

Annual 

Totals 13,153 13,075 26,228 42

 1 Source: USDOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransStats Intermodal Database, Schedule T-100.
Appendix C

Example of General Terms and Conditions for Essential Air Service

The carrier understands that it may forfeit its compensation for any flights that it does not operate 

in conformance with the terms and stipulations of the rate Order, including the service plans 

outlined in the Order and any other significant elements of the required service, without prior 

approval. The carrier understands that an aircraft take-off and landing at its scheduled 

destination constitutes a completed flight; absent an explanation supporting subsidy eligibility 

for a flight that has not been completed, such as certain weather cancellations, only completed 

flights are considered eligible for subsidy. In addition, if the carrier does not schedule or operate 

its flights in full conformance with the Order for a significant period, it may jeopardize its entire 

subsidy claim for the period in question. If the carrier contemplates any such changes beyond 

the scope of the Order during the applicable period of these rates, it must first notify the Office 

of Aviation Analysis in writing and receive written approval from the Department to be ensured 

of full compensation. Should circumstances warrant, the Department may locate and select a 

replacement carrier to provide service on these routes. The carrier must complete all flights that 

can be safely operated; flights that overfly points for lack of traffic will not be compensated. In 

determining whether subsidy payment for a deviating flight should be adjusted or disallowed, the 

Department will consider the extent to which the goals of the program are met and the extent of 

access to the national air transportation system provided to the community.

If the Department unilaterally, either partially or completely, terminates or reduces payments for 

service or changes service requirements at a specific location provided for under this Order, then, 

at the end of the period for which the Department does make payments in the stipulated amounts 

or at the stipulated service levels, the carrier may cease to provide service to that specific 

location without regard to any requirement for notice of such cessation. Those adjustments in 

the levels of subsidy and/or service that are mutually agreed to in writing by the Department and 

carrier do not constitute a total or partial reduction or cessation of payment.

Subsidy contracts are subject to, and incorporate by reference, relevant statutes and Department 

regulations, as they may be amended from time to time. However, any such statutes, regulations, 

or amendments thereto shall not operate to controvert the foregoing paragraph.

Funds are not currently available for performance under this solicitation beyond [DATE]. The 

Department’s obligation for performance under this solicitation beyond [DATE], is contingent 

upon the availability of appropriated funds from which payment for services can be made. No 

legal liability on the part of the Government for any payment may arise for performance under 

this Order beyond [DATE], until funds are made available to the Department for performance. If 

funds are not made available for performance beyond [DATE], the carrier will receive notice in 

writing by the Department.

All claims for payment must be submitted within 60 days of the last day of service provided 

under this Order.