Devils Lake 

REGIONAL AIRPORT 

January 2, 2014 

Kevin Schlemmer 

Chief, Essential Air Service and Domestic Analysis 

US Department of Transportation :'"'t 

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1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, W86-308 

Washington, DC 20590 

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Dear Mr. Schlemmer, j Ref: DOT-OST-1997-2785 

The Devils Lake Regional Airport Authority thanks you for the opportunity to respond to the 

Essential Air Service proposals received for the air service at the Devils Lake Regional Airport. 

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We have completed our review of the proposals from Great Lakes, SkyWest, and Sovereign Air. 

We, along with input from the community, have determined that SkyWest would be the best 

airline to fulfill the needs of Devils Lake and the surrounding area. This decision was based on 

the following: 

Great Lakes Airline: During the time frame 2008 through 2011, DVL enjoyed an increase in 

boardings by 70% with Delta/Mesaba providing the air service. During the last two years, with 

Great Lakes Airline (GLA) providing the air service, boardings in 2012 at DVL dropped by 48% 

with the trend continuing as 2013 boardings were 12% less than 2012. While GLA was providing 

more flights to Minneapolis than Delta/Mesaba (three round trips per day in lieu of two trips), 

several other factors cause the reduction in boardings: a smaller aircraft, problems in bookings, 

lack of perks(SkyMiles), poor on time departure record, and numerous flight cancellations. The 

flight cancellations have increased dramatically in 2013 and we believe this problem will 

continue to get worse. One major impact on Great Lakes ability to service Devils Lake has been 

the 1500 hour ATP First Officer and Captains rule that began in August. The pilot shortage that 

GLA has experienced resulted in a cancellation of 39 flights of a scheduled 90 flights during 

November. In December, GLA reduced the number of scheduled flights per day from three to 

two per day, a reduction of 31 flights and still cancelled an additional 22 flights. With the 

current trend of air service at DVL, we feel that any plan that Great Lakes is working toward to 

correct their pilot shortage will not be soon enough to rectify our situat!on at DVL and we 

cannot support their proposal. These factors all contributed to the traveling public losing 

confidence in Great Lakes. 
Sovereign Air: The evaluation of Sovereign Air showed that they have no history of providing 

air service and it is not clear if they have an Operating Certificate or not. While in their 

proposat they describe equipment that they are planning on using, it does not appear that they 

have the equipment. They have no known association with any major carrier and no gate space 

at the MSP airport. We cannot support their proposal. 

SkyWest: The proposal from SkyWest utilizing a 50 seat Regional Jet with nonstop service to 

and from Denver is extremely appealing to our community and airport. With more than 50% of 

our travelers west bound, this will open a new market area for DVL and the surrounding 

communities. DVL would be the only airport in the Northeast quarter of North Dakota with 

direct service to Denver and should attract additional interest in our airport. Their association 

with a major air carrier, United Airlines, brings with them the creditability, proven 

dependability, and Perks that are needed to bring our airport service and consumer confidence 

back. We are aware that in their proposal, they offer one round trip per day, and we request 

that that requirement for two flights be waived. We believe this one flight will be very 

attractive service for our airport to provide and we are excited to begin marketing this program. 

We fully support their proposal and request that SkyWest be named as the EAS provider for 

DVL. 

The Devils Lake Regional Airport has just completed a major construction project with a runway 

expansion increasing the length of our main runway and supporting that effort with all new 

NAVAJOs. We feel that we are ready for the future and with SkyWest/United providing the air 

service and that having SkyWest/United as our provider we will reach our goal of once again 

providing reliable Air Carrier service to our region. 

If you have any questions, or require any additional information, please feel free to contact 

Airport Manager John Nord. 

Sincerely, 

. ' ' 

/ l 

James J. Kienast 

Chairman 

Devils Lake Regional Airport Authority 

John M. Nord1 Devils Lake Regional Airport Manager 

106 National Guard Street NW 

Devils Lake, ND 58301 

701-662-5833 Email: manager@devilslakeairport.com FAX: 701-662-5133