Order 2012

- 4

- 31 Served: April 26, 2012



### UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

on the 26 th d ay of April , 2012

Essential Air Service at

LARAMIE, WYOMING

WORLAND

, WYOMING

Under 49 U.S.C. 41731 et seq

. DOCKET DOT

- OST

- 1997

- 2958

DOCKET DOT

- OST

- 1997

- 2981



### ORDER REQUESTING PROPOSALS

Summary By this O rder, the Departme nt is requesting proposals from airlines interested in providing

Essential Air S ervice (EAS) at Laramie and Worland

, Wyoming

, for a new term beginning

October 1, 2012

, with or without subsidy. Pr oposals are due by June 5

, 2012 . (See Appendix A for a map.)

Background
By Order 2010

- 8

- 10

, August 18, 2010 , the Department selected Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd., operating as both a United Airlines and Frontier Airlines code share partner (Great Lakes)

, to provide EAS at Laramie and Worland using 19

- passenger Beechcraft 1900 aircraft to Denver International Airport (Denver). Great Lakes provides Laramie with 19 weekly nonstop round trips for an annual subsidy of $1,181,572 , and Worland with 12 weekly one

- stop round trips

over a Worland

- Cheyenne

- Denver or Worland

- Laramie

- Denver routing for an annual subsidy of $1,770,336

.

Request for Proposals

A ir carriers should file their proposals no later than June 5

, 2012 . After that date, our staff will

docket the proposals, thereby makin g them public, and shortly afterwards will provide a- 2

-

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 airlines should prepare their proposals with every expectation that their initial proposal will also be their final and only proposal. We retain the discretion to negotiate proposals with airlines when we deem it desirable. We also retain the discretion to rejec t outright all unreasonable or unrealistic proposals and solicit a new round of proposals.

Airlines’ 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 airlines with basic information to serve as guidance when they prepare their proposals, but we wi ll not presc ribe 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. H owever, 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

c ommunity and the Department. 1

Airlines are also welcome to propose more than one option, if they choose. T hey need not limit themselves to those requirements if they envision other, potentially more attractive service possibilities

-- different hubs, frequency or length of contract

, for example

-- with subsidy requirements that remain competitive. However, airlines should be very clear as to whether a specific community’s proposal is on a stand

- alone basis, or whether it is part of a larger, inseparab le package with other communities. The community and airlines are encouraged to work together in advance of the due date for proposals to craft a service pattern that is desirable

to the communit y and meets the operational needs of the airline s

.

Proposal s 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 summar y of historical passengers in Appendix B. During year ended

December 31 , 2011, Laramie had 16,505 origin and destination passeng ers, an average of 26 enplanements a day, while Worland had 6,193 origin and destination passeng ers, an average of 10 enplanements a day. W e expect service levels that a re c o mparable with what the

communities currently receive , with service to Denver

, or any large or medium hub that offers access to the national air transportation system utilizing twin

- engine aircraft

. With specific respect to Laramie, the Dep artment exp ects proposals of 2 round trips each w eekday and weekend using 30

- passenger or larger aircraft, 3 round trips each weekday and weekend using

15

- passen ger or larger aircraft, and 4 or 5 round trips a day with 8

- or 9

- seat aircraft. With

1 In selecting a carrier to provide subsidized EAS , 49 U.S.C. 41733(c)(1) directs us to consider four factors: (1) service reliability; (2) contractual and marketing arrangements with a larger air carrier at the hub; (3) interline arrangements with a larger air carrier at the hub; and (4) community views. In addition, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008, Public Law 110

- 161 , provides that when selecting a n air carrier to provide EAS, the Department may consider t he relative subsidy requirements, thus codifying a factor that we have considered since the inception of the program. Interested air carriers should also be aware that our general provisions governing EAS will be included in the selection O rder as part of our authorization of subsidy for the selected service. Appendix C of this Order contains those general provisions.- 3

-

respect to Worland, the Depa rtment expects proposals for 2 round trips on weekdays and weekends using aircraft with 15 or more seats, or 3 or 4 round trips a day with 8

- or 9

- seat
aircraft. Should the communities agree to single

- engine aircraft, in effect waiving their righ t t o twin

- engine aircraft, we would cons ider the waiver to apply only for the length of the term of

the air carrier

- selection at hand, i.e

. , we would not assume that the communities would waive their rights for all time. 2 As always, we will formally solic it the communites’ views on any service options we receive before making a long

- term air carrier selection decision.

Other Carrier Requirements The Department is responsible for implementing various Federal statutes governing lobbying activities, drug

- free workplaces and nondiscrimination. 3 Consequently, all airlines receiving

Federa l subsidy to support EAS must certify that they are in compliance with Department regulations regarding drug

- free workplaces and nondiscrimination, and those airlines 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 airlines that plan to submit proposals involving subsidy should submit the required certif ications along with their proposals. Interested airlines 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 prohib ited from paying subsidy to airlines 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 June 5 , 2012 , 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.

ACCORDING LY, 1. We request that airlines interested in providing Essential Air S ervice at Laramie and /or Worland, Wyoming

, submit their proposals, with or without subsidy requests, no later than

June 5 , 2012 . The proposals should be emailed to: EAS@dot.gov with the title “Proposal to

Provide Essential Air Service at Laramie and /or Worland, Wyoming ; ” 5

2. These docket s will remain open until further o rder of the Department; and

2 Previously, most EAS communities were entitled to service with 15

- seat or larger aircraft. However, in the Department’s FY2012 appropria tion (Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, P.L. 112

- 55, November 18, 2011), Congress repealed the 15

- seat guarantee, although most communities are still entitled to

service with twin

- engine aircraft.

3 The regulations applicable to thes e 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

– Nondiscr imination 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 (non

procurement) 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.

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

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-

3. The Department will serve a copy of this O rder on the M ayor s and Airport M anager s of Laramie and Worland, Wyoming

, Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd.

, the Wyoming Department of Transportation

, and t he service list for these Docket s

.

P ersons 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

.

Thi s 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 on line at www.regulations.gov

### Appendix A



## Area Map

### Appendix B Page 1 of 2

Historical Origin

- Destination Plane Traffic 1



### Laramie, Wyoming

Quarter Year Deplanements Enplanements Total Traffic Average Daily Passengers

1 2009 1,942 1,877 3,819 25

2 2009 1,816 1,835 3,651 23

3 2009 2,206 2,231 4,437 28

4 2009 2,436 2,717 5,153 33

Annual

Totals 8,400 8,660 17,060 27

1 2010 1,954 1,860 3,814 25

2 2010 1,994 1,915 3,909 25

3 2010 2,167 2,321 4,488 28

4 2010 2,646 2,886 5,532 35

Annual

Totals 8,761 8,982 17,743 28

1 2011 1,887 1,763 3,650 24

2 2011 1,904 1,850 3,754 24

3 2011 2,111 2,187 4,298 27

4 2011 2,163 2,640 4,803 30

Annual

Totals 8,065 8,440 16,505 26

1 Source: USDOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransStats Intermodal Database, Schedule T

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.

### APPENDIX B Page 2 of 2

Historical Origin

- Destination Plane Traffic 1



### Worland, Wyoming

Quarter Year Deplanements Enplanements Total Traffic Average Daily Passengers

1 2009 628 614 1,242 8

2 2009 657 590 1,247 8

3 2009 741 773 1,514 10

4 2009 715 673 1,388 9

Annual

Totals 2,741 2,650 5,391 9

1 2010 624 622 1,246 8

2 2010 701 671 1,372 9

3 2010 676 707 1,383 9

4 2010 750 734 1,484 9

Annual

Totals 2,751 2,734 5,485 9

1 2011 584 592 1,176 8

2 2011 822 746 1,568 10

3 2011 885 914 1,799 11

4 2011 832 818 1,650 10

Annual

Totals 3,123 3,070 6,193 10

1 Source: USDOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransStats Intermodal Database, Schedule T

- 1 00

.

### 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 O rder, 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 eligib ility 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 Aviatio n 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 compl ete 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 t o 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 se rvice 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 t hat 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 reduc tion 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 soli citation beyond [DATE] , is contingent upon the availabilit y 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 performanc e. 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

.