City of 

^1 irm n K CityCouncH Members 

Ian T. Sanford xULLLIL I l l District 1, Waylon Huguley, Jr. 

Mayor •MttrltL K District 2, Gary Scales 

I PtlfPf District 3, Janet McLeary 

vvlllyl District 4, Mary Stevens 

n t District 5, Steven R. Stanley 

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March 1,2012 

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Ms. Saliy Veith 

Director, Government Affairs 

DELTA AIR LINES, INC. 

,1212 New York Avenue, N.W. 

Washington, D.C. 20005 

Dear Ms. Veith: 

As the Mayor of the City of Sheffield, this letter is being sent to show strong support for the 

Northwest Alabama Regional Airport's effort to retain scheduled passenger service under the 

Essential Air Service program for the Northwest Alabama communities of Muscle Shoals, 

Florence, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia and the surrounding region. The City of Sheffield is 

appreciative of Delta's past service to these communities. We urge you to continue to be a vital 

part of, and subsequently benefit from, the economic growth in this area. 

Delta Air Lines made a decision to withdraw service from 24 U.S. markets in the past year, 

including Greenville, Hattiesburg, and Tupelo, Mississippi, and Muscle Shoals, Alabama. 

Alabama and its Northwest Alabama communities understand the business decision that Delta 

Air Lines made, and we would like to move forward with other options. We need your help. 

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is conducting an air carrier selection process 

to determine which airline will replace service to the four cities in Mississippi and Alabama. 

Unfortunately, none of the prospective replacement carriers are like Delta with its expansive 

global network. All are small airlines that do not provide the same level of service and 

connectivity to national and international markets, as does Delta. The ultimate success of this 

air service transition requires that the airline selected by USDOT to replace Delta must have the 

marketing and distribution tools needed to offer the residents and businesses of these 

communities an effective and usable scheduled air carrier service. 

Fortunately, Silver Airways (formerly Gulfstream International Airlines) has agreed in principal to 

consider bidding on service to these markets if Delta Air Lines would craft the same agreement 

with them that Delta has agreed to offer Great Lakes Airlines. We understand that Delta and 

Great Lakes Airlines have entered into an agreement for Great Lakes to be listed on the 

Delta.com website to assist passengers in making bookings on the new airline connecting to 

Delta. Extending this agreement to Silver Airways in these four cities will be critical to the ability 

of Silver Airways to draw traffic, provide a sustainable revenue stream and ultimately succeed in 

replacing Delta service into the communities of Northwest Alabama and Mississippi. 

The Northwest Alabama Regional Airport Authority respectfully requests that Delta Air Lines 

help preserve a profitable and effective air service into these listed communities by allowing 

Silver Airways the same type of agreement as it has entered into with Great Lakes Airlines, 

This type of partnership will help ensure the success of any future replacement. 

600 N. Montgomery Avenue • Post Office Box 380 • Sheffield, Alabama 35660 • (256) 383-0250 
Ms. Sally Veith 

March 1,2012 

The City of Sheffield is also requesting that Delta consider the issue of fare cost. Prices often 

drive many travelers' air travel choices. Any new carrier will need to offer to the public air fares 

that are competitive with other options. In addition to entering into a cooperative agreement 

with Silver Airways, we would ask that Delta develop a ticketing process and fare structure that 

is profitable and competitive for both Delta and Silver Airways. 

Our goal is to provide convenient and affordable travel options for the passengers traveling into 

and out of the Northwest Alabama Regional Airport. We would urge Delta to consider offering 

other incentives that are standard in the airline industry such as Delta Frequent Flyer miles to 

passengers who enter the Delta system when using Silver Airways via the Northwest Alabama 

Regional Airport. Such incentives would encourage passengers to fly the Silver Ain/vays/Delta 

network, and provide a powerful marketing tool for all concerned. 

As Mayor of Sheffield, and on behalf of the Sheffield City Council members, I am respectfully 

requesting that Delta Air Lines work with the Northwest Alabama Regional Airport and the 

communities of Northwest Alabama to continue to sponsor scheduled passenger service to this 

area. We feel this can be accomplished if Delta would extend the same type of commercial 

agreement to Silver Airways that it has with Great Lakes Airtines. 

We appreciate the opportunity to make these requests on behalf of the Northwest Alabama 

Regional Airport. 

SincgiBSt regards 

Ian T>Sanford 

Mayor 

CC: Congressman Robert Aderholt 

Congressman Mo Brooks 

Senator Jeff Sessions 

Senator Richard Shelby 

Governor Robert Bentley 

Mr. Dennis DeVany 

Department of Transportation 

Washington, D.C. 20590