BEFORE THE

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

__________________________________________ 

)

Essential Air Service at )

)

ATHENS, GEORGIA ) OST-2002-11348

 ) 

Under 49 U.S.C. §41731 et seq. )

__________________________________________ 

SUN AIR INTERNATIONAL PROPOSAL 

TO PROVIDE SUBSIDIZED ESSENTIAL AIR SERICE

By Order 2012-7-15, the Department requested proposals from carriers interested in providing 

Essential Air Service to Athens, Georgia. Pursuant to that order, Sun Air Express, LLC. (“Sun 

Air”) cordially submits this proposal to provide subsidized air service to the community of 

Athens, GA. 

Correspondence with regard to this document should be addressed to:

Thomas L. Cooper

President & CEO

Sun Air Express, LLC. dba Sun Air International

3201 Griffin Road, 

Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33312

Telephone: 954-660-9865

Fax: 954-894-0367

E-Mail: tlcooper@gosunair.com

Bid Summary

Sun Air hereby offers a proposal to provide service to the community of Athens, Georgia from 

Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport for a two-year period. Sun Air’s proposed operations will 

be operated with nine-passenger twin-engine Piper Chieftain aircraft. Flights will be displayed in 

major travel agent systems including Online Travel Agencies. Sun Air’s bid is contingent upon 

Sun Air being awarded Essential Air Service to Macon, Georgia and confirmation of effective 

interline e-ticketing with Delta Air Lines. 

Over the past several years, passenger traffic to Athens has dropped substantially, which Sun Air 

believes is the result of prohibitively high fares combined with limited interline connections, as 

well as providing only two round trip flights per day. The combined effect of expensive tickets, 

difficult connections and infrequent flights makes the service of limited value to the public. Sun 

Air believes it can successfully rebuild the passenger traffic base, and enable Athens to not only 
remain eligible for the Essential Air Service program, but put the airport on a path to sustained 

major hub connectivity.

According to DOT T-100 traffic reports, in 2007 Athens enplaned 5,392 passengers (one way to 

Charlotte) with 636 departures. By 2011 passenger enplanements at AHN had dropped to 880. 

Sun Air’s proposal assumes 4,440 enplaned passengers (one way to Atlanta) on 1,121 departures. 

Sun Air believes that providing a sufficient number of frequencies to the Athens community (up 

to four daily round trips) along with low unrestricted fares provides the right formula for proper 

service to the community. Sun Air recognizes that the Department’s Order requested two daily 

round trips, however the company believes that the service pattern proposed here is necessary to 

properly service the community and rebuild the passenger traffic base to previous levels. Sun 

Air’s projected annual passenger enplanements of 8,879 passengers, or 24 per day, would put it 

well above the statutory requirement as well as maintain the overall subsidy level well below the 

$200 per passenger limitation.

Sun Air has constructed its’ proposal to incorporate the following essential elements of providing 

successful, quality air transportation in these proposed markets:

1. LOW FARES: Sun Air will market its flights with a simple, low unrestricted price, ranging 

from $29 to $59 each way. The company is projecting net average fares approximately $35 each 

way, net of taxes. Sun Air strongly believes that low unrestricted fares are essential to facilitating 

passenger flight connections, particularly when using standard interline connections.

Savings to customers will be substantial. Sun Air’s local fares will be 80% lower than those 

currently available, allowing passengers to take advantage of interline connections that are 

currently too expensive to utilize.

2. FREQUENT FLIGHTS: Athens is currently provided with two weekday flights, one in the 

morning and one in the evening. Sun Air proposes to provide a total of 22 weekly round trip 

flights. Sun Air would offer four (4) weekday round trips on peak days (Monday, Thursday and 

Friday) along with three (3) daily round trips on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Two (2) daily 

round trips would be provided on Saturdays and Sundays. This schedule pattern, outlined in the 

attached Schedule 1, offers what Sun Air believes to be an effective balance of flight frequency 

by day of week that meets the communities’ needs and minimizes the necessary subsidy 

requirements.

3. INTERLINE E-TICKETING AND BAGGAGE AGREEMENTS: Sun Air has provided for a 

significant investment in reservations and distribution systems to acquire access to industry 

interline and baggage agreements with most major airlines. These agreements allow for 

passengers to complete their itinerary on a single ticket, and allow for that full itinerary to be 

displayed in Global Distribution Systems and Online Travel Agencies.

Sun Air recognizes that this interlining capability is critical to rebuilding the Athens traffic base, 

and has submitted its proposal contingent upon enabling effective interline agreements with Delta 

Air Lines, the dominant carrier at Atlanta. While Sun Air’s reservations system will have 

existing e-ticketing and baggage interlining capability, which allows for the connections between 

airlines, improvements are needed in the set-up between the two airlines’ systems that enables 

full connectivity. Currently those capabilities have very limited connections with Delta. Sun Air 
plans to discuss this issue with Delta and provide confirmation to the community that if selected 

for Athens EAS service, effective interlining capability with Delta would be in place.

5. A COMMITMENT TO RELIABILITY: Sun Air’s operations include investment in a regional 

maintenance base, staffed by a full complement of technicians, as well as a full-time backup

aircraft for its Atlanta operations. 

Service Proposal

Sun Air will provide four (4) daily round trips per weekday to Athens three days per week, three 

(3) round trip flights per day on two days per week, and (2) daily round trips each on Saturday 

and Sunday. All flights will operate on a non-stop basis to Atlanta’s Hartsfield International 

Airport. Sun Air’s bid is contingent upon Sun Air being awarded Essential Air Service to Macon, 

Georgia and confirmation of effective interline e-ticketing with Delta Air Lines. 

Sun Air proposes an Essential Air Service subsidy of $660 per departure for a two-year period.

A representative schedule, along with passenger, revenue and cost projections, are incorporated in 

Schedule 1.

About Sun Air International

Sun Air Express, LLC dba Sun Air International is a Fort Lauderdale, FL based commuter air 

carrier currently serving Florida and the Bahamas. Sun Air is in the process of beginning 

Essential Air Service to the community of Victoria, Texas from Houston Intercontinental Airport, 

as well as service to Lancaster, PA and Hagerstown, MD from Washington Dulles International 

Airport.

Sun Air currently has a fleet of six Piper Chieftain aircraft, all owned free and clear, and is 

prepared to acquire sufficient additional aircraft needed to support the proposal awarded here. 

The airline has been in operation for more than ten years, and was purchased in May, 2011 by 

Thomas L. Cooper. Mr. Cooper is the founder of several regional airlines, including Gulfstream 

International Airlines, where he also founded Sun Air as a subsidiary of Gulfstream. He sold his 

interests in Gulfstream to a private investment group in 2006. Mr. Cooper has been involved in 

aviation for more than 40 years, including more than 20 years as a 727 Captain for Eastern 

Airlines in addition to his extensive career with regional airlines. Since his acquisition of Sun Air 

in May of last year, he has invested heavily in new aircraft, support equipment and additional 

support personnel. 
SCHEDULE 1

Representative Timetable (Peak Day Schedule)

FROM TO DEPT ARR

ATHENS ATLANTA 0700AM 745AM

0945AM 1030 AM

230 PM 315 PM

515 PM 600 PM

ATLANTA ATHENS 815 AM 900AM

1100 AM 1145AM

345 PM 430 PM

745 PM 830 PM

Projected Operations

Annual 

AHN-ATL

 Passenger $ 319,654 

 Other Revenues 4,795 

TOTAL OPERATING REVENUE $ 324,449 

OPERATING EXPENSES

 Flight Operations 211,050 

 Fuel & Oil 385,385 

Maintenance 346,957 

Passenger Service 526,343 

 Aircraft Ownership 78,976 

 Other 170,740 

 Total Operating Cost 1,719,451 

OPERATING INCOME/(LOSS) $(1,395,002)

Profit Element - 5% of Operating Costs $ 85,973 

Subsidy Required $(1,480,975)
ASMs (000's) 1,352,071 

RPMs (000s) 594,911 

Load Factor 44.0%

Average Fare $ 36.00 

EAS Subsidy per Departure $ 660 

Departures 2,242 

Block Hours 1,682 

Flight Hours 1,121 

Available Seats 20,180 

Passengers 8,879 

In conclusion, Sun Air believes that its proposal will provide excellent levels of service to the 

community of Athens, and ensures that they have proper access to the national air transportation 

network, offering cost-effective options that meet the requirements of the Essential Air Service 

Program.

 

Respectfully Submitted: August 15, 2012

______________________

Thomas L. Cooper

President & CEO

Sun Air Express, LLC