BEFORE THE 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 

Essential Air Service at 

Muscle Shoals, Alabama 

Greenville, Mississippi 

Laurel/Hattiesburg, Mississippi 

Tupelo, Mississippi 

Under 49 U.S.C. §41731 et seq. 

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) OST-2000-7856 

) OST-2008-0209 

) OST-2001-10685 

) OST-2009-0305 

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SUN AIR INTERNATIONAL PROPOSAL 

TO PROVIDE SUBSIDIZED ESSENTIAL AIR SERICE 

By Order 2014-4-24, the Department requested proposals from carriers interested in providing 

Essential Air Service to the communities of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, Greenville, 

Laurel/Hattiesburg, Meridian and Tupelo Mississippi. Pursuant to those orders, Sun Air Express, 

LLC. ("Sun Air") cordially submits this proposal to provide subsidized air service to four of those 

communities. 

Correspondence with regard to this document should be addressed to: 

David Hackett 

Chief Executive Officer 

Sun Air Express, LLC. 

d/b/a Sun Air International 

3201 Griffin Road, Suite 202 

Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33312 

Telephone: 954-660-9865 

Fax: 954-894-0367 

E-Mail: dhackett@gosunair.com 

Bid Summary 

Sun Air hereby offers proposals to provide service to the commumttes of Muscle Shoals, 

Greenville, Laurel/Hattiesburg, and Tupelo. Laurel/Hattiesburg would be provided service to and 

from New Orleans, LA while the other three cities would be served via Memphis. 

All of Sun Air's proposals are for a period of three years. The company plans to make 

substantial infrastructure and marketing investments should it be awarded the cities, and believes 

that a longer than normal contract length is needed to sufficiently recover those investments. 
Sun Air proposes to operate high frequency, low fare service using 8-passenger Piper Chieftain 

Aircraft. Sun Air's management believes that this model is well suited to serve the markets with 

properly timed schedules and the ability to provide high levels of sustained reliability, a 

significant problem all of the cities have faced recently. 

Sun Air's operating plans are based upon having multiple back-up aircraft and an ample 

availability of reserve flight crews. Since Sun Air's current management took over operations 

late last year, the airline's operational performance has ranked among the best in the airline 

industry, and that such sustained reliability is key to rebuilding enplanement levels. 

Sun Air's proposals to provide service to Muscle Shoals and Greenville are contingent upon its' 

proposal to provide service to Tupelo being selected. If selected for Tupelo, Sun Air would 

provide service to either Muscle Shoals or Greenville, as well as both cities. Service to 

Laurel/Hattiesburg is stand-alone and not dependent upon being selected for any other market 

here. 

Flights will be displayed in all the major travel agent systems, and also available for booking on 

the company's web site. Interline connections are available with most U.S. major airlines via Sun 

Air's contracted distribution capabilities. 

The respective subsidy amounts for each city pair are listed in Schedule 1 included herein. 

Service Proposal 

Sun Air's proposed weekly frequencies are shown below. Each community would have at least 

one overnight aircraft to enable an early morning departure and evening arrival. Flight schedules 

throughout the rest of the day would be spread out, and would be finalized in cooperation with the 

respective community. None of the markets envision one-stop or through flights ... all are nonstop. 

Proposed Flight Frequencies, Round Trip (final allocations of weekday and weekend flights to be 

confirmed based upon community input; total weekly flights would be as proposed). 

Muscle Shoals: 

Greenville, MS: 

each weekend day. 

21 Weekly round trips, three each day to Memphis. 

24 Weekly round trips to Memphis; four during the weekdays and two 

Laurel/Hattiesburg: 26 Weekly round trips to New Orleans, four during the weekdays and 

three each weekend day. 

Tupelo: 31 Weekly round trips to Memphis, with five during the weekdays and 

three each weekend day. 

Local fares would be set for effectiveness of"add-on" prices to flights each respective hub, 

generally in the $29 to $59 range each way. 

Interline connections are available through major travel systems, including the ability for 

through-checking of baggage. Sun Air is in the process of installing enhanced baggage storage 

features on its aircraft which will substantially improve its capacity for checked baggage handling 

that meets all relevant TSA requirements. Previously, the company's aircraft have had 
limitations on baggage capacity, particularly with respect to large hard-sided bags that did not fit 

in the existing storage facilities. 

About Sun Air International 

Sun Air Express, LLC d/b/a Sun Air International is a Fort Lauderdale, FL based commuter air 

carrier currently serving markets in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland and Texas. 

The airline has operated charters and limited scheduled service within Florida and the Bahamas 

for a number of years. New management was brought in near the end of 2013, and since that 

time has focused on improving operations and initiating a range of marketing activities. 

Operational improvements at the airline have been significant. For the Year to Date period, Sun 

Air is operating at more than a 98% controllable completion factor (percentage of scheduled 

flights that are completed, excluding weather). 
SCHEDULE 1 

Annual Projected Operations 

Passenger Revenue $444,532 $ 504,038 $ 483,845 $ 526,296 

Flight Operations 803,444 1,047,881 850,893 875,582 

Maintenance 422,598 629,557 427,361 550,267 

Sales & Service 865,582 1,090,963 961,988 1,151,562 

Aircraft Ownership 103,500 138,000 103,500 138,000 

Other Expenses 173,000 308,000 288,000 208,000 

Total Operating 

Costs 2,368,124 3,214,401 2,631,743 2,923,410 

Operating 

Profit/(Loss) $(1,923,592) $(2, 710,363) $(2,147,899) $(2,397,115) 

Profit Element (5%) (118,406) (160,720) (131,587) (146,171) 

Subsidy Required $(2,041,998} ${2,871,083} $(2,279,486} $(2,543,285} 

ASMs 2,340,549 2,235,651 2,399,555 2,450,365 

RPMs 1,474,546 1,386,103 1,439,733 1,592,737 

Load Factor 63.0% 62.0% 60.0% 65.0% 

Block Hours 2,323 2,699 2,336 2,530 

Annual Departures 2,151 3,176 2,459 2,663 

Available Seats 17,210 25,405 19,668 21,308 

Enplaned 

Passengers 10,842 15,751 11,801 13,850 

Average Segment Fare $41.00 $32.00 $41.00 $38.00 

Subisdy per Departure $(949) $(904) $(927) $(955) 

1/ MSL and GLH proposals are contingent upon being selected for TUP. 
In conclusion, Sun Air believes that its proposal will provide excellent levels of service to the 

communities, 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: June 2, 2014 

David F. Hackett 

Chief Executive 

Sun Air Express, LLC