Order 2013

- 1

- 18

Served: January 31, 2013



### UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

on the 31 st day of January , 201 3

Essential Air Service at

MACON, GEORGIA

Under 49 U.S.C. 41731 et seq

. DOCKET DOT

- OST

- 2007

- 28671

ORDER EXTENDING SERVICE OBLIGATION

Summary By this O rder, the Departme nt of Transportation extends the Essential Air Service (“EAS”) obligation of Pacific Wings, L.L.C., d/b/a Georgia Skies (“Pacific Wings”)

, at Macon, Georgia

, for an additional 30 days , through March 23 , 2013

.

Background On April 26, 2012, Pacific Wings filed a 90

- day notice with the Department of its intent to terminate its unsubsidized service at Macon, ef fective July 26, 2012. Pacific Wings’ proposed termination of service at Macon would have left the community with no scheduled air service whatsoever. As a result, the Department issued Order 2012

- 5

- 25, on May 24, 2012, which prohibited Pacific Wings fro m terminating service for 30 days beyond the end of the 90

- day notice period, i.e. August 25, 2012, and requested proposals from air carriers interested in providing EAS at Macon, with or without subsidy. In response to that Order, we received two

proposa ls.

By Order 2012

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- 6, issued on September 6, 2012, the Department selected Sun Air Express,

L

. L

. C

. d/b/a Sun Air International (“Sun Air”) to provide subsidized EAS at Macon for a two

year contract. However, on December 20, 2012, Sun Air sent an e

- mail to the Department withdrawing from the case and encouraging the re

- solicitation of proposals for EAS at Macon. Sun Air explained that it is und ergoing an aggressive expansion and experiencing challen ges in completin g pilot recruiting and training and establishing maintenance bases in Texas, Maryland, and Pennsylvania that has proven more difficult than anticipated. As a result, the Department2

issued Order 2013

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- 5 on January 4, 2013, requesting propo sals from air carriers interested in providing replacement EAS at Macon. Those proposals were due January 31, 2013.

However, r eplacement service will not commence before February 21, 2013, the end of the

current hold

- in period. In accordance with 49 U. S.C. § 41734(c), we must extend the service obligation of Pacific Wings for an additional 30 days, or until replacement service actually begins, whichever occurs first.

This Order is issued under the authority assigned in 14 CFR Part 385.12(k)(5).

ACCORDINGLY,

1. The Department prohibits Pacific Wings, L.L.C., d/b/a Georgia Skies , from suspending its

service at Macon, Georgia, for an additional 30 days, through March 23 , 2013, or until replacement service actually begins, whichever occurs first ; 1

2

. The Department directs Pacific Wings, L.L.C., d/b/a Georgia Skies , to retain all books, records, and other source and summary documentation to support subsidy claims for payment, and to preserve and maintain such documentation in a manner that readily permits its audit and examination by representatives of the Departmen t. Such documentation shall be retained for seven years from the date of service of this Order, or until the Department indicates that the records may be destroyed, whichever comes first. Copies of flight logs for aircraft sold or disposed of must be ret ained. The air carrier may forfeit its compensation for any claim that is not supported under the terms of this Order;

3. Docket DOT

- OST

- 2007

- 28671 will remain open until further o rder of the Department; and

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. The Department will serve a copy of t his Order on the M ayor and A irport M anager of Macon, Georgia, and on Pacific Wings, L.L.C., d/b/a Georgia Skies

.

1 In accordance with 49 U.S.C. § 41734(c), we will extend the air carrier’s service obligation for successive 30

- day periods as necessary until replacement service actually begins.3

Persons entitled to petition the Department for review of this Order under the Department’s Aviation Economic Regulations, 14 CFR Part 385.50, must file such petition within ten (10) days after the date of service of this Order.

This 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