Order 2012-10-25

Served: October 26, 2012

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

on the 26th day of October, 2012

Essential Air Service at

MASSENA, NEW YORK

Under 49 U.S.C. 41731 et seq. 

DOCKET DOT-OST-2012-0163

 

ORDER REQUESTING PROPOSALS

Summary

By this Order, the Department is requesting proposals from airlines interested in providing 

Essential Air Service (EAS) at Massena, New York, with or without subsidy, for a new rate 

term beginning April 1, 2013. Proposals are due by November 29, 2012. (See Appendix A for 

a map.)

Background

By Order 2011-1-6, January 7, 2011, the Department re-selected Hyannis Air Service, Inc. 

d/b/a Cape Air (Cape Air), to provide Essential Air Service (EAS) at Massena for a two-year 

term ending March 31, 2013, for an annual subsidy rate of $1,708,911.1 

Request for Proposals

Air carriers should file their proposals no later than November 29, 2012. After that date, our 

staff will docket proposals, thereby making them public, and shortly afterwards will provide a 

summary of the proposals to the community and ask them for their final comments. We will 

give full consideration to all proposals filed in a timely manner. 

Interested carriers should prepare their proposals with every expectation that their initial 

proposals will also be their final and only proposals. We retain the discretion to negotiate 

 1 Massena has traditionally been packaged with Ogdensburg and Watertown, New York. Cape Air was selected to 

provide EAS at Ogdensburg for a four-year term ending April 30, 2015. See Order 2011-1-6. American Eagle 

Airlines, a wholly owned subsidiary of AMR Corporation, was selected in a separate order to provide EAS at 

Watertown for a two-year term ending November 30, 2013. See Order 2011-3-34. 
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proposals with carriers when we deem it desirable. We also retain the discretion to reject 

outright all unreasonable or unrealistic proposals and solicit a new round of proposals. 

Air carrier 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 carriers with some basic information to serve as guidance 

when they prepare their proposals, but we will not prescribe a precise 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; however, 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 community and the Department.2

Carriers are also welcome to propose more than one option, if they choose; they need not limit 

themselves to those requirements if they envision other, potentially more attractive service 

possibilities -- different hubs, frequency or equipment, for example -- with subsidy 

requirements that remain competitive. The communities and air carriers are encouraged to 

work together in advance of the due date for proposals to craft a service pattern that is desirable 

to the community and meets the operational needs of the airlines.

Proposals 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 summary of historical passengers in Appendix B. During the year ended 

June 30, 2012, Massena averaged 15 enplanements per day. We expect service levels that are 

consistent with what the community currently receives, with service to any medium- or largehub airport that offers access to the national air transportation system utilizing twin-engine

aircraft. Specifically, air carriers should propose two round trips a day (12 a week) with 19 -

30-seat or larger aircraft; or three round trips a day (18 a week) with 8/9-seat aircraft. As 

always, we will formally solicit the community’s views on any service options we receive 

before making a long-term carrier selection decision. 

 2 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 carrier at the hub; (3) interline 

arrangements with a larger carrier at the hub; and (4) community views. In addition, the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2008, Public Law 110-161, provides that when selecting a carrier to provide EAS, the 

Department may consider the relative subsidy requirements, thus codifying a factor that we have considered 

since the inception of the program. Interested carriers should also be aware that our general provisions 

governing EAS will be included in the selection order as part of our authorization of subsidy for the selected 

service. Appendix C of this order contains those general provisions.
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Other Carrier Requirements

The Department is responsible for implementing various Federal statutes governing lobbying 

activities, drug-free workplaces and nondiscrimination.3 Consequently, all carriers receiving 

Federal subsidy to support essential air service must certify that they are in compliance with 

Department regulations regarding drug-free workplaces and nondiscrimination, and those 

carriers 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 carriers that plan 

to submit proposals involving subsidy should submit the required certifications along with their 

proposals. Interested carriers 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 prohibited from paying subsidy to carriers 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 November 29, 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.

ACCORDINGLY,

1. We request that air carriers interested in providing Essential Air Service at Massena, New 

York, submit their proposal, with or without subsidy requests, no later than 

November 29, 2012. The proposal should be emailed to: EAS@dot.gov with the title 

“Proposal to Provide Essential Air Service at Massena, New York”;5

2. This docket will remain open until further order of the Department; and

 3 The regulations applicable to these 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 – Nondiscrimination 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 (nonprocurement) 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 Order on the Mayor and Airport Manager of 

Massena; Hyannis Air Service, Inc. d/b/a Cape Air, and the service list for this Docket.

Persons 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.

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 online at

www.regulations.gov
Appendix A

Area Map

Maps generated by the Great Circle Mapper - copyright © Karl L. Swartz.
APPENDIX B

Historical Origin-Destination Plane Traffic1

Massena, New York

Quarter Year Deplanements Enplanements

Total 

Traffic

Enplanements 

per Day

3 2009 772 810 1,582 10

4 2009 874 920 1,794 11

1 2010 711 735 1,446 9

2 2010 846 837 1,683 11

Annual 

Totals 3,203 3,302 6,505 10

3 2010 841 857 1,698 11

4 2010 904 921 1,825 12

1 2011 706 734 1,440 9

2 2011 1,060 1,107 2,167 14

Annual 

Totals 3,511 3,619 7,130 11

3 2011 1,220 1,255 2,475 16

4 2011 1,300 1,300 2,600 16

1 2012 1,044 1,085 2,129 14

2 2012 1,244 1,225 2,469 16

Annual 

Totals 4,808 4,865 9,673 15

 1 Source: USDOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransStats Intermodal Database, Schedule T-100.
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 order, 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 eligibility 

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 

Aviation 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 complete 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 to 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 service 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 that 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 reduction 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 solicitation beyond [DATE], is contingent 

upon the availability 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 performance. 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.