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U S Denarfmen f o f '2° ° '^^ " ''^'^^ V Avenue , S E U.b

. uepanme m O I Washington , D C 2059 0 Transportatio n Offic e o f th e Secretar

y J^^ V 1^ ' 201 0 o f Transportatio n

Th e Honorabl e Randy Meininge r Cit y of Scottsbor o 181 8 Avenu e A Scottsboro , N E 6936 1 Dea r Mayo r Meininger ; I woul d like t o update yo u o n th e essential air servic e (EAS ) situatio n a t Kearne y Regional Airport , Nort

h Platt e Regional Airport , an d Wester n Nebrask aRegional Airpor t a t Scottsbluff

, and giv e you a

n opportunity to offe

r any comment s o n th e recor d befor e w e submi t arecommendatio n to th e Assistan t Secretar y fo r Aviatio n and International Affairs

. A s you know , Grea t Lake s Aviatio n Ltd

. (Grea t Lakes ) i s th e curren t

EA S provide r a t your community , an d thei r

contrac t expire s Octobe r

31 , 2010

. I

n anticipatio n of that , w e issue d Orde r

2010-6-16 , Jun e 11 , 2010 , solicitin g proposal s fromcarrier s intereste d in providin g subsidize d EA S fo r anew , two-yea

r period , beginnin g November

1 , 2010 , I

n respons e t o our

request , tw o carrier s responded ; Grea t Lake s and Sovereig n Air , Inc

. (Sovereig n Air)

. Yo u shoul d hav e receive d acop y of th e proposal s fromeac h caixier , an d the y ca n b e accesse d a

t www.regulations.go v b y enterin g th e number s DOT-OST-1996-171 5 fo r Kearney , DOT-OST-1999-517 3 fo r Nort h Platte , and DOT-OST-2003-1453 5 fo r Scottsbluf f i n th e searc h block

. A s aresult , w e wil l onl y briefl y summariz e the mhere

. Grea t Lake s ha s propose d on e servic e optio n fo r eac h community , eac h optio n t o b e considere d o n astand-alon e basis

. Servic e t o al l thre e communitie s woul d b e thre e nonsto p roun d trip s eac h weekda y and weeken d (1 8 aweek ) fromDenver usin g 19-sea

t Beechcraf t 190 0 aircraf

t fo r a n annua l subsidy of

$1,965,74 0 a

t Kearney , $1,871,76 5 a

t Nort h Platte , an d $1,507,18 5 a t Scottsbluff

. Sovereig n Ai r

ha s propose d fo

r eac h communit

y thre e roun d trip s Tuesda y throug h Saturday , and tw o roun d trip s o n Sunda y and Monday , fo

r atotal o f 1 8 roun d trip s a wee k t o Denve r

usin g 19-sea

t Beechcraf

t aircraf t for a n annual subsidy o f

$2,374,45 7 a

t Kearney , $1,516,01 2 Nort h Platte , and $836,23 1 a

t Scottsbluff

. We shoul d note , however , tha

t Sovereig n Ai r

doe s no t cun-ently hav e th e requisit e operatin g authorit y fromeithe r

th e Departmen t

o r th e Federal Aviatio n Administratio n to provid e schedule d ai r service , althoug h i

t ha s submitte d applications

. Th e schedule s tha

t th e carrier s hav e propose d ar e illustrativ e onl y an d the y ma y mak e schedul e change s to reflec t changin g conditions , e.g. , t o bette r meet shiftin g connectin gbank time s a t th e hub

. However , th e Departmen t doe s expec t

asubsidize d air

carrie r t o maintai n well-time d and well-space d flight s i n orde r to ensure ful

l compensation

. W e reques t tha t yo u revie w th e proposal s and submi t any comment s you ma

y hav e a s soo n as possible , bu t

n o later tha n Augus t

13

. W e wil l carefull y conside r your comment s before w e submi t

arecommendatio n to th e Assistan t Secretar y fo r adecision

. Letter s requestin g feedbac k

hav e als o bee n sen t

t o th e community leader s o f th e othe r tw o citie s a s well

. Pleas e sen d you

r comment s vi ae-mai l t o EAS@dot.go v o r b y fa x t o 202-366-7638

. I

f you hav e an y questions , pleas e fee l fre e t o contac t

Michae l Marti n of

m y staf f a t michael.f.martin@dot.go v o r 202-366-6494

. Sincerely ,

Denni s J

. DeVa'rty , Chie f

' ^ Essentia l Ai r

Servic e Divisio n Offic e o f Aviatio n Analysi s

cc : Michae l Matthews , Grea t Lake s Aviation , Ltd

. Jo n Payne , Sovereig n Air , Inc

.