Order: 2013-12-10

Served December 20, 2013

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

on the 20th day of December, 2013

 Essential Air Service at

 McCOOK, NEBRASKA

Under 49 U.S. C. § 47131 et seq.

 DOCKET DOT-OST-1997-3005

 

ORDER REQUESTING PROPOSALS

Summary

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

Essential Air Service (“EAS”) at McCook, Nebraska, for a new two-year period, with or without

subsidy support. Proposals are due January 31, 2014. (See Appendix A for a map.) 

Background

By Order 2012-6-19, issued on June 22, 2012, the Department re-selected Great Lakes Aviation, 

Ltd. (“Great Lakes”) to provide subsidized EAS at McCook with 12 round trips to Denver using 

19-passenger Beechcraft B-1900D aircraft, for the period from June 1, 2012, through 

May 31, 2014, at an annual subsidy rate of $1,976,338. That Order, as well as the complete 

public file for EAS at McCook, may be accessed online through the Federal Docket 

Management System at http://www.regulations.gov, by entering “DOT-OST-1997-3005” in the 

SEARCH for: Rules, Comments, Adjudications or Supporting Documents:” field.

Request for Proposals

As the end of the rate term approaches, we are here requesting proposals from air carriers 

interested in providing EAS at McCook, with or without subsidy support, for the two-year period 

beginning June 1, 2014. Air carriers should file their proposals no later than January 31, 2014. 

After that date, our staff will docket the proposals, thereby making them public. Additionally, 

we request each air carrier serve a copy of its proposal on the civic parties at McCook and on the 

other applicants. Shortly afterwards, we will provide a summary of the proposals to the 

community and ask them to submit any formal comments on this carrier-selection case. We will 

give full consideration to all proposals that are timely filed.1 

 1 Air carriers should not expect the Department to accept late filings. In cases where a carrier proposes to provide 

EAS without subsidy and we determine that service can be reliably provided without such compensation, we 

usually do not proceed with the carrier-selection case. Instead, we simply rely on that carrier’s subsidy- free service 

as proposed.
2

We are here providing interested air carriers with some basic information to serve as guidance 

when they prepare their proposals, but we will not prescribe a precise format for their 

proposals. 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, we recommend they include information 

concerning proposed schedules and projected block hours. In addition, applicants are 

encouraged to provide financial data supporting their subsidy requests, including information 

on their projected expenses and revenues. We strongly encourage clear, well-documented 

proposals that will facilitate their evaluation by the affected community and the Department.2

The Department expects proposals that are consistent with what the community currently 

receives, namely 12 round trips per week to Denver or another suitable hub airport that 

provides numerous connecting opportunities to the national air transportation system. We 

encourage proposals that meet these guidelines in an efficient manner. Air carriers are also 

welcome to propose more than one service option, if they choose. They also need not limit 

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

possibilities -- different hubs or length of contract, for example -- with subsidy requirements 

that remain competitive.

Interested air carriers should prepare their proposal with every expectation that their initial 

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

proposals with air carriers when we deem it desirable; in such cases we will give all 

applicants the same opportunity. We also retain the discretion to reject outright all 

unreasonable or unrealistic proposals and solicit a new round of proposals. However, we 

anticipate that negotiation or rejection will remain only occasional exceptions to the rule.

In order to assist air carriers in developing traffic and revenue projections for their proposals, we 

have summarized historical passenger levels at McCook in Appendix B. In the most recent 12-

month period for which data are available (October 1, 2012, through September 30, 2013)

McCook generated 3,310 total origin and destination passengers, or an average of 6.2 

enplanements per day.

Other Air Carrier Requirements

The Department is responsible for implementing various Federal statutes governing lobbying

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

 2 In selecting a carrier to provide subsidized EAS for an eligible place not in Alaska, 49 U.S.C. § 41733(c)(1) 

directs us to consider five factors: (a) service reliability; (b) contractual and marketing arrangements with a larger 

carrier at the hub; (c) interline arrangements with a larger carrier at the hub; (d) community views, giving 

substantial weight to the views of the elected officials representing the users; and (e) whether the carrier has 

included a plan in its proposal to market its service to the community. In addition, the Consolidated and Further 

Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012, Public Law No. 112-55, and continued by the Full-Year Continuing 

Appropriations Act, 2013, Public Law No. 113-6, and the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2014, Public Law No. 

113-46, 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. 

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 
3

receiving Federal subsidy to support EAS must certify that they are in compliance with 

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

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 air carriers that 

plan to submit proposals involving subsidy should submit the required certifications along 

with their proposals. Interested air 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 

air carriers that do not submit these documents. 4

Community Comments

Civic officials and the State are welcome to submit comments at any time. We encourage

prospective applicants to contact the community before they submit their proposals so that 

they can tailor them to the community’s needs, as they will not be able to amend them after 

the due date. As noted earlier, we will provide a copy of the proposals to the civic parties and 

ask them to submit their final comments shortly after January 31, 2014, the due date for air 

carrier proposals.

This Order is issued under authority delegated in 49 CFR Part 1.25a(b) and re-delegated to the

Director, Office of Aviation Analysis.

ACCORDINGLY,

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

Nebraska, submit their proposals, with or without subsidy requests, no later than 

January 31, 2014. The proposals should be emailed to: EAS@dot.gov with the title 

“Proposal to Provide Essential Air Service at McCook, Nebraska;”5

2. Docket DOT-OST-1997-3005 will remain open until further Order of the Department; and 

 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://www.dot.gov/policy/aviation-policy/small-communityrural-air-service/essential-air-service

5 Questions regarding filings in response to this Order should be directed to Mr. Scott Faulk at scott.faulk@dot.gov 

or (202) 366-9967.
4

3. The Department will serve copies of this Order on the civic officials of McCook, Nebraska, 

the Manager of McCook Ben Nelson Regional Airport, Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd., and the 

service list for this docket.

Persons entitled to petition the Department for review of this Order under the Department’s

Regulations, 14 CFR Part 385.31(a), must file such petitions within seven (7) 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

An electronic version of this document is available

online at www.regulations.gov.
Appendix A

AREA MAP OF McCOOK, NEBRASKA

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

Historical passenger Traffic at McCook, Nebraska1

Year Quarter

Outbound 

Passengers

Inbound 

Passengers Total

2010 1 371 381 752

2010 2 487 534 1021

2010 3 483 484 967

2010 4 578 570 1148

Total 1919 1969 3888

2011 1 374 424 798

2011 2 492 500 992

2011 3 474 505 979

2011 4 441 487 928

Total 1781 1916 3697

2012 1 339 350 689

2012 2 381 428 809

2012 3 434 466 900

2012 4 469 443 912

Total 1623 1687 3310

2013 1 412 399 811

2013 2 576 557 1133

2013 3 500 521 1021

Total 1488 1477 2965

 1 Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics; Schedule T-100. 
Appendix C

Example of General Terms and Conditions for Eassential Air Service

The air 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 air 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 air 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 air 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 air carrier to provide service on these routes. The air 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 air 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 air 

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 may not be available for performance under this Order beyond [DATE]. The 

Government’s obligation for performance under this Order beyond [DATE], is subject to the 

availability of 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 sufficient funds 

are not made available for performance beyond [DATE], the Department will provide notice in 

writing to the carrier. 

All claims for payment, including any amended claims, must be submitted within 90 days of the 

last day of the month for which compensation is being claimed. For example, claims for service 

provided in July must be filed by October 31st; August claims must be submitted by November 

30th, and so on.