Order 2012-12-2

Served: December 5, 2012

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

on the 5th day of December, 2012

Essential Air Service at

ALLIANCE, NEBRASKA

CHADRON, NEBRASKA

Under 49 U.S.C. § 41731 et seq. 

DOCKET DOT-OST-2000-8322

ORDER REQUESTING PROPOSALS

Summary

By this Order, the Department is requesting proposals, by January 8, 2013, from carriers 

interested in providing Essential Air Service (EAS) at Alliance and Chadron, Nebraska, for a

new contract period beginning June 1, 2013, with or without subsidy. (See Appendix A for 

map.)

Background

By Order 2011-4-9 (April 7, 2011), the Department reselected Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. (Great 

Lakes), to provide EAS at Alliance and Chadron for the two-year period ending May 31, 2013. 

That Order established a combined annual subsidy rate for both communities of $2,217,401 for 

service consisting of 12 nonstop or one-stop round trips per week to Denver International Airport 

from each community. Service is provided on twin-engine Beech 1900D aircraft with 19 

passenger seats.

Request for Proposals

As the end of the current rate term approaches, and in order to provide sufficient time to 

complete the carrier-selection process before the current contract expires, we are here requesting 

proposals from carriers interested in providing service at Alliance and Chadron, with or without 

subsidy support, for a new contract period beginning June 1, 2013. Carriers should file their 

proposals no later than January 8, 2013. After that date, our staff will docket the proposals, 

thereby making them public. Shortly afterwards, we will provide a summary of the proposals to 
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community officials and ask them to submit their final comments. We will give full 

consideration to all proposals filed in a timely manner.1

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 

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.

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 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, 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

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

have summarized historical passengers in Appendix B. For the year ended May 31, 2012, 

Alliance generated 3,501 total origin and destination passengers, or 5.6 average daily 

enplanements. For the same period, Chadron generated 4,080 origin and destination passengers, 

or 6.5 average daily enplanements. 

We request proposals for service consistent with what the community currently receives, namely, 

two daily nonstop or one-stop round trips (12 per week) with 19-seat or larger aircraft to Denver 

International Airport or another suitable hub with convenient connections to the national air 

transportation system. Carriers using smaller aircraft may propose more frequencies than the 

two daily round trips described above. We encourage proposals that meet these requirements in 

an efficient manner. Carriers are also welcome to propose more than one service option, if they 

choose; they need not limit themselves to those requirements if they envision other, potentially 

more attractive service possibilities -- different hubs or length of contract, for example -- with 

subsidy requirements that remain competitive. 

We will formally solicit the communities’ views on any service options we receive before 

making a long-term carrier selection decision. The community and air carriers are encouraged to 

 1 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 typically do 

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

proposed.

2 In selecting a carrier to provide subsidized essential air service, 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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work together in advance of the due date for proposals to craft a service pattern that is desirable 

to the communities and meets the operational needs of the airline submitting the proposal.

Filing Procedures

Proposals should be submitted via email to EAS@dot.gov. 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 Regulations.gov, each page should be formatted so as 

to be easily viewed online.

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 EAS 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 January 8, 2013, the due date for carrier proposals.

This Order is issued under authority delegated in 49 CFR Part 1.56a(f) and re-delegated to the 

Director, Office of Aviation Analysis.

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

1. We request that carriers interested in providing Essential Air Service at Alliance and 

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

January 8, 2013. The proposals should be emailed to EAS@dot.gov with the title “Proposal to 

Provide Essential Air Service at Alliance and Chadron, Nebraska, Docket DOT-OST-2000-

8322”.

2. Docket DOT-OST-2000-8322 will remain open until further Order of the Department; and

3. The Department will serve a copy of this Order on the mayors and airport managers of 

Alliance and Chadron, Nebraska, 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 

Aviation Economic Regulations, 14 CFR Part 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

This map is provided by Sabre ® AirVisionTM Profit Essentials and is being used with express permission of the 

copyright holder, Sabre Airlines Solutions ®.
Appendix B

Historical O&D Traffic1

Great Lakes at Alliance, NE

Year Month Origin Destination

Total 

O&D

2010 6 141 189 330

2010 7 124 120 244

2010 8 125 110 235

2010 9 111 97 208

2010 10 134 157 291

2010 11 140 135 275

2010 12 136 164 300

2011 1 89 86 175

2011 2 95 85 180

2011 3 94 113 207

2011 4 109 125 234

2011 5 148 158 306

2011 6 192 189 381

2011 7 148 170 318

2011 8 206 192 398

2011 9 158 163 321

2011 10 194 185 379

2011 11 147 158 305

2011 12 148 160 308

2012 1 126 113 239

2012 2 75 88 163

2012 3 97 104 201

2012 4 112 113 225

2012 5 130 133 263

Average Daily Enplanements YE May, 2012: 5.62

 1 Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics Form 41: T-100 Domestic Market.

2 Average Daily Enplanements calculated by dividing total O&D passengers by 313 service days, divided by 2 

directions.
Appendix B

Great Lakes at Chadron, NE

Year Month Origin Destination

Total 

O&D

2010 6 149 185 334

2010 7 178 180 358

2010 8 155 167 322

2010 9 142 152 294

2010 10 133 145 278

2010 11 170 183 353

2010 12 185 171 356

2011 1 120 232 352

2011 2 90 133 223

2011 3 102 123 225

2011 4 152 136 288

2011 5 201 191 392

2011 6 194 192 386

2011 7 194 190 384

2011 8 175 178 353

2011 9 160 159 319

2011 10 183 169 352

2011 11 178 173 351

2011 12 199 158 357

2012 1 141 148 289

2012 2 170 142 312

2012 3 171 166 337

2012 4 128 137 265

2012 5 201 174 375

Average Daily Enplanements YE May, 2012: 6.5
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 order beyond [DATE]. The 

Government's obligation for performance under this order 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.