BEFORE THE

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

____________________________________________________ 

 )

Essential Air Service at )

 )

WEST YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, MONTANA ) OST-2003-14626

 )

Under 49 U.S.C. §41731 et seq. )

___________________________________________________ ) 

SILVER AIRWAYS PROPOSAL TO PROVIDE SUBSIDIZED AIR SERICE 

AT WEST YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, MONTANA

Correspondence with regard to this document should be addressed to:

Mickey Bowman

Vice President Essential Air Service

Silver Airways

1100 Lee Wagener Blvd, Suite 201

Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33315

Telephone: 954-302-5929

Fax: 270-689-2180

E-Mail: mbowman@gosilver.com

Silver Airways cordially submits its proposals to provide seasonal, subsidized air service to West 

Yellowstone National Park, Montana. Silver Airways hereby offers one option for service. 

Silver Airways proposes to operate flights, under its independent Silver Airways identity to the hub airport 

of Billings, Montana. Silver Airways has an established market presence in Montana serving seven eastern 

Montana cities from the regional business center of Billings. We see synergy to be gained by linking the 

western part of the state to the east. Silver Airways has maintained interline ticketing and baggage 

agreements with most legacy carriers and will schedule its flights to allow connecting opportunities. Silver 

Airways contends that reasonable local fares will stimulate demand and the variety of destinations available 

from Billings will adequately meet the transportation needs of West Yellowstone National Park. Toward 

that end we will establish a fare structure predicated on a $99 one way, $198 round trip fare between the 

Park and Billings. Silver Airways flights will be available for sale through all major reservation portals and 

we will maintain our own web based booking site as well as a reservation call center. This service will be 

marketed under our existing Island Air codeshare affiliation, as are all of our other Montana flights.

In compliance with Public Law 100-223, Silver Airways proposes to operate these flights using Beech 

1900D turboprops that are pressurized and accommodate 19 passengers to Billings. The 1900D features 

stand up headroom and a pressurized cabin that we feel is critical in recovering lost passengers with ample 

cargo capacity to accommodate even bulky military duffle bags. 

One of the hallmarks of the Silver Airways operation is our ability to provide safe and reliable 

transportation. Toward this end, Silver Airways has established a regional maintenance base in Billings to 

support these flights. Additionally this proposal would benefit from a dedicated spare aircraft that was 

established with the earlier Montana EAS package. With this spare located in Billings, we have great 

flexibility in responding to any operational challenges and can assure this community receives the level of 

operational performance it deserves.
Service Option 1

38 Weekly frequencies between West Yellowstone National Park, Montana and Billings, Montana

Silver Airways proposes to operate these flights under its own independent marketing identity and in 

conjunction with the existing codeshare agreement it has with Island Air. The timing of these flights will

be optimized for connections to and from both legacy and low cost airline flights at Billings Silver 

Airways proposes to encourage connecting traffic by using a simplified local fee structure whereby 

passengers connecting to or from other airline flights would pay only the low, local fare in addition to the 

low fares already a feature at Billings. The basic service pattern would consist of three roundtrips each 

weekday to Billings. Two round trips would operate on Saturdays and two round trips would operate on 

Sundays to Billings.

Silver Airways Airlines

Sample Flight Schedule

Service Option 1

FROM TO DEP ARR FLT EQUIP FREQ STOP

STA STA TIME TIME NUM

BILLINGS WEST YELLOWSTONE 0710 0805 3594 BE1 X7 0

BILLINGS WEST YELLOWSTONE 1030 1125 3591 BE1 X7 0

BILLINGS WEST YELLOWSTONE 1400 1455 3591 BE1 7 Only 0

BILLINGS WEST YELLOWSTONE 1725 1820 3593 BE1 X6 0

WEST YELLOWSTONE BILLINGS 0825 0920 3560 BE1 X7 0

WEST YELLOWSTONE BILLINGS 1145 1240 3591 BE1 X7 0

WEST YELLOWSTONE BILLINGS 1515 1610 3565 BE1 7 Only 0

WEST YELLOWSTONE BILLINGS 1840 1935 3593 BE1 X6 0

(Note: This Schedule is for illustrative purposes and may not reflect the final published product)
GULFSTREAM INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES

Essential Air Service Proposal To Provide Service at:

West Yellowstone National Park, 

Montana

Option 1

West Yellowstone

Hub Served Billings

Number of Roundtrips per Service Day 3

( 2 Roundtrips on Saturday and Sunday) Non-Stop

Operating Statistics (38rt/week)

Assumed Completion % 98%

Annual Adjusted Block Hours 594.95

Annual Adjusted Departures 649.04

Annual Adjusted ASMs 1,849,764

Annual RPMs 1,086,188

Projected Load Factor 58.7%

Revenue Projections

Enplaned Passengers 7,241

Mileage (Average as Operated) 150

Average Fare $ 89.26 

Passenger Revenue $ 646,372 

Expense Projections

Flight Operations $168,904

Ownership $66,600

Maintenance $261,321

Reservations, Stations & Administration $485,232

Fuel $302,236

Marketing $2,000

Total Annual Expenses $1,286,293

Projected Profit / (Loss) ($639,921)

Profit Element $64,315

Annual Subsidy Required $704,236

Subsidy per Departure $1,085.04

Subsidy per Passenger $97.25
In conclusion, Silver Airways believes that this proposal will provide this National Park with superior air

service options. We feel the passengers will benefit from the fact that Billings is the financial and business 

center of Montana. The proposed service will connect West Yellowstone National Park not only with 

Billings, but also with an additional seven eastern Montana cities on a daily basis. Additional connections 

will also be available with the legacy carriers serving Billings as well assuring full access to the national 

transportation system. We will provide this service on stand up, pressurized airliners and the infrastructure 

we have established in support of this operation will add jobs to the Montana economy. Additionally the 

integrity of service that has been a hallmark of the Silver Airways operation will lead to an enhanced 

customer experience and bode well for the development of intra-state air service.

 

Respectfully Submitted: January 24, 2012

______________________

Mickey Bowman

Vice President Essential Air Service

Silver Airways