Order: 2012-2-14

Served: February 17, 2012

 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

 DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

 OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

 WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

on the 17th day of February, 2012

Docket DOT-OST-1996-1901

FINAL ORDER TERMINATING ELIGIBILITY

AND ALLOWING SUSPENSION OF SERVICE

Summary

By this Order, the Department is: (1) terminating the eligibility of 

Alamogordo/Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico (Alamogordo), under the Essential 

Air Service (EAS) program; and (2) allowing Pacific Wings L.L.C., d/b/a New Mexico 

Airlines (New Mexico Airlines), to suspend service at the community, if it chooses. An 

area map is attached as Appendix A.

Background

By Order 2011-12-8, the Department tentatively determined to terminate the eligibility of 

Alamogordo under the EAS program. Our tentative decision was based on the statutory 

requirement that the average subsidy per passenger must be less than $1,000 during the 

most recent fiscal year.1 For FY2011, New Mexico Airlines transported 809 total 

passengers at an annual subsidy rate of $1,169,337, or an average per passenger subsidy 

of $1,445 - above the $1,000 per passenger cap. While not dispositive, Order 2011-12-8 

also noted that the average per passenger subsidy has been over $1,000 in each of the last 

four fiscal years.2

 1 Public Law 112-27, signed into law on August 5, 2011, amended the definition of “eligible place” for the 

purpose of receiving EAS. Among other things, the amendment states that to be eligible, a community 

must have had an average subsidy per passenger of less than $1,000 during the most recent fiscal year. 

Public Law 112-95, signed into law February 14, 2012, made amendments to the EAS statute, but not the 

$1,000 per passenger cap included in the definition of an “eligible” community.

2 See Appendix B.

Essential Air Service at

ALAMOGORDO/HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE 

BASE, NEW MEXICO

under 49 U.S.C. 41731 et seq.
- 2 -

The Order directed all interested parties to show cause by January 6, 2012, as to why the 

Department should not make final its tentative finding and conclusions.

Objections

The Mayor of Alamogordo and New Mexico Airlines filed comments in response to the 

Department’s tentative determination. Their comments are summarized below. The 

complete public file for EAS at Alamogordo may be accessed online through the Federal 

Dockets Management System (FDMS) at http://www.regulations.gov by using a keyword 

or ID search on: DOT-OST-1996-1901.

The Department received a letter dated December 16, 2011, from the Mayor of 

Alamogordo. In the letter, the Mayor suggests that to maintain EAS at the community 

that is in conformance with Public Law 112-27, the Department could modify the 

existing contract with New Mexico Airlines to allow for the reduction of frequency of 

flights (thereby reducing the carrier’s operational costs), service to a larger hub airport 

with service to international destinations (resulting in increased passenger traffic and 

reducing the per passenger subsidy), or a combination of both. The Mayor also makes 

mention of the influx of personnel and dependents associated with the German Air Force 

Flying Center’s recent decision to use Holloman Air Force Base as a Euro Fighter

training site. Lastly, the Mayor states that the Commander of the German Air Force 

Flying Center has indicated that a direct flight between the community and Phoenix Sky 

Harbor International Airport would be heavily utilized by their personnel and dependents.

On January 5, 2012, New Mexico Airlines submitted comments concurring with and 

supporting the Mayor of Alamogordo’s comments. The carrier confirms that reduced 

frequencies would result in a consolidation of passenger traffic into a single daily flight, 

reduced operational costs, and would, therefore, allow New Mexico Airlines to provide 

EAS at the community in conformance with Public Law 112-27. The carrier also 

proposed to provide six weekly round trips at the community for $593,766, and states that 

it believes that by working with the community and Air Force officials, it can operate in 

Alamogordo at a per-passenger subsidy requirement below the $1,000 maximum.

Decision

Neither the community nor New Mexico Airlines has disputed our tentative 

determination that the community’s average subsidy per passenger for FY 2011 was 

$1,445 – above the $1,000 limit. As stated above, Public Law 112-27 amended the 

definition of “eligible place” to include the requirement that during the most recent fiscal 

year, a community must have had an average subsidy per passenger of less than $1,000. 

The statute does not allow the Department to look prospectively when determining 

whether the community meets the eligibility requirement. Rather, the statute requires the 

Department to look back to the most recent prior fiscal year. Therefore, while the 

community and carrier offer suggestions to modify the EAS contract to reduce flights or 

change the service destination, and provide information on the potential influx of 

passenger levels due to the German Air Force Flying Training Center’s announcement 

that it will conduct training at Holloman Air Force Base, the statute does not permit the 
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Department to consider information other than the average subsidy per passenger in the 

most recent prior fiscal year when making its decision.

Based on all of the above, effective April 1, 2012, the Department hereby finalizes its 

tentative finding in Order 2011-12-8, and we allow New Mexico Airlines to terminate 

service on or after that effective date.3 If New Mexico Airlines does decide to suspend 

service at Alamogordo, the Department expects it to contact all passengers who hold 

reservations for flights that will be suspended to inform them of the suspension, and to 

assist them in arranging alternate transportation or to provide them with a refund of their 

ticket price, without penalty, if requested.

This Order is issued under authority delegated in 49 CFR 1.56a(f).

ACCORDINGLY,

1. We terminate the eligibility of Alamogordo/Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, 

under the Essential Air Service program, effective April 1, 2012;

2. We will continue to pay Pacific Wings L.L.C., d/b/a New Mexico Airlines, for the 

provision of EAS at Alamogordo/Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, as described in 

Appendix C of Order 2011-12-8, through March 31, 2012;

3. We allow Pacific Wings L.L.C., d/b/a New Mexico Airlines, to suspend service at 

Alamogordo/Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, on or after April 1, 2012, if it 

chooses;

4. We will close this docket; and

5. We will serve copies of this Order on the parties listed in Appendix C.

By:

SUSAN KURLAND

Assistant Secretary for Aviation

and International Affairs

(SEAL)

An electronic version of this document is available on the World Wide Web at:

http://www.regulations.gov/

 3 We take this action pursuant to 49 U.S.C. §§ 40101(a)(7), (11), and (16), and 41731-42; see also 14 CFR 

Parts 271, 323, and 325
Appendix A

REGIONAL MAP
Appendix B

Passenger Traffic and Annual Essential Air Service Subsidy

at Alamogordo/Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico

Year 

Ended

Enplaned

Passengers

Deplaned

Passengers

Enplaned +

Deplaned

Passengers

Annual

Federal 

Subsidy

Subsidy 

Per 

Passenger

9/30/2008 256 293 549 $948,437 $1,727.57

9/30/2009 358 360 718 $994,623 $1,385.27

9/30/2010 406 419 825 $1,125,659 $1,364.44

9/30/2011 358 451 809 $1,169,337 $1,445.41

Source: BTS T-100 Market Data
Appendix C

SERVICE LIST

Parker Bradley, Alamogordo - White Sand Regional Airport

Colonel Robert Cole, Mission Support Group Commander, Holloman AFB

The Honorable Ron Griggs, City of Alamogordo

Colonel Kevin Huyck, Vice Wing Commander, Holloman AFB

Greg Kahlstorf, Pacific Wings LLC

Jane Lucero, New Mexico Department of Transportation

Mark B. Roath, Esq., City of Alamogordo