# Order: 201 4

- 4

- 3 Served: April 2 , 201 4 

# UNITED STATES OF AMERICA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation on the 2 nd 

# day of April , 20 1 4

ORDER REQUESTING PROPOSALS
Summary By this O rder, the Department is requesting proposals from ca rriers interested in providing Essential Air S ervice (EAS) at Manl e y and Minto , Alaska , for a new contract period
, beginni ng September 1, 20 1 4
, with or without subsidy. (See Appendix A for a map). Carriers should file their proposals no later than May 6, 2014

. Background By Order 20 1 2

- 8

- 10
, August 3, 2012 , the Department re

- selected Warbelows Air Ventures, Inc. (War belows )
, to provide subsidized EAS at Manl e y and Minto , Alaska, through August 31 , 20 1 4 . Under that O rder, Warbelows provide s three round trip s per week to Fairbanks on a Fairbanks

- Manley

- Minto

- Fairbanks routing . S ervice is provided

on twin

- engine , nine

- passenge r Piper Navajo aircraft , for a total combined annual subsidy rate of $ 91,068

. Request for Proposals As the end of the current rate term approaches, we are here requesting proposals from carriers interested in providing EAS at Manley and Minto
, Alaska
, wit h or without subsidy, for a new contract period beginning September 1 , 20 1 4

. Carriers should file their proposals no later than May 6, 2014 . Staff will then docket the proposals, thereby making them public, and direct each carrier to serve a copy of its proposal on the civic parties and other applicants. Shortly afterwards, we will provide a summary of the proposals to the communit ies and the State and ask them to submit their final comments. We will give full consideration to all proposals that are tim ely filed. 1

1 

## Carriers should not expect the Department to accept late fillings. In cases where a carrier proposes to provid e 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. 

# Essential Air Service at

MANLEY , ALASKA MINTO , ALASKA

Under 49 U.S.C. § 41731 et seq

. DOCKET DOT

- OST

- 2004

- 17563

# Interested carriers should prepare their proposals with every expectation that their initial proposals will represent their final and only proposals. However, we retain the discretion to negotiate proposals with carriers when we deem it desir able. We also retain the discretion to reject outright all unreasonable or unrealistic proposals and re

- solicit a new round of proposals. However, negotiation and rejection are only occasional exceptions to the rule.
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 subsid y 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 urged to pro vide 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 communities and the Departme nt. 2


# With specific respect to Manley and Minto , we expect p roposals consisting of service consistent with what the communities currently receive, namely three nonstop or one

- stop round trips per week to Fairbanks with small aircraft. We encourage proposal s that meet the se 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 attr active service poss ibilities (e.g.
, a different length of contract ) with subsidy requirements that remain competitive. We encourage carriers to work with the communities as they prepare their proposals in order to craft them to best meet the communities’ needs. As always, we will fully consider the communities’ views before making a long

- term carrier decision.
Filing Procedures Carrier proposals should be submitted to the Department with all materials compiled into a single document. In addition, because the document will b e published on http://www.regulations.gov/ , each page should be formatted to be viewed online and for easy printing.

2 

## In selecting a carrier to provide subsidized EAS for an eligible place in Alaska, 49 U.S.C. § 41733(c)(1) directs us to consider six factors: (a) service reliability; (b) contractual and marketing arrangements with a larger carrier at the hub; (c) interline arrangeme nts 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 , and ; (f) the experience of the applicant in providing, in Alaska, scheduled air service or significant non

- scheduled service

. In addition, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014, Public Law No. 113

- 76, 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 Essential Air Service 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.

# Service and Traffic History In order to assist carriers in making their traffic and revenue pr ojections, we have included historical traffic data in Appendix B. For the year ended February 28, 2014, the most recent annual period for which data are available, Manley generated approximately 1.6 origin and destination passengers per week as well as a pproximately 631 weekly pounds of freight and mail. For the same period, Minto averaged 4 passengers per week and 376 pounds of freight and mail.
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 for 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. Because the Department is prohibited from paying subsidy to carriers that do n ot submit these documents, all carriers that plan to submit proposals involving subsidy should be aware that the selected carrier will be required to complete the required certifications. Interested carriers requiring more detailed information regarding t hese requirements should contact the Office of Aviation Analysis at (202) 366

- 5903. 4


# Community and State Comments The communit ies and State are welcome to submit comments at any time. 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 May 6, 2014 , the due date for proposals.

This O rder is issued under a uthority delegated in 49 CFR 1.25 a( b ) and re

- delegated to the Director, Office of Aviation Analysis.
ACCORDINGLY, 1. We request that carriers interested in providing EAS at Manley and Minto , Alaska
, submit their proposals, with or without subsidy requests, no later than May 6, 2014. The proposals should be e

- mailed to: EAS@dot.gov wi th the title “Proposal to Provide Essential Air Service at Manley and Minto , Alaska , Docket DOT

- OST

- 2004

- 17563 ” ; 5



# 2. This docket will remain open u ntil further o rder of the Department; and

3 

## The regulations applicable to these areas are: (1) 49 CFR Part 20

-- New restrictions on lobbyi ng; (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 acti vities 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 (non

- procurement) and government

wide re quirements for drug

- free workplace (grants). 4 

## The certifications are also available on the web at http://www.dot.gov/policy/aviation

- policy/small

community

- rural

- air

- service/essential

- air

- service

. 5 

## Questions regarding filings in response to this Order ma y be directed to A.J. Muldoon at (202) 366

- 1058

or albert.muldoon@dot.gov

.

# 3. We will serve copies of this O rder on the communities of Ma nley and Minto, Alaska, the Alaska Department of Transportation and the service list for this docket

. Persons entitled to petition the Department for review of this O rder under the Department’s Regulations, 14 CFR 385.3 1(a) , must file such petitions withi n seven ( 7 ) days aft er the date of service of this O rder.

This O rder 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 elec tronic version of this document is available
at http://www.regualtions.gov

# APPENDIX A

SERVICE AREA MAP

### 1 

# APPENDIX B

Historical Traffic at Manley , Alaska 6

Year Month Pax Freight (lbs.) Mail (lbs.) Year Month Pax Freight (lbs.) Mail (lbs.) Year Month Pax Freight (lbs.) Mail (lbs.) 2011 3 2 99 1,529 2011 3 0 54 2,818 2011 3 2 153 4,347 2011 4 0 0 1,029 2011 4 2 31 2,655 2011 4 2 31 3,684 2011 5 2 20 195 2011 5 1 94 2,534 2011 5 3 114 2,729 2011 6 0 0 351 2011 6 1 47 1,902 2011 6 1 47 2,253 2011 7 1 10 373 2011 7 1 120 2,844 2011 7 2 130 3,217 2011 8 3 0 1,018 2011 8 3 114 3,041 2011 8 6 114 4,059 2011 9 2 0 236 2011 9 3 303 6,560 2011 9 5 303 6,796 2011 10 4 97 243 2011 10 1 103 5,428 2011 10 5 200 5,671 2011 11 3 9 211 2011 11 1 206 2,912 2011 11 4 215 3,123 2011 12 1 0 438 2011 12 4 234 2,721 2011 12 5 234 3,159 2012 1 2 115 232 2012 1 0 138 2,676 2012 1 2 253 2,908 2012 2 3 5 363 2012 2 4 169 2,403 2012 2 7 174 2,766 YE 2/29/2012 23 355 6,218 YE 2/29/2012 21 1,613 38,494 YE 2/29/2012 44 1,968 44,712

2012 3 2 1 368 2012 3 3 111 2,562 2012 3 5 112 2,930 2012 4 2 2 252 2012 4 2 124 1,503 2012 4 4 126 1,755 2012 5 2 1 314 2012 5 1 28 2,230 2012 5 3 29 2,544 2012 6 5 1 161 2012 6 3 164 2,066 2012 6 8 165 2,227 2012 7 1 30 261 2012 7 1 666 2,145 2012 7 2 696 2,406 2012 8 3 0 419 2012 8 4 163 2,184 2012 8 7 163 2,603 2012 9 2 0 257 2012 9 4 503 2,210 2012 9 6 503 2,467 2012 10 6 4 368 2012 10 3 448 2,605 2012 10 9 452 2,973 2012 11 2 0 373 2012 11 1 198 2,346 2012 11 3 198 2,719 2012 12 2 0 453 2012 12 0 111 3,555 2012 12 2 111 4,008 2013 1 2 0 993 2013 1 5 167 2,372 2013 1 7 167 3,365 2013 2 2 2 558 2013 2 0 206 2,029 2013 2 2 208 2,587 YE 2/28/2013 31 41 4,777 YE 2/28/2013 27 2,889 27,807 YE 2/28/2013 58 2,930 32,584

2013 3 2 2 545 2013 3 8 117 2,101 2013 3 10 119 2,646 2013 4 4 0 261 2013 4 1 196 1,979 2013 4 5 196 2,240 2013 5 2 67 283 2013 5 4 155 2,037 2013 5 6 222 2,320 2013 6 6 1 316 2013 6 4 325 1,951 2013 6 10 326 2,267 2013 7 6 38 826 2013 7 7 195 1,992 2013 7 13 233 2,818 2013 8 6 0 222 2013 8 2 771 2,190 2013 8 8 771 2,412 2013 9 4 5 317 2013 9 4 241 2,172 2013 9 8 246 2,489 2013 10 3 26 338 2013 10 4 265 2,184 2013 10 7 291 2,522 2013 11 3 3 202 2013 11 1 324 1,459 2013 11 4 327 1,661 2013 12 3 0 452 2013 12 2 552 2,969 2013 12 5 552 3,421 2014 1 1 2 404 2014 1 2 243 1,859 2014 1 3 245 2,263 2014 2 2 12 253 2014 2 4 279 1,696 2014 2 6 291 1,949 YE 2/28/2014 42 156 4,419 YE 2/28/2014 43 3,663 24,589 YE 2/28/2014 85 3,819 29,008 Origin Manley Destination Manley O&D Manley



### 6 

## Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics; Form 41, Schedule T

- 100 Market Report

.

### 2 

# APPENDIX B

Historical Traffic at Minto , Alaska 7

Year Month Pax Freight (lbs.) Mail (lbs.) Year Month Pax Freight (lbs.) Mail (lbs.) Year Month Pax Freight (lbs.) Mail (lbs.) 2011 3 10 1 235 2011 3 8 137 1,128 2011 3 18 138 1,363 2011 4 10 3 273 2011 4 7 133 1,443 2011 4 17 136 1,716 2011 5 11 3 714 2011 5 5 233 1,004 2011 5 16 236 1,718 2011 6 8 3 186 2011 6 5 153 1,555 2011 6 13 156 1,741 2011 7 6 9 225 2011 7 3 46 1,263 2011 7 9 55 1,488 2011 8 6 2 339 2011 8 5 34 1,774 2011 8 11 36 2,113 2011 9 1 2 209 2011 9 6 152 1,602 2011 9 7 154 1,811 2011 10 7 3 239 2011 10 8 696 1,536 2011 10 15 699 1,775 2011 11 4 1 174 2011 11 3 111 1,022 2011 11 7 112 1,196 2011 12 7 18 270 2011 12 3 311 1,358 2011 12 10 329 1,628 2012 1 4 1 213 2012 1 3 48 1,332 2012 1 7 49 1,545 2012 2 6 7 207 2012 2 9 168 1,551 2012 2 15 175 1,758 YE 2/29/2012 80 53 3,284 YE 2/29/2012 65 2,222 16,568 YE 2/29/2012 145 2,275 19,852

2012 3 7 154 185 2012 3 6 355 1,389 2012 3 13 509 1,574 2012 4 3 2 171 2012 4 2 323 891 2012 4 5 325 1,062 2012 5 6 3 158 2012 5 2 234 1,021 2012 5 8 237 1,179 2012 6 4 6 248 2012 6 2 12 1,124 2012 6 6 18 1,372 2012 7 3 1 111 2012 7 5 19 633 2012 7 8 20 744 2012 8 10 17 902 2012 8 5 13 1,388 2012 8 15 30 2,290 2012 9 6 1 778 2012 9 5 53 1,143 2012 9 11 54 1,921 2012 10 4 2 244 2012 10 2 318 1,367 2012 10 6 320 1,611 2012 11 8 2 285 2012 11 4 49 1,086 2012 11 12 51 1,371 2012 12 8 1 178 2012 12 2 217 1,542 2012 12 10 218 1,720 2013 1 9 22 112 2013 1 7 96 2,341 2013 1 16 118 2,453 2013 2 13 2 187 2013 2 2 101 1,196 2013 2 15 103 1,383 YE 2/28/2013 81 213 3,559 YE 2/28/2013 44 1,790 15,121 YE 2/28/2013 125 2,003 18,680

2013 3 13 4 144 2013 3 5 106 1,275 2013 3 18 110 1,419 2013 4 10 192 168 2013 4 10 111 1,149 2013 4 20 303 1,317 2013 5 11 2 189 2013 5 9 191 1,340 2013 5 20 193 1,529 2013 6 7 7 89 2013 6 8 992 705 2013 6 15 999 794 2013 7 10 2 236 2013 7 2 267 947 2013 7 12 269 1,183 2013 8 8 0 121 2013 8 8 292 900 2013 8 16 292 1,021 2013 9 7 2 192 2013 9 12 101 1,417 2013 9 19 103 1,609 2013 10 9 1 161 2013 10 7 175 1,016 2013 10 16 176 1,177 2013 11 12 5 106 2013 11 10 891 1,003 2013 11 22 896 1,109 2013 12 8 3 345 2013 12 5 376 1,468 2013 12 13 379 1,813 2014 1 6 2 201 2014 1 6 135 946 2014 1 12 137 1,147 2014 2 20 5 295 2014 2 15 124 1,144 2014 2 35 129 1,439 YE 2/28/2014 121 225 2,247 YE 2/28/2014 97 3,761 13,310 YE 2/28/2014 218 3,986 15,557 O&D Minto Destination Minto Origin Minto



### 7 

## Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics; Form 41, Schedule T

- 100 Market Report.

### 1 

# APPENDIX C

Example of General T erms 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 t he 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 Orde r 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 Av iation 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 co mplete 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 complete, terminates or reduces payments for service or changes s ervice 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 reduc tion or cessation of payment.
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 c an 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 performa nce beyond [DATE], the Department will provide notice in writing to the carrier.
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 sta tutes, regulations, or amendments thereto shall not operate to controvert the foregoing paragraph.
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.