Order 2012-9-15

Served: September 12, 2012

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

on the 12th day of September, 2012

Essential Air Service at

JOPLIN, MISSOURI

Under 49 U.S.C. § 41731 et seq. 

DOCKET DOT-OST-2006-23932

ORDER REQUESTING PROPOSALS

Summary

By this Order, the Department is requesting proposals, by October 17, 2012, from carriers 

interested in providing Essential Air Service (EAS) at Joplin, Missouri, for a new contract period

beginning March 1, 2013, with or without subsidy. (See Appendix A for map.)

Background

By Order 2010-9-9, September 8, 2010, the Department selected Executive Airlines dba 

American Eagle Airlines (American Eagle), to provide EAS at Joplin for the two-year period 

ending February 28, 2013. That Order established an annual subsidy rate of $2,778,756 for 

service consisting of 14 nonstop round trips per week to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport 

(DFW). Service is provided on ATR-72 (66 seats), Embraer 140 (44 seats), or Embraer 145 (50 

seats) aircraft.

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 Joplin, with or without subsidy support, 

for a new contract period beginning March 1, 2013. Carriers should file their proposals no later 

than October 17, 2012. After that date, our staff will 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 community 
2

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. In 2011 at Joplin, American Eagle

generated 53,210 O&D passengers, averaging 73 enplanements a day, based on seven-day-aweek service; a significant increase from the 7,695 passengers and 12.3 average daily 

enplanements generated in 2010.

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

two daily round trips with 44-seat or larger aircraft to DFW, Chicago-O’Hare, Memphis, or 

another suitable hub airport with convenient connections to the national air transportation 

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

roundtrips 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. In that regard, given the passenger levels cited above, the 

Department would expect that subsidy requirements, if any, would be substantially lower than 

the current rate.

 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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Of course, as always, we will formally solicit the community’s views on any service options we 

receive before making a long-term carrier selection decision. The community and air carriers are 

encouraged to work together in advance of the due date for proposals to craft a service pattern 

that is desirable to the community 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 October 17, 2012, 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://ostpxweb.dot.gov/aviation/index.html.
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ACCORDINGLY,

1. We request that carriers interested in providing Essential Air Service at Joplin, Missouri,

submit their proposals, with or without subsidy requests, no later than October 17, 2012. The 

proposals should be emailed to EAS@dot.gov with the title “Proposal to Provide Essential Air 

Service at Joplin, Missouri, Docket DOT-OST-2006-23932”.

2. Docket DOT-OST-2006-23932 will remain open until further order of the Department; and

3. The Department will serve a copy of this Order on the mayor and airport manager of Joplin, 

Missouri, Executive Airlines dba American Eagle Airlines, 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 Airline Solutions®.
Appendix B

Historical O&D Traffic1

EAS Carriers at Joplin, MO

Year Quarter Carrier Origin Destination Total O&D

2009 1 Great Lakes Airlines 852 914 1,766

2009 2 Great Lakes Airlines 931 929 1,860

2009 3 Great Lakes Airlines 1,031 1,063 2,094

2009 4 Great Lakes Airlines 959 998 1,957

2010 1 Great Lakes Airlines 817 898 1,715

2010 2 Great Lakes Airlines 958 900 1,858

2010 3 Great Lakes Airlines 1,013 1,115 2,128

2010 4 Great Lakes Airlines 981 1,013 1,994

2011 1 American Eagle 3,919 3,713 7,632

2011 2 American Eagle 8,134 7,962 16,096

2011 3 American Eagle 8,398 8,355 16,753

2011 4 American Eagle 6,445 6,284 12,729

2012 1 American Eagle 3,546 3,618 7,164

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