- • • 120 0 Ne w Jerse yAvenue , S E U S Departmen t o f Washington , D C 2059 0 Transportatio n Offic e o f th e Secretar

y' 0' ! o f Transportatio n Th e Honorabl e Cher i Barry Apri l 16 , 201 0 Mayor , City o f

Meridia n P O Bo x 143 0 Meridian , M S 3930 2

Dea r Mayo r Smith : A s yo u know , Atlanti c Southeas t Airlines , Inc. , d/b/ aDelt aConnectio n (ASA ) provide s subsidize dai r

servic e unde r

th e essentia l ai r

servic e (EAS ) progra ma t Meridian , Mississippi

. B y Orde r 20010-3-9 , th e Departmen t requeste d"bes t

an dfinal " proposal s t o serv e Meridian , an d AS A wa s th e onl y carrie r t o apply

. Th e Department' s curren t contrac t with AS A call s for

a n annua l subsid y o f

$686,48 9 t o provid e Meridia n with thirtee n nonsto p roun dtrip s per wee k t o Atlant awith 50-seat

CRJ aircraft , an dexpire s Jun e 30

. My purpos e in writin g i s t o informyo u o f th e result s o f

th e carrier' s servic e an dsubsid y proposa l before w e submi t

arecommendatio n o n th e carrier-selectio n issu e t o th e Assistan t Secretary for Aviatio n an dInternationa l Affair s for decision

. Sinc e ther e are n o othe r option s befor e th e Departmen t

at thi s time , yo u nee dno t

respon dt o thi s letter

. However , w e wante dt o giv e yo u th e opportunity t o submi t

any comment s if

yo u wish

. Copie s o f

th e carrier' s ful l proposa l may b e accesse donlin e throug h th e Department' s Docket s Managemen t Syste ma

t http://www.regulations.gov / b y enterin g "DOT-OS T 2008-0112 " i n th e "ente r Keyor do r

ID " field , s o w e wil l onl y summariz e i t here

. AS A propose s t o provid e th e sam e leve l o f servic e a s it currentl y provide s an drequest s $678,93 6 annua l subsid y —slightl y les s than it currentl y receives

. Th e rat e woul db e effectiv e fro mJul y 1 , 2010 , throug h Jun e 30 , 2012

. Pleas e not e tha t

th e average passenge r

fare s show n i n th e carrier' s proposa l d o no t necessaril y reflec t th e average local fare s passenger s woul dpay , but , rather , it reflect s th e prorate dportio n o f th e total ticke t

price , e.g. , th e Meridia n - Atlant aportio n o f aMeridia n - Atlant a- Minneapoli s ticke t that th e carrie r

woul drealize

. Also , th e fare show n i s ne t o f certai n charge s suc h a s federal transportatio n security fees , excis e o r ticke t taxes , an dpassenge r

facility charges

. O f

course , carrier s hav e th e discretio n t o charg e fare s the y dee mappropriate , an dth e passenge r fare s presente dhav e bee n develope dfo r subsid y rat e computatio n purpose s only

. Base do n th e cos t elements incorporate di n th e carrier' s computatio n summaries , acarrie r woul dhav e t o realiz e passenge r fare s comparabl e t o th e average s show n i n it s proposa l in orde r t o achiev e break-eve n o r profitabl e operation s eve n wit h subsidy

. Yo u shoul dals o not e that th e schedul e that

AS A ha s submitte dan dthat i s show n in th e docke t

i s illustrativ e only , an dAS A may mak e schedul e change s t o reflec t changin g conditions , e.g. , t o belte r mee t shiftin g connectin g ban k time s a t th e hub

. Th e Departmen t expect s subsidize dair carrier s t o maintai n well-time dan dwell-space dflight s i n orde r t o ensur e full compensation

.W e kno w thi s matte r i s importan t

t o yo u and,w e wil l ac t

a s quickl y a s possibl e upo n receip t o f you r letter

. In orde r

t o .expedit e th e case , pleas e submi t you r comment s b y emai l t o EAS@dot.go v b y Apri l 30

. I

f yo u hav e an y question s o r d o not wis h t o submi t

formal comments , pleas e contac t Kevi n Adam s a

t (202 ) 366-1047

. Sincerely ,

Denni s J

. DeVan y ^"' ^ Chief , Essentia l Ai r

Servic e Division Offic e o f Aviatio n Analysi s

cc : Airport

Manager , AS A