BEFORE THE

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

__________________________________________ 

)

Essential Air Service at )

)

MANISTEE/LUDINGTON, MICHIGAN ) OST-1996-1711

 ) 

Under 49 U.S.C. §41731 et seq. )

__________________________________________ 

SUN AIR INTERNATIONAL PROPOSAL 

TO PROVIDE SUBSIDIZED ESSENTIAL AIR SERVICE

By Order 2014-2-1, the Department requested proposals for Essential Air Service to 

Manistee/Ludington, Michigan. Pursuant to that order, Sun Air Express, LLC. (“Sun Air”) 

cordially submits this proposal to provide subsidized air service to the community of 

Manistee/Ludington, Michigan. 

Correspondence with regard to this document should be addressed to:

David F. Hackett

Sun Air Express, LLC. dba Sun Air International

3201 Griffin Road, 

Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33312

Telephone: 954-660-9865

Fax: 954-894-0367

E-Mail: dhackett@gosunair.com

Bid Summary

Sun Air hereby offers proposals to provide service to the community of Manistee/Ludington, 

Michigan (MBL). Sun Air’s proposed operations will be operated with eight-passenger twinengine Piper Chieftain aircraft. Flights will be displayed in major travel agent systems including 

Online Travel Agencies. Sun Air would operate to Manistee/Ludington from Milwaukee, WI 

(MKE) with an option to also include Chicago, IL (MDW).

Sun Air included a proposal to serve both Chicago and Milwaukee due to its’ belief that 

significant demand exists from both locations, and that the specified amount of seat capacity 

would be optimized through serving the two airports. Chicago is recognized as a strong source 

of demand, and also has substantial connections throughout the country. The MKE demand was 

proven also during Frontier’s service there several years ago, where an estimated 33% (7,500 

passengers) of the total traffic was local (i.e, not connecting).
Sun Air has constructed its’ proposal to incorporate the following essential elements of providing 

successful, quality air transportation in these proposed markets:

1. LOW FARES: Sun Air will market its flights with a simple, low unrestricted price structure, 

ranging from $39 to $79 each way. The accessibility of affordable airfares is key to developing 

the local tourism industry through attracting both local and connecting passengers.

2. FREQUENT FLIGHTS: Sun Air’s service proposal provides for three to five daily departures 

from MBL, depending upon the day of week and the season, or 24 weekly flights, compared to 

four weekly departures currently being provided to MBL. The smaller aircraft is ideally suited to 

the demand patterns and seasonality of the market.

Sun Air would dedicate three full time aircraft to MBL in the peak season, allowing for much 

greater schedule flexibility and the capability to customize those schedules to customer demand. 

Sun Air’s service proposal allows for the option to serve Milwaukee alone, or both Milwaukee 

and Chicago. The ability to serve two destinations provides even greater connecting 

opportunities as well as a broader market focus for local tourism development. 

3. INTERLINE E-TICKETING AND BAGGAGE AGREEMENTS: Sun Air has provided for a 

significant investment in reservations and distribution systems to acquire access to industry 

interline and baggage agreements with most major airlines. These agreements allow for 

passengers to complete their itinerary on a single ticket, and allow for that full itinerary to be 

displayed in Global Distribution Systems and Online Travel Agencies.

,

4. A COMMITMENT TO SAFETY & RELIABILITY: Since a new management team took over 

Sun Air in late 2013, Sun Air’s operational performance has ranked among the best in the airline 

industry. The company’s 2014 controllable completion factor, or percentage of scheduled flights 

that are operated or cancelled due to weather problems, is over 99%, placing Sun Air in the top 

tier of reliability performance.

The company schedules flights to include a full time operational spare, plus additional aircraft 

time to cover maintenance events, for each aircraft in scheduled service. The goal is to ensure 

that serviceable aircraft are available for 100% of the scheduled flights.

The new leadership team at Sun is comprised of airline executives with decades of experience, an 

in particular at larger Part 121 operations. The safety philosophies embedded in Part 121 

operators has been incorporated into Sun Air’s plans going forward. Example include that Sun 

only sells 8 seats instead of the normal 9 seats, such that a full time First Officer can be included, 

the company is adding the new position of Director of Safety, not required under Part 135 

regulations, and has begun the process of introducing a Safety Management System into its 

operations, all of which are typically only found at much larger airlines.

Service Proposal

Sun Air offers two service proposals to the Manistee/Ludington community:

The first option is for Milwaukee-only service, generally operating three daily round trips in the 

winter and four daily round trips in the summer, comprised of six month service patterns for each. 
The second option provides for both Milwaukee and Chicago flights, with one and two daily 

round trips respectively in the low season, and two and three daily round trips respectively in the 

peak season. Midweek frequency reductions are included to ensure a proper balance between 

demand patterns and the subsidy requirements to serve the community. 

Sun Air proposes contracting for a three year term with an Essential Air Service subsidy of $2.6 

million annually for MKE only service, and $3.2 million annual subsidy if both MKE and 

Chicago (MDW). Financial detail on each proposal is included in Schedule 1 attached.

Sun Air’s proposed service pattern is flexible based upon community input, and initially 

structured along the following lines (all times local):

Winter Schedule – Option 1 Service to MKE and MDW (7 weekly MKE round trips, 10 MDW)

Thurs, Fri and Mon: Early AM MKE departure for MBL

Two round trips from MBL to Chicago Midway (MDW)

Evening return to MKE

Tues, Wed, Sat: Late morning MKE departure to MBL

One mid-day round trip MBL-MDW

Late afternoon return to MKE

Sunday: Early afternoon MKE to MBL

Afternoon round trip MBL to MDW

Evening return from MBL to MKE

Summer Schedule – Option 1 Service to MKE and MDW (11 weekly MKE round trips, 22 MDW)

Mon, Tues and Wed: Early Morning MKE to MBL flight

Two round trips MBL – MDW

Evening return MBL – MKE

Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun: Early Morning MKE to MBL

Two round trips MBL-MDW

Late afternoon MBL to MKE plus

Late morning MKE to MBL

Two round trips MBLto MDW

Evening return MBL to MKE

Should the community wish to concentrate flights to Milwaukee, Sun proposes to operate the 

following representative schedules (all times local):

Winter Schedule – Option 2 MKE only (21 weekly)

Daily Flights: MKE to MBL: 0700 MKE to MBL: 0930

1030 1330

1400 1630
Summer Schedule – Option 2 MKE only (28 weekly)

Daily Flights: MKE to MBL 0700 MBL to MKE 0930

1100 - 1230

1300 1530

1600 1830

Marketing Initiatives

Sun Air will partner with the community to ensure that its service and pricing features are 

properly communicated, particularly given that Sun’s proposed flight schedules and fares 

represent a major improvement over what the community has had access to in the past.

In addition to standard participation in Global Distribution Systems and online travel agencies 

such as Orbitz, Expedia and Travelocity, Sun Air’s MBL flights would be supported by 

advertising in the local community as well as the destinations of Chicago and Milwaukee

()depending of course upon the Service Option chosen).

Sun Air would also look to actively coordinate with local tourism attractions to market the 

regional destination, including arranging vacation packages and related programs to stimulate 

visitor traffic and enhance destination awareness.

About Sun Air International

Sun Air Express, LLC is a Fort Lauderdale, FL based scheduled commuter airline serving EAS 

markets in the Washington, DC area as well as Houston, Texas. The airline operates a fleet of 

eight passenger Piper Chieftain aircraft.

The company has been in operation for many years, principally flying within Florida and the 

Bahamas. The company’s principals have extensive experience in providing air service to 

tourism-based destinations, and understand the unique needs of those markets, balancing the 

requirements of year-round residents with the large influx of visitors expected each summer.

Sun Air’s management team was put in place in late 2013 and early 2014, comprised of seasoned 

regional airline executives with extensive Part 135 and Part 121 experience, and introduced a 

much higher degree of focus on operational and customer service quality. The airline’s 

controllable completion factor (scheduled flights operated plus weather related cancellations

compared to total flights scheduled) for 2014 has been over 99%, a dramatic improvement from 

2013.
SCHEDULE 1

Projected Operations Option 1

Option 1 

Annual 

MBL 

MDW/MKE

 Passenger $ 517,155

 Other Revenues 9,265

TOTAL OPERATING REVENUE $ 526,420

OPERATING EXPENSES

 Flight Operations 537,700

 Fuel 832,106

Maintenance 700,355

Passenger Service 968,703

 Aircraft Ownership 184,800

 Other 310,000

 Total Operating Cost 3,533,664

OPERATING INCOME/(LOSS) $ (3,007,509)

Profit Element - 5% of Operating Costs $ 176,683

Subsidy Required $ (3,184,192)

Subsidy per Departure $1,276

Summary Statistics (annual):

Departures 2,496

Available Seat Miles 3,705,601

Passengers 6,909

Average Segment Fare $55.90

Block Hours 2,915
Projected Operations Option 2

Option 2

Annual 

MBL- MKE

 Passenger $ 304,782

 Other Revenues 6,849

TOTAL OPERATING REVENUE $ 311,631

OPERATING EXPENSES

 Flight Operations 453,456

 Fuel 645,765

Maintenance 566,838

Passenger Service 648,488

 Aircraft Ownership 184,800 

 Other 269,000

 Total Operating Cost 2,768,347

OPERATING INCOME/(LOSS) $ (2,456,717)

Profit Element - 5% of Operating Costs $ 138,417

Subsidy Required $ (2,595,134)

Subsidy per Departure $1,061

Summary Statistics (annual):

Departures 2,446

Available Seat Miles 2,729,825

Passengers 6,849

Average Segment Fare $44.50

Block Hours 2,153
In conclusion, Sun Air believes that its proposal will provide excellent levels of service to the 

community of Manistee/Ludington, ensure that they have proper access to the national air 

transportation network, provide a meaningful contribution to tourism development, and offers 

cost-effective options that meet the requirements of the Essential Air Service Program.

 

Respectfully Submitted: February 27, 2014

______________________

David F. Hackett 

Chief Executive

Sun Air Express, LLC.