BEFORE THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION WASHINGTON, D.C. EssentialAir Service at: ) ) ) ) Macon, Georgia DOT-OST-2007-28671**~U~n=de=r_4~9~U~·~S~.C~·~§-4~1~73~1~e~t~s~eq~·------------~)**

August 5, 2014 NOTICE OFINTENT OF SILVERAIRWAYS CORP. TO TERMINATE SCHEDULEDAIR SERVICE Communications withrespect to this document shouldbe sent to: James Kogutek Vice President, Network & Schedule Planning SilverAirways Corp. 1100 Lee Wagener Blvd., Suite 201 Ft. Lauderdale, FL 3 3315 (954) 302-5929 (Telephone) (954) 359-2776 (Fax) iamie.kogutek@silverairways.comBEFORE THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OFTRANSPORTATION WASHINGTON, D.C. EssentialAir Service at: Macon, Georgia ) ) ) )**~U~n~de~r~4~9~U~.S~·~C~·~§~4~17~3~1~e~t~se~q~·------------)** DOT-OST-2007-28671

NOTICE OFINTENT OF SILVERAIRWAYS CORP. TO TERMINATE SCHEDULEDAIR SERVICE Silver Airways Corp. ("Silver Airways"), pursuant to Part 323 of the Department's regulations, herebyprovides notice ofits intention to discontinue subsidized scheduled air service between Macon, Georgia ("MCN") and each ofAtlanta, Georgia ("A TL") and Orlando, Florida ("MCO"). SilverAirways intends to discontinue this service effective November 5, 2014 or such earlier date as permittedby the Department in connection with the recent termination ofessential air service ("BAS") program eligibility for MCN. 1 By Order 2013-2-26 (Feb. 27, 2013), the Department selected SilverAirways to provide subsidizedBAS under a two-year contract at MCN. Unfortunately, for the reasons set forth herein, SilverAirways is no longer able to continue providing this service. First, and as Silver Airways has previously indicated in similar recent notices ofintent to terminate scheduled air service at BAS communities, changes to Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA") flight and duty limitation and rest rules have negatively impacted Silver Airways' capabilityto maintain service at a number ofBAS communities. Inparticular, newpilot duty and

1 By Order 2014-6-6 (Jun. 24, 2014) the Department (i) terminated EAS program eligibility for MCN and several

other communities based onrequirements under the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of2012 (Pub.L. 112-95), (ii) establishedprocedures for the impacted communities to seek waivers from suchrequirements, and (iii) allowed EAS carriers at the impacted communities to terminate service on September 30, 2014 in the absence of a community petition for a waiver. On July 23, 2014, MCN filed such a waiver petition, and additionally requested that the Department "temporarily suspend EAS service at MCN effective no later than September 30, 2014." Petition at 8. Silver Airways is supportive ofthis additional request from MCN, and is prepared to discontinue service by September 30 ifpermitted bythe Department.
- 1 -

### Silver Airways Corp. Notice ofIntent to Terminate Scheduled Air Service restrequirements have significantlyaugmented all carriers' pilothiringneeds, therebycontributing to an acute industrypilot shortage that has disproportionately impacted regional carriers. Second, implementation ofnew FAA air transport pilot ("ATP") 1,500 hour requirements for all new hire First Officers has prevented Part 121 carriers, especially regional airlines, from adequatelybackfillingpilot shortages and addressing theirhiringrequirements due to a scarcity of qualified andcurrentATP certifiedpilots. Forexample, one largeregional carrier announcedplans earlier this year to remove a significant number ofits aircraft from revenue service due to the cascading effect ofthepilot shortage. 2 

### Additionally, and as the Government Accountability Office ("GAO") recentlyreported: As airlines have recently started hiring, nearly all of the regional**airlin~s** 

### that GAO interviewed reported difficulties finding sufficient numbers of qualified entry-level first officers. However, mainline airlines, because they hire from the ranks of experienced pilots, have not reported similar concerns, although some mainline airlines expressed concerns that entry-level hiringproblems could affect theirregional airline partners' ability to provide service to some locations.3 

### These industry-wide pilot staffing challenges have negatively impacted SilverAirways. Third, traffic results for several BAS communities served from ATL-where Silver Airways' local and connecting traffic is limited due to the absence ofa codeshare arrangement or
a frequent flyer partnership with a large network carrier-have fallen short of Silver Airways' original forecasts, 4 

### to the point where it is simply uneconomical for the carrier to continue operating such services. Furthermore, the Department's termination of MCN's continued

2 Dallas Morning News, "Republic Airways to Ground Some Regional Jets Because ofPilot Shortage," Feb. 11,

2014, available at http://www.dallasnews.com/business/airline-industrvl20140211-republic-airways-to-groundsome-regional-jets-because-of-pilot-shortage.ece. 3 GA0-14-232, Reportto Congressional Requesters, "AviationWorkforce: Current andFutureAvailabilityofAirline

Pilots," Feb. 28, 2014, available at http://www.gao.gov/assets/670/661243.pdf. 4 Silver Airways' enplanements at ATL have been47% lowerthan its initial forecast.
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### Silver Airways Corp. Notice ofIntent to Terminate Scheduled Air Service participationinthe EAS program after September 30, 2014 further impacts SilverAirways' ability to sustain scheduled service at the community. Thus, given the impact of new Federal regulatory requirements, the recent and acute nationwide regional pilot shortage, lower than required traffic at communities served from ATL, andthe termination ofMCN's eligibilityunderthe EAS program, itis no longerpossible for Silver Airways to continue serving MCNin any economically viable manner. The arrival and departure times ofthe discontinued flights coveredbythis notice ofintent to terminate scheduled services are as follows:

FROM TO DEP ARR FLT FROM TO DEP ARR FLT STA STA TIME TIME NUM**~** FREQ STP STA STA TIME TIME NUM**~** FREQ STP MCN ATL 11:45 12:29 631 SF3 X6 0 ATL MCN 13:15 13:54 632 SF3 6 0 ATL MCN 17:01 17:44 632 SF3 X67 0 MCN MCO 14:20 15:55 632 SF3 6 0 MCO MCN 09:40 11:17 631 SF3 X6 0 MCN MCO 18:10 19:45 632 SF3 X67 0


### The discontinuation of Silver Airways' scheduled air services at MCN will reduce air transportation to a level below the EAS determination set forth in Order 2013-2-26 because, at present, MCN does not receive scheduled air service from any other certificated air carrier. Prior to ending its scheduled air services at MCN, Silver Airways will contact all passengers holding reservations on discontinued flights to notify them of the schedule change and assist them in arranging alternate transportation or provide them with a refund of their ticket price, without penalty, ifrequested.

- 3-Silver Airways Corp. Notice ofIntent to Terminate Scheduled Air Service Any objections to the notice provided herein must be filed within twenty (20) days from the date ofthis filing, in accordance with 14 C.F.R. §§ 323.9 and 323.10. Silver Airways will make all required notifications as outlined in 14 C.F.R. § 323.7.

Dated: August 5, 2014 Respectfully submitted,

James Kogutek Vice President, Network & Schedule Planning Silver Airways Corp. 1100 Lee Wagener Blvd., Suite 201 Ft. Lauderdale, FL 3 3315 (954) 302-5929 (Telephone) (954) 359-2776 (Fax) jamie.kogutek@silverairways.com

-4-CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I, James Kogutek, hereby certifythat I have this 5th day ofAugust 2014, causedthe foregoing Notice to be served upon those persons listedbelow, in accordance with 14 C.F.R. 

### § 323.4(a)(7). Kevin Schlemmer EAS Program Chief U.S. Department ofTransportation 1200 New Jersey Ave., S.E. Washington, D.C. 20590 kevin.schlemmer@dot.gov FAA Flight Standards District Office 107 Charles W. Grant Parkway Atlanta, GA 30354 Program Manager Aviation Program Georgia Department ofTransportation 600 West Peachtree Street, N.W., 2ndFloor Atlanta, GA 30308 Mayor Robert Recheirt 700 Poplar Street Macon, GA 31201 Douglas Faour Airport Manager Middle Georgia Regional Airport 1000 Terminal Drive, Suite 100 Macon, GA 31216

James Kogutek