BEFORE THE

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

 

Essential Air Service at: )

)

Jamestown, New York ) DOT-OST-2003-14950

Bradford, Pennsylvania ) DOT-OST-2003-14528

DuBois, Pennsylvania ) DOT-OST-2004-17617 

Franklin/Oil City, Pennsylvania ) DOT-OST-1997-2523

Parkersburg, West Virginia/Marietta, Ohio ) DOT-OST-2005-20734

)

Under 49 U.S.C. §41731 et seq. )

NOTICE OF INTENT OF SILVER AIRWAYS CORP.

TO TERMINATE SCHEDULED AIR SERVICE

Communications with respect to this document should be sent to:

Travis Christ

Chief Commercial Officer, Senior Vice President

Silver Airways Corp.

1100 Lee Wagener Blvd., Suite 201

Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33315

(954) 985-1500 (Telephone)

(954) 359-2776 (Fax)

travis.christ@silverairways.com

February 14, 2014
BEFORE THE

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

 

Essential Air Service at: )

)

Jamestown, New York ) DOT-OST-2003-14950

Bradford, Pennsylvania ) DOT-OST-2003-14528

DuBois, Pennsylvania ) DOT-OST-2004-17617 

Franklin/Oil City, Pennsylvania ) DOT-OST-1997-2523

Parkersburg, West Virginia/Marietta, Ohio ) DOT-OST-2005-20734

)

Under 49 U.S.C. §41731 et seq. )

NOTICE OF INTENT OF SILVER AIRWAYS CORP.

TO TERMINATE SCHEDULED AIR SERVICE

Silver Airways Corp. (“Silver Airways”), pursuant to Part 323 of the Department’s 

regulations, hereby provides required 90-day notice of its intention to discontinue scheduled air 

service between Cleveland, Ohio (“CLE”) and: Jamestown, New York (“JHW”), Bradford, 

Pennsylvania (“BFD”), DuBois, Pennsylvania (“DUJ”), Franklin/Oil City, Pennsylvania 

(“FKL”), and Parkersburg, West Virginia/Marietta, Ohio (“PKB”). 

Silver Airways intends to discontinue this service on May 15, 2014 or such earlier date as 

permitted by the Department in any final order terminating the community eligibility of any of 

these cites under the essential air service (“EAS”) program.

By Order 2012-9-23 (Sep. 27, 2012), the Department selected Silver Airways to provide 

subsidized EAS, under a two-year contract, at JHW, BFD, DUJ, FKL and PKB. Unfortunately, 

due to circumstances noted below, Silver Airways is no longer able to provide subsidized service 

to these cities. 

First, Silver Airways’ ability to sustain service at the communities which are the subject 

of this notice has been significantly impacted by the Federal Aviation Administration’s recently 
Silver Airways Corp.

Notice of Intent to Terminate Scheduled Air Service

-3-

amended air transport pilot certification and qualification requirements as well as new flight and 

duty limitation and rest rules for flightcrew members imposed under 14 C.F.R. Part 117. While 

Silver Airways fully supports the goals of these new regulatory requirements, their impact on the 

operations and operating costs of Silver and other air carriers, in particular regional airlines, has 

been significant and widely reported upon.

1

 

Second, and as the Department is aware, the new regulatory requirements, in particular 

the Federal Aviation Administration’s new flight and duty limitations and rest rules, have also 

increased pilot hiring needs across the industry, which, in turn, has contributed to a nationwide 

pilot shortage that has also had a disproportionate impact on regional airlines.

2

 Like other

regional airlines, Silver Airways in now facing pilot staffing and related operational challenges 

as it deals with this new paradigm. 

Third, traffic results for several of the cities currently served since the commencement of 

full EAS operations have fallen far short of Silver Airways’ original forecasts, and Silver 

Airways reasonably anticipates that, upon the Department’s completed review of average 

enplanements and per-passenger subsidies for communities served under EAS subsidy contracts 

during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2013, certain of the cities which are the subject of 

this notice will no longer qualify under 49 U.S.C. § 41713 for continued participation in the EAS 

program, and EAS subsidies for those airports will be terminated. Additionally, traffic levels in 

these markets are expected to decline even further following United Airlines’ recent 

 1 See e.g. CNN Money, “Pilot Safety Rules Could Cut Flights,” Jan. 9, 2014, available at 

http://money.cnn.com/2014/01/09/news/companies/pilot-flight-cancellations/index.html.

2

 See e.g. Susan Carey and Jack Nicas, “Airline-Pilot Shortage Hits Ahead of Schedule,” Wall Street Journal, Feb. 

4, 2014 (reporting that regional operators “have so far been affected the most” by the industry pilot shortage) and 

“What Can New Pilots Make? Near Minimum Wage,” Wall Street Journal, Feb. 11, 2014 (reporting that the “pilot 

shortage is being aggravated by rising demand” and profiling efforts by Silver Airways to boost wages and provide 

bonuses in order to retain qualified pilots, in addition to reducing flight schedules for the first quarter of 2014).
Silver Airways Corp.

Notice of Intent to Terminate Scheduled Air Service

-4-

announcement to reduce the average number of daily CLE flights, with the first such schedule 

reduction planned to take effect as soon as April 2014. Should any of these five cities currently 

participating in the EAS program lose their subsidy eligibility, it would have a significant 

negative impact on the overall economic viability of Silver Airways’ scheduled EAS service to

all of these cities. 

Finally, Silver Airways’ scheduled service to these five communities is provided with 

Beechcraft 1900D aircraft. As part of Silver Airways’ previously announced transition to an 

aircraft fleet comprised entirely of larger Saab 340B Plus aircraft, the carrier’s B-1900D fleet has 

shrunk considerably, from 23 such aircraft in 2011 to only five such aircraft available for EAS 

operations today. The consequence of this fleet transition has been higher than feasible costs in 

these markets as a result of operating a small sub-fleet of B-1900D aircraft, requiring a separate 

maintenance base and associated spare parts, distinct training and the utilization of dedicated 

pilots and mechanics. 

Thus, given the increased costs associated with the new Federal regulatory requirements, 

the impact of the recent and acute nationwide pilot shortage, disappointing traffic results and 

likely termination of EAS eligibility in some of these cities, the announced regional flight 

reductions at CLE, and the added costs of operating an aircraft fleet type that is being retired, it is 

no longer possible for Silver Airways to continue to operate the scheduled services which are the 

subject of this notice in an economically viable manner.

Notwithstanding Silver Airways’ need to terminate services to these markets, Silver 

Airways is prepared to assess the viability of providing future subsidized EAS operations to

those cites which have sufficient traffic, should a new service pattern with the Saab 340B Plus 

aircraft to a different major airport be possible. 
Silver Airways Corp.

Notice of Intent to Terminate Scheduled Air Service

-5-

The arrival and departure times of the discontinued flights covered by this notice of intent 

to terminate scheduled service are as follows:

FROM TO DEP ARR FLT EQP FREQ STP FROM TO DEP ARR FLT EQP FREQ STP

STA STA TIME TIME NUM STA STA TIME TIME NUM

CLE BFD 08:50 10:32 4076 BE1 23 1 BFD CLE 06:00 07:44 4075 BE1 X7 1

CLE BFD 11:25 13:06 4077 BE1 145 1 BFD CLE 12:27 14:09 4077 BE1 23 1

CLE BFD 12:35 14:14 4077 BE1 6 1 BFD CLE 13:20 14:25 4077 BE1 145 0

CLE BFD 15:30 17:10 4078 BE1 23 1 BFD CLE 14:42 16:26 4078 BE1 6 1

CLE BFD 15:30 16:30 4078 BE1 1457 0 BFD CLE 16:45 18:31 4078 BE1 1457 1

CLE BFD 19:20 21:03 4079 BE1 X6 1 BFD CLE 17:25 18:33 4078 BE1 23 0

CLE DUJ 08:35 10:08 4067 BE1 145 1 DUJ CLE 06:00 07:32 4073 BE1 X7 1

CLE DUJ 08:45 09:42 4067 BE1 6 0 DUJ CLE 10:00 11:02 4067 BE1 7 0

CLE DUJ 08:55 10:28 4067 BE1 23 1 DUJ CLE 10:20 11:22 4067 BE1 6 0

CLE DUJ 12:15 13:12 4068 BE1 1457 0 DUJ CLE 10:25 11:27 4067 BE1 145 0

CLE DUJ 12:30 13:59 4068 BE1 6 1 DUJ CLE 12:45 14:17 4068 BE1 23 1

CLE DUJ 15:35 16:33 4069 BE1 1457 0 DUJ CLE 13:35 14:39 4068 BE1 1457 0

CLE DUJ 16:00 17:00 4069 BE1 23 0 DUJ CLE 15:15 16:16 4072 BE1 6 0

CLE DUJ 17:50 18:50 4071 BE1 6 0 DUJ CLE 16:55 18:30 4069 BE1 1457 1

CLE DUJ 19:25 20:56 4070 BE1 X6 1 DUJ CLE 17:20 18:25 4069 BE1 23 0

CLE FKL 08:35 09:22 4067 BE1 145 0 FKL CLE 06:47 07:32 4073 BE1 X7 0

CLE FKL 08:55 09:42 4067 BE1 23 0 FKL CLE 09:35 11:27 4067 BE1 145 1

CLE FKL 12:30 13:15 4068 BE1 6 0 FKL CLE 13:30 14:17 4068 BE1 23 0

CLE FKL 15:35 17:27 4069 BE1 1457 1 FKL CLE 17:40 18:30 4069 BE1 1457 0

CLE FKL 19:25 20:11 4070 BE1 X6 0

CLE JHW 08:50 09:48 4076 BE1 23 0 JHW CLE 06:46 07:44 4075 BE1 X7 0

CLE JHW 11:25 12:20 4077 BE1 145 0 JHW CLE 12:35 14:25 4077 BE1 145 1

CLE JHW 12:35 13:30 4077 BE1 6 0 JHW CLE 13:10 14:09 4077 BE1 23 0

CLE JHW 15:30 16:25 4078 BE1 23 0 JHW CLE 15:25 16:26 4078 BE1 6 0

CLE JHW 15:30 17:17 4078 BE1 1457 1 JHW CLE 16:40 18:33 4078 BE1 23 1

CLE JHW 19:20 20:17 4079 BE1 X6 0 JHW CLE 17:30 18:31 4078 BE1 1457 0

CLE PKB 08:40 09:39 4081 BE1 X67 0 PKB CLE 06:00 07:00 4080 BE1 X67 0

CLE PKB 08:50 09:49 4081 BE1 6 0 PKB CLE 06:45 07:45 4080 BE1 6 0

CLE PKB 12:15 13:10 4082 BE1 X67 0 PKB CLE 09:50 10:49 4081 BE1 X67 0

CLE PKB 16:15 17:11 4083 BE1 X6 0 PKB CLE 10:25 11:26 4081 BE1 6 0

CLE PKB 17:55 18:51 4083 BE1 6 0 PKB CLE 13:20 14:19 4082 BE1 7 0

CLE PKB 21:00 22:04 4084 BE1 X6 0 PKB CLE 13:25 14:24 4082 BE1 X67 0

PKB CLE 17:25 18:25 4083 BE1 X6 0
Silver Airways Corp.

Notice of Intent to Terminate Scheduled Air Service

-6-

The discontinuation of Silver Airways’ scheduled air services at the communities noted 

above will reduce air transportation at each affected airport to a level below the EAS 

determination set forth in Order 2012-9-23, because at present, none of the points which are 

covered by this notice of intent receive scheduled air service from any other certificated air 

carrier. Prior to ending its scheduled air services at each of these communities, Silver Airways 

will contact all passengers holding reservations on discontinued flights to notify them of the 

schedule changes and assist them in arranging alternate transportation or provide them with a 

refund of their ticket price, without penalty, if requested.

Any objections to the notice provided herein must be filed within twenty (20) days from 

the date of this 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. 

Respectfully submitted,

Travis Christ

Chief Commercial Officer, Senior Vice President

Silver Airways Corp.

1100 Lee Wagener Blvd., Suite 201

Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33315

(954) 985-1500 (Telephone)

(954) 359-2776 (Fax)

travis.christ@silverairways.com

Dated: February 14, 2014
Silver Airways Corp.

Notice of Intent to Terminate Scheduled Air Service

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I, James Kogutek, hereby certify that I have this 14th day of February 2014, caused the foregoing 

Notice to be served upon those persons listed below, in accordance with 14 C.F.R. § 323.4(a)(7).

Dennis DeVany

Kevin Schlemmer

EAS Program

U.S. Department of Transportation

1200 New Jersey Ave., S.E.

Washington, D.C. 20590

dennis.devany@dot.gov

kevin.schlemmer@dot.gov

FAA Flight Standards District Office

101 Towne Square Way

Suite 201

Pittsburgh, PA 15227

FAA Flight Standards District Office

1 Airport Way

Rochester, NY 14624 

FAA Flight Standards District Office

Yeager Airport

301 Eagle Mountain Road, Room 144

Charleston, WV 25311-1093

Jenn Granger, Acting Director

Bureau of Aviation

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation

Keystone Building

400 North Street

Harrisburg, PA 17120

Gerardo Mendoza, Acting Director

Aviation Bureau

New York Department of Transportation

50 Wolf Road, POD 54

Albany, NY 12232

Keith Wood, Director

Aviation Division

West Virginia Department of Transportation

502 Eagle Mountain Road

Charleston, WV 25311

Mayor Tom Riel

City Hall

24 Kennedy Street

Bradford, PA 16701

Mayor Gary Gilbert

City of DuBois

16 W. Scribner Ave.

DuBois, PA 15801

Mayor Barbara F. Crudo

21 Seneca St.

Oil City, PA 16301

Mayor Douglas A. Baker

Franklin City Hall

430 Thirteenth Street

Franklin, PA 16323

Mayor Samuel Teresi

Municipal Building

200 East Third St.

Jamestown, New York, 14701

Mayor Bob Newell

1 Government Sq.

Parkersburg, WV 26101

Mayor Joe Matthews

301 Putnam St.

Marietta, OH 45750
Silver Airways Corp.

Notice of Intent to Terminate Scheduled Air Service

-8-

Thomas C. Frungillo, Director

Bradford Regional Airport

212 Airport Rd.

Lewis Run, PA 16738

Robert Shaffer, Airport Manager

DuBois Regional Airport

377 Aviation Way

Reynoldsville, PA 15851

Otho C. Bell, Airport Manager

Venango Regional Airport

1560 Airport Road

Franklin, PA 16323

Sam Arcadipane

Chautauqua County Airport

3163 Airport Drive

Jamestown, NY 14701

Jeff McDougle, Airport Manager

Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport

543 County Route 31/1

Williamstown, WV 26187

James Kogutek