Order 2013

- 6

- 19

Served: June 26 , 2013



### UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

on the 26 th day of Ju ne , 20 1 3

ORDER REQUESTING PROPOSALS

Summary By this O rder, the Department is requesting proposals from ca rriers interested in providing E ssential A ir S ervice (EAS) at Vernal and /or Moab

, Utah

, for a new con tract period, beginning January 1 , 201 4, with or without subsidy. (See Appendix A for a service area map )

. Carriers should file their proposals no later than July 24

, 201 3

.

Background By Order 2011

- 12

- 1 9 ( Decem ber 23, 2011 ) , the Department re selected Gr eat Lakes

Aviation

, Ltd. (Great Lakes) , to provide subsidized EAS at Vernal and Moab utilizing

twin

- engine, 19

- passenger Beech 1900D aircraft , through December 3 1, 20 1 3

. Under

that O rder

, Great Lakes provide s 12 weekly nonstop round trips between each com munity

and Denver for an annual subsidy rate of $1, 299,194 at Vernal and $1, 816,486 at Moab

. The combined annual subsidy rate for both communities totals $ 3

, 115,680

.

Request for Proposals

As the end of the current contract approaches, the Department is r equesting proposals from carriers interested in providing EAS at Vernal and/or Moab with or without subsidy,

for a new contract period beginning January 1, 201 4

. Carriers should file their proposals

no later than July 24

, 201 3

. Staff will then docket the proposals, thereby making them public, and shortly afterwards will provide a summary of the proposals to the

communities and ask them for their comments. We will give full consideration to all proposals that are timely filed. 1

1 In cases where a carrier propose s to provide basic EAS without subsidy and we determine that service can be provided reliably without such compensation, we typically do not proceed with the carri er

- selection case. Instead, we generally rely on that carrier’s subsidy

- free service as proposed. Essential Air Service at :

VERNAL

, UTAH MOAB, UTAH

Under 49 U.S.C. § 41731 et seq

. D ocket DOT

- OST

- 1997

- 2706
Docket DOT

- OST

- 1997

- 2827Interested carriers should prepare their proposals with every expectation that their initial proposals will represent their final and only proposals. However, 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 re

- solicit a new round of proposals. However, negotiation and rejection are only occasional exceptions to

the rule.

We are here providing interested carriers with some basic information to ser ve 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 m ake 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 encoura ge clear,

well

- documented proposals that will facilitate their evaluation by the affected

communities and the Department. 2

With respect to the se two communities, the Department expects proposals consist ent with what the communities currently receive (12 w eekly round trips with 19

- seat aircraft) with

continued service to a suitable hub airport that provides numerous connecting opportunities to the national air transportation system

. I n order to attract as broad an array of proposals as possible, we would a lso entertain p roposals using smaller aircraft with increased frequencies

. We encourage proposals that meet these guidelines in an

effi cient manner. Carriers are also welcome to propose more than one service option, if they choose. T hey also need not li mit themselves to the se requirements if they envision other, potentially more attractive service possibilities

-- different hubs or length of

contract, for example

-- with subsidy requirements that remain competitive.

Service and Traffic History

Some h ist orical traffic data for Vernal and Moab are provided in Appendix B. During the year ended December 31, 20 1 2

, Vernal averaged 22.9 enplanements per day

, and Moab

12.9

. B oth communities ’ enplanements are trending up ward since the year ended

December 31, 20 0 9

.

2 In selecting a carrier to provide subsidized essential air service, 49 U.S.C. § 41733(c) (1) directs us to

consider five factors: (a) service reliability; (b) contractual and marketing arrangements with a larger

carrier at the hub; (c) interline arrangements with a larger carrier at the hub; (d) community views, giving substantial weight to the views of the elected officials representing the users ; and (e) whether the carrier has included a p lan in its proposal to market its service to the community

. 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

sinc e the inception of the program

. Interested carriers should also be aware that our general provisions governing Essential Air Service 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.Filing Procedures Carrier proposals should be submitted to the Department with all materials compiled into a single document. In addition, because the document will be published on Regulations.gov, each page should be formatted to be 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 for essential air servic e 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 wit h the regulations governing lobbying activities. Because the Department is prohibited from paying subsidy to carriers that do not submit these documents, all carriers that plan to submit proposals involving subsidy should be aware that the selected carrie r will be required to complete the required certifications. Interested carriers requiring more detailed information regarding these requirements should contact the Office of Aviation Analysis at (202) 366

- 5903. 4

Community and State Comments

The communiti es and State are welcome to submit comments at any time. We encourage prospective applicants to contact the communities before they submit their proposals so that they can tailor them to the communities’ needs, as they will not be able to amend

them after the due date. As noted earlier, we will provide a summary of the proposals to the civic parties and ask them to submit thei r final comments shortly after July 24 , 2013

, the end of the deadline for carrier proposals.

This O rder is issued under authority delegated in 49 CFR Part 1. 25 a( b ) 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; (3) 49 CFR Part 27

-- Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in Programs and Activities Receiving or Be nefiting from Federal Financial Assistance; (4) 14 CFR Part 382

-- Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in Air Travel; and (5) 49 CFR Part 29

-- Government

- Wide Debarment and Suspension (Non

- Procurement) and

Government

- Wide Requirements for Drug

- Fr ee Workplace (Grants).

4 The certifications are also available on the web at http://www.dot.gov/policy/aviation

- policy/small

community

- rural

- air

- service/essential

- air

- serviceACCORDINGLY, 1. We request that carriers interested in providing E ssential Air Se rvice at Vernal and /or

Moab

, Utah

, submit their proposals, with or without su bsidy requests, no later than July 24

, 201 3 . The proposals should be e

- mailed to: EAS@dot.gov with the title “Proposal to Provide Essential Air Service at Vernal and /or Moab

, Utah ”; 5

2

. Th ese docket s will remain open until further O rder of the Department; and

3 . We will serve copies of this O rder on the mayors and airport managers of Vernal and Moab, Utah, and the service list for this docket

.

Persons entitled to petition the Department for review of this O rder und er the Department’s Regulations, 14 CFR Part 385. 31(a) , must file such petitions within seven ( 7 ) days aft er the date of service of this O rder.

This O rder will be effective immediately, and the filing of a petition for review shall not preclude its effect iveness.

By:

TODD M. HOMAN

Director Office of Aviation Analysis

(SEAL)

An electronic version of this document is available

on the World Wide Web at http://www.regulations.gov

5 Questions regarding filings in response to this order may be directed to A.J. M uldoon at (202) 366

- 1058

or albert.muldoon@dot.gov

.Appendix A



### AREA MAPAppendix B

Historical Enplanements
Vernal, UT 1

Year

Ended Origin &
Destination Passengers Annual Enplanements 2 Average Enplanements per Service Day 3

31

- Dec

- 08 10,430 5,215 16.6

31

- Dec

- 09 7,566 3,783 12.1

31

- Dec

- 10 8,760 4,380 14.0

31

- Dec

- 11 10,843 5,422 17.3

31

- Dec

- 12 14,331 7,166 22.9

Historical Enplanements
Moab, UT 1

Year

Ended Origin &
Destination Passengers Annual Enplanements 2 Average Enplanements per Service Day 3

31

- Dec

- 08 5,760 2,880 9.2

31

- Dec

- 09 3,729 1,865 6.0

31

- Dec

- 10 5,469 2,735 8.7

31

- Dec

- 11 7,009 3,505 11.2

31

- Dec

- 12 8,078 4,039 12.9

Notes : 1. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Form T

- 100 Market. Service between each community and DEN.

2. Origin

- destination passengers divided by two.

3. A n nual enplanements divided by 313 annual service days (314 in leap years).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

conformanc e 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 addit ion, 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 o f 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 l ocate 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

fo r 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 unila terally, 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 stip ulated 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 mutual ly 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 ame nded from time to time. However, any such statutes, regulations, or amendments thereto shall not operate to controvert the foregoing paragraph.

Funds may not be available for performance under this solicitation beyond [DATE]. The Government’s obligation for performance under this solicitation beyond [DATE], is contingent upon the availability of 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 bey ond [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.