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Cc: Subject: Date:
All, Muldoon, Albert (OST) "mayor office@cityofcarlsbadnm com"; "jrtully@cityofcarlsbadnm com"; "steye summers@state nm us"; "sechandler@cityofcarlsbadnm.com" Devany Dennis COSD CDennis.DeVany@dot.govl; "Greg Kahlstorf'; "Shawn Simoson"; Bob Karns CBob@Sovereiqnairinc.coml RE: Essential Air Service at Carlsbad, NM

- Request for Comments- Due February 8, 2013 Friday, January 18, 2013 12:56:00 PM

I wanted to provide an update regarding the status ofBoutique Air's operating authority. Effective today (January 18, 2013), the Department ofTransportation has approved Boutique Air for Commuter Air Carrier Authority. As such, please disregard the statement in the email below indicating Boutique Air does not have the requisite authority. Please feel free to contact me ifyou have any questions. Regards, A.J.
A.J. Muldoon :·">') 1 • Transportation Industry Analyst Office ofAviation Analysis U.S. Department ofTransportation albertmuldoon@dot.gov (202) 366-1058

From: Muldoon, Albert (OST) Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2013 4:02 PM c:::

To: 'mayor.office@cityofcarlsbadnm.com'; 'jrtully@cityofcarlsbadnm.com'; 'airport@cityofcarlsbadnm.com'; 'steve.summers@state.nm.us'; 'sechandler@cityofcarlsbadnm.com' Cc: Devany, Dennis (OST) (Dennis.DeVany@dot.gov); 'Greg Kahlstorf'; 'Shawn Simpson'; Bob Karns (Bob@Sovereignairinc.com) Subject: Essential Air Service at Carlsbad, NM

- Request for Comments- Due February 8, 2013

All:
I would like to update you onthe EssentialAir Service (EAS) situation at Carlsbad, NM, and give you an opportunity to submit comments on the recordbefore we submjt a recommendation to the Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs. On December 12, 2012, the Departmentissued Order 2012-12-4 solicitingproposals from carriersto provide EAS at Carlsbad,NM, for a new contractperiod beginning June 1, 2013. In responseto that Order, we received proposals from three carriers: Pacific Wings, L.L.C. d/b/aNew Mexico Airlines (New Mexico Airlines), Sovereign Air, Inc. (Sovereign), and Boutique Air.
I have attached copies ofthe proposals to this email. The proposals can also be accessed onlinethrough the Federal Dockets Management System at www.regulations.gov by entering "DOT-OST-2002-12802" in the search box. Foryour convenience, I will briefly summarize the proposals below.
NewMexico Airlines, the incumbent carrier, proposes to continue its existing service consisting of 12 non-stop round trips perweekto Albuquerque (ABQ). The service wouldbe, .. ,, ;·I**~-·** i

. ··•.·operated with 9-passenger single-engine Cessna Grand Caravan (C-208B) aircraft. Pacific Wings wouldprovide this service for an annual subsidy of$1,397,081. Sovereignhas proposed four service options for Carlsbad. The first optionwouldprovide 14 weekly one-stop (Roswell) round trips to ABQ. Service wouldbe providedwith 19- passenger, twin-engine Jetstream 31 aircraft. Sovereignwouldprovide this service for an annual subsidy of$1,422,426. Sovereign's second option would consist of 14 weekly nonstop round trips perweekto ABQ, also using Jetstream 31 aircraft. This service option wouldrequire an annual subsidy of$1,410,533. The third service option wouldprovide 12 weekly non-stop round trips to ABQ on 12-passenger, twin-engine King Air-200 aircraft. This service wouldbe provided for an annual subsidy of$1,171,625. Sovereign's final service optionwould consist of 19 weekly one-stop (Roswell) round trips to ABQ utilizing the King Air-200 aircraft. This service wouldbe provided for an annual subsidy of $1,551,397. Please be aware that Sovereign does not currentlyhave the requisite operating authority to perform the proposed service from eitherthe Federal AviationAdministration or the Department. Boutique Air has proposedthree service options for Carlsbad. Boutique Air offers each service option as either a two- or four-year contract. All service would be operated with a 9- passenger, twin-engine Pilatus PC-12 aircraft. The first optionwouldprovide 24 weekly non-stop round trips to ABQ as well as 12 weekly non-stop round trips to Dallas-FortWorth International Airport (DFW). This service option wouldrequire an annual subsidy of $3,977,670. The second service optionwould consist of 12 weekly non-stop round trips each to ABQ and DFW. This optionwouldbe provided for an annual subsidy of$2,965,492. The final option wouldprovide 12 weekly non-stop round trips to DFW. This optionwould require an annual subsidy of$1,991,802. Please note thatBoutique Air also does not currently have the requisite operating authority to perform the proposed service.
The schedules and fares thatthe carriers have proposed are illustrative only, and they may make schedule changes to reflect changing conditions (e.g. to better meet shifting connecting bank times at the hub) or adjust fares as they see fit. The Department expects subsidized carriersto maintainwell-timed and well-spaced flights in order to ensure full compensation.
We request thatyoureview each proposal and submit any comments you may have as soon as possible, butno later than February 8, 2013. We will carefully consider your comments before we submit a recommendationto the Assistant Secretary for a decision.
Please send your comments via email to EAS@dot.gov or by fax to (202) 366-7638. Ifyou have any questions, please feel free to contact A.J. Muldoon ofmy staffat albeti.muldoon@dot.gov or (202) 366-1058.

Sincerely,

Dennis J. DeVany Chief, Essential Air Service Division, X-53 Office ofAviationAnalysis