Order: 20 1 1

- 1 2

- 3

Served: December 12 , 20 1 1



### UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Departm ent of Transportation

on the 12 th day of December, 20 1 1

Docket DOT

- OST

- 2003

- 14626

ORDER REQUESTING PROPOSALS

Summary

By this order

, the Department is requesting proposals from carriers interested in providing

essential air service (EAS) at West Yellowstone, Montana, for the next two summer seasons

from June 1 through September 30

, 2012

, and 2013, with or without subsidy . Proposals are due

January 24, 2012 . ( See Appendix A for an area map.)

Background

By Order 2010

- 3

- 30

, March 25, 2010, the Department selected SkyWest Airlines, Inc. d/b/a

Delta Connection (SkyWest) to provide sub sidized EAS at West Yellowstone for the 20 10 and

20 11 summer seasons at a subsidy rate of $ 4 27

, 757 for each four

- month season

. Under that

order, SkyWest provide s 14 nonstop round trips per week to Salt Lake City International Airport

(Salt Lake City) as D elta Connection

, with 30

- seat Embraer Brasilia aircraft.

Request for Proposals

In order to give the selected carrier sufficient time to market its services, w e request that any carriers

interested in providing essential air service at West Yellowstone, with or without subsidy, file their

proposals no later than January 24, 2012

. A fter that date, our staff will docket proposals, thereby

making them public, and direct each carrier to serve a copy of its proposal on the civic parties and Essential Air Service at

WEST YELLOWSTONE, MONTANA

under 49 U.S.C. 41731 et seq.- 2

-

other applicants. Shortly afterwards, we will provide a summary of the proposals to the communit y

and ask them to submit their final comments. We will give full consideration to all proposals that

are timely filed. 1

Interested carriers should prepare their proposals wi th 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; in such cases, of course, we will give all

applicants the sa me opportunity. We also retain the discretion to reject outright all unreasonable or

unrealistic proposals and solicit a new round of proposals. However, negotiation or rejections are

only occasional exceptions to the rule.

We are here providing interes ted carriers with some basic information to serve 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 make 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 encourage clear, well

- documented proposals that will facilitate their evaluation by

the affected communities and the Department. 2

With respect to West Yellowstone, w e ask that carriers submit proposals for two round tr ips per

day (14 total round trips per week) with 30

- seat or larger aircraf t or three round trips per day (21

total round trips per week) with 19

- seat aircraft to Salt Lake City or Denver International Airport

. We will also entertain proposals to serve oth er hubs that provide access to the national air

transportation system in order to give the Department and the communit y as broad an array of

proposals as possible from which to choose. Of course, as always, we will formally solicit the

community’s views o n any service options we receive before making a long

- te rm carrier

selection decision. The community and air carriers are encouraged to work together in advance

of the due date for proposals to craft a service pattern that is desirable to the community an d

meets the operational needs of the airline interested in submitting a proposal.

We encourage proposals that meet these requirements in an efficient manner. Carriers are also

welcome to propose more than one service option, if they choose; they need n ot limit themselves

to those requirements if they envision other, potentially more attractive service possibilities

-- different hubs, for example

-- with subsidy requirements that remain competitive.

1 Carriers should not expect the Departm ent to accept late filings. In cases where a carrier proposes to provide

essential air service without subsidy and we determine that service can be reliably provided without such

compensation, we typically do not proceed with the carrier

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

subsidy

- free service as proposed.

2 In selecting a carrier to provide subsidized essential air service, 49 U.S.C. 41733(c) (1) dire cts us to consider four

factors: (1) service reliability; (2) contractual and marke ting arrangements with a larger carrier at the hub; (3)

interline arrangements with a larger carrier at the hub; and (4) community views

. In addition

, the Consolidated

Appropriations Act, 2008, Public Law 110

- 161

, provides that when selecting a carrier t o provide EAS, the

Department may consider the relative subsidy requirements, thus codifying a factor that we have considered since 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.- 3

-

Carrier proposals s hould be s ubmitted to the Departmen t with all materials merged into a single

document. The document will be published on Regulations.gov and each page should be

formatted to be viewed online.

Service and Traffic History

In order to assist carriers in making their traffic and revenue fore casts, we have included historical

traffic data in Appendix B. During the 2011 summer season for roughly June 1 through September

30, 2011, th e most recent period for which traffic data are available, West Yellowstone averaged

42.9 enplanements a day. 3

Other Carrier Requirements

The Department is responsible for implementing various Federal statutes governing lobbying

activities, drug

- free workplaces, and nondiscrimination. 4 Consequently, all carriers receiving

Federal subsidy for essential air service 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 with 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 carrier 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. 5

Community and State Comments

The communit y and state are welcome to submit comments on the proposals at any time. As

noted earlier, however, we will provide a summary of the proposals to the civic parties and ask

them to submit their final comments shortly after January 24, 2012

, the due date for proposals.

This order is issued under authority delegated in 49 CFR 1.56a(f) and re

- delegated to the

Director, Office of Aviation Analysis.

ACCORDINGLY,

1. We request that carriers interested in providing essential air service at West Yellowstone,

Mont ana, during June 1 through September 30

, 20 12

, and 20 1 3

, submit their proposals, with or

without requests for subsidy, no later than January 24, 2012

. The proposals should be e

- mailed

3 See Appendix B for historical traffic data. Enplanements represent one

- half of total origin

- and

- destination traffic,

and average enplanements per day are based on 122 service days (June 1

– September 30)

. 4 The regulations applicable to these areas are: (1) 49 CFR Part 20

– New restrictions on lobbying; (2) 49 CFR Part

21

– Nond iscrimination in federally

- assisted programs of the Department of Transportation

– Effectuation of title VI

of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; 49 CFR Part 27

– Nondiscrimination on the basis of disability in programs and

activities receiving or benefiting fr om Federal financial assistance; and 14 CFR Part 382

– Nondiscrimination on the

basis of disability in air travel; and (3) 49 CFR Part 29

– Government

- wide debarment and suspension (non

procurement) and government

- wide requirements for drug

- free workplace (grants).

5 The certifications are also available on the web at http://ostpxweb.dot.gov/aviation/index.html.- 4

-

to EAS@dot.gov , with the title: “Proposal to Provide Essential Air Serv ice at West Yellowstone,

Montana, Docket DOT

- OST

- 2003

- 14626; 6

2. Th is docket will remain open until further order of the Department;

3 . We will serve copies of this order on the Mayor and operations manager of the Town of West

Yellowstone, t he Montan a Department of Transportation, Aeronautics Division, and the parties

listed in Appendix D

.

Persons entitled to petition the Department for review of this order under the Department’s

Regulations, 14 CFR 385.50, must file such petitions within ten (10) d ays after the date of

service of this order.

This order will be effective immediately, and the filing of a petition for review shall not preclude

its effectiveness.

By:

TODD M. HOMAN

Director

Office of Aviation Analysis

(SEAL)

An electronic vers ion of this document is available on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov

6 Questions regarding filings in response to this order may be directed via e

- mail to Brooke Chapman at

brooke.chapman@dot.gov or via phone at (202) 366

- 0577.Appendix A



## AREA MAP

This map is provided by Planet Profitability Forecasting System and is being used with express pe rmission

of the copyright holder, Sabre Airline Solutions®.Appendix B

WYS Traffic History *

Year Month Airport Outbound Inbound Total traffic

20 10 6 WYS 588 721 1309

20 10 7 WYS 1338 1352 2690

2010 8 WYS 1313 1301 2614

2010 9 WYS 1194 1038 2232

2010

Total 4433 4412 8845

2011 6 WYS 1028 1176 2204

2011 7 WYS 1442 1453 2895

2011 8 WYS 1500 1400 2900

2011 9 WYS 1353 1113 2466

2011

Total 5323 5142 10465

Average daily enplanements at West Yellowstone

– 42.89 **

* Source

– T

- 100 Market Report, Passengers in Scheduled Passenger Service, includes traffic for SkyWest

Airlines only

.

**Average daily enplanements is total traffic for 2011 divided by 1 22 service days ( June 1

– September 30 )

divided by 2 (10,465/122/2)

.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 conformance with the terms and stipulations of the rate order, including the

ser vice 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 expla nation

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

addition, 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 of the order

during the applicable period of these rates, it must fi rst 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 locate 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 for a deviating flight should be

adjusted or disallowed, the Depar tment 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 unilaterally, either partially or completely, terminates or reduces pa yments 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 stipulated amounts

or at the stipulated service levels, the carrier m ay 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 mutually agreed to in writing by the Department and carrier do not

con stitute a total or partial reduction or cessation of payment.

Funds are not currently available for performance under this solicitation beyond [DATE]

. The Government’s obligation for perform ance under this solicitation beyond [DATE] , is

contingent upon t he availability of appropriated 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 beyond [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.

Subsidy contracts are subject to, and incorporate by reference, relevant statutes and

Department regulations, as they may be amended from time to time. However, any such

statutes, regulations, or amendments thereto shall not operate to controvert the foregoing

paragraph.

All claims for payment must be submitted within 60 days of the last day of service

provided un der this order

.Appendix D

Scheduled Air Carriers, Contiguous US and Puerto Rico

Air Choice One Airlines, Shane Storz Horizon Air, Mike McQueen

Air Greco/Wings Air Horizon Air, Jeff Cole

Air Sunshine, Inc. ICEPR, Luis Irizarry

Air Sunshine, Mirmohammad Adili Int repid Internatl Air, Rick Eyk

Air West, Inc., John Raatz Island Air Charters, Linda House

Air Wisconsin, Annette Daly Jet Air, Daniel Wolford

Air Wisconsin, Jim Rankin Kenmore Air, Tim Brooks

Airline Associates, Bill Mishk McCall Aviation, Dan Scott

A laska Airlines, Jeff Cole McCall Aviation, Michelle

Alaska Airlines, Sandy Sinick Mesaba, John Spanjers

Allegiant Air, Brian Davis Mesaba, Max Shemesh

American Airlines, Carl Nelson Michigan DOT, Matt Brinker

American Eagle, Gary Foss MidStar Airlin es, Jeffrey Fonner

American Eagle, Robert Emrich Midwest Airlines, Greg Aretakis

American Eagle, Patrick Swift MN Aviation, Jose Maldonado

Atlantic Southeast, Jon Lindlief Multi Aero, Darnea

Atlantic Southeast, Roger Weston Multi Aero, Shane Storz

Av iation Express, Brad Shriner Northern Air Cargo, David Karp

Aviation Technologies/Charter Air Transport Northern Air Cargo, Eric Van Andel

Bemidji Aviation, Cori Rude NYDC, Henok Araya

Bemidji Aviation, Arlen Rinkenberger OST, Brian Swanson

Cape Air, Andrew Bonney OST, Brooke Chapman

Cape Air, Dan Wolf OST, Dennis DeVany

Cape Air, J. Flaherty OST, Kevin Adams

Chautauqua, Josh Pascoe OST, Kevin Schlemmer

Classic Aviation, Tony Henderson OST, Michael Martin

Capital Aviation, Mike Colgan OST, Sc ott Faulk

Colgan Air, Kevin Scott Pacific Aviation Group, Craig Garrick

Colgan Air, Mike Colgan Pacific Aviation Group, Ron Pye

CommutAir, Andy Price Pacific Wings, Frank Ford

CommutAir, Joel Raymond Pacific Wings, Greg Kahlstorf

Consultant, Michael M ooney PenAir, Danny Seybert

Consultant, Robert Silverberg PenAir, Scott Bloomquist

Consultant, Jeff Hartz Pinnacle Airlines, Jennifer Gammill

Consultant, Ron McNeill Pinnacle Airlines, Megan Rosia

Continental, Bruce Keiner Pinnacle Airlines, Phil Reed

Continental, Dan Weiss Planemasters, Inc. John Kessler

Continental, Lorry Halloway Planemasters, Inc. Paul Berliner

Delta, Anthony Canitano Planemasters, Inc. Todd DeSimone

Delta, Dan Shuman Raytheon, Mike Scheidt

Delta, Dana Debel Rectrix Aviation, Scott LaForge

Delta, Jeff Davidman Saab Group, Polly Prelinger

Delta, Jeff Morgan Scenic, Mary Schneider

Delta, Joe Esposito Scenic, Mitzi Daines

Delta, Kristal Murphy Seaborne Airlines, Shawn Lewis

Delta, Sally Veith SeaPort Airlines, EAS Mailbox

Delta, Sascha Vanderbellen SeaPort/Wings of Alaska, Rob McKinney

Delta, Stephen A. Hedden Shuttle America, Jerry Balsano

DHS, Bill Ragan SkyWest, Brad Rawson

DHS, David Bernier SkyWest, Eric Christensen

Dorado Jets SkyWest, Michael Thompson

Dorado J ets, Mark McKenna Sovereign Air, Bob Karns

Era Aviation, Lori Goodman Tatonduk, Robert Everts

Executive Airlines, Kate Soled Tatonduk, Robert Ragar

Frontier Flying, Bob Hajducovich Tradewind, Eric Zipkin

Frontier Airlines, Daniel Shurz TransStates, Fr ed Oxley

Frontline Aviation TransStates, Gerry Wigmore

Gem Air, Dan Schroeder Transport Azumah, Joel Anabilah

- Azumah

Gem Air, JoAnn Wolters United, Alicia Gabriel

Great Lakes, Chuck Howell United, James Starnes

Great Lakes, Doug Voss US Airways, Ben jamin Slocum

Gulfstream, Dave Hackett US Airways, Howard Kass

Gulfstream, Mickey Bowman US Airways, Jason Reisinger

Gulfstream, T. Cooper Warbelows Air Ventures, Art Warbelow

Horizon Air, Jennifer Thompson