Order 2012-10-10

Served: October 9, 2012

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

on the 9th of October, 2012

Essential Air Service at

ESCANABA, MICHIGAN

Under 49 U.S.C. 41731 et seq. 

DOCKET OST-2003-15128

CLARIFYING ORDER 

By Order 2010-6-4, June 1, 2010, the Department re-selected Mesaba Airlines, Inc., d/b/a 

Delta Connection (Mesaba), to provide Essential Air Service (EAS) operated on a linear 

basis at Iron Mountain and Escanaba, Michigan, through August 31, 2012. On July 15, 

2011, Mesaba filed notice at Iron Mountain and Escanaba as well as 22 other 

communities. 1 By Order 2011-9-5, September 13, 2011, we prohibited Mesaba from 

terminating service, and requested proposals.2

In response to Order 2011-9-5, we received proposals at both Escanaba and Iron 

Mountain. By Order 2011-11-30, November 23, 2011, we selected Great Lakes 

Aviation, Ltd. (Great Lakes) to provide EAS between Iron Mountain and Minneapolis. 

Likewise, by Order 2012-4-10, April 6, 2012, we selected Delta Air Lines, Inc., (Delta) 

to provide EAS between Escanaba and Detroit.3 Thus, the historical linear service 

pattern at Iron Mountain and Escanaba would end when Delta and Great Lakes 

inaugurated service.4

 1 The other communities noticed by Mesaba were Muscle Shoals, Alabama, For Dodge, mason City, Sioux 

City, and Waterloo, Iowa; Alpena, Pellston, and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan; Bemidji, Brainerd, Hibbing, 

International Falls, and Thief River Falls, Minnesota; Greenville, Hattiesburg, and Tupelo, Mississippi; 

Butte, Montana; Devils Lake and Jamestown, North Dakota, and Aberdeen, Pierre, and Watertown, South 

Dakota.

2 This Order affects Escanaba only.

3 Delta Air Lines proposes to be responsible for the provision of this service itself, rather than one of its 

code share partners. Delta indicates that it would parcel out the EAS responsibilities at separate times to 

one of its code share partners, including Pinnacle, Atlantic Southeast, SkyWest, Mesaba or Chautauqua, 

depending on the availability of aircraft and other considerations in order to afford Delta maximum 

flexibility to meet its obligations. 

4 Order 2011-4-10 provided that Delta’s service at Escanaba would be effective with the “[s]tart of Great 

Lakes’ service at Iron Mountain, allowing Delta to terminate its [linear] service obligation at Iron 

Mountain, through the 24th month thereafter.” 
2

On June 11, 2012, Great Lakes notified the Department that it was having difficulty

inaugurating service at Iron Mountain. In response, Order 2012-6-9, June 15, 2012, resolicited proposals at Iron Mountain, and ultimately Order 2012-9-11, September 11, 

2012, selected SkyWest Airlines, Inc., d/b/a Delta Connection (SkyWest), at Iron 

Mountain.5

As noted above, Order 2012-4-10 made the selection of Delta at Escanaba contingent on 

Great Lakes’ inaugurating replacement service at Iron Mountain. Thus Great Lakes’ 

problems inaugurating service on a timely basis at Iron Mountain also delayed the start of 

Delta’s service at Escanaba. 6 

Out of an abundance of caution, we will clarify Order 2012-4-10 by making the start of 

Delta’s carrier selection at Escanaba effective when SkyWest (rather than Great Lakes) 

inaugurates replacement service at Iron Mountain. SkyWest has recently indicated that it 

will inaugurate that service on December 15, 2012. We will therefore specify the 

effective period of Delta’s two-year selection at Escanaba to be from December 15, 2012, 

through December 31, 2014. 

This order is issued under authority assigned in 14 CFR Part 385.12(1)

ACCORDINGLY,

1. We amend the effective period of Order 2012-4-10, Appendix C-2, as follows: 

“Start of SkyWest’s service at Iron Mountain, allowing Delta to terminate its service 

obligation at Iron Mountain, from December 15, 2012, through December 31, 2014;”

2. This docket will remain open until further order of the Department; and

3. We will serve a copy of this Order on the mayor and airport and city managers of Iron 

Mountain and Escanaba, Michigan, Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd., SkyWest Airlines, and Delta 

Air Lines.

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

Department’s Regulations, 14 CFR Part 385.30 must file such petitions within ten (10) 

days after the date of service of this order.

 5 The Order also selected SkyWest at Brainerd and International Falls, Minnesota; and Rhinelander, Wisconsin.

6 Order 2012-4-20, April 16, 2012, set final rates for Delta Air Lines forced service at Iron Mountain and 

Escanaba from January 11, 2012, when it first became eligible for a higher rate than set by Order 2010-6-4 

until further Notice, so there are no past-period rates at issue. 
3

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 version of this document is available on the World Wide Web at

http://www.regulations.gov
Appendix A

Minneapolis (MSP) to Iron Mountain (IMT), 257

Iron Mountain (IMT) to Escanaba (ESC), 50

Escanaba (ESC) to Detroit (DTW), 306