# f 2

U.S

. Deportmen t o f •^•pn'^f^ATi^V, ! 120 0 Ne w Jerse yAvenue , S E Transportatio n ,, ; .2\:^MiJ^\':!-rr^J..
- Washington , D C 2059 0 Offic e o f th e Secretar

y" -• - - . o f Transportatio n

Marc h 21 , 201 2 Mayo r Denni s Berr

y 81 2 Wes t 13t h Stree t McCook , N E 6900 1 Dea r Mayo r Berry : I woul dlik e t o updat e yo u o n th e Essentia l Ai r Servic e situatio n a

t McCoo k an dgiv e yo u a

n opportunit y t o submi t

any comment s i

f yo u wish
. I

n anticipatio n o f

th e en do f

Grea t Lakes ' cunen t contrac t o n May 31 , 2012 , th e Departmen t issue dOrde r

2012-1-28 , o n Januar y 27 , 2012 , t o solici t proposal s fro mal l intereste dai r caiTier s t o provid e servic e a t McCook
. I

n respons e t o that Order , w e receive donl y on e proposal , whic h wa s submitte db y th e incumben t airline
. Grea t Lake s Aviation , Ltd
. W e hav e directe dth e air

earne r t o serv e it s proposa l o n you ; i n addition , copie s o f th e proposa l ma y b e accesse donlin e throug h th e Department' s Docket s Managemen t Syste mat : liUp://wwvv.reijLilaiioiis.s:;ov / b y enterin g "DOT-OST-1997-3005 " i n th e "Ente r

Keywor do r

ID " field , s o w e wil l onl y briefl y summariz e th e on e proposa l here
. Great Lakes ' proposa l woul dcontinu e to offe r 1 2 nonsto p roun dtrip s per week fro mMcCoo k

t o Denver Internationa l Airport

utilizin g a19-sea

t Beec h 190 0 aircraft , fo r a n annual subsid y o f $1,976,338

. Whil e w e woul dnormall y as k for you r comment s a s t o th e variou s ai r carrie r options , w e nonetheles s wan t

t o giv e yo u a

n opportunit y t o submi t

any formal comment s fo r th e recor d before w e submi t

arecommendatio n t o th e Assistan t Secretary fo

r Aviatio n an dInternationa l Affairs
. Pleas e not e that

th e averag e passenge r

fare s show n i n th e proposa l d o no t necessaril y reflec t

th e averag e local fare McCoo k woul dactuall y pay . bu t

rather , reflec t

aprorate dportio n of

th e tota l ticke t price , e.g. . th e McCoo k - Sa n Francisc o portio n of

aMcCoo k

- Denver

- Sa

n Francisc o ticke t tha t th e subsidize dai r

carrie r woul drealize
. Also , th e far e show n i s ne t

of certai n charge s suc h a s Federal transportatio n security fees , excis e o r ticke t taxes , an dPassenge r

Facility Charges
. Of

course , ai r

caiTicr s hav e th e discretio n t o charg e fare s the y dee mappropriate , an d tit e passenge r

i'ar o presen,ie di

n th e i.Ti-po-^i

d!ia\ e hec n t!e\eir'pe di'o r subsid v rate computaiio n i)urpose s unlv ,th e passenge r fare s presente di n th e proposa l hav e bee n develope dfor subsid y rat e computatio n purpose s only
. Yo u shoul dals o not e that th e schedule s that

th e ai r carrie r ha s submitte dar e illustrativ e only , an d that Great Lake s may mak e schedul e change s t o reflec t changin g conditions , e.g. , t o bette r mee t shiftin g connectin g ban k

time s a t th e hu b airport
. Th e Departmen t expect s subsidize dai r

carrier s t o maintai n well-time dan dwell-space dflights i n orde r t o ensur e full compensation
. W e reques t

that yo u submi t

any comment s yo u may hav e a s soo n a s possible , but i n an y cas e n o late r tha n Apri l 20 , 2012
. W e wil l carefull y conside r your comment s befor e w e submi t a recommendatio n t o th e Assistan t Secretary for

adecision
. I

f yo u hav e an y question s o r if yo u fin dtha t yo u nee dadditiona l tim e t o draf t you r comments , pleas e le t

m e know
. Pleas e sen dyou r

comment s t o m e a

t th e followin g emai l address : EAS@dot.go v o r b y fa x t o 202-366-7838
. I

f yo u hav e an y questions , pleas e fee l fre e t o contac t Scott Faul k o f my staf f a t scott.faulk@dot.go v o r

202-366-9967
. A similar lette r ha s bee n sen t

t o th e City Manager

o f McCoo k

an dth e Aiipor t

Advisor y Commission
. Sincerely ,

( V
. • ( / Denni s J
. DeVan y Chief , Essentia l Ai r

Servic e Division , X-5 3 Offic e o f Aviatio n Analysi s