December 2, 2014 

Mr. Kevin Schlemmer, Chief, EAS Division 

Office of Aviation Analysis 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. 

Washington, D.C. 20590 

Re: Continuation of Alaska Airlines' Essential Air Service at Cordova, Gustavus, Petersburg, 

Wrangell, and Yakutat, Alaska, Docket OST-1998-4899 

Dear Mr. Schlemmer: 

This letter is to express strong support for the selection of Alaska Airlines to continue to provide 

essential air service to our community. 

Alaska's current pattern of service- using jet aircraft- meets crucial needs that would be difficult, 

if not impossible, to meet with any other type of service or aircraft type: 

Alaska's service connects Southeast Alaska passengers to one or more major communities of 

interest, with single-plane service to Anchorage, Juneau, Ketchikan or Seattle. From these hubs, 

our community can access the airline's extensive route system and benefit from its marketing 

relationships with other carriers. The passenger and cargo aircraft, which Alaska Airlines 

proposes to continue using on this route, provides freight, mail and cargo capacity that a non-jet 

carrier simply cannot provide. Further, the Alaska Airlines aircraft are equipped with Required 

Navigation Performance Technology, which enables the airline to reliably access the airport 

during inclement weather, thus reducing diversions and cancellations and, in turn, enabling 

people and products to dependably reach the community. 

Because of my position working in a medical setting, I would also like to point out that Alaska 

Airlines services are essential in the medical care for many of our patients. Although medical 

specialists will periodically come to Wrangell to provide care, there are many times when it would 

be detrimental for patients to wait until the specialist's next scheduled clinic. Although ferry 

service is available, the ferry rides are lengthy and there are many cases in which reliable air 

transportation is essential. A good example of this would be when Obstetrical (OB) patients are 

ready to deliver. Wrangell does not offer labor and delivery services locally. Therefore OB 

patients must travel to larger facilities for delivery. Although there are ferries available from 

Wrangell to larger communities it is felt that the transport time away from medical services is too 

lengthy putting an OB patient at risk of delivering while aboard the ferry. Instead, they 

recommend that these patients travel by commercial air (Alaska Airlines) because of its relative 

reliability and speed. This same argument can be made for patients with other conditions that 

may not require an air ambulance but could become emergent over the course of a ferry ride. 

For these reasons, Alaska Airlines is critical to the economic and medical well-being of our 

community and I support their application to provide Essential Air Service to Southeast Alaska. 

Sincerely, 

7?---7 ;z---

Kara Helgeson 

PO Box 1401 

Wrangell, Alaska 99929 
November ~2014 i 

Mr. Kevin Schlemmer, Chief, EAS Division 

Office of Aviation Analysis 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. 

Washington, DC 20590 

Re: Continuation of Alaska Airlines' Essential Air Service at Cordova, Gustavus, 

Petersburg, Wrangell, and Yakutat, Alaska, Docket OST-1998-4899 

Dear Mr. Schlemmer : 

This letter is to express strong support for the selection of Alaska Airlines to continue to 

provide essential air service to our community which I depend on for convenient 

traveling to see family all over the states, for taking vacations abroad through your 

partner plans, for shipping items we can't purchase locally, and to bring people to our 

communities for work and pleasure. 

Alaska's service connects Southeast Alaska passengers to one or more major 

communities of interest, with single-plane service to Anchorage, Juneau, Ketchikan or 

Seattle. From these hubs, our community can access the airline's extensive route 

system and benefit from its marketing relationships with other carriers. The passenger 

and cargo aircraft, which Alaska Airlines proposes to continue using on this route, 

provides freight, mail and cargo capacity that other carriers simply cannot provide. 

Further, Alaska Airlines aircraft are equipped with Required Navigation Performance 

Technology, which enables the airline to reliably access the airport during inclement 

weather, thus reducing diversions and cancellations and, in turn, enabling people and 

products to dependably reach the community. 

Simply put, Alaska Airlines' service is critical to the economic well-being of our 

community and I support their application to provide Essential Air Service to Southeast 

Alaska. You are our life link to the rest of the world. 

Sincerely, 

Curt Kautz 

~ o &,x lQ d-.. 

~('u_X\~d\ A-\z. qqqd-~ 
November )>2014 

Mr. Kevin Schlemmer, Chief, EAS Division 

Office of Aviation Analysis 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. 

Washington, DC 20590 

Re: Continuation of Alaska Airlines' Essential Air Service at Cordova, Gustavus, 

Petersburg, Wrangell, and Yakutat, Alaska, Docket OST-1998-4899 

Dear Mr. Schlemmer : 

This letter is to express strong support for the selection of Alaska Airlines to continue to 

provide essential air service to our community which I depend on for convenient 

traveling to see family all over the states, for taking vacations abroad through your 

partner plans, for shipping items we can't purchase locally, and to bring people to our 

communities for work and pleasure. 

Alaska's service connects Southeast Alaska passengers to one or more major 

communities of interest, with single-plane service to Anchorage, Juneau, Ketchikan or 

Seattle. From these hubs, our community can access the airline's extensive route 

system and benefit from its marketing relationships with other carriers. The passenger 

and cargo aircraft, which Alaska Airlines proposes to continue using on this route, 

provides freight, mail and cargo capacity that other carriers simply cannot provide. 

Further, Alaska Airlines aircraft are equipped with Required Navigation Performance 

Technology, which enables the airline to reliably access the airport during inclement 

weather, thus reducing diversions and cancellations and, in turn, enabling people and 

products to dependably reach the community. 

Simply put, Alaska Airlines' service is critical to the economic well-being of our 

community and I support their application to provide Essential Air Service to Southeast 

Alaska. You are our life link to the rest of the world. 

Sincerely, 

~~~~ Jonna Kautz 

~ooox LQ·dwru.~co-e1\ I A\z 

~qc(d-_q