e 

lis . Department of 

Transportotion 

Office of the Secretary 

of Transportation 

. APARTMENT OF 

TRAN3P0RWI0N 

:T;IiCKET OPERA! !0i^;3 

?Gli OCi n P U: 20 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Woshington, DC 20590 

October 17, 2011 

Mary Beaird 

Airport Director 

Southeast Iowa Regional Airport 

2515 Summer Street 

Burlington, Iowa 52601 

Dear Ms. Beaird: 

I would like to update you on the essential air service situation at Burlington and give you 

an opportunity to submit amy comments if you wish. In anticipation of the end of the 

current contract with Air Choice One on January 31, 2012, the Department issued 

Order 2011-9-9, September 14, 2011, to solicit proposals firom all interested air earners to 

provide EAS at Burlington, as well as Decatur, Illinois, for a new term. In response to 

that order, we received proposals fiom Multi-Aero, Inc. d/b/a Air Choice One (AiiChoice One), the incumbent, and Hyannis Air Service, Inc. d/b/a Cape Air (Cape Air). 

Copies of each proposal may be accessed online at http://www.regulations.gov by 

entering DOT-OST-2001-8731 in the "Enter Keyword or ID" section. 

Cape Air proposes four daily nonstop round trips (24 per week) to Lambert-St. Louis 

Intemational Airport (St. Louis) using 9-passenger Cessna 402 aircraft. The carrier 

expects to offer a code-shaie agreement with American Airlines. Cape Air proposes an 

armual subsidy of $1,395,035 for a two-year term, or an annual subsidy of $1,360,891 

for a four-year term. 

Air Choice One proposed seven options, each operating with 9-passenger Cessna Greind 

Caravan aircraft. Option 1 is two nonstop round trips each weekday and weekend (12 per 

week) to St. Louis and two nonstop round trips each weekday and weekend (12 per week) 

to Chicago O'Hare (die current sei-vice pattern) for an annual subsidy of $1,976,872 

(two-year teim) or $1,917,566 (four-year tenn). Option 2 is two nonstop round trips each 

weekday and weekend (12 per week) to St. Louis and three nonstop round trips each 

weekday and weekend (18 per week) to Chicago O'Hare for an amiual subsidy of 

$2,492,613 (two-year temi) or $2,417,835 (four-year temi). Option 3 is three nonstop 

round trips each weekday and weekend (18 per week) to St. Louis and three nonstop 

round tiips each weekday and weekend to Chicago O'Hare (18 per week) for an annual 
2-

subsidy of $2,779,519 (two-year temi) or $2,696,133 (four-year term). Option 4 is five 

nonstop round trips each weekday and weekend (30 per week) to St. Louis for an annual 

subsidy of $2,207,850 (two-year term) or $2,141,615 (four-year term). Option 5 is five " 

nonstop round trips each weekday and weekend (30 per week) to Chicago O'Hare for an 

annual subsidy of $2,624,354 (two-year term) or $2,545,623 (four-year term). Option 6 

is six nonstop round trips each weekday and weekend (36 per week) to Chicago O'Hare 

for an amiuai subsidy of $2,853,990 (two-year term) or $2,768,370 (four-year term). 

Option 7 is a package with Decatur, Illinois, that includes 36 weekly nonstop round trips 

for Burlington and Decatur (18 nonstop round trips to Chicago O'Hare and 18 nonstop 

round trips to St. Louis), for an annual subsidy of $5,220,901 (two-year term) or 

$5,168,692 (four-year term). Options 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 propose more service for 

Burlington than the Department solicited in its request for proposals. 

Please note that the average passenger fares shown in the proposal do not necessarily 

reflect the average local fare Burlington passengers would actually pay, but, rather, 

reflect a prorated portion of the total ticket price, e.g., the Burlington - St. Louis portion 

of a Burlington - St. Louis - Washington, D.C. ticket that the subsidized carrier would 

realize. Also, the fare shown is net of certain charges such as Federal transportation 

security fees, excise or ticket taxes, and Passenger Facility Charges. Of course, carriers 

have the discretion to charge fares they deem appropriate, and the passenger fares 

presented in this proposal have been developed for subsidy rate computation purposes 

only.. 

You should also note that the schedules thatthe carrier has submitted are illustrative only, 

and that they may make schedule changes to reflect changing conditions, e.g., to better 

meet shifting cormecting bank times at the hub. The Department expects subsidized air 

carriers to maintain well-timed and well-spaced flights in order to ensure full 

compensation. 

We ask that you submit any comments you may have as soon as possible, but in any case 

no later than November 14, 2011. We will carefully consider your comments before we 

submit a recommendation to the Assistant Secretary for a decision. Should you have any 

questions or need additional time to draft your comments, please let us know. 

Please send your comments via e-mail to EAS@dot.gov or by fax to 202-366-7638. If 

you have any questions, please feel free to contact Kevin Schlemmer of my staff at 

kevin.schlemmer@dot.gov or 202-366-3176. 

A similar letter has been sent to the Mayor of Burlington. 

Sincerely,* 

Dennis J. DeVany 

Chief, Essential Air Service