ATHENS 

CLARKE 

COUNTY 

August 30,2012 

Mr. Dennis J. DeVany 

Chief, Essential Air Service Division, X -53 

Office of Aviation Analysis 

Department ofTranspmiation, 81

h Floor, Room W86-472 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. 

Washington, DC 20590 

30 

Re: July 13, 2012 Letter Requesting Comments on Essential Air Service for Athens Georgia. 

Dear Mr. DeVany, 

Thank you for your assistance in requesting proposals for air carriers to provide BAS supported 

air service to the Athens-Ben Epps Airport. Continuing our cmmection with the National Air 

Transpmiation System is very important to this community. Our citizens have not only expressed 

their interest in continuing the service, but also in improving the levels of service provided. 

Since the last contract was issued, the ridership in Athens has steadily declined to a point where 

it must be addressed in order to meet new EAS requirements. Therefore, the Airport Autho1·ity 

included a requirement that airlines indicate in their proposal how they would increase ridership 

if selected. '" 

Four airlines submitted proposals to provide EAS subsidized air service to Athens; Seapmi 

Airlines (Seaport), Air choice One, Sun Air International (Sun Air), and Sovereign Air, Inc. 

Sovereign Air does not have the requisite operating authority from the FAA and therefore was 

eliminated from consideration. 

Sun Air, which proposed 22 round trips per week, was "contingent upon being awarded Essential 

Air Service to Macon, Georgia and confirmation of effective interline e-ticketing with Delta 

Airlines". As stated in Sun Ai1·'s proposal, they will notifY this community of such approvals. To 

date, this community has not received such a confirmation. Therefore, Sun Air was eliminated 

from consideration. 

Air Choice One, proposed 18 trips per week to Atlanta, Georgia with either a Cessna Grand 

Caravan or Piper Navajo at an annual subsidy of $1,896,856. The Athens/Atlanta route has been 

flown for the past four years and 1;idership has steadily declined over this period. Increased 

competition from ground shuttle operators and pl'ivately owned vehicles have limited the success 

of this route. Additionally, Air Choice One has no baggage handling agreements at the Atlanta 

Airpoti or interlining agreements with major carriers thus minimizing the opportunity for smooth 

transfers to connecting flights. 

MAYOR NANCY B. DENSON 

UNIFIED GOVERNMENT OF ATIJENS·CLARKE COUNTY' GEORGJA 
Seaport Airlines submitted two service options, both operated with Cessna Grand Caravan 

aircraft. The first option is 12 round trips per week to Nashville, 1N at an mmual subsidy of 

$1,553,093, increasing to $1,630,410 in a second year. The second option is 12 weekly round 

trips to Charlotte International Airport and 6 weekly trips to. Nashville, TN at an annual subsidy 

of $1,616,887, increasing to $1,697,420 in a second year. Athens, being the home of the 

University of Georgia, has had success in the past with connecting flights in Charlotte, NC. 

Convenient connections to major east coast cities and international destinations met the needs of 

both university and business travelers. Also, as Athens is known for its music industry and for 

being the birthplace of bands such as the B-52's, REM, and Wide Spread Panic, a second 

connection to the music city of Nashville, 1N may prove a successful 0 & D route. Seaport 

Airlines has interlining agreements with US Ahways which is the dominant carrier in Charlotte, 

NC. Baggage handling agreements are in place and Seapm1 tickets are sold on all major ODS 

systems such as Orbitz, Travelocity, Expedia, etc. 

Looking at the numbers, this choice is also fiscally responsible in that it offers 33% more 

departures for only a 4% increase in subsidy request over option #1. This is also 15% less costly 

than the bid of Air Choice One, yet offers connections with two large hub airpmts. Lastly, 

Option #2 only requires a load factor of 43% to meet new EAS passenger requirements, while 

Option # 1 will require a load factor of 66%. 

Taking all the above into consideration, the Airpot1 Authority recommended, and I concm·, that 

Seaport Airlines be awarded the EAS contract for Option #2, Athens/Charlotte and 

Athens/Nashville. This is the most prudent choice for meeting both the air travel needs of this 

community and providing the opp01tunity to meet future EAS passenger requirements. 

Thank you for your assistance and should you have any questi<:ms, please feel free to contact 

either myself or Tim Beggedy, Athens Airport Manager. 

Sincerely, 

vz/U~~~ ~at~~; son 

Mayor 

C: Athens Airpot1 Authority 

Seapm1 Airlines 

Air Choice One 

Sun Air International 

Sovereign Air