# Q

us . Departmen t o f ) 20 0 Ne wjerse yAvenue , S E "<«n«P«'*ano n , . - , - Washington , D C 2059 0 Offic e O f th e SecfBfar

y o f Transportatio n

February 16 , 201 0
Jami e Gree n Operation s Manager Th e Tow n o f

Wes t Yellowston e P.O
. Bo x 157 0 Wes t Yellowstone , Montan a5957 8 Dear Mr
. Green : I woul dlik e t o updat e yo u o n th e essentia l ai r servic e situatio n at

Wes t Yellowston e an dgiv e yo u an opportunit y t o submi t an y comment s if

you wish
. A s yo u know , b y Orde r 2010-1-1 , Januar y 4 , 2010 , th e Departmen t solicite dproposal s fro mal l intereste d ai r carrier s t o provid e servic e at Wes t Yellowstone
. In respons e t o tha t order , w e receive dproposal s fro mtw o carriers , SkyWes t Airline s d/b/aDelt aConnectio n ("SkyWest") , an dSovereig n Air, Inc
. ("Sovereig n Air")
. W e hav e directe deac hcarrie r t o serv e it s proposal(s ) o n you ; i n addition , copies o f th e proposal s mayb e accesse donlin e throug hth e Government' s docketin g syste ma t www.regulations.go v b y enterin g "2003-14626 " i n th e "Ente r keywor do r

ID " field
. SkyWes t propose s t o continu e it s historica l leve l o f subsidize dservic e o f

tw o dail y nonsto p roun dtrip s t o Sal t Lak e City a s Delt aConnectio n for th e nex t tw o summers , fromJun e 1 , 2010 , throug hSeptembe r 30 , 2010 , an ddurin g th e sam e month s i n 2011 , utilizin g 30-passenge r

Embrae r Brasili aaircraf

t fo r an annua l subsid y o f

$427,757
. Sovereig n Ai r

ha s propose dt o operat e four dail y nonsto p roun dtrip s flight s t o Sal t Lak e City usin g 16-passenge r Metroline r

II I aircraf

t for an annua l subsid y o f

$497,935
. Pleas e not e tha t

th e averag e passenge r

fare s show n i n th e proposa l d o not necessaril y reflec t th e average loca l fare Wes t Yellowston e passenger s woul dactuall y pay , but , rather , reflec t

aprorate dportio n o f

th e tota l ticke t

price , e.g. , th e Wes t

Yellowston e - Sal t Lak e City portio n of

aWes t Yellowston e - Sal t

Lak e City - Lo s Angele s ticke t that SkyWes t woul drealize
. In addition , th e fare show n i s ne t of certai n charge s suc ha s Federa l transportatio n securit y fees , excis e o r ticke t taxes , an dPassenge r

Facilit y Charges
. O f

course , carrier s hav e th e discretio n t o charg e fare s the y dee mappropriate , an dth e passenge r

fare s presente di n thei r

proposal s hav e bee n develope dfo r subsid y rat ecomputatio n purpose s only
. Base do n th e cos t elements incorporate di n th e earners ' computatio n summaries , th e carrier s woul dhav e t o realiz e passenge r fare s comparabl e t o th e average s show n i n thei r proposal s i n orde r

t o achiev e break-eve n o r profitabl e operation s withou t

subsidy
. Yo u shoul dals o not e tha t th e schedule s tha t

th e carrier s hav e submitte dare illustrativ e only , an dtha t

the y ma y 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 at th e hub
. Th e Departmen t expect s subsidize dai r

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

tha t yo u revie w bot hcarriers ' proposal s an dsubmi t an y comment s yo u may hav e befor e w e submi t arecommendatio n t o th e Assistan t Secretary
. W e as k

that yo u submi t

an y comment s yo u ma y hav e n o late r tha n Marc h16 , 2010
. W e wil l carefull y conside r you r comment s befor e w e submi t arecommendatio n t o th e Assistan t Secretary for adecision
. Shoul dyo u hav e an y question s o r nee dadditiona l tim e t o draf t you r comments , pleas e le t

u s know
. Pleas e sen dyou r

conmient s emai l at

EAS@dot.go v o r

b y fa x t o 202-366-7638
. I

f you hav e an y questions , pleas e fee l fre e t o contac t Kevi n Schlemme r

o f my staf f at kevin.schlemmer@dot.go v o r 202-366-3176
. A similar lette r ha s bee n sen t

t o th e Mayo r

of th e Tow n o f

Wes t Yellowston e an dth e Montan aDepartmen t

o f Transportation , Aeronautic s Division
.

Sincerely ,

Denni s J
. DeVan y ^ Chief , Essentia l Ai r

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