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U.S . Deparfmen t o f 120 0 New Jerse y Avenue , S E Transportatio n Washington . D C 2059 0 Offic e o f th e Secretar

y Ju l y 19 , 201 0 o f Transportatio n

Th e Honorabl e Marc Kaschke Cit y o f Nort h Platt e 21 1 Wes t 3'''Stree t • NorthPlatte,N E 6910 1 Dea r Mayo r Kaschke : ; . I woul d like to update yo

u on th e essential ai r

servic e (EAS ) situatio n a t Kearney ^r

j Regional Airport , Nort

h Platt e Regional Aiiport , and Wester n Nebrask aRegional Airpoff- " a t Scottsbluff

, an d giv e you a

n opportunity t o offe

r an y comment s on th e recor

d before •w e submi t arecommendatio n to th e Assistan t Secretar y fo r Aviatio n an d International Affairs . A s you know . Grea t Lake s Aviatio n Ltd . (Grea t Lakes ) i s th e cunen t

EA S provider a t your community , an

d thei r contrac t expire s Octobe r

31 , 2010 . I

n anticipatio n o f that , w e issue d Orde r

2010-6-16 , Jun e 11 , 2010 , solicitin g proposal s fromcarrier s intereste d in providin g subsidize d EA S for anew , two-yea

r period , beginnin g November

1 , 2010 . I n respons e t o ou r request , tw o carrier s responded : Grea t Lake s an d Sovereig n Air , Inc . (Sovereig n Air) . You shoul d hav e receive d acop y o f th e proposal s fro

meac h carrier , an

d the y ca n b e accesse d a t www.regulations.go v b y enterin g th e number s DOT-OST-1996-171 5 fo r Kearney , DOT-OST-1999-517 3 for Nort h Platte , and DOT-OST-2003-1453 5 fo r Scottsbluf f in th e searc h block . A s aresult , w e wil l onl y briefl y summariz e themhere . Grea t Lake s ha s propose d on e servic e optio n fo r eac h community , eac h optio n to b e considere d o n astand-alon e basis . Servic e t o al l thre e communitie s woul d b e thre e nonsto p roun d trip s eac h weekda y an d weeken d (1 8 aweek) fromDenver usin g 19-sea

t Beechcraf t 190 0 aircraf

t fo r a n annua l subsid y o f

$1,965,74 0 a

t Kearney , $1,871,76 5 a

t Nort h Platte , an d $1,507,18 5 a t Scottsbluff

. Sovereig n Ai r

ha s propose d fo

r eac h community thre e roun d trip s Tuesday throug h Saturday , an d tw o roun d trip s on Sunday an d Monday , fo r atotal o f 1 8 roun d trip s a wee k to Denver

usin g 19-sea

t Beechcraf

t aircraf t fo r a n annua l subsidy o f

$2,374,45 7 a

t Kearney , $1,516,01 2 Nort h Platte , an d $836,23 1 a

t Scottsbluff

. W e shoul d note , however , tha

t Sovereig n Ai r

doe s no t cuiientl y hav e th e requisit e operatin g authorit y fro meither th e Departmen t

o r th e Federal Aviatio n Administratio n to provid e schedule d ai r service , althoug h i

t ha s submitte d applications . Th e schedule s tha

t th e canier s hav e propose d ar e illustrativ e onl y an d the y ma y make schedul e change s t o reflec t changin g conditions , e.g. , t o bette r meet shiftin g connectin gban

k time s a t th e hub . However , th e Departmen t doe s expec t

asubsidize d air

carrier to maintai n well-time d and well-space d flight s in orde r t o ensur e ful

l compensation . W e reques t

tha t you revie w th e proposal s an d submi t an y comment s you ma

y hav e a s soo n as possible , bu

t n o later than Augus t

13 . W e wil l carefull y conside r your comment s befor e w e submi t

arecommendatio n to th e Assistan t Secretar y fo r adecision . Letter s requestin g feedbac k

hav e als o bee n sen t

t o th e community leader s o f th e othe r tw o citie s a s well . Pleas e sen d your

comment s vi ae-mai l t o EAS@dot.go v o r b y fa x t o 202-366-7638 . I

f yo u hav e any questions , pleas e fee l fre e t o contac t

Michae l Marti n of

m y staf f a t michael.f.martln@dot.go v o r 202-366-6494 . Sincerely ,

Denni s J . DeViriy ^ Chie f

< ^ Essentia l Ai r

Servic e Divisio n Offic e o f Aviatio n Analysi s cc : Michae l Matthews , Grea t Lake s Aviation , Ltd . Jo n Payne , Sovereig n Air , Inc .