· Cityof / 

Dodge City 

P.O. Box 880 

Dodge City, KS 67801-0880 

Phone: 620/225-8100 

FAX: 620/225-8144 

ITY: 620/225-8115 

www .dodgecity .org 

Mr. Kevin Schlemmer, Chief 

EAS and Domestic Analysis Division, X-53 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

Dear Kevin: 

January 13, 2014 

·. '-~ 

Re: EAS Proposals 

Dodge City, Kansas 

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Docket DOT-OST 1998-3502 

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Please accept this letter as the community response and recommendation for the 

provision of Essential Air Service for the city of Dodge City, Kansas. As you are aware, Dodge 

City was one of the initial participants in the EAS Program and has long recognized the 

importance of the program in fulfilling the air service needs of small, geographically isolated 

cities and the critical need of such communities for access to the nation's air transportation 

system. 

After a careful review of the proposed service as presented by both Great Lakes and 

SeaPort Airlines, the City Commission has unanimously endorsed the staffs recommendation of 

continuation of the Essential Air Service as provided by the Great Lakes Airlines proposal. A 

primary factor in our endorsement of the Denver service, as proposed by Great Lakes, is that 

such service allows for the continuation of the "regional" air service concept initiated through the 

joint efforts of Dodge City and Garden City during the last contract term. Since the introduction 

of Dallas service at Garden City and Denver service at Dodge City and Liberal, passenger 

hoardings at all three communities have more than doubled. This increase in overall air traffic 

provides substantial evidence of, not only the need for federally supported air transportation 

throughout the southwest region of the State of Kansas, but also the regional need for access to 

diversified air services hubs. Even though the service proposed by SeaPort is less costly, it is our 

belief that continuation of the current regional program best serves the air transportation needs of 

the geographically isolated, but growing communities of Southwest Kansas, and as such 

embraces the underlying principles and intent of the Essential Air Service program. 

Although the City of Dodge City strongly recommends the continuation of the current 

regional service presently in effect, we would be remiss in our responsibility to our traveling 

public if we neglected to address a serious concern regarding a substantial increase in the number 

of cancellations of Great Lakes flights at both Dodge City and Liberal. In our conversations with 

Great Lakes officials it appears that the recent increase in such cancellations is the result of the 

lack of availability ofproperly certified pilots under recently enacted FAA regulations. We have 

been assured by Great Lakes officials that steps are being taken to remedy, or at least mitigate, 

this troublesome issue and that improvement should appear in the next few months. We would 
strongly recommend that the EAS office and DOT do what can be done to assist in finding a 

remedy to this situation which impacts all regional carriers and threatens the continued success 

of the entire EAS program. 

Thank you for this opportunity to review and provide our comments and 

recommendations as well as· your continuing efforts to preserve and embrace the Essential Air 

Service program which provides rural America with access to the nation's air transportation 

network. 

Cc: Senator Pat Roberts 

Senator Jerry Moran 

Representative Tim Huelskamp 

Kevin Adams 

Ken Strobel. 

City Attorney 

City of Dodge City, Kansas