& 

U.& Department of 1200 New jersey Avenue, SE 

Transportation Washington, DC 20590 

Office Of the Secretory 

of Transportation 

February 16, 2010 

Debbie Alke 

Administrator 

Montana Department of Transportation, Aeronautics Division 

P.O. Box 200750 

Helena, Montana 59620 

Dear Ms. Alke: 

I would like to update you on the essential air service situation at West Yellowstone 

and give you an opportunity to submit any comments if you wish, As you know, by 

Order 2010-1-1, January 4, 2010, the Department solicited proposals from all interested 

air carriers to provide service at West Yellowstone. In response to that order, we 

received proposals from two carriers, SkyWest Airlines d^/a Delta Connection 

("SkyWest"), and Sovereign Air, Inc. ("Sovereign Air"). 

We have directed each carrier to serve its proposal(s) on you; in addition, copies of the 

proposals maybe accessed online through the Government's docketing system at 

www.regulations.gov by entering "2003-14626" in the "Enter keyword or ID" field. 

SkyWest proposes to continue its historical level of subsidized service of two daily 

nonstop round trips to Salt Lake City as Delta Connection for the next two summers, 

from June 1, 2010, through September 30, 2010, and during the same months in 2011, 

utilizing 30-passenger Embraer Brasilia aircraft for an annual subsidy of $427,757. 

Sovereign Air has proposed to operate four daily nonstop round trips flights to Salt 

Lake City using 16-passenger Metroliner III aircraft for an annual subsidy of $497,935. 

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

reflect the average local fare West Yellowstone passengers would actually pay, but, 

rather, reflect a prorated portion of the total ticket price, e.g., the West Yellowstone - Salt 

Lake City portion of a West Yellowstone - Salt Lake City - Los Angeles ticket that 

SkyWest would realize. In addition, 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 their proposals have been developed for subsidy rate 
computation purposes only. Based on the cost elements incorporated in the carriers' 

computation summaries, the carriers would have to realize passenger fares comparable to 

the averages shown in their proposals in order to achieve break-even or profitable 

operations without subsidy. 

You should also note that the schedules that the carriers have 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 request that you review both carriers' proposals and submit any comments you 

may have before we submit a recommendation to the Assistant Secretary. We ask that 

you submit any comments you may have no later than March 16, 2010. We will carefully 

consider your comments before we submit a reconmiendation 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 email at 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 and Operations Manager of the Town of 

West Yellowstone. 

Sincerely, 

J.A^^ 

Dermis J. DeVan'y 

Chief, Essential Air Service Division, X-53 

Office of Aviation Analysis