# Venango County Courthouse Annex 1174 Elk Street Franklin, PA 16323 Phone: 814/432-9512 FAX 814/432-4741 Website: www.co.venango.pa.us

July 18, 2014

The Honorable Anthony Foxx Secretary ofTransportation U.S. Department ofTransportation 1200 NewJersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590 Board ofCommissioners Timothy S. Brooks Vincent L. Witherup Bonnie S. Summers

Solicitor Richard Winkler

ChiefClc•·k!Administrator Denise W. Jones

Re: Support for Petition ofFranklin/Oil City I0 enplanement statute waiver, DocketNo. 1997-2523

Dear Mr. Foxx:

On June 24,2014, the communities ofFranklin/Oil City and theVenango CountyRegional Airport were served with the DepartmentofTransportation Order2014-6-6, Terminating EAS EligibiI ity and EstablishingWaiver Procedures for possible continuation orreinstatement ofcommercial air service to the region.
We, the Commissioners ofthe County ofVenango, ownerand operator ofthe Venango Regional Airp011, write today in supportofa waiverrequest submitted by the Airport Manager on behalfofFranklin/Oil City so that these communities and the Oil Heritage Region which are served by the Venango Regional Airp01t, may have reliable commercial air service that is so vital tothe area's economy.

The decline in the numbers ofcommercial passengers using the local air service began a freefall in 2005, when the flights were reduced to 12 weekly. Prior to thatwe saw significant gro\\1h during the fomth qumter of2004 and were on track to board 4,000 passengers as 2005began with a strong showing through three quatters until the flight levels were reduced eliminatingviable connections. Dmingthis period, the carrier, Mesa, Dba US Airways Express had significant struggles dueto its financially strapped codeshare pm1ner, the downsizing and ultimate elimination ofthat partner's hub airport and spikingoil prices that dramatically impacted operatingcosts. Service was unreliable and many potential passengers made the long drives to Pittsburgh orCleveland rather than risk missed connections. The airline, burdened by the then extraordinary fuel costs and pressures in the hub airport, filed a 90 day notice with the USDOT on May 3 of2007 to terminate its subsidized serviceto Franklin/Oil City and bids were requested by DOTfor a replacement carrierwhile the incumbent was held in.

This delay was difficult for the community as the servicethat had deteriorated greatly from 2004 through 2006 became even worse in 2007 while the incumbent airline grappled with few viable connections remaining and many flight cancellations due to maintenance and crew issues. TheAirline actually went out ofbusiness in May of2008 with a two weeknotice. The community was without air service for over three months until Septemberof2008 when Gulfstream International, (now SilverAirways) began operations. This airline, based in Florida, had no experience operating in northern climates. Onlytwo of their B1900D aircraft had anti skid brakes, a condition that hampered the ability to operate onFranklin's 5200 ft runway dming winter conditions. Beginning in December of2008 the airline averaged 22.8 

### %cancellations during the winter months ofDecember, January and February. Hundreds ofpassengers were affected by the delays and cancellations during those months. The cascadingeffects rendered airport marketing and promotional expenditures virtually useless as the unreliability stories spread. The results were evident as potential passengers avoided the uncertainty offlying from Franklin and enplanements declined further.
Rebuilding the customer base became the sole responsibility ofthe local Airport as the airline did not participate in orcooperate with marketing and promotional effmts. In fact, the airline senior management would not authorize a local phone number to be published and therefore the Airport became the default local contact for the airline. Additionally, the Airpmthas provided ground transpmtation for passengers affected by airline flight irregularities many times over the past 5years in an effmtto promote customer goodwill for the future. We considered the expense for those effmts, which averaged $7,000 annually, to be an investment in the future, anticipatingrestoration ofservice to Pittsburgh. The negative press and headlines during the past few years about the possible loss offunding for the EAS program, and most recently the airline's notice to depart the market altogether has further exacerbated the problems faced by the Airport and the Community in trying to attract customers back to the local air service.

In an effort to improve the air service in the Franklin/Oil City area, the Venango Regional Airport Manager has served on the Pennsylvania Air ServiceCommittee (PASC) since its inception in 2007 and has worked with airport colleagues, the Pennsylvania Depa1tment ofTransportation- Bureau ofAviation (PennDOT) and representatives ofthe Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) to restore service to PIT which is the preferred and natural connectorfor air passengers from this region. The PASC, PIT and PennDot contracted the services ofa consulting finn in 20II to conduct a multi- year study to determine the viability ofrestoring intrastate service to PIT from both EAS and Non EAS communities. There is an opportunity nowto regain service to PIT with an aircarriercommitted to this community operating a business model that has proven successful in many small communities, relatively high frequency, a 9- passenger aircraft, reasonable fares and viable connectivity to major airlines as well as low cost carriers, (LCCs). This is a different business model from whatwe've had and we are aware ofthe positive results experienced in many small markets.

The three airlines that bid on Franklin/Oil City service to PIT all presented essentiallythat same business model as the most viable solution to improve passenger traffic and allow the communityto satisfy EAS minimum requirements ofnot only the I0 enplanements perday but also to attain and maintain the $200 subsidyper passengerrule. We look forward to reconnecting with Pittsburgh with the serviceto be provided by Sun AirInternational. We look to the US DOTto allowFranklin/Oil Cityto start service to PIT under a waiverin orderto provide reliable, timely air service to the region through the restoration ofthe connection to PIT. 

### Thankyou.

0 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

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Cc: Senator Bob Casey Congressmen Glenn Thompson Governor Tom Corbell PennDot Secretary Barry Schoch File