Order 2012

- 5

- 25

Served: May 24, 2012

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

on the 24 th day of May, 20 1 2

Essential Air Service at

MACON, GEORGIA

Under 49 U.S. C. 4 17 31 et seq. DOCKET DOT

- OST

- 2007

- 28671



### ORDER PROHIBITING SUSPENSION OF SERVICE

AND REQUESTING PROPOSALS

Summary

By this Order, the Department prohibits Pacific Wings, L.L.C., d/b/a Georgia Skies (“Pacific

Wings”), from terminating service at Macon, Georgia , for 30 days beyond the end of the 90

- day

notice period, i.e

. , August 25, 2012. We are also requesting proposals from air carriers

intereste d in providing Essential Air Service (“EAS”) at Macon , with or without subsidy . (See

Appendix A for a map). Proposals are due June 20 , 2012

.

B a c k g r o un d

By Order 2008

- 5

- 43, May 29, 2008, the Department selected Pacific Wings to provide EAS at

the community for the two

- year period through September 30, 2010 , for an annual subsidy rate

of $1,386,306. 1

In anticipation of the end of that rate term, the Department issued Order 2010

- 5

- 33,

May 28, 2010, requesting proposals from air carriers interested i n providing replacement service

at Macon, with subsidy support if necessary, for the two

- year period beginning October 1, 2010.

The Department received proposals from four ai r carriers, but

, by Order 2010

- 10

- 5, we rejected

the proposals of all four air carriers. We rejected two of the proposal s because those air carriers

did not have the requisite operating authority at that time. We rejected t he remaining two

proposals because the per passenger subs idy from both proposals would have exceeded the

subsidy

- per

- passenger ceiling. Then , o n December 14, 2010, Pacific Wings filed the following:

1 By Order 2010

- 10

- 5, October 7, 2010, we extended that rate until further Department action. That service

consisted of 26 nonstop round trips a week, operated with 9

- seat Cessna 208

- B aircraft.

U N

I T E D S

T A T E S O F A

M E R I C A D E P A R T M E N T O F T R A N S P O R T A T

I O

N- 2

-

“At this point, [Pacific Wings] has invested far too much in Macon to simply walk away.

Please accept this corr espondence as notice that [Pacific Wings] is withdrawing its bid

for subsidized service at Macon, but will continue to serve the community without

subsidy.”

In light of the above, the Department terminated that carrier

- selection proceeding and relied on

P acific Wings’ subsidy

- free service to continue to meet Macon’s EAS needs. Pacific Wings

continued to provide subsidy

- free service until April 26, 2012, at which point the carrier filed the

current 90

- day notice of intent to terminate its unsubsidized s erv ice at Macon, effective

July 26, 2012.

Hold

- In

The Department’s FY 2012 appropriation (P.L. 112

- 55) limited eligibility in the EAS program in

the lower 48 states to certain communities, including those that received subsidized EAS “at any

time between September 30, 2010, and September 30, 2011, inclusi ve.” Macon is eligible for

subsidized service because it was receiving service on a subsidized basis from Pacific Wings

through January 24, 2011.

Pacific Wings’ proposed termination of service at Macon would leave the community with no

scheduled air serv ice whatsoever

. In this circumstance, 49 U.S.C. 41731(a)(1)(c) requires the

Department to prohibit the air carrier from terminating such service for 30 days beyond the end

of i ts 90

- day notice, i.e.

, August 2 5

, 2012. We will require Pacific Wings to cont inue to

maintain the cu rrent level of service at Macon for successive 30

- day periods until we have

completed processing the air carrier

- replacement case and the selected air carrier has actually

started service. 2

R e qu e st f or P r o p osals

W e are here requesting proposals from air carriers interested in providing service at Macon,

with or without subsidy support, for a new two

- year period. Air carriers should file their

proposals no later than June 20

, 2012. After that date, our staff will docket proposals, thereby

making them public, and direct each air carrier to serve a copy of its proposal on the civic

parties and other applicants. Shortly thereafter, we will provide a summary of the proposals

to community officials and ask them to submit thei r final comments. We will gi v e full

consideration to all proposals filed in a timely manner. 3

We are here providing interested air carr i ers with some basic information to s erve as guidance

when they prepare their proposals, but we will not prescribe a precise format for their

proposals. We expect proposals to adequately de s cribe the service being proposed and the

annual amount of subsidy being requested. The applicants can make their own judgments as

to the level of detail they wish to present; howeve r, they m i ght want to inc l ude proposed

2 In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 41734(c), we will extend Pacific Wings’ service obligation for successive 30

- day

periods as necessary until replacement service actually begins.

3 Carriers should not expect the Department to accept late filings. In cases where a carrier proposes to provide

Essential Air Service without subsidy and we determine that service can be reliably provided without such

compensation, we typically do not proceed with the carrier

- selection case. Instead, we simply rely on th at carrier’s

subsidy

- free service as proposed.- 3

-

schedules as well as supporting data for their subs i dy requests, such as projected block hours,

revenues and expenses. We strongly encourage clear, well

- documented proposals that will

facilitate their evaluation by t he affected communities and the Department. 4

Interested air carriers should prepare their propo s al with every expectation that their initial

proposal will also be their final and only proposal. We retain the discretion to negotiate

proposals with air car riers when we deem it desirable; in such cases, of course, we will give

all applicants the same opportuni t y. We also retain the discretion to reject outright all

unreasonab l e or unrealistic proposals and solicit a new round of proposals. However, we

anticipate that negotiation or rejection will remain on l y occasional exceptions to the rule.

In order to assist air carriers in developing traffic and revenue projections for their proposals, we

have summarized historical passengers in Appendix B. In 201 1, Macon generated 1,988 O&D

passengers, an average of three enplanements a day. 5

O t h e r Air Ca rr i e r R e qu i reme n t s

The Department is responsible for implementing various Federal statutes governing l obbying

activities, drug

- free workplaces and nondiscrimination

. 6 Consequent l y, all air carriers

receiving Federal subsidy to support EAS must certify that they are in compliance with

Department regulations regarding drug

- free workplaces and nondiscrimination, and those air

carr i ers whose subsidies e xceed $100,000 over the life of the rate term must also certify that

they are in compliance with the regu l ations governing lobbying activities. All air carriers that

plan to submit proposals involving subsidy should submit the required certifications along

with their proposals. Interested air carriers requiring more detailed infor m ation regarding

the s e requirements, as well as copies of the certifications, should contact the Off i ce of

Aviation Ana l ysis at (202) 366

- 5903. The Department is prohibited from paying subsidy to

air carriers that do not submit these document s

. 7

C o m m un i t y C o m m e n ts

Civic officials and the State are welco m e to submit comments at any time. We encourage

prospective applicants to contact the communi t y before they submit their proposals so that

they can tailor them to the communi t y ’ s needs, as they will not be ab l e to amend them after

4 In selecting an air carrier to provide subsidized EAS, 49 U.S.C. 41733(c)(1) directs us to consider four factors:

(1) service reliability; (2) contractual and marketing arrangements with a larger carrier at the hub; (3) interline

arrangements with a larger carrier at the hub; and (4) community views. In addition, the Consolidated

Appropriations Act, 2008, Public Law 110

- 161, provides that when selecting an air carrier to provide EAS, the

Department may cons ider the relative subsidy requirements, thus codifying a factor that we have considered since

the inception of the program. Interested carriers should also be aware that our general provisions governing EAS

will be included in the selection Order as part of our authorization of subsidy for the selected service. Appendix C

of this Order contains those general provisions.

5 See Appendix B for historical traffic data. Enplanements represent one

- half of total origin

- and

- destination

traffic, and average enpl anements per day are based on 313 service days a year

. 6 The regulations applicable to these areas are: (1) 49 CFR Part 20

– New restrictions on lobbying; (2) 49 CFR

Part 21

– Nondiscrimination in federally

- assisted programs of the Department of Transport ation

– Effectuation of

title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; 49 CFR Part 27

– Nondiscrimination on the basis of disability in programs

and activities receiving or benefiting from Federal financial assistance; and 14 CFR Part 382

– Nondiscrimination

on the basis of disability in air travel; and (3) 49 CFR Part 29

– Government

- wide debarment and suspension (non

procurement) and government

- wide requirements for drug

- free workplace (grants).

7 The certifications are also available on the web at http://ostpxweb.dot.gov/aviation/index.html.- 4

-

the due date. As noted earlier, we will provide a copy of the propo s als to the civic parties and

ask them to submit their final comments short l y after June 20 , 2012, the due da t e for air

carr i er proposals.

This Order is issued under authori t y delega t ed in 49 CFR 1.56a(f) and re

- delegated to the

Director, Office of Aviat i on Ana l ysis.

ACCORDI N G L Y,

1. We request that air carriers interested in providing E ssential A ir S erv i ce at Macon,

Georgia , submit their proposals, with or without subsidy requests, no later than June 20 , 2012.

The proposals should be emailed to: EAS@dot.gov with the title “Proposal to Provide

Essential Air Service at Macon, Georgia ( Docket DOT

- OST

- 2007

- 28671 ) ” 8

2. The Department prohibits Pacific Wings, L.L.C., d/b/a Georgia Skies, from suspending

their service at Macon, Georgia, at the en d of its 9 0

- day notice period and require it to

maintain its current level of service, as specified in Order 2011

- 1

- 14, issued on January 18,

2011 , through August 25 , 2012, or until an air carrier capable of providing reliable Essential

Air Service actuall y begins service, whichever comes first; 9

3. The Department will serve cop i es of this Order on the civic offic i als of Macon, Georgia

, Pacific Wings, L.L.C

. , d/b/a Georgia Skies, and the parties listed in Appendix D ;

By:

SUSAN L. KURLAND

Assistant Secretary for

Aviation and International Affairs

(SEAL)

An electronic version of this document is available on the World Wide Web at

http://www.regulations.gov

8 Questions regarding filings in response to this Order should be directed to Mr. Scott Faulk at

scott.faulk@dot.gov or (202) 366

- 9967.

9 In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 41734(c), we will extend Pacific Wings’ service obligation for successive 30

- day

periods as necessary until replacement service actually begins.Appendix A



### A R EA M APAppendix B



### Macon Georgia 1

Y ear Q ua r t er I nbound

Pax O u t bound

Pax T o t a l

2009 1 373 348 721

2009 2 369 385 754

2009 3 332 317 649

2009 4 323 274 597

2,721 T o t a l

2010 1 223 224 447

2010 2 318 227 595

2010 3 463 376 839

2010 4 303 365 668

2,549 T o t a l

2011 1 259 236 495

2011 2 222 185 407

2011 3 252 219 471

2011 4 339 276 615

1,988 T o t a l

1 Source: Bureau of Transportati on Statistics; Schedule T

- 100.Appendix C

E xample of G e n e r a l T e r m s a nd C ondi t ions f or Es s e n t i a l A ir Se r v i c e

The air c a rr i e r un d er st a nds t h a t it m a y f o rfe it its c omp e ns a tion f or a n y f li g hts th a t it do e s not

op era te in c o n f o r m a n c e with the t er ms a nd stipul a tions of the ra te Order

, i n c luding the s er vi c e

pl a ns outlin e d in the Order a nd a n y oth e r s i g ni f i c a nt e l e m e nts of the re qui re d s er vi ce , without

p r ior a p p r ov a l. The air c arr i e r und e r st a nds th a t a n a i r cr a f t t a k e

- o f f a nd l a nding a t its s c h e du l e d

d e stin a tion c onstitut e s a c ompl e t e d f li g ht; a bs e nt a n e x pl a n a tion suppo r ting subsi d y e li g i b ili t y f o r

a f l i g ht th a t h a s n ot b ee n c ompl e t e d, su c h a s cer t a in w ea th e r ca n ce ll a tions, o n l y c ompl e t e d f li g hts

a r e c onsid ere d e l i g ible f or su b si d y

. I n a ddition, if the air carr i e r d o e s not s c h e dule or o p era t e its

f li g hts in f ull c on f o r m a n c e with the Order f o r a s i g ni f i ca nt p e r iod, it m a y j e op ar di z e its e nti r e

subsi d y c l a im f or t he p er iod in qu e stion. I f the air c a rr i e r c ont e mpl a t e s a n y su c h c h a ng e s b e y ond

the s c ope o f the Order du r ing the a ppli ca ble p e r iod of th e se ra t e s, it must f i r st noti f y the O ff i c e of

Avi a tion An a l y sis in w r iti n g a nd r ece ive w r itt e n a pp r o v a l f r om the D e p a r tm e nt to be e nsu re d o f

f ull c omp e ns a tion. S hould c i rc umst a n ce s w ar r a n t , the D e p ar tm e nt m a y l o c a te a nd s e l e c t a

re pl a ce m e nt air c arr i e r to p r ovide s er vi c e on th e se r out e s. The air c a rr i e r must c ompl e te a ll

f li g hts th a t ca n b e s a f e l y op era t e d; f l i g hts th a t ov e rf l y points f o r l ac k of t r a f f ic will not be

c omp e ns a t e d. I n d e t er m i ning wh e t h e r subsi d y p a y m e nt f o r a d e v i a ting f l i ght should be a djust e d

or dis a llow e d, t he D e p a r tm e nt will c onsid e r the e x t e nt to whi c h the g o a ls of the p r og ra m a r e m e t

a nd the e x t e nt of acce ss to the n a tion a l a ir t ra nspo r t a tion s y s t e m p r ovid e d to the c ommuni t y

.

I f the D e p ar tm e nt unil a t e ra l l y

, e ith e r p a r ti a l l y or c ompl e t e l y , t er min a t e s or re du ce s p a y m e nts f or

s e r vi c e or c h a ng e s s er vi c e r e qui re m e nts a t a sp ec i f ic lo c a tion p r ovid e d f or und e r this Order, th e n,

a t the e nd of the p e r iod f or whi c h the D e p ar tm e nt d o e s m a ke p a y m e nts in the stipul a t e d a mounts

or a t the stipul a t e d s er vi c e l e v e ls, the air c a rr i e r m a y cea se to p r ovide s er v i c e t o th a t sp ec i f ic

lo c a tion without re g a r d to a n y r e qui re m e nt f or noti c e of su c h c e ss a tion. Those a djustm e nts in the

l e v e ls of subsi d y a nd/or s er vi c e th a t ar e mutu a l l y a g r ee d to in w r iting b y the D e p ar tm e nt a nd air

ca r r i e r do not c on s titute a tot a l or p ar ti a l re d u c tion or ce ss a tion of p a y m e nt.

S ubsi d y c ont r a c ts ar e su b j ec t to, a nd in c o rpo r a te b y r ef e re n c e

, r e l e v a nt st a t ut e s a nd D e p ar tm e nt

r e g ul a tions, a s th e y m a y be a m e nd e d fr om time to tim e . How e v er

, a n y su c h st a tut e s, r e g ul a tions,

or a m e ndm e nts th ere to sh a ll not op era te to c ont r o v er t the f o r e g oi n g p ar a g r a ph.

F unds a r e not c u r r e nt l y a v a il a ble f or p erf o r m a n c e und e r this Solicitation b e y ond

September 30, 2012 . The Gov er n m e nt ' s obli g a tion f or p erf o r m a n c e und e r this Solicitation

b e y o n d September 30, 2012 , is subj ec t to the a v a il a bili t y of a pp r op r i a t e d f unds f r o m whi c h

p a y m e nt f or s e r vi ce s c a n be m a d e . No l e g a l li a bili t y on the p a r t of the Go v er nm e nt f or a n y

p a y m e nt m a y a r ise f or p erf o r m a n c e und e r th i s solicitation b e y ond September 30, 2012 , until

f unds ar e m a de a v a i l a ble to the D e p a r tm e nt f or p erf o r m a n c e

. I f f u n ds ar e not m a de a v a il a ble f o r

p e r f o r m a n c e b e y ond September 30, 2012 , the D e p a r tm e nt will p r ovide noti c e in w r iting to the air

c arr i er

.

All c l a ims f or p a y m e nt must be submitt e d within 60 d a y s o f the l a st d a y o f s er vi c e p r ovid e d

und e r this Order.Appendix D

A e r o T w i n, A A C A

, T o n y C e s tn ik DH S

, R a nd y W ebb

Al a s k a Ai r C a rr i e r s A ss o ci a t i o n

, J o y J ou r n ea y No r the r n A i r Ca r g o

, J ohn E c k l es

Al a s k a Ai r l i ne s

, J oe S p r a g u e No r the r n A i r Ca r g o

, K e v en S c h l o ss t e i n

Al a s k a Ai r l i ne s

, S an d y S i n i c k P a c i f i c A i r w a y s

, S t e v e M o n tanus

Al a s k a Cent r a l E x p r e ss

, J ohn S ea m on P e n Ai r C on s u l t a nt, P at r i c k R i zz i

Al a s k a Cent r a l E x p r e ss

, M i k e B e r gt P e n Ai r

, B e t t y G o n z a l ez

Al a s k a Cent r a l E x p r e ss

, S t e v e E n d l i c h P e n Ai r

, Da nn y S e y b e r t

Al a s k a D O T

, Ch r i s t i ne K l e i n P e n Ai r

, O r i n S e y be r t

Al a s k a D O T

, Rebe cc a C r o n k h i te P e n Ai r

, Ro b e r t C o hn

Al a s k a D O T

- Med i c a i d P a ss enger F a r es P e n Ai r

, S c ott B l oo m qu i s t

Al a s k a S e ap l ane s

, C r a i g L o k en P M Ai r

, d/b / a P r o m e c h, Ma r c S e ss o m s

Al s ek Ai r

, L es a n d D e b r a H a r t l e y RI T A

, B e n a r d S tan k us

A rc t i c C i rc l e

, D o n a l d S i ng s aas S e rv ant Ai r

, W e s Os o w s k i

A rc t i c C i rc l e

, K e ll y Ha rr is S k ag w a y

, B e n L i n g l e

A rc t i c T r an s po r tat i on S e rvic es ( A T S )

, W il f r ed R y a n S m o k e y B a y Ai r

, C l a i r e M c Cann

A rc t i c T r an s po r tat i on S e rvic e s

, ( A T S )

, J i m H j e l m S pe r n ak Ai r w a y s

, M i k e S p e r nak

B a k er A v i a t i o n

, Ma rj o ri e Ba k er T anana A i r S e rv i c e, B r i a n Ma r t i n

B e ri ng Ai r

, A l l e n H a dd a di T aquan A i r S e rv i c e, B r i e n S a l a z aar

B e ri ng Ai r

, J i m R o w e T aquan, B e c k i e A l l e n

Cong r e ssi on a l

, M u r k o w s k i

, A r ne F u g l v o g T atondu k

, Cont r o l l e r

, T i na P a y l or

Cong r e ssi on a l

, B e g i c h, A m anda C l au s en T atondu k

, Ma r k et i ng, R ob e r t Ragar

Cong r e ssi on a l

, Y o u ng, J e r e m y P r i c e T atondu k

, O w ne r

, Ro b e r t E v e r ts

Con s u l tan t

, H a nk M y e r s U S P S

, Gr e g G a rc i a

Con s u l tan t

, K en A c ton U S P S

, J o el R o s en

Con s u l tan t

, No r m I sr ae l s on U S P S

, Ma r y T o b i as

E l li s Ai r T a x i

, L y nn E l l is U S P S

, Me r e d i th C h a v e z

, C on s u l t ant

E r a A v i a t i on, M i k e Leno r m an U S P S

, S t e v e De a ton

E R A

, D a v i d M. R i c h a r ds U S P S

, T a y l o r

, Ma r y T

Fr ont i er F l y i n g, B ob Ha j du c o v i c h U S P S

, T i na Ca m pbe l l

Gr ant A v i at i on, B r u c e M cGl a ss on U S P S

, W illi am J ones

Hag e l a n d, M i k e Hag e l a nd W a r be l o w s Ai r V e ntu r e s

, A r thur W a r be l o w

Hag e l a n d, P at r i c k T hu rs ton W a r d Ai r

, E d K i e s e l

Hag e l a n d, S t e v e W ah r n k e W i ngs o f Al a s k a, B ob J a c o b s en

Ha rr i s Ai r

, F l y Ha c k ett W i ngs o f Al a s k a, M i c h e ll e Don o hue

Ha rr i s Ai r

, S c ott W r i ght Ai r S e rv i c e, B ob B u rs i el

Ha rr i s Ai r

, S c ott Ha rr i s Y ut e

, T i m V ott i s

Ho m er Ai r

, A nd y S m i rc i c h

I l i a m na Ai r

, T i m La P o r te

In l a nd A v i a t i o n, S te p h e n H i l l

I s l and A i r S e r vi c e

, B ob S t a n f o r d

K at m ai A i r

, S on n y P e t e rs on