U.S. Department of

Transportation Office of the Secretary Of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Ave., S.E. Washington, DC 20590


## MAY 7 2014 The Honorable Angus S. King, Jr. United States Senate Washington, DC 20510 Dear Senator King: Thank you for your March 27 letter regarding Essential Air Service (EAS) at Presque Isle, and the carrier selection case that is currently being processed for a new contract to begin July 1, 2014. In your letter, you state the Peninsula Airways, Inc. (PenAir) submitted a proposal to continue serving Presque Isle, and the carrier has announced its intention to continue serving Bar Harbor, without subsidy should it be awarded EAS contracts to serve Presque Isle and Plattsburgh, New York. Further, you ask that the Department give PenAir's proposal every appropriate consideration. PenAir was the only carrier to respond to the Department's solicitation for EAS for a new contract period, and there are two options for Presque Isle. The Department is currently reviewing PenAir's proposal and service options thoroughly. We solicited comments from the communities involved and we are also reviewing those. We expect to issue an Order on this matter in the weeks ahead. Thank you for interest in the EAS program and the communities it serves in Maine. As is our standard practice, I am placing a copy of your letter and my response in Docket DOT-OST-2000-8012. You may track the progress of this case and view the publicly available documents filed in the docket by accessing the Federal Docket Management System at www.regulations.gov and searching for "DOT-OST-2000-8012." Sincerely,

Kevin Schlemmer Chief, Essential Air Service & Domestic AnalysisANGUS S. KING, JR. MAI N E
359 DIR K S E N SE NATE OFFICE B UILDI N G

(202) 224 - 5 344 Web site : htt p : //www,Kin g. S e nate.gov 

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Mr. Kevin Schlemmer Chief, Essential Air S ervi c e Program U .S. Department of Tran s portation 1200 New Jersey Avenue , SE Washing ton , DC 2 0590 Dear Mr. Schlemmer: COMM I T IEE S: ARMED SERVICE S BUDGET ) N TELL I GE NC E RU LE S AN D ADMI NIS TRATI ON 

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I understand that Peninsula Airw ays, Inc
. (Pe I ir) has s ubmitte d a proposal in response to a Request for Proposal (RFP) for Es s ential Air ervice (EAS) flights between Presque Isle , Maine , and Boston , Massachusetts
. PenAir is a regional airline that flies nearly 4 flight s per week in the eastern United States
. The company, which w as f

ounded in 1955 , has prl vided reliable air service to Presque Isl e and Bar Harbor since soon after it w on an Ess ential A r Service (EAS) contrac t to serv e those communities in early 2012. I am aware that enAir has announced its intention to continue Pre s qu e I s le and Platt sburg , New York. I recogni ze that this is a c ompetiti v e RFP an simply request that y ou gi v e PenAir ' s propo s al every appropriate consideration in accordanc l w ith all applicable law s and regulations. Also , I ask that y ou please keep me informed of the tatus of this proce s s. If you have any questions or concern s , ple a s e contact Adam L achman or lex Porter in my o f fice at (2 0 2) 224-5344.

AUGUSTA 4 G abriel Dri ve , Suite Fl Augu s ta , ME 0 4 330 (2 07) 622- 8 29 2 

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S lNG, JR
. Unit d States Senator

R Es aU E I SLE 1 69 Ac demy S treet, S uite A preS f u e I s le , M E 0 47 6 9 ( 07 )7 64- 512 4
I n Ma i n e c l t tc l l - f r e e 1 - 8 0 0 - 4 32 - 1 599 

## ponr on Re cy c l e d Pape r SCA RB OROUG H 383 US R out e 1, Suite 1 C S carbo rou gh , ME 04 07 4 ( 207) 88 3- 1 5 88