### 1/3/2014 

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# -"-. JAMESTOWN REGIONAL AIRPORT -ADMIRALDON WEISS FIELD -

PO Box 1560, Jamestown, North Dakota58402-1560 Phone: 701-252-6466 Fax: 701-252-2919 Website: www.flyjamestown.net


### Mr. Kevin Schlemmer Chief, BAS & 

### Domestic Analysis Room 6401 Office ofAviation Analysis 1200 NewJersey Ave, SE Washington, DC 20590 Dear Mr. 

### Schlemmer,

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### The JamestownRegiorialAirport

### ~uthority**w~icomes** the opportunity to respond to our proposed 2013 DOT Essential.Air-Ser\rice contract, Docket OST-1997-2785. As 

### you know, our sole air carrier service is currently provided by Great:Lakes Airlines 

## with a 19-seatBeech 1900D, · operating twice daily to Minneapolis/St. Paul (KMSP). Our presentservice is operated on a

partial-code share with D_elta Air Lines, which omits many crucial-elements**Weigh~d** 

### by _ . prospective travelers, namely frequent flyer programs such as Delia'sSk:yMiles. t)nfortUnately,**~** . . . 

### this 

### present service structure has not provided our coinmunit)rwith.any sort ofadvan:tage when ·

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### juxtaposedwith our competitors, namely Fargo and Bismarck We've suffered extensively from very expensive through-fares and poor service for travelers connecting with

### oth~r airlines atMSP. Moreover, GreatLakes has exhibited dismal reliability for the duration oftheir contract. To illustrate, over 40% oftheir flights for the Jamestown mark,etwere cancelled in November 2013 as a consequence ofoperationai issues. This is very indicative ofa general lack of

. . . . . . . 

### reliability, which has had aprofound adverse impact on ourboarding numbers. We've gone down from an averagemonthly passenger boarding figure of474 back in 2011, when we were served byPinnacle Airlines d;b.a. Delta Connection, to an average monthly figure of223 with Great Lakes; a staggering loss of53%

### ofour market share. To proceed withthe bid offered by - ,·_ .GreatLakes wouldbe conducive to a furtherance ofthe present situation, which is untenable. With respect to the bid proffered by Sovereign Air; we believe that air service in Jamestown would be fatally compromised ifthe DOT were to award our EAS contract to Sovereign Air. Sovereign Airhas been deficient 

### in providing us with any substantive information about their company regarding issues ofparamount importance to us including, but notlimited to; fare metrics, marketing arrangements with major carriers, and their acquisition and operation of suitable aircraft. The bid for air service submitted by SkyWest in partnership with United Airlines with one JMSdedicated daily flight to and from Denver International Airport utilizing a CRJ-200, 50 passenger jet, is most decidedly our selection. We feel very strongly that a relationship with UnitedAirlines inthe form ofa seamless and integrated marketing agreementwhich allows us to participate in their global network would be very conducive to our success. We've received community feedback from ewer 100 individuals, members ofbusinesses, and organizations who've overwhelmingly and emphatically recommended the selection ofSky West as our commercial air carrier. Please see the attached passenger boarding data chronicling service providers and aircraft and appendix ofletters. Overthe. last several years, we have worked extremely hardto increase ourpassenger enplanements, improve our airport image and infrastructure, and increase the quality ofair service to our community. Our community is presently experiencing large-scale economic growth and commercial development and we are supremely confident that this trendwill not only continue, butrapidly intensify. Being able to offer commercial air service consistentwith the needs ofour burgeoningmarket is imperative and we feel Sky West is the best and only solution at this very criticaljuncture. To reiterate, we're fully aware that the Sky West bid does not meet the 12 round-trip/week requirement as stipulated inthe RFP, but still affirm thatthis is our best and only option. We thank you very much in advance and look forward to working with your office to accomplish ourgoals.

### Respectfully,



### Mr. James Boyd Chairman, Jamestown Regional Airport Authority

Vice Chairman, Jamestown Regional Airport Authority



### Mr. Matthew Leitner 

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# U/ Manager, Jamestown Regional Airport