March I, 2014

Kevin Schlemmer, Chief Essential Air Service Division Office ofAviation Analysis United States Department ofTransportation 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Room 64171 Washington, D.C. 20590 

## NORTHERN MAINE REGIONAL AIRPORT

Subject: Airline Schedule atPQI

Dear Mr. Schlemmer:

Please find attached a copy of an airline schedule developed by our air service consultant. This schedule is similar to that used by Colgan Air dba US Airways Express for the majority oftheir 11 year tenure atPQI before leaving the market in June of20l2. The recommended schedule seeks to address the significant decline in boardings of20% and several complaints received by the local business community. These complaints stem from the significant shortening ofthe airline operational dayby Pen Air. We would encourage Pen Air to provide an Essential Air Service proposal to USDOT that incorporates this revised schedule. Shortly after entering the Presque Isle and Plattsburg markets, Pen Air made the decision to not overnight two crews inthe out stations. Having the same crew that flew inthe night before flythe first flight the next morning became standard operating procedure. In orderto meet crew rest requirements, the first departure in the morning for PQI moved from 6:00 

### AMto 8:45 

### AM. In addition, the last arrival atnight was moved from 9:10 PM to 8:15PM.

Over the last 10years, the role that Boston Logan plays as aregional airtransportation hub has changed significantly. Many ofthe airports in theNew England region no longer
use Logan as amini hub. Instead, Boston Logan operates very much like an O&D airport. For example both Portland and Bangor, no longer have direct service to Boston. They instead fly directly to the respective hubs ofthe airlines that serve them. None of the legacy carriers with which.Pe!!.~ir h~.llIl. interline agreement have Boston Logan as one oftheir hubs. ThereforeifuliiY'~f,J~ose'cdfltleBting out ofPQI are required to fly to a hub from Boston only to catch,i,l1!Qth~;f1ight to\th~r final destination. In addition, connecting to airlines located 

## hi termliill1sothetlliiin TeIJ:TlU:la:i' 

## B requires the passenger to go through security a secomltime. TI1is;~44~to)he tilii6"requirement to make a connc:cti~n. Give? the .added.s~oll~~~.!~~~fi;O?~~~ip,"~ qpJio~ to avoid the time loss ofswitching termmals 10Boston;"lt IS lniperativ~tilg1V~'ih~b:usmess traveler an early

650 Airport Drive. Suite 11, Presque Isle, ME 04769 Phone: 207-764-2550 • FAX: 207-764-2551 www.FlyPresquelsle.com An Equal Opportunity Employer

### departure of6:00 AM out ofPQI and alate arrival into PQI of 10:10PM. Under the

current schedule, the business traveler must leave the day before any moming meetings andreturn aday later after any afternoon meetingS. In short he can not reach even the largest business markets onthe East Coast by 9:00 am andhave afull day ofmeetings andmake itback home the same day.

Ithank you for your time. Ifyou have any questions, feel free to give acall at (207) 764- 2550.
Best Regards, 

# M~
ScottWardwell AiIport Director
Cc: Michael F. MartinHere isthe "ideol" PQI-BOSschedule developed by SixelConsulting:

KS124 KS126 KS128

KS125 KS127 KS129 PQI

6:00 11:00 16:30
BOS 8:50 14:00 20:30 BOS

7:40 12:40 18:10

PQI 10:30 15:40 22:10 1234567

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