F.s~cnl ia! 1\ ir Service at 

BEFORE TilE 

UEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 

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VICTOI~IA 1 TEXAS ) OST~2005~20454 

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UndC'r 49 U.S.C. ~4 I 731 e1 seq. J 

SlJN AIH INTERNATIONAL PROPOSAL 

TO PJ{OVJOE SUHSlOJZfi:l) ESSENTIAL AIR SERICE 

By Orde1· 20 12·5-16, the Dcp:H'IJllCfll requested n second round of proposals f()l' Esscllt ial Air 

S(~t-vicc !o Victoria, Texas. Pursuant to that order, Sun Air l"7_xpl'css, l J .C. ("Sun Air") cordially· 

submits 1h is proposal to provide subsidizr:d air service to the community of Victoria. Texas. 

Corr~:spondcncc with regard to this document should b~: addressed to: 

Thomas L. Cooper 

Pr·csidcnt & CEO 

Sun Air Express. LLC. dbn Sun Air International 

.120 I (irit'l'in Road. 

Ft. Lauderdale, FL .1.11 12 

TclcpiKJJlc: 954-660-9865 

Fax: 954-~N4-0367 

n-Mail: tkoopercii!gosuna ir.com 

Bid Summa•·y 

S tm Air het·eby nflcrs n propo~alto provide service to the community of Victoria, Tex.a'). Sun 

Air's proposed operations will be operated with nine-passenger twitH::ng,inc Piper Chieftain 

aircrnh. Flights will b~ di:::playcd in major tnwcl agent ~ystems including Onlin~: Travd 

Agencies. 

Still Air has constructed its' proposal to i ncorporatc the fo !lowing c%Ctll ia I elements of pmviding 

succcssl\d, quality nir tmnspt.'lrlation in thcst: proposed markets: 

I. LOW FARFS: Stm Air will market its flights \~'ith a simple. low unrestricted prke stn~<.:ttm\ 

ranging from $39 to $59 each way. The company is projt:ctillg net average fares approximately 

$'~rl each way, net of taxes. Sun 1\ ir slt'ongly bel icvcs that low unre.stric:.tl~d f'arcs arc essential to 

l'owilitating passenger flight connections. pm-riculnrly when using stand:ml interline connections. 
Savings to ctJ.~tnmcrs cnn be subslantinl. Sun Air's local l;tH.'S v,·ill b~: as nw<.:h as 2/3 less than 

thost: currently avnilabk-. allowing passcng.~rs to take advantag~ or interline connections thnt arc 

cutTcnt ly too expensive t.n uti! i1.c. 

2. rtZH)tJENT FIJC11 ITS: Victoria is currently provided \Vith t\'iO wcckd:ly flight~. (lllC <.::~fly in 

the morning nnd on<: in the cvcning. Sun Air would of'lcr rnur weekday round trips providing 

twice as many option~ 1()r making connections. and increasing travd options throughout the day. 

llouston Intercontinental Airport is one of United AirlitK~s larg<.~st hub cit ics, ;llld is served by nil 

other major Jld,vork airlinrs. Tlw vnst nwj,.ll'ity ofdcr;ircd dcstinmions can be reached on a oneslop lntsis via llouston Intercom incntal. 

3. INTLRUNL. E-TICKF.TINCI AND BAGCAC!E A(iRLEMENTS Sun Air has provi<kd 1hr n 

~ignllkant invcstm'.:!nl in reservations and distriblltion systcrns to acquire access to industry 

interline and bnggHgc agreements with most major airlines. These agreements allow for 

pa~:;cngcrs to complete their itinerary on a single ticket and allow f(w that full it incrary to be 

displayed in Globall)isrributkm Syst(.':Jl1S and Online Tmvel Agencies. 

5. A COMMITMENT TO REI~IABILITY: Sun Air's operations in<.:ludc investment in a regional 

maintenance base, staffed by a full compkment of technicians. as well as a full-time backup 

aircraft. 

Service Proposal 

Sun Air will prnvidc 1i1ur (4) daily round trips per weekday to Victoria. withl\"-'0 (2) daily round 

trips to ca~:h on Saturday and two (2) daily round trips to each on Sunday. All !lights will operate 

on a non-stop basis to Houston's Intercontinental Air·port. 

Sun Air proposes iltl Esscrllial Air Service subsidy of$H57 per depmiurc for a t\\'O-y..::ar period. 

A reprcscniH1ivc schcdolc. aloug with pa::>SCiil:l,Cf'. r·cvcm1e and cost. pr~jections, are. im:orporalt:tl in 

Schedule l. 
Ahout Sun Air Intcr·rwtional 

Sun Air Fxpn:ss. I ,I,(" i~ a Fort I .audcrdak. Fl, ba~l.~d iJir taxi operation s~;.-rving !'lorida and th\:· 

Bahamas. and ofl\.~rs OJNkmand air cargo scrvic<.\S within Florida nnd the !1ahan1a:-,, a~ well as 

schcdubl ~crviccs with f('!ur or f(~wcr weekly !lights tn Cat Island. (/rcat Harbour Cay. Chub Cay. 

and Andros Island in the Bahamas. 

Sun 1\ir currently has a fled of six Piper Chieftain aircraft. all OWil(d Cree ;md dear. and is 

prepared to acquire :;uf11ciclll :1dditionnl aircra1i needed to support the proposal a\varded h~rc. 

The nirli1w has access to tlw financial rcsourc\:'S necessary to m:quin.~ llh: additional cquipnlcnt. 

Tlw airline has been in operation for more than ten y~:~ars. and was purchased in May. 20 II by 

TIH.Hllri~ I '• ('O<.Jj)Cl'. M r, O.tOjKJ' i:,; the founder or ::;ewral region:~ I airline:;, including <lulf:;trcam 

lnternmionnl Airlines. where he also f()unded Sun Air as a subsidiary of(iull'strcam. He sold his 

interests in Gulf~tr~am to a private inwstmcnt group in 200(J. Mr. Cooper has been involved in 

aviation for more tlwn 40 year!\, including more than 20 year!\ as a 7'27 Captain for Eastern 

Airlines in addition to his cxt<.~nsiw career with regional airlines. Sinn: hi::; ncquisition of'S1lll Air 

in M:1y of la:;t ycnr, he has invested hC<lVily in new aircr;-111, suppo11 equipment and additimwl 

support personnel. 

Sun Air filed a commuter air carder application with the Department's Air Carrkr Fitness 

Division on September 9, 20 ll as part of its plans to provide regular scheduled passenger air 

transportmion. On .June I, 20 12 via Order 20 12~6-1 the Depm1ment issued a Show Cau:;e. Order 

tentatively finding that Sun Air is fit, willing and abk to provi<k scheduled operations as n 

commuter ail' catTier. Should Sun Air be awat·dcd and operate Essential Air Service routes, the 

~:ompany will provid(:: the Dcpa1iment with appropriate supplcnwntal fitness infcmnation to 

support those opera I ions. 
SCHEDULE I 

F~(lM___________ -------·····-·----HL. ______________ JlL!:'l .. --.. ·····--···· ;\ I~R 

VICTORIA lfOUS"fON 5,1);\M 645r\M 

IIC>USTON 

Passenger 

Other Revenues 

TOTAL OPERATING REVENUE 

OPERATING EXPENSES 

Flight Operations 

Fuel 

Maintenance 

Passenger S~rvice 

Aircraft Ownership 

Other 

Total Operatine Cost 

OPERATING INCOME/(lOSS) 

VICTOHIA 

Profit Element • 5% of Operating Costs 

Subsidy Required 

94 ~;\ M I 045/\M 

210PM 

<iOOPM 

XOOAM 

lliSAM 

400PM 

74SPM 

Annual 

····· vC1#AH•····· 

$ 583,042 

--- 26,502 

$ 609,544 

290,200 

702,702 

535,380 

835,852 

176,000 

----~3-~~!~9. 2,765,314 

$ 138,266 

,.J.J2,294,036) 

130PM 

700PM 

900A M 

1215PM 

500PM 

8'15PM 
ASMs (OOO's) 

RPMs (OOOs) 

Load Factor 

Average Fare, ne\ of tax 

EAS Subsidy per Departure 

Departures 

Block Hours 

r:light Hours 

Available Seats 

Passengers 

Avg Daily Enplanernents 

$ 

$ 

2,963,395 

1,629,867 

55.0% 

44.00 

857 

2,677 

2,677 

2,142 

24,093 

13,251 

18.2 

In conclw;ion, Sun Air believe:; thH1 its pmposal will provide cx~:cllcnt levels of ::;crvicc to the 

community of Vidoria. and ensure that they lwvc pmpct· acc.csil to the national air lran~porlation 

nctVv(H'k. offering cosf .. cfk~clivc options that meet the requirements oftlw Esscnlial Air Service 

Program. 

R~sp~~ctf"ully Submincd: .lww 6. 2012 

Thomas L. Coopct· 

President & CEO 

Sun Air Fxpr\~ss, LLC.