Order: 2013

- 1

- 5

Served January 4, 2013

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 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

on the 4 th day of January , 20 1 3

Essential Air Service at

MACON, GEORGIA

Under 49 U.S. C. 47131 et seq

. DOCKET DOT

- OST

- 2007

- 28671



### ORDER REQUESTING PROPOSALS

Summary

By this Order, the Department of Transportation is requesting proposals from air carriers

interested in providing EAS at Macon for a new contract , with or without subsidy . (See

Appe ndix A for a map). Proposals are due by January 31 , 201 3

.

B a c k g r o un d

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, inclusive.” Macon is eligible for

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

through January 24, 2011 , and subsidy

- free service starting Jan uary 25, 2011

. However, on

April 26, 2012, Pacific Wings filed a 90

- day notice of its intent to terminate its unsubsidized

service at Macon, which triggered a carrier

- selection case

.

Pacific Wings’ proposed termination of service at Macon would have le ft the community with no

scheduled air service whatsoever. As a result, the Department issued Order 2012

- 5

- 25, on

May 24, 2012, which prohibited Pacific Wings from terminating service for 30 days beyond the

end of the 90

- day notice period, i.e. August 25, 2012, and requested proposals from air carriers

interested in providing EAS at Macon , with or without subsidy. In response to that Order, we

received two proposals.

By Order 2012

- 9

- 6, issued on September 6, 2012, the Department selected Sun Air Express,

LLC d/b/a Sun Air International (“Sun Air”) to provide subsidized EAS at Macon for a two

- year

contract. However, on December 20, 2012, Sun Air sent an e

- mail to the Department

withdrawing from the case and encouraging the re

- solicitation of proposals for EAS at Macon.

Sun Air explained that it is undergoing an aggressive expansion, experiencing challenges in

completing pilot recruiting and training, and establishing maintenance bases in Texas, Maryland,

and Pennsylvania has proven more difficult than ant icipated. In response to Sun Air’s2

notification, we contacted the community and it supports our issuance of a new request for

proposals. As a result, we will now solicit proposals from carriers interested in providing service

to Macon.

Legislative Chan ges Which May Affect Future EAS Eligibility at Macon

The FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (Pu blic Law No: 112

- 95) amended 49 U.S.C.

§ 41731(a)(1)(B) to change the definition of “eligible place” for the purpose of receiving EAS.

The amendment state s that to be eligible, a community must maintain an average of 10

enplanements or more per service day, as determined by the Secretary, during the most recent

fiscal year beginning after September 30, 2012. 1 The legislation exempts locations in Alaska

and Hawaii and communities that are more than 175 driving miles from the nearest large or

medium hub airport. As Macon is only about 81 miles from the Atlanta airport, the community

must meet the 10

- enplanement

- a

- day threshold for EAS to continue after FY201 3, barring a

waiver from the Secretary.

In the most recent fiscal year for which data are available, FY201 2 (October 201 1

- September

201 2 ), Pacific Wings generated a total of 1,389 passengers (inbound and outbound), or an

average of fewer than three enpla nements per day. 2 T he Department will continue to monitor

Macon ’ s eligibility to receive EAS in light of these new requirements throughout the life of any

executed contract. The Department may terminate a contract for any community receiving EAS

if enplan ements remain below 10 per day during FY2013 , barring a waiver from the Secretary

.

Additionally, communities are no t eligible for subsidized air service if their per passenger

subsidy exceed s $ 1,000. 3 The Department strongly encourages the community an d any air

carrier proposing to serve Macon, to work together to increase enplanements and maintain a

reasonable subsidy per passengers level i n order to avoid termination of eligibility for subsidy

under the EAS program. We will monitor both the subsidy p er passenger rate and the

10

- enplanement threshold during this upcoming contract to ensure compliance with the statute.

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 January 31, 2013 . After that date, our staff will docket all 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 their final comments. We will gi v e

full consideration to all proposals filed in a timely manner. 4

1 The Secretary also has authority to waive the 10 passenger requirement, on an annual basis, if the community can

demonstrate that the reason the location averages fewer than 10 passengers per day is due to a temporary decline in

enplanements. See 49 U.S.C. § 41731(e).

2 Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics; Form 41, Schedule T

- 100. Daily averages are based on one

- half of

the O&D passengers, divided by 313 service days (314 during leap years).

3 See 49 USC §§ 41731(a)(1)(C).

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

Essential Air Service without subsid y and we determine that service can be reliably provided without such3

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 carriers 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 reject ion will remain on l y occasional exceptions to the rule.

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 e xpect 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; however, they m i ght want to inc l ude proposed

sc hedules 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 the affected communities and the Departmen t. 5

With specific respect to Macon, given the very low passenger levels, we ask that carriers

submit proposals for two nonstop round trips per day (12 a week) to Atlanta with any sized

aircraft. We will also entertain proposals to serve other hubs that p rovide access to the

national air transportation system in order to give the Department and the community as broad

an array of proposals as possible from which to choose. Of course, as always, we will

formally solicit the community’s views on any service o ptions we receive before making a

long

- term, carrier

- selection decision. The community and air carriers are encouraged to work

together in advance of the due date for proposals to craft a service pattern that is desirable to

the community and meets the ope rational needs of the airline interested in submitting a

proposal.

We encourage proposals that meet these requirements in an efficient manner. Carriers are also

welcome to propose more than one service option, if they choose; they need not limit themselve s

to those requirements if they envision other, potentially more attractive service possibilities

– different length of contract , for example

-- with subsidy requirements that remain competitive.

compensation, we typically do not proceed with the carrier

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

subsidy

- free service as proposed.

5 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 consider 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 thi s Order contains those general provisions.4

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

have summarized historical passengers in Appendix B. In 201 2 , Macon generated 1,389 O&D

passengers, averaging fewer than three enplanements a day. 6

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

. 7 Consequent l y, all air carriers

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

Department regulat ions regarding drug

- free workplaces and nondiscrimination, and those air

carr i ers whose subsidies exceed $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 carr iers 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, s hould 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

. 8

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 ies before they submit their proposals so that

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

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 January 31, 2013 , the due da t e for air

carr i er proposals.

Finally, by separate Orders, we will continue to require Pacific Wings to continue to serve

Mac on pending the conclusion of this carrier

- selection case.

This Order is issued under authori t y delega t ed in 49 CFR Part 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 i n providing E ssential A ir S erv i ce at Macon,

Georgia , submit their proposals, with or without subsidy requests, no later than

January 31, 2013 . The proposals should be emailed to: EAS@dot.gov with the title

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

- half of total origin

- and

- destination traffic,

and average enp lanements per day are based on weekdays and weekends each quarter, except as no ted.

7 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 Transportation

– Effectuation of

title VI of the Civil R ights 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).

8 The certifications are also available on the web at http://ostpxweb.dot.gov/aviation/index.html.5

“Proposal to Provide Essential Air Service at Macon, Georgia ( Docket DOT

- OST

- 2007

-

28671 ) ; ” 9

2. The Department will serve copies of this Order on the civic officials of Macon, Georgia

, Pacific Wings, L.L.C

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

3. Dockets DOT

- OST

- 2007

- 28671 will remain open until furt her Order of the Department.

This Order will be effective immediate l y, and the filing of a petition for rev i ew shall not

preclude its effectivenes s

.

Persons entitled to petition the Depar tment for review of this Order under the Department’s

Aviation Economic Regulations, 14 CFR Part 385.50, must file such petitions within ten (10)

days after the date of service of this Order.

This Order will be effective immediately, and the filing of a p etition for review shall not

preclude its effectiveness.

By:

TODD M. HOMAN

Director

Office of Aviation Analysis

(SEAL)

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

http://ww w.regulations.gov

9 Questions regarding filings in response to this Order should be directed to Mr. Scott Faulk at scott.faulk@dot.gov

or (202) 366

- 9967.Appendix A



### A R EA M APAppendix B



### Historic Traffic at Macon, Georgia 1

1 Source: Bureau of Tr ansportation Statistics: Schedule T

- 100 Fiscal

Year Quarter Inbound

Passengers Outbound

Passengers Total

2010 1 223 224 447

20 10 2 318 227 545

2010 3 463 376 839

2010 4 303 365 668

2,499 Tot al

Fiscal

Year Quarter Inbound

Passengers Outbound

Passengers Total

2011 1 259 236 495

2011 2 222 185 407

2011 3 252 219 471

2011 4 339 2763 615

1,988 Total

Fiscal

Year Quarter Inbound

Passengers Outbound

Passengers Total

2 01 2 1 247 184 431

2012 2 197 153 350

2012 3 191 184 375

2012 4 126 107 233

1,389 TotalAppendix 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 i t 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 ons id 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 h ould 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 io d 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 djus tm 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

March 31, 2013 . 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

March 31, 2013 , 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 b ili 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 March 31, 2013 , 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 March 31, 2013 , 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 aqu an 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 t on 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