Order 2013

- 11

- 7

Serve d November 12,

2013



### UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

on the 12 th day of November

, 20 1 3

Essential Air Service at

CEDAR CITY , UTAH DOCKET DOT

- OST

- 2003

- 16395

under 49 U.S.C. 41731 et seq.



### ORDER RE

- SELECTING AIR CARRIER

Summary By th is O rder, the Department is re

- selecting SkyWest Airlines, Inc., operating as Delta Connection (SkyWest), to provide Essential Air Service (EAS) at Cedar City

, Utah, for an annual subsidy of $2,317,439

. 1 SkyWest w ill provide 12 weekly round trips to Salt Lake City International Airp ort (Salt Lake City) using 50

- passenger Canadair Regional Jet

CRJ200 (CRJ200) aircraft for a two

- year term beginning January 1, 2014

.

Background By Order 2011

- 9

- 10, issued on Se ptember 15, 2011, the Department re

- selected SkyWest to provide EAS at Cedar City for an annual subsidy of $2,272,395 through

December 31, 2013. It provides two nonstop round trips a day to Salt Lake City using 50

- passenger CRJ200 aircraft

1 Such subsidy is calculated and distributed on a fiscal year basis, subject to the availability of funds.- 2

-

As the end of the contract was a pp roaching, we issued Order 2013

- 7

- 22 on July 30, 2013

,

re questing proposals from air carriers interested in providing EAS at the community for a

new term. In res ponse to tha t Order, the incumbent, SkyWest

, was the only airline to submit a proposal.

The airline’s complete proposal and the community’s comments may be accessed online at www.regulations.gov by entering DOT

- OST

- 2003

- 16395 in the search block.

Proposal of SkyWest SkyWest submitted a proposal for 12 weekly n onstop round trips to Salt Lake City usi ng 50

- p assenger CRJ200 aircraft for an annual subsidy of $2,317,439.

Community Comments On September 11, 2013, the Department solicited comments from the community regarding this air carrier selection case. We received letters from the Honorable Joe Burgess, Mayor of Cedar City, as well as Russ Volk, Airport Manager at Cedar City Regional Ai rport. Both expressed support for SkyWest’s proposal. Mayor Burgess noted that SkyWest has served the community for over 40 years and “...has earned a sterling reputation for reliable quality performance.” Mr. Volk mentioned that since SkyWest

introduced regional jet service in the Cedar City market as of the most recent EAS contract, passenger enplanements have increased significantly. Mr. Volk attributes the use of the larger aircraft to increased econo mic development opportunities in the local area.

Decision Since SkyWest was the only airline to submit a proposal for Cedar City ’s EAS case, the

decision to re

- select them is c lear. The community fully supports SkyWest’s proposal and, as Mayor Burgess noted, the airline has served the community for over 40 years. We find the service and subsidy levels to be reasonable.

We shall make this selection of SkyWest at Cedar City contingent upon the Department’s receiving properly executed certifications from the air carrier that it is in compliance with

the D epartment’s regu lations regarding drug

- free workplaces and nondiscrimination, as well as the regulations concerning lobbying activities. 2

Carrier Fitness

49 U.S.C. §§ 41737(b) and 41738 require that we find an air carrier fit, willing, and able to provide reliable service before we may subsidize it to provide EAS

. SkyWest is subject to the Department’s continuing fitness requirements, and no information has come to our

attention that would caus e us to question the air carrier’s fitness at this time. We have contacted the Federal Aviation Administration, and it has raised no concerns that would negatively affect our fitness findings. We therefore conclude that SkyWest is reliable and

fit to con duct the operations proposed here.

2 The certifications are available online under “Reports and Publications” at http://www.dot.gov/policy/aviation

- policy/small

- community

- rural

- air

- service/essential

- air

- service- 3

-

This Order is issued under authority delegated in 49 CFR Part 125a(b)

.

ACCORDINGLY,

1. We re

- select SkyWest Airlines, Inc., operating as Delta Connection, to provide Essential

Air S ervice at Cedar City

, and establish the annual subsidy rate as described in Appendix C;

2

. We direct SkyWest Airlines, Inc., operating as Delta Connection, to retain all books, records, and other source and summary documentation to support claims for payment, and to preserve and maintain such documentation in a manner that readily permits its audit and examination by representatives of the Department. Such d ocumentation shall be retained for seven years from the service date of this Order or until the Department indicates that the records may be destroyed, whichever comes first. Copies of flight logs for aircraft sold or disposed of must be retained. The ca rrier may forfeit its compensation for any claim that is not supported under the terms of this Order ;

3 . We f i nd that SkyWest Airlines, Inc., operating as Delta Connection

, is fit, willing and able to operate as a c ertificated air carrie r
, and capable of providing reliable Essential Air

S ervice at Cedar City, Utah ;

4

. This docket will remain open pending further Department action ; and

5 . We will serve copies of this Order on the Mayor, Airport Manager of Cedar City

, Utah

and SkyWest Airlines, Inc., operating Delta Connection.

B y:

SUSAN L. KURLAND Assistant Secretary for

Aviation and International Affairs

(SEAL)

An electronic version of this document is ava ilable at http://www.regulations.govAppendix A



## AREA MAP

Maps generated by the Great Circle Mapper

- copyright © Karl L. Swartz

.Appendix B



### SkyWest Proposal for EAS at Cedar CityAppendix C

SkyWest Airlines, Inc.

Essential Air Service to be Provided at Cedar City

Effective Period : January 1, 2014

, through December 31, 2015

Scheduled Service : Twelve weekly nonstop round trips to Salt Lake City

Aircraft : 50

- passenger CRJ200 Rate per Eligible Flight: $ 1,8 95 1
Weekly Ceiling for each community : $ 4 5,480 2

Note: Th e carrier understands that it may forfeit its compensation for any flights that it does not operate in conformance with the terms and stipulations of the rate Order, including the service plans outlined in the Order and any other significan t
elements of th e required service, without prior approval. The carrier understands that an aircraft take

- off and landing at its scheduled destination constitutes a completed flight; absent an explanation supporting subsidy eligibility for a flight that has not been comp leted, such as certain weather cancellations, only completed flights are considered eligible for subsidy. In addition, if the carrier does not schedule or operate its flights in full conformance with the Order for a significant per iod, it may jeopardize i ts entire subsidy claim for the period in question. If the carrier contemplates any such changes beyond the scope of the Order during the applicable period of this rate, it must first notify the Office of Aviation Analysis in writing and receive written a pproval from the Department to be ensured of full compensation. Should circumstances warrant, the Department may locate and select a replacement carrier to provide service on these routes. The carrier must complete all flights that can be safely operated ; flights that overfly points for lack of traffic will not be compensated. In determining whether subsidy payment for a deviating flight should be adjusted or disallowed, the Department will consider the extent to which the goals of the program are met an d the extent of access to the national air transportation system provided to the community.

If the Department unilaterally, either partially or completely, terminates or reduces payments for service or changes service requirements at a specific location p rovided for under this Order, then, at the end of the period for which the department does make payments in the stipulated service levels, the carrier may cease to provide service to that specific location without regards to any requirement for notice of s uch cessation. Those adjustments in the levels of subsidy and/or service that are mutually agreed to in writing by the Department and carrier do not constitute a total or partial reduction or cessation of payment.

Subsidy contract are subject to, and inc orporate by reference, relevant statutes and Department regulations, as they may be amended from time to time. However, any such statutes, regulations, or amendments thereto shall not operate to controvert the foregoing paragraph.

Funds may not be availa ble for performance under this order beyond September 30 , 2013. The Government’s obligation for performance under this order beyond September 30 , 2013

, is subject to the availability of funds from which payment for

services can be made. No legal liability on the part of the Government for any payment may arise for performance under this order beyond September 30 , 2013, until funds are made available to the Department for performance. If sufficient funds are

not made available for performance beyond September 30 , 2013, the Department will provide notice in writing to the carrier.

All claims for payment, including any amended claims, must be submitted wi thin 90 days of the last day of the month for which compensation is being claimed. For example, claims for service provided in July must be filed by

October 31; August claims must be submitted by November 30, and so on.

1 Annual compensation of $2,317,439 divided by 1,223 annual departures (24 weekly departures x 52 weeks x 98

perc ent completion)

. 2 24 arrivals and depart ures per week multiplied by $ 1,895 per flight

.