Order 2012-5-27

Served: May 29, 2012

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

on the 29th of May, 2012

INTRA ALASKA BUSH MAIL RATES

Under 49 USC §41901 et seq.

Docket OST-2003-14694

Bush Quarterly Fuel Adjustment, Seaplane Only

Summary

By this Order, the Department is making its regular quarterly adjustments to the IntraAlaska bush mail rates for the Seaplane class to reflect the most recent quarterly fuel costs. 

The new rate is to be effective on the second Saturday after the issuance of this Order, and 

reflects fuel expenses for the quarter ended December 31, 2011. 

Background

Order 2012-2-6 updated the three intra-Alaska bush mail rates -- Part 121, Part 135, and 

Seaplane -- to reflect fuel expenses for the quarter ended September 30, 2011. 

Order 2012-4-25 updated the Part 121 and Part 135 mail rate classes for the quarter ended 

December 31, 2011, but deferred updating the Seaplane Class. That Order indicated we 

would update the Seaplane when we had reliable data from Taquan, which we have now 

received. This Order is updating the Seaplane class rate to reflect fuel expenses for the 

quarter ended December 31, 2011, the most recent data currently available, although data 

for the quarter ended March 31, 2012, will be available shortly.1

 

1 When we have those data, and assuming the data are reliable, we will issue another quarterly fuel update 

order, to be effective on or about July 1, 2012. 
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The Department has stated that we would continue quarterly fuel updates until further 

notice. Since the carriers’ traffic and financial data are reported 45 days after the end of 

each quarter, we will continue to make quarterly adjustments with a one-quarter lag from 

the end of the reporting period until the beginning of the next quarter. The table below 

shows both the current and new mail rates for the Seaplane class.

As shown in the chart above, the Terminal Rate is unaffected by changes in fuel between 

the current rate and the new rate. For the Seaplane, there is a 2.52 percent decrease in the 

rate, driven by an 11.63 percent decrease in fuel expenses. 

Other Matters

As indicated in Order 2012-4-25, Taquan transported by far the largest volume of mail in 

the Seaplane class, but had significant errors in its reported traffic due to problems with a 

new internal computer program. We note that mail rates are set on a final basis, not 

subject to retroactive adjustment. Carriers must ensure that their data are accurate before 

filing it with the Department, and not simply rely on the Department to catch obvious 

errors in reporting. We note that the filing of this information is critical for the setting of 

mail rates, which is required by law. We expect carriers to make every effort to ensure that 

the data they submit are accurate, before they submit the data. Failure to do so evinces a 

poor compliance disposition, and exposes the carrier to enforcement action. 

The next anticipated quarterly adjustment for fuel costs for the Seaplane, Part 135, and 

Part 121 bush class rates will be based on data for the quarter ended March 31, 2012, and 

will be effective on or about July 1, 2012.

ACCORDINGLY,

1. We fix, determine and publish the Seaplane rate to be $33.7425 per mail revenue ton 

mile, to be effective on the second Saturday after the service date of this Order; 

2. The terminal rate will remain fixed at $716.16 per ton enplaned;

3. This docket shall remain open until further Order of the Department; and

Current Rate Old Fuel New Fuel Rate 

Class Rate Order 2012-2-6 QE 9-30-11 QE 12-31-11 New Rate Change

Terminal $716.16/Ton Enpl. NA NA $716.16/Ton Enpl. NA

Seaplane $34.6143/RTM $7.4945/RTMs $6.6227/RTMs $33.7425 -2.52%
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4. We will serve this Order upon all parties on the service list for this Docket;

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

regulations, 14 CFR 385.30, must file such petitions within ten (10) days after the date of 

service of this Order. The filing of a petition for review shall not stay 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://www.regulations.gov
Appendix A

Seaplane

Quarter Ended September 30, 2011, Fuel Expense

Carrier A.Seaplane Island Air Pacific PenAir PM Air PM Air Taquan

Aircraft Name Beaver Beaver Beaver Goose Beaver Otter Beaver

Aircraft Code Totals 40 40 40 170 40 42 40

1 . Total Fuel Expense $1,459,238 $99,695 $37,801 $215,121 $36,844 $264,621 $390,042 $415,114

2 . Total Gallons Issued 237,322 23,008 6,750 37,100 5,751 4,877 89,946 69,890

3 . Total Block Hours 9,421 1,077 191 1,762 123 1,830 1,407 3,031

4 Eligible Block Hours 4,060 926 156 1,371 120 605 95 787

5 . Eligible Mail RTMs 13,759 1,885 290 1,960 896 1,572 242 6,914

6 . Total Eligible RTMs 87,747 21,953 3,261 29,012 3,899 12,785 4,683 12,154

7 . Price per Gallon (R1÷R2) $6.15 $4.33 $5.60 $5.80 $6.41 $54.26 $4.34 $5.94

8 . Burn per Hour (R2÷R3) 25 21 35 21 47 3 64 23

9 . Costs per Block Hour (R1÷R3) $154.89 $92.57 $197.91 $122.09 $299.54 $144.60 $277.22 $136.96

10 Eligible Fuel Expense (R1*R4÷R12) $541,523 $85,717 $30,874 $167,384 $35,945 $87,484 $26,335 $107,784

11 . Cost per Eligible RTM (R10÷R6) $6.1714 $3.9046 $9.4676 $5.7695 $9.2190 $6.8427 $5.6235 $8.8682

12 Mail RTMs Percentage 100.01% 13.70% 2.11% 14.25% 6.51% 11.43% 1.76% 50.25%

13 . Cost/RTM, Wtd. By Mail RTMs $7.4945 $0.5349 $0.1998 $0.8222 $0.6002 $0.7821 $0.0990 $4.4563

Quarter Ended December 31, 2011, Fuel Expense

Carrier Total A.Seaplane Island Air Pacific PenAir PM Air PM Air Taquan

Aircraft Name Beaver Beaver Beaver Goose Beaver Otter Beaver

Aircraft Code 40 40 40 170 40 42 40

Fuel Expense

1 . Total Fuel Expense $385,856 $47,562 $23,653 $63,507 $32,746 $65,275 $91,443 $61,670

2 . Total Gallons Issued 75,069 12,570 4,175 11,774 5,285 11,945 18,414 10,906

3 . Total Block Hours 2,524 404 124 514 104 461 310 607

F2 Block Hours

4 Eligible Block Hours 2,042 391 71 482 104 438 27 529

5 . Eligible Mail RTMs 12,750 1,291 119 2,074 695 1,765 214 6,592

6 . Total Eligible RTMs 38,705 8,083 795 7,809 3,054 8,123 1,255 9,586

7 . Price per Gallon (R1÷R2) $5.14 $3.78 $5.67 $5.39 $6.20 $5.46 $4.97 $5.65

8 . Burn per Hour (R2÷R6) 29.7 31.1 33.7 22.9 50.8 25.9 59.4 18.0

9 . Costs per Block Hour (R1÷R6) $152.87 $117.73 $190.75 $123.55 $314.87 $141.59 $294.98 $101.60

10 Eligible Fuel Expense (R1*R7÷R6) $275,601 $46,032 $13,543 $59,553 $32,746 $62,018 $7,964 $53,745

11 . Cost per Eligible RTM (R8÷R12) $7.1206 $5.6949 $17.0352 $7.6262 $10.7223 $7.6349 $6.3458 $5.6066

12 Mail RTMs Percentage 100.00% 10.125% 0.933% 16.267% 5.451% 13.843% 1.678% 51.702%

13 . Cost/RTM, Wtd. By Mail RTMs $6.6227 $0.5766 $0.1589 $1.2406 $0.5845 $1.0569 $0.1065 $2.8987