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 29 th of May, 2012

INTRA ALASKA BU SH MAIL RATES
Under 49 USC §41901 et seq. Docket OST

- 2003

- 14694

Bush Quarterly Fuel Adjustment , Seaplane Only
Summary By this O rder , the Department is making its regular quarterly adjustments to the Intra

Alaska 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 reflect s fuel expenses for the quarter ended December 31 , 2011

. Background Order 201 2

- 2

- 6 updated the three in tra

- 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. Th at Order indicated we would update the Seaplane when we ha d 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 th ose data, and assuming the data are reliable, we will issue another quarterly fuel update order, to be effective on or about July 1, 2012.- 2

-
The Department has stated that we would continue quarterly fuel update s 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 a nd 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 a n 11.63 percent decrease in fuel expenses.

Other Matters As indicated in Order 2012

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- 25, Taquan transported by far the largest volume of mail in the Seaplane class , but ha d significant errors in its reported traffic due to problems with a new internal compute r 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 r eporting. We no te 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 end ed March 31 , 201 2 , and will be effective on or about Ju ly 1 , 2012.
ACCORDINGLY,
1. We fix, determine and publish the Seaplane rate to be $ 33.7425 per m ail revenue ton mile, to be effective on the second Saturday after the service date of this Order ;

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

3 . This docket shall remain open until furt her 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%- 3

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4 . We will serve this Order upon all parties on th e service list for th is Docket;

Persons entitle d to petition the Dep a rtment for review of this Order under the Department’s regulations, 14 CFR 385.30, must file such petitions within ten (10) days a f ter the date of service of this Order . The filing of a petit i on for review shall not stay its effective ness. 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.govAppendix 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