Order: 2014-1-10

Served January 14, 2014 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

on the 14th day of January, 2014

 Essential Air Service at

 CLOVIS, NEW MEXICO

Under 49 U.S. C. § 47131 et seq.

 DOCKET DOT-OST-1996-1902

 

ORDER PROHIBITING SUSPENSION OF SERVICE

AND REQUESTING PROPOSALS

Summary

By this Order, the Department prohibits Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. (“Great Lakes”), from 

terminating service at Clovis, New Mexico, for 30 days beyond the end of the air carrier’s 90-

day notice period, i.e. April 9, 2014. We are also requesting proposals from air carriers 

interested in providing Essential Air Service (“EAS”) at Clovis, with or without subsidy. (See 

Appendix A for a map). Proposals are due February 12, 2014. 

Background

By Order 2012-11-33, issued on November 29, 2012, the Department re-selected Great Lakes to 

provide 12 weekly round trips to Denver with 19-passenger Beechcraft B-1900D aircraft, for the 

period from December 1, 2012, through November 30, 2014, at an annual subsidy rate of 

$1,954,490.

1

On December 10, 2013, Great Lakes filed a 90-day notice of its intention to terminate scheduled 

air transportation service at Clovis, effective March 10, 2014. In that notice, Great Lakes 

explains that it has offered the community several service options over the years, including 

different hubs, and now the community believes that Dallas/Fort Worth would most likely 

provide the best air service opportunities for the community. Great Lakes agrees with the

community, but it does not currently operate a hub at Dallas/Fort Worth, which is why the air 

carrier filed notice to terminate its operations at Clovis. Therefore, the Department must initiate 

a new carrier-selection process. A copy of Great Lakes’ filing, as well as the complete public 

file for EAS at Clovis, may be accessed online through the Federal Docket Management System 

 

1 Order 2012-11-33 also selected Great Lakes to provide subsidized EAS at Silver City/Hurley/Deming, 

New Mexico, but that service is not affected by this Order.
2

at http://www.regulations.gov, by entering “DOT-OST-1996-1902” in the SEARCH for: Rules, 

Comments, Adjudications or Supporting Documents:” field.

Hold-In

Great Lakes’ proposed termination of service at Clovis would cause service levels to drop below 

the EAS guaranteed levels established by the Department. Therefore, in accordance with 49 

U.S.C. § 41734(c), and to ensure there is no service hiatus, the Department must prohibit Great 

Lakes from terminating such service at the end of its 90-day notice period, i.e. March 10, 2014. 

We will require Great Lakes to continue to maintain its current level of service at Clovis, as 

detailed in Appendix C, for successive 30-day periods until we have completed processing this

air carrier-replacement case and the selected air carrier has actually started service.2

Request for Proposals

In order to provide sufficient time to complete the carrier-selection process before Great 

Lakes terminates its service, we are here requesting proposals from air carriers interested in 

providing service at Clovis, with or without subsidy support, for a new two-year period. Air 

carriers should file their proposals no later than February 12, 2014. After that date, our staff 

will docket 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 give full consideration to all proposals filed in a timely manner. 3 

We are here providing interested air carriers with some basic information to serve as 

guidance when they prepare their proposals, but we will not prescribe a precise format for 

their proposals. We expect proposals to adequately describe 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, we recommend they 

include information concerning proposed schedules and projected block hours. In addition, 

applicants are encouraged to provide financial data supporting their subsidy requests, 

including information on their projected expenses and revenues. We strongly encourage 

clear, well-documented proposals that will facilitate their evaluation by the affected 

community and the Department.4

 

2 In accordance with 49 U.S.C. § 41734(c), the Department will extend Great Lakes’ service obligation for 

successive 30-day periods as necessary until replacement service actually begins. During this process, we will 

continue to compensate Great Lakes at rates pursuant to Order 2012-11-33. 

3 Air carriers should not expect the Department to accept late filings. In cases where a carrier proposes to provide 

EAS without subsidy and we determine that service can be reliably provided without such compensation, we 

usually do not proceed with the carrier-selection case. Instead, we simply rely on that carrier’s subsidy- free service 

as proposed.

4 In selecting a carrier to provide subsidized EAS for an eligible place not in Alaska, 49 U.S.C. § 41733(c)(1) 

directs us to consider five factors: (a) service reliability; (b) contractual and marketing arrangements with a larger 

carrier at the hub; (c) interline arrangements with a larger carrier at the hub; (d) community views, giving 

substantial weight to the views of the elected officials representing the users; and (e) whether the carrier has 

included a plan in its proposal to market its service to the community. In addition, the Consolidated and Further 

Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012, Public Law No. 112-55, and continued by the Full-Year Continuing 

Appropriations Act, 2013, Public Law No. 113-6, and the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2014, Public Law No. 
3

The Department expects proposals that are consistent with what the community currently 

receives, with service to a suitable hub airport that provides numerous connecting 

opportunities to the national air transportation system. We encourage proposals that meet 

these guidelines in an efficient manner. Carriers are also welcome to propose more than one 

service option, if they choose. They also need not limit themselves to these requirements if 

they envision other, potentially more attractive service possibilities -- different hubs or length 

of contract, for example -- with subsidy requirements that remain competitive.5

Interested air carriers should prepare their proposal 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 we will give all 

applicants the same opportunity. We also retain the discretion to reject outright all 

unreasonable or unrealistic proposals and solicit a new round of proposals. However, we 

anticipate that negotiation or rejection will remain only occasional exceptions to the rule.

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

have summarized historical passengers in Appendix B. For the 12 months ended 

September 30, 2013, the most recent time period of passenger data available, Clovis generated 

3,143 total origin and destination passengers, an average of 5.0 enplanements per day.

Other Air Carrier Requirements

The Department is responsible for implementing various Federal statutes governing lobbying 

activities, drug-free workplaces and nondiscrimination.

6 Consequently, all air carriers

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

Department regulations regarding drug-free workplaces and nondiscrimination, and those air 

carriers whose subsidies exceed $100,000 over the life of the rate term must also certify that 

they are in compliance with the regulations governing lobbying activities. All air carriers that 

plan to submit proposals involving subsidy should submit the required certifications along 

with their proposals. Interested air carriers requiring more detailed information regarding 

these requirements, as well as copies of the certifications, should contact the Office of 

Aviation Analysis at (202) 366-5903. The Department is prohibited from paying subsidy to 

air carriers that do not submit these documents.

7

Community Comments

 

113-46, provides that when selecting a 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. 

5 Great Lakes currently provides service to Denver International Airport, however the community has expressed

interest in service to Dallas/Fort Worth.

6 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 Rights 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 (nonprocurement) and government-wide requirements for drug-free workplace (grants).

7 The certifications are also available on the web at http://www.dot.gov/policy/aviation-policy/small-communityrural-air-service/essential-air-service
4

Civic officials and the State are welcome to submit comments at any time. We encourage

prospective applicants to contact the community before they submit their proposals so that 

they can tailor them to the community’s needs, as they will not be able to amend them after 

the due date. As noted earlier, we will provide a copy of the proposals to the civic parties and 

ask them to submit their final comments shortly after February 12, 2014, the due date for air 

carrier proposals.

This Order is issued under authority delegated in 49 CFR Part 1.25a(b).

ACCORDINGLY,

1. We request that air carriers interested in providing Essential Air Service at Clovis, New 

Mexico, submit their proposals, with or without subsidy requests, no later than February 12, 

2014. The proposals should be emailed to: EAS@dot.gov with the title “Proposal to Provide 

Essential Air Service at Clovis, New Mexico;”

8

2. The Department prohibits Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd., from suspending service at Clovis, 

New Mexico, at the end of its 90-day notice period and require it to maintain its current level 

of service, as specified in Appendix C, through April 9, 2014, or until an air carrier capable of 

providing Essential Air Service actually begins service, whichever comes first;

3. We direct Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd., to retain all books, records, and other source and 

summary documentation to support subsidy 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 documentation shall be retained for seven years from 

the date of service 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 air carrier may forfeit its compensation for any claim that is not supported 

under the terms of this Order; 

4. Docket DOT-OST-1996-1902 will remain open until further Order of the Department; and 

 

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

or (202) 366-9967.
5

5. The Department will serve copies of this Order on the civic officials of Clovis, New 

Mexico, the Manager at Clovis Municipal Airport, Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd., and the service 

list for this docket.

By:

SUSAN L. KURLAND

Assistant Secretary for

Aviation and International Affairs

(SEAL)

An electronic version of this document is available online at

www.regulations.gov
Appendix A

AREA MAP OF CLOVIS, NEW MEXICO

Maps generated by the Great Circle Mapper - copyright © Karl L. Swartz.
Appendix B

Clovis, New Mexico1

 

1 Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics; Schedule T-100. 

Year Quarter

Outbound 

Passengers

Inbound 

Passengers Total

2009 1 471 498 969

2009 2 492 520 1012

2009 3 540 552 1092

2009 4 525 513 1038

Total 2028 2083 4111

2010 1 441 517 958

2010 2 545 539 1084

2010 3 588 640 1228

2010 4 590 582 1172

Total 2164 2278 4442

2011 1 505 569 1074

2011 2 527 577 1104

2011 3 514 537 1051

2011 4 487 509 996

Total 2033 2192 4225

2012 1 379 497 876

2012 2 440 519 959

2012 3 472 517 989

2012 4 403 415 818

Total 1694 1948 3642

2013 1 293 401 694

2013 2 370 440 810

2013 3 373 448 821

Total 1036 1289 2325
Appendix C

Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd.

Essential Air Service to be Provided at Clovis, New Mexico

Effective Period: March 10, 2014, through April 9, 2014

Scheduled Service: 12 weekly round trips to Denver International Airport

Aircraft: 19-Seat Beechcraft B-1900D

Rate per Eligible Flight: $1,5921

Weekly Ceiling for each community: $38,2082

Note: The air 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 significant elements of the required service, without prior approval. The air 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 completed, such as certain weather cancellations, only

completed flights are considered eligible for subsidy. In addition, if the air carrier does not schedule or operate its 

flights in full conformance with the Order for a significant period, it may jeopardize its entire subsidy claim for the

period in question. If the air carrier contemplates any such changes beyond the scope of the Order during the

applicable period of these rates, it must first notify the Office of Aviation Analysis in writing and receive written 

approval from the Department to be ensured of full compensation. Should circumstances warrant, the Department 

may locate and select a replacement air carrier to provide service on these routes. The air 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 and 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 provided for under this Order, then, at the end of the period for which the

Department does make payments in the stipulated amounts or at the stipulated service levels, the air carrier may 

cease to provide service to that specific location without regard to any requirement for notice of such cessation. 

Those adjustments in the levels of subsidy and/or service that are mutually agreed to in writing by the Department 

and air carrier do not constitute a total or partial reduction or cessation of payment.

Subsidy contracts are subject to, and incorporate 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 available for performance under this Order beyond January 15, 2014. The Government’s 

obligation for performance under this Order beyond January 15, 2014, 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 January 15, 2014, until funds are made available to the Department for 

performance. If sufficient funds are not made available for performance beyond January 15, 2014, the Department 

will provide notice in writing to the carrier. 

All claims for payment, including any amended claims, must be submitted within 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 31st; August claims must be submitted by November 30th, and so on.

 

1 Annual compensation of $1,954,490 divided by 1,227 annual departures (313 service days x 4 flights per service 

day x 98 percent completion).

2 24 arrivals and departures per week multiplied by $1,592 per flight.