Order 2014-10-7 

Served: October 14, 2014 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 

Issued by the Department of Transportation 

on the 14th of October, 2014 

INTRA ALASKA BUSH MAIL RATES 

Under 49 U.S. C. 41901 et seq.

Docket OST-2003-14694 

Bush Quarterly Fuel Adjustment 

Summary 

By this Order, the Department is making its regular quarterly adjustments to the IntraAlaska bush mail rates, Part 121, Part 135, and Seaplane, to reflect the most recent 

quarterly fuel costs. The new rates are to be effective on the second Saturday after the 

issuance of this Order, and reflect fuel expenses for the quarter ended June 30, 2014. 

Background 

Order 2013-7-25, July 31, 2013, made final the conclusions of Order 2013-6-5, June 6, 

2013, along with the nonfuel-linehaul and terminal rates therein. That Order also 

delegated to the Director, Office of Aviation Analysis, the authority to determine the final 

rates contemplated in Order 2013-7-25, adjusted for the most recent quarterly fuel 

expenses. 

Order 2013-12-9, December 19, 2013, made the anticipated quarterly fuel adjustments to 

the Part 121, Part 135, and Seaplane rates, reflecting fuel expenses for the quarter ended 

September 30, 2013, the most recent fuel expenses available at the time. This Order is 

updating all three of those bush mail classes to reflect fuel expenses for the quarter ended 

June 30, 2014. 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 
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the end of each quarter, our intent and practice has been to make quarterly adjustments 

with a one-quarter lag from the end of the reporting period until the beginning of the next 

quarter. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Department was not able to release an 

update until now. The table below shows both the current and new mail rates. 

As shown in the chart above, for the Part 121 class, Line 1, Column F, there is a 4.84% 

decrease in the rate; for the Part 135 class, Line 2, a 1.27% decrease; and for the Seaplane, 

Line 3, a 0.51% increase; and for the terminal no change. All of these changes are driven 

solely by changes in fuel. Since the terminal is unaffected by fuel, there is no change in 

that class, which is included only for the sake of convenience. 

Discussion 

As stated earlier, our goal is to have mail rates in place approximately one quarter after the 

end of the reporting period. This did not happen due to unforeseen circumstances within 

the Department which prevented a timely update. We anticipate that future updates will 

occur in a timely manner. 

In the last update, there was significant discussion regarding the timeliness and accuracy of 

reporting data to BTS to ensure the accuracy of the rates put forth in this order. While 

timeliness seems to have improved, we still find there to be problems with the accuracy of 

some data. Specifically, in the Part 135 class, Grant Aviation shows 15.07% of Total 

Block Hours on the Cessna 207 were non-revenue. While this is well outside the norm, 

when looking at the overall share of mail carried on this aircraft by Grant, it does not 

significantly skew the fuel calculation with any significance. We ask that Grant review its 

block hours for the quarter ending June 30, 2014, and work with BTS to ensure accurate 

data is submitted in the future. 

Similarly, Bering shows 22.03% of Total Block Hours on the Casa 212 were non-revenue. 

Similar to Grant, Bering’s share of the mail carried does not significantly impact the 

overall rate change, but we ask that Bering review its block hours for the quarter ending 

June 30, 2014, and work with BTS to ensure accurate data is submitted in the future. 

In the Part 121 class, the calculation of PenAir’s Part 121 expense requires the carrier to 

submit a special traffic report each quarter, which supplements the carrier’s T-100 

Segment report. The T-100 report is not sufficiently detailed; it does not break out 

-A- -B- -C- -D- -E- -FRate Per Less Old Fuel Add Fuel per

Order in Order the Appendices Percentage

Class Rate 2013-12-9 2013-12-9 to this Order Final Rate Change

1. Part 121 $5.7480 $1.4876 $1.2093 $5.4697 -4.84%

2. Part 135 $14.9341 $4.5191 $4.3297 $14.7447 -1.27%

3. Seaplane $32.5983 $6.3505 $6.5156 $32.7634 0.51%

4. Terminal $850.03 NA NA $850.03 0.00%
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whether a particular segment operated as mainline, Part 121, or Part 135. PenAir’s Saab 

340B is unique because some segments are operated as mainline, some as Part 121, and 

some as Part 135. PenAir’s special report provides the necessary detail for us to calculate 

the Part 121 mail rate, the only rate in this Order affected by PenAir’s data. 

ACCORDINGLY, 

1. We fix, determine and publish the Part 121 rate to be $5.4697 per mail revenue ton mile, 

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

2. We fix, determine and publish the Part 135 rate to be $14.7447 per mail revenue ton 

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

3. We fix, determine and publish the Seaplane rate to be $32.7634 per mail revenue ton 

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

4. The terminal rate will remain fixed at $850.03 per mail ton enplaned; 

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

6. 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 at 

http://www.regulations.gov 
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Appendix A

Part 121

Quarter Ended June 30 , 2014

Carrier Era PenAir

Carrier Code 7H KS

Aircraft Name Beech 1900 Saab 340B

Aircraft Code Total 405 456

Fuel Expense

1 . Total Fuel Expense $4,851,864 $930,243 $3,921,621

2 . Total Gallons Issued 1,218,040 264,791 953,249

3 . System Total Blk. Hrs. 9,089 2,028 7,061

4 . Revenue Block Hours 8,988 1,995 6,993

5 Eligible Block Hours 1/ 752 1 751

6 . Eligible Mail RTMs 1/ 10,366 0 10,366

7 . Total Eligible RTMs 1/ 348,322 58 348,264

8 . Price per Gallon (R1÷R2) $3.98 $3.51 $4.11

9 . Burn per Hour (R2÷R4) 132.7 136.3

10 . Costs per Block Hour (R1÷R3) $466.29 $560.79

11 Eligible Fuel Expense (R1*R5÷R4) $421,621 $466 $421,155

12 . Cost per Eligible RTM (R11÷R7) $1.2104 $8.0345 $1.2093

13 Mail RTMs Percentage 100.00% 0.000% 100.000%

14 . Cost/RTM, Wtd. By Mail RTMs $1.2093 $0.0000 $1.2093

1/ Era's data is from the T-100, PenAir's from a special PenAir report. PenAir

submits that report because the T-100 does not differentiate between mainline

and bush aircraft, and PenAir' Saab 340B operates as both a mainline and a bush

aircraft. Mainline aircraft are aircraft that have a payload of more than 7,500 

pounds, and Bush aricraft are defined as those having 7,500 pounds of payload

or less. We note that the configuration of the aircraft and the length 

of the haul in particular city-pairs affects the available payload of an aircraft.

Eligible figures exlcude any traffic outside the state of Alaska. 
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Appendix B

Part 135

Page 1 of 3

Quarter Ended June 30 , 2014

Carrier Bering Bering Bering Bering Bering Grant

Carrier Code

Aircraft Type Navajo B-1900 BE-200 Casa 212 Caravan C-207

Aircraft Code Total 1/ 194 405 406 412 416 35

1 . F-2, Total Fuel Expense $10,174,128 $328,835 $369,118 $292,429 $121,354 $726,986 $140,302

2 . F-2, Total Gallons Issued 1,774,427 40,668 56,167 44,498 18,466 110,622 27,518

3 . F-2, Total Block Hours 38,231 1,002 365 347 144 1,917 1,619

4 . T-100 Revenue Block Hours 37,468 986 346 342 118 1,883 1,407

5 . T-100 Eligible Block Hours 29,896 770 266 89 53 1,631 1,341

6 . T-100 Eligible Mail RTMs 510,616 8,875 20,287 1,410 4,824 47,916 9,764

7 . T-100, Total Eligible RTMs 1,815,737 43,170 48,449 10,086 7,008 132,513 34,892

8 . Price per Gallon (R1÷R2) $5.73 $8.09 $6.57 $6.57 $6.57 $6.57 $5.10

9 . Burn per Hour (R2÷R4) 41.2 162.3 130.1 156.5 58.7 19.6

10 . Costs per Block Hour (R1÷R4) $333.50 $1,066.82 $855.06 $1,028.42 $386.08 $99.72

11 Eligible Fuel Expense (R1*R5÷R4) $8,118,014 $256,798 $283,773 $76,100 $54,506 $629,694 $133,721

12 . Cost per Eligible RTM (R11÷R7) $4.4709 $5.9485 $5.8571 $7.5451 $7.7777 $4.7519 $3.8324

13 Mail RTMs Percentage 100.00% 1.738% 3.973% 0.276% 0.945% 9.384% 1.912%

14 . Cost/RTM, Wtd. By Mail RTMs $4.3297 $0.1034 $0.2327 $0.0208 $0.0735 $0.4459 $0.0733

All eligible figures exlcude any traffic outside the state of Alaska. 
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Appendix B

Part 135

Page 2 of 3

Quarter Ended June 30 , 2014

Grant Grant Grant Hageland Hageland Hageland Hageland

Navajo BE-200 Caravan C-207 Navajo B-1900 Caravan

194 406 416 35 194 405 416

$140,770 $296,193 $982,114 $539,485 $405,585 $1,436,272 $2,285,432

27,533 57,270 192,445 76,085 57,567 273,281 368,735

586 498 3,499 4,985 1,627 2,146 7,093

559 497 3,498 4,919 1,600 2,096 6,978

552 238 2,200 4,171 1,264 997 6,369

2,045 4,558 65,589 25,266 14,870 63,742 138,376

45,556 19,686 150,981 107,015 64,754 163,193 479,738

$5.11 $5.17 $5.10 $7.09 $7.05 $5.26 $6.20

49.3 115.2 55.0 15.5 36.0 130.4 52.8

$251.82 $595.96 $280.76 $109.67 $253.49 $685.24 $327.52

$139,007 $141,839 $617,682 $457,449 $320,412 $683,189 $2,085,973

$3.0513 $7.2051 $4.0911 $4.2746 $4.9481 $4.1864 $4.3482

0.400% 0.893% 12.845% 4.948% 2.912% 12.483% 27.100%

$0.0122 $0.0643 $0.5255 $0.2115 $0.1441 $0.5226 $1.1784
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Appendix B

Part 135

Page 3 of 3

Quarter Ended June 30 , 2014

Hageland Warbelow Wright Yute

C-406 Navajo Caravan C-207

417 194 416 35

$406,560 $617,192 $597,840 $487,661

60,792 123,147 170,023 69,610

715 2,968 3,495 5,225

693 2,952 3,462 5,132

634 1,703 2,879 4,739

17,029 10,110 41,710 34,245

62,733 77,480 259,036 109,447

$6.69 $5.01 $3.52 $7.01

87.7 41.7 49.1 13.6

$586.67 $209.08 $172.69 $95.02

$371,947 $356,056 $497,164 $450,317

$5.9290 $4.5955 $1.9193 $4.1145

3.335% 1.980% 8.169% 6.707%

$0.1977 $0.0910 $0.1568 $0.2760
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Appendix C

Seaplane

Quarter Ended June 30 , 2014

Carrier A.Seaplane Island Air Pacific PM Air PM Air Venture

Aircraft Name Beaver Beaver Beaver Beaver Otter Beaver

Aircraft Code Totals 40 40 40 40 42 40

1 . F-2, Total Fuel Expense $984,656 $68,680 $36,339 $129,698 $144,533 345,273 $260,133

2 . F-2, Total Gallons Issued 194,313 14,312 4,676 23,496 27,280 73,894 50,655

3 . F-2, Total Block Hours 982 258 1,068 1,121 1,475 1,974

4 . T-100 Revenue Block Hours 6,571 967 230 1,054 1,074 1,426 1,820

5 . T-100 Eligible Block Hours 3,045 877 202 902 456 63 545

6 . T-100 Eligible Mail RTMs 8,791 1,522 412 516 614 116 5,611

7 . T-100, Total Eligible RTMs 59,991 18,395 3,571 16,636 7,893 2,430 11,066

8 . Price per Gallon (R1÷R2) $5.07 $4.80 $7.77 $5.52 $5.30 $4.67 $5.14

9 . Burn per Hour (R2÷R4) 15 20 22 25 52 28

10 . Costs per Block Hour (R1÷R4) $71.02 $158.00 $123.05 $134.57 $242.13 $142.93

11 Eligible Fuel Expense (R1*R5÷R4) $359,714 $62,288 $31,915 $110,994 $61,366 $15,254 $77,897

12 . Cost per Eligible RTM (R11÷R7) $5.9961 $3.3861 $8.9373 $6.6719 $7.7747 $6.2774 $7.0393

13 Mail RTMs Percentage 100.00% 17.313% 4.687% 5.870% 6.984% 1.320% 63.827%

14 . Cost/RTM, Wtd. By Mail RTMs $6.5156 $0.5862 $0.4189 $0.3916 $0.5430 $0.0829 $4.4930

All eligible figures exlcude any traffic outside the state of Alaska.