Or der: 20 1 2

- 8

- 22

Served : A ugust 20 , 2012



### UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

on the 20 th of A ugust , 201 2

Essential Air S ervice at

HURON, SOUTH DAKOTA

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

- O ST

- 200 0

- 7138

ORDER SELECTING CARRIER

Summary By this O rder

, the Department is re

- s electing Great Lakes Aviation

, Ltd., (Great Lakes) to
continue to provide E ssential A ir S ervice (EAS) at Huron, South Dakota, a t a n an nual subsidy

rate of $ 1,929,349 for a new two

- year period from October 1, 2012, through September 30,

2014. 1

Background By Order 2010

- 8

- 12

, August 25 , 2010, the Department selected Great Lakes to provide

subsidized EAS at Huron, South Dakota

, from October 1, 2010

, through September 30, 2012

, at

an annual subsidy rate of $ 1,742,886 . Under that O rder, Great Lakes provide d 1 2 one

- st o p round trips per week to Denver International Airport, with 19

- seat Beech 1900D aircraft.

By Order 2012

- 6

- 16, June 21, 2012, the Department approved an alternative service pattern, per

Huron’s request made on June 4, 2012, to allow Great Lakes to provi de service to Minneapolis

Saint Paul International Airport (MSP) in lieu of Denver, Colorado.

I n anticipation of the end of the rate term, the Department issued Order 20 12

- 4

- 27

, April 20, 2012, solicit ing proposals to provide efficient EAS , with subsidy support if necessary, at Huron

for the next contract period.

Proposal s
In response to that O rder, we received a proposal from only Great Lakes , the incumbent

.

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

-

Great Lakes proposes to continue t o provide 1 2 nonstop round trips per week to MSP with 19

- seat Beech 1900D aircraft at an annual subsidy rate of $1,929,349.

The complete Great Lakes proposal may be accessed online at http://www.regulations.gov by entering “DOT

- OST

- 200 0

- 7138 .”

Community and State Comments

On Ma y 15, 2012, we requested co mmunity co mment s regarding the carrier selection for Huron

.

In a June 25 , 2012, comment to the De partment, Larry Cooper, Manager, Huron Regional Airport, stated that while the Huron Airport Governing Board is “in agreement with the change

to MSP as our hub

, they feel that the 0700 first departure is too late in the morning to be able to

fit with the mor n ing departure bank out of MSP. ” In addition, “[t]he Airport Governing B o ard would like to request that the first departure for the HON service depart no later than 0600 and that this change would be instituted as soon as possible within the capabilities of the carrier.”

Decision

Great Lakes has served Huron for many years and continues to provide them with reliable EAS

. G reat Lakes has established an affiliation with Delta Air Lines that allows passengers to book flights on www.Delta.com , and in the near future, H uron passengers will be able to accrue SkyMiles, Delta’s frequent flyer program. These improvements will provide H uron passengers with seamless connections to the national air transportation system. In addition, t he c ommunity

s upports Great Lakes

, and we find that its proposed service and subsidy levels are reasonable.

Base d on all of the above , we will reselect Great Lakes operating with 19

- seat Beech 1900D

aircraft to provide service from Huron to Minneapol is for the next two

- year period at an annual subsidy rate of $1,929,349.

We acknowledge Huron’s dissatisfaction wit h Great Lakes’ current departure schedule. We fully expect Great Lakes to address the scheduling issue raised by the Airport Governing Board

mentioned in its official comments on this selection case.

We shall make Great Lakes selection at Huron contingent upon the Department’s receiving properly executed certifications from Great Lakes that it is in compliance with the Department’s regulations regarding drug

- free workplaces and nondiscrimination, as well as the regulations governing lobbying acti vities.

Carrier Fitness

49 U.S.C. §§ 41737(b) and 417 3 8 require that we find an air carrier fit, willing, and able to provide reliable service before we may subsidize it to provide essential air service

. Great Lakes

is sub j ect to the Department’s continui ng fitness requirements, and no information has come to our attention that would cause us to question the 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 finding. We therefore conclude that the carrier remains fit to conduct the operations proposed here.- 3

-

This O rder is issued under authority delegated in 49 CFR Part 1.56a(f).

ACCORDINGLY,

1. We select Great Lakes Aviation to provide E ssential A ir S ervice at Huron, South Dakota ;

2 . We set the final rate of compensation for Great Lakes Aviation for the provision of E ssential

A ir S ervice at Huron, South Dakota, as described in Appendix C ;

3 . We direct Great Lakes Aviation to retain all books, r ecords, 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 documentation shall be retained for seven years from the service date of this O rder 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 carrier may forfeit its compensation for any claim that is not supported under the terms of this O rder;

4 . We find that Great Lakes Aviation continue s to be fit, willing and able to operate as a

c ommuter carrier and capable of providing reliable essential air service at Huron, South Dakota ;

5 . Th is docket will remain open until further order of the Department; and

6 . We will serve copies of this O rder on the Mayor and the airport manager of Huron, and Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd.

By:

SUSAN L. KURLAND

Assistant Secretary

for Aviation and International Affairs

(SEAL)

An electronic version of this document is available on the Internet at http://www.regulations.govAppendix A



## AREA MAP

• MinneapolisAppendix BAppendix C

Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd.

Essential Air Service to be Provided at West Yellowstone

, Montana

Effective Period : October 1, 2012

, through September 30, 2014

Scheduled Service : 1 2 nonstop round trips t o Minneapolis

- Saint Paul International Airport

each week

Aircraft : Beech 1900D, 19

- seat Rate per Eligible Flight: $ 1,572 1
Weekly Ceilin g : $ 37,728 2

Note: The 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 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 co mpleted, 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 period, it may jeopardize its 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 these rates, it must first notify the Office of Aviation Analysis in writing and receive writt en approval 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 oper ated; 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 me t and the extent of access to the national air transportation system provided to the community.

If the Department unilaterally, either partially or complete ly , terminates or reduces payments for service or changes service requirements at a specific locati on 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 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 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 pa ragraph.

Funds are not currently available for performance under this order beyond September 30, 20 1 2

. The Governmen t’s obligation for performance under this order beyond September 30, 201 2

, is subject to the availability of appropriated

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, 201 2 , until funds are made available to the Department for performance. If funds are not made available for performance beyond September 30, 201 2 , the Department will provide notice in writing to the carrier.

All claims for payment must be submitted with in 60 days of the last day of service provided under this order

.

1 Annual compensation of $ 1,929,349 divided by 1,227 annual departures ( 313 service days x 4 flights per day x 98 percent completion).

2 24 flights per week multiplied by $ 1,572 pe r flight.