Order: 2012-8-22

 Served: August 20, 2012

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

on the 20th of August, 2012

Essential Air Service at

HURON, SOUTH DAKOTA

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

Docket DOT-OST-2000-7138

ORDER SELECTING CARRIER

Summary

By this Order, the Department is re-selecting Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd., (Great Lakes) to 

continue to provide Essential Air Service (EAS) at Huron, South Dakota, at an annual 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 Order, Great Lakes provided 12 one-stop 

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 provide service to MinneapolisSaint Paul International Airport (MSP) in lieu of Denver, Colorado. 

In anticipation of the end of the rate term, the Department issued Order 2012-4-27, April 20, 

2012, soliciting proposals to provide efficient EAS, with subsidy support if necessary, at Huron 

for the next contract period. 

Proposals

In response to that Order, 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.
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Great Lakes proposes to continue to provide 12 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-2000-7138.”

Community and State Comments

On May 15, 2012, we requested community comments regarding the carrier selection for Huron. 

In a June 25, 2012, comment to the Department, 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 morning departure bank out of MSP.” In addition, “[t]he Airport Governing Board 

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. 

Great Lakes has established an affiliation with Delta Air Lines that allows passengers to book 

flights on www.Delta.com, and in the near future, Huron passengers will be able to accrue 

SkyMiles, Delta’s frequent flyer program. These improvements will provide Huron passengers 

with seamless connections to the national air transportation system. In addition, the community 

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

Based on all of the above, we will reselect Great Lakes operating with 19-seat Beech 1900D 

aircraft to provide service from Huron to Minneapolis for the next two-year period at an annual 

subsidy rate of $1,929,349. 

We acknowledge Huron’s dissatisfaction with 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 activities.

Carrier Fitness

49 U.S.C. §§41737(b) and 41738 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 subject to the Department’s continuing 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.
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This Order is issued under authority delegated in 49 CFR Part 1.56a(f).

ACCORDINGLY,

1. We select Great Lakes Aviation to provide Essential Air Service at Huron, South Dakota;

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

Air Service at Huron, South Dakota, as described in Appendix C;

3. We direct Great Lakes Aviation to retain all books, records, 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 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 carrier may forfeit its 

compensation for any claim that is not supported under the terms of this Order;

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

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

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

6. We will serve copies of this Order 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.gov
Appendix A

AREA MAP

• Minneapolis 
Appendix B
Appendix 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: 12 nonstop round trips to Minneapolis - Saint Paul International Airport 

each week

Aircraft: Beech 1900D, 19-seat 

Rate per Eligible Flight: $1,5721

Weekly Ceiling: $37,7282

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 completed, 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 written 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 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 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 paragraph.

Funds are not currently available for performance under this order beyond September 30, 2012. The Government’s 

obligation for performance under this order beyond September 30, 2012, 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, 2012, until funds are made available to 

the Department for performance. If funds are not made available for performance beyond 

September 30, 2012, the Department will provide notice in writing to the carrier.

All claims for payment must be submitted within 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 per flight.