O rder: 2014

- 4

- 23

Served: April 22, 2014



### UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

on the 22 nd day of April , 20 1 4

Essential Air Service at

CRESCENT CITY, CALIFORNIA DOCKET DOT

- OST

- 1997

- 2649

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



### ORDER RE

- SELECTING AIR CARRIER

Summary By th is O rder, the Department is re

- selecting SkyWest Airlines , operating as United Express ( SkyWest )

, to provide Essential Ai r Service (EAS) at Crescent City, California

, using 3 0

- passenger Embraer Brasilia EMB 120 (EMB 120 ) aircraft to San Francisco International Airport (San Francisco) f o r the one

- year term from August 1, 2014, through July 31, 2015 for an annual subsidy of $2,454,084.

Background By Order 2012

- 5

- 21 ( May 23, 2012 ), the Department selected SkyWest to provide 14 nonstop round trips per week from Crescent City to San Francisco using EMB 120 aircraft at an annual subsidy of $1,996,959, for a two

- year contract whi ch is scheduled to expire on July 31, 2014.

As the end of the contract was approaching, we issued Order 2014

- 2

- 4 (February 5, 2014 ) requesting proposals from a ir carriers interested in providing EAS at the community for a new term. In respo nse to that Order, SkyWest, the airline currently providing the service, was the only airline to submit a proposal.

SkyWest’s complete proposal and the community’s comments may be accessed online at www.regulations.gov by entering DOT

- OST

- 1997

- 2649 in the search block.- 2

-

Proposal of SkyWest Airlines SkyWest submitted a proposal for a one

- year term for 14 weekly n onstop round trip s to
San Francisco usi ng EMB 120 aircraft for an annual subsidy of $2,454,084

. It plans to operate the service as United Express

. In its proposal, SkyWest stated, “ The most recent changes to FAR 117 increases to tal operating costs for all airlines and particularly for smaller aircraft like our Embraer Brasilia 120, thus increasing revenue and demand requirements to continue operating. Small and medium

- sized communities will likely see the greatest impact as we w ork to maintain the same level of service at higher costs. As we work to determine the full impact of the FAR 117 changes we are submitting a one

- year proposal.”

Community Comments

On March 24

, 2014 , the Department solicited comments from the community regarding

this air carrier selection case. Mr. James Bernard, Airport Director at Del Norte County Regional Airport, stated in an e

- mail that the airport would have preferred a two

- year proposal as op posed to the one

- year proposal that SkyWest submitted. No elected city or county officials submitted comments

.

Decision Since SkyWes t was the only air carrier to submit a proposal for Crescent City’s EAS case
, and w e find the service and subsidy levels to be reasonable

, given the concerns the carrier raised in its proposal , we shall make this re

- selection of SkyWest at Crescent City. This

decision is contingent upon the Department’s receiving properly executed certifications

from the air carrier that th ey are in compliance with the Department’s regu lations regarding drug

- free workplaces and nondiscrimination, as well as the regulations concerning lobbying activities. 1

Carrier Fitness

49 U.S.C. §§ 41737(b) and 41738 require that we find an air carrier fi t, willing, and able to provide reliable service before we may subsidize it to provide EAS

. SkyWest is subject to the Department’s continuing fitness requirements, and no information has come to our

attention that would cause us to question the air 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 findin gs. We therefore conclude that SkyWest is reliable and fit to conduct the operations propo sed here.

This Order is issued under authority delegated in 49 CFR Part 1

. 25a(b)

.

1 The certifications are available online under “Reports and Publications” at http://www.dot.gov/policy/aviation

- policy/small

- community

- rural

- air

- service/essential

- air

- service- 3

-

ACCORDINGLY,

1

. We select SkyWest Airlines to provide Essential Air S ervice at Crescent City

, California

, and establish the annual subsidy rate as described in Appendix C;

2

. We direct SkyWest Airlines 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 d ocumentation 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 ca rrier may forfeit its compensation for any claim that is not supported under the terms of this Order ;

3 . We f i nd that SkyWest Airlines is fit, willing and able to operate as a c ertificated air

carrie r
, and capable of providing reliable Essential Air S ervice at Crescent City ;

4

. This docket will remain open pending further Department action ; and

5

. The Department will serve a copy of this O rder on the Mayor of Crescent City,

California , the Airport Director at Del Norte County Regional Airport

, and S kyWest

A irlines.

B y:

SUSAN L. KURLAND Assistant Secretary for

Aviation and International Affairs

(SEAL)

An electronic version of this document is ava ilable at www.regulations.govAppendix A



## AREA MAP

Maps generated by the Great Circle Mapper

- copyright © Karl L. Swartz

.Appendix B



### SkyWes t Proposal for EAS at Crescent CityAppendix C

SkyWest Airlines

Essential Air Service to be Provided at Crescent City, California

DOT

- OST

- 1997

- 2649

Effective Period : August 1, 2014

, through July 31

, 2015

Scheduled Service : 14 weekly nonst op round trips to San Francisco

Aircraft : 30

- passenger EMB 120 Rate per Eligible Flight: $ 1,720 1
Weekly Ceiling : $ 4 8,160 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 significan t elements of the required service, without prior approval. The carrier understands that an aircraft take

- off and l anding 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 sub sidy. In addition, if the carrier does not schedule or operate its flights in full conformance with the Order for a significant per iod, it may jeopardize its entire subsidy claim for the period in question. If the carrier contemplates any such changes be yond the scope of the Order during the applicable period of this rate, 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 D epartment 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. I n determining whether s ubsidy 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 paym ents in the stipulated service levels, the carrier may cease to provide service to that specific location without regards to any requirement for notice of such cessation. Those adjustments in the levels of subsidy and/or service that are mutually agreed t o in writing by the Department and carrier do not constitute a total or partial reduction or cessation of payment.

Subsidy contract are subject to, and incorporate by reference, relevant statutes and Department regulations, as they may be

amended from tim e to time. However, any such statutes, regulations, or amendments thereto shall not operate to controvert the foregoing paragraph.

Funds may not be available for pe rformance under this O rder beyond September 30, 2014

. The Government’s obligat ion for

per formance under this O rder beyond September 30, 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 u nder this order beyond Se ptember 30, 2014 , until funds are made available to the Department for performance. If sufficient funds are

not made available for performance beyond September 30, 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 31; August claims must be submitted by Novembe r 30, and so on.

1 A nnual compensation of $2,454,084 divide d by the 1,427 annual departures (28 weekly departures x 52 weeks x 98 percent completion)

. 2 28 arrivals and depa rt ures per week multiplied by $ 1,720 per flight

.