# OoT-OST

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# Q I T P' " U.S . Departmen t O

f Transportatio n Offic e o f th e Secretar

y o f Transportatio n 120 0 Ne w Jerse y Avenue . S E Washington , D C 2059 0 Januar y 12,201 0

Th e Honorabl e Luc i Larso n Mayor of Salin a Roo m20 2 City/Count

y Buildin g 30 0 W . As h Street Salina , KS 6740 1 Dea r Mayo r Larson , I woul d like t

o updat e yo

u o n th e essentia l ai r

servic e (EAS ) situatio n a t th e Salin aMunicipal Airpor t an d giv e yo u a n opportunit

y t o submi t an y comment s o n th e recor d befor e we submi t

arecommendatio n to th e Assistan t Secretar y fo r Aviatio n an d International Affairs . A s yo u know , Grea

t Lake s Aviation , Ltd . i s th e curren t EA S provide r

a t Salina , an d thei r

contrac t expire s Marc h 31 , 2010 . In anticipatio n o f that , we issue d Orde r

2009-11-25 , Novembe

r 30 , 2009 , solicitin g proposal s fro mcarrier s intereste d i

n providin g subsidize d EA S fo

r anew , two-yea

r period , beginnin g Apri l 1 , 2010 . I n respons e to our

request , fou

r carrier s responded : Grea

t Lakes , SeaPor

t Airlines , Sovereig n Air , Inc. , an d TransportAzumah . You shoul d hav e receive d acop y o f th e proposal s fro

meac h carrier , an d the y ca n b e accesse d a t www.regulations.po v b

y enterin g th e number

DOT-OST-2002-1137 6 i n th e searc h block . A s aresult , will onl y briefly summariz e themhere . w e Grea t Lake s ha s propose d on e servic e optio n to provid e Salin awit h tw o nonsto p roun d trip s eac h weekda y an d eac h weeken d (1 2 aweek ) t o Kansa s Cit

y o r Denver wit h 19-sea t Beechcraf

t I900 D aircraf

t fo r a n annua l subsid y o f $1,517,138 . SeaPor t ha s propose d on e servic e optio n t o provid e Salin awit h thre e nonsto p roun d trip s ada y (18 aweek

) to Kansa s Cit

y wit h 9-sea t Pilatu s PC-1 2 aircraf

t fo r afirst-year

annua l subsidy o f

$1,489,43 5 an

d a second-yea

r of $ 1,493,381 . Sovereig n Ai

r ha s propose d tw o servic e options , bot h o f whic h woul d b e usin g 9-sea t Beechcraf

t 35 0 aircraft . Optio n 1 woul d offe r five dail y (3 5 aweek

) nonsto p roun d trip s to Kansa s Cit y fo r a n annua l subsid y of $899,995 . Optio n 2 woul d offe r fou r dail y (2 8 aweek

) nonsto p roun d trip s t o Kansa s Cit y fo r a n annua l subsidy of

$840,028 . TransportAzuma

h propose s to ac t

a s aPar t 38 0 Indirec t

Ai r Carrie r an d to hir e Charte r

Ai r Transport , a certifie d air

carrier , to actuall y operat e th e service . TransportAzuma h ha s propose d tw o servic e options , bot h usin g 30-sea

t Embraer EM B 120 aircraft . Optio n 1 offer s 1 2 weekl y Salin ato Kansa s Cit y roun d trip s fo r a n annua l subsid y o f $2,806,156 . Optio n 2 offer s 1 8 weekl y Salin at o Kansa s Cit

y roun d trip s fo

r a n annua l subsid y o f $3,868,860 . Th e schedule s tha

t th e carrier s hav e propose d are illustrativ e onl y an d the y ma y make schedul e change s to reflec t changin g conditions , e.g. , t o better meet shiftin g connectin g ban

k time s a t th e hub . However , th e Department

doe s expec t

asubsidize d ai

r carrie r t o maintai n well-time d an d well-space d flight s i n order t o ensure ful l compensation . W e reques t

tha t you revie w th e proposal s an d submi t an y comment s yo

u ma y hav e a s soo n a s possible , bu t no late r tha n Februar y 19 . We wil

l carefull y conside r

you r comment s befor

e we submi t

arecommendatio n to th e Assistan t

Secretar y fo r adecision .Pleas e send you r comment s vi ae-mai l to HAS@dul.t;o v o r b y fa x t o 202-366-7638 . If

yo u hav e an y questions , pleas e feel free to contac t Michae l Marti n of

m y staf f a t michael.f.martin@dot..i;o v o r 202-366

- 6494 . Sincerely , Denni s J . DeVany , Chie f Essentia l Ai r

Servic e Divisio n Offic e o f Aviatio n Analysi s cc : Timothy F . Rogers , Salin aAirpor t Authorit y