Essential air service at 

BEFORE THE 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT A TION 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 

~, ., 

. i j.":) ~, ,.::; i)- 5 2 ~ :~ .. 

VICTORIA, TEXAS Docket DOT -OST -2005-20454 

PROPOSAL OF COLGAN AIR, INC. TO PROVIDE 

SUBSIDIZED ESSENTIAL AIR SERVICE FOR THE COMMUNITY OF 

VICTORIA, TEXAS 

Communications with respect to this document should be directed to : 

Phil Trenary 

Chief Executive Officer 

Pinnacle Airlines Corp 

1769 Paragon Drive 

Suite 100 

Memphis, TN 38132 

(901) 348-4100 
BEFORE THE 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 

Essential air service at 

VICTORIA, TEXAS Docket DOT -OST -2005-20454 

PROPOSAL OF COLGAN AIR, INC. TO PROVIDE 

SUBSIDIZED ESSENTIAL AIR SERVICE FOR THE COMMUNITY OF 

VICTORIA, TEXAS 

By order 2011-1-11, the Department requested proposals from carriers interested in 

providing Essential Air Service for a future two-year period. 

Colgan Air, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Pinnacle Airlines Corp., (hereinafter 

"Colgan") respectfully submits a proposal to provide subsidized service between the 

community of Victoria, Texas and Houston-Bush Intercontinental Airport. This proposal 

would require an annual subsidy of$I,856,692. 

The proposed service option for the community is as follows: 13 round-trips per week 

operated as non-stop service to/from Victoria, TX and Houston-Bush Intercontinental. The 

service will utilize a Saab 340, a thirty-four passenger, cabin class aircraft operated by a 

crew of two pilots and a flight attendant. 

As part of Continental Airlines' ongoing integration process following their merger with 

United Airlines, all Continental branded service noted hereinafter will be replaced by 

United branded service within the span of the two-year contract period beginning July 1, 

2011. 

Addionally, as part of the integration process following the acquisition of Mesaba Airlines 

(herinafter "Me saba") by Pinnacle Airlines Corp. routes currently operated by Colgan Air 

will, within the contract period, be transitioned to the Mesaba operating certificate with no 

disruption in service pattern or quality. 

Colgan is a regional airline operating Saab 340 aircraft. Colgan operates regional 

scheduled service as Continental Connection under agreement with Continental Airlines. 

The services offered by Colgan allow seamless connection to Continental's domestic and 

international route system via the Continental Airlines hub at Houston-Bush 

Intercontinental Airport. Colgan Air has a long operating history with Continental at 

Houston-Bush Intercontinental and has consitenty demonstrated a commitment to 

outstanding passenger service to the communities we serve. 

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Continental/United has recently indicated their intent to initiate a 'request for proposal' 

process for regional airline service based out out Houston-Bush Intercontinental. Although 

ColganlMesaba intends to submit a proposal to continue providing service similar to the 

current Houston-Bush Intercontinental based Colgan operation there is no guarantee 

ColganlMesaba will be selected. Continental/United therefore has indicated they may 

request to replace the service operated by ColganlMesaba, including Victoria, TX, with 

that of another regional airline partner at a later date. 

The schedule proposal attached presents optimized timing to maximize connecting options 

with the Continental Airlines system out of Houston-Bush Intercontinental. In addition, the 

options provide attractive scheduling options for both business and leisure travelers 

utilizing Continental Airlines' membership in the Star Alliance Network which has a 

considerable domestic and international presence at Houston-Bush Intercontinental. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Phil Trenary 

Chief Executive Officer 

Pinnacle Airlines Corp 

3 
Annual Statistics 

EAS Cycles (13 round trips,' 26 segments per week) 

Pax 

Block 

Flight 

Elk/FIt Ratio 

Avail Seats 

RPMs 

ASMs 

Load Factor 

Annual Profit / (Loss) Summary 

Passenger Revenue 

Total Revenue 

Fuel 

MX Operations 

Flight Operations 

Ground Service 

Landing Fees 

Ticketing and Passenger Related 

Local Marketing Campaign 

Aviation Insurance 

Total Cash Costs 

Ownership 

Total Overhead 

Total Operating Exp @ 97% Completion 

Operating Incomel(Loss) 

Margin at 5% 

Total Economic Cost / Subsidy 

EAS Cycles at 97% 

Subsidy Per Departure at 97% 

1,196 

10,142 

1,149 

787 

68% 

44,589 

1,247,466 

4,988,880 

25% 

996,713 

996,713 

611,386 

462,173 

468,405 

378,832 

62,084 

233,146 

25,000 

3,892 

2,244,918 

360,000 

112,612 

2,717,529 

(1,720,816) 

135,876 

1,856,692 

1,160 

$ 1,600.60 

4 
Victoria, TX to 

Houston-Bush Intercontinental 

Houston-Bush Intercontinental to 

Victoria, TX 

Weekdays 

Dep - Arr - Stops 

6:00am 6:44am 

4:42pm 5:37pm 

Saturday 

7:00am 7:50am 

Sunday 

7:00am 7:50am 

4:42pm 5:37pm 

o 

o 

0 

0 

0 

Weekdays 

Dep - Arr - Stops 

3:29pm 4:21pm 

9:40pm 10:29pm 

Saturday 

9:40pm 10:29pm 

Sunday 

3:29pm 4:21pm 

9:40pm 10:29pm 

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

I hereby certify that I have caused a copy of the forgoing Proposal to Provide Subsidized 

Essential Air Service to be served this 23 rd day of February 2011, upon each of the 

following persons: 

Dennis DeVany 

Chief, EAS & Domestic Analysis 

Office of Aviation Analysis 

United States Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Ave S.E. 

Room W86-308 

Washington, D.C. 20590 

Amadeo Saenz Jr., P.E. 

Executive Director of the Texas Department of Transportation 

Texas Department of Transportation 

125 East 11th St. 

Austin, TX 78701 

Will Armstrong 

Mayor - Victoria, TX 

City Hall 

P.O. Box 1758 

Victoria, Texas 77902-1758 

Larry Blackwell 

Airport Manager 

609 Foster Field Drive, Suite F 

Victoria, TX 77904 

5