Order 2011-5-10

Served: May 9, 2011

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

on the 9

th of May, 2011

Essential Air Service at

GREENVILLE, MISSISSIPPI

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

Docket OST-2008-0209

ORDER REQUESTING PROPOSALS

Summary

By this order, the Department is requesting proposals by June 8, 2011, from carriers 

interested in providing essential air service (EAS) at Greenville, Mississippi, for a new 

two-year period, beginning October 1, 2011, with or without subsidy. 

Background

By Order 2010-7-12, July 15, 2010, the Department reselected Mesaba Aviation, Inc., 

d/b/a Delta Connection, (Mesaba) to provide subsidized EAS to Greenville, Mississippi, 

through September 30, 2011. Under that order, the Department authorized annual 

subsidy for Mesaba of $1,606,662 for 14 nonstop round trips per week to Memphis with 

34-seat Saab 340 equipment. All of the service was to be provided under a code share

agreement with Delta Airlines. 

Request for Proposals

As the end of the current rate term approaches, we are hereby requesting proposals from 

carriers interested in providing service to Greenville, with or without subsidy, for the two-year 

period beginning October 1, 2011. Carriers should file their proposals by June 8. Staff will 

then docket the proposals, thereby making them public. Shortly afterwards, we will provide a 

summary of the proposals to the community and State and ask them to submit their final 

comments. We will give full consideration to all proposals filed in a timely manner.1 

Interested carriers should prepare their proposals with every expectation that their initial 

proposals will also be their final and only proposals. We retain the discretion to negotiate 

proposals with carriers when we deem it desirable. We also retain the discretion to reject 

outright all unreasonable or unrealistic proposals and, if necessary, solicit a new round of 

proposals. However, we anticipate that negotiation or rejection will remain only

occasional exceptions to the rule.

 

1 Carriers should not expect the Department to accept late filings. In cases where a carrier proposes to 

provide essential air service without subsidy and we determine that service can be reliably provided without 

such compensation, we do not proceed with the carrier-selection case. Instead, we simply rely on that 

carrier’s subsidy-free service as proposed.
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We are here providing interested carriers with some basic information to serve as 

guidance when they prepare their proposals, but we will not prescribe a precise format for 

their proposals. We expect proposals to adequately describe the service being proposed 

and the annual amount of subsidy being requested. The applicants can make their own 

judgments as to the level of detail they wish to present; however, they might want to 

include proposed schedules as well as supporting data for their subsidy requests, such as 

projected block hours, revenues, and expenses. We strongly encourage clear, welldocumented proposals that will facilitate their evaluation by the affected community and 

the Department. We do not anticipate any change in our selection criteria, or in the 

general provisions governing subsidy payments for essential air service.2 

With specific respect to Greenville, we expect proposals consisting of the historical level

of service or with two round trips per day (fourteen per week) if 30-seat or larger 

equipment is provided. We would consider proposals offering additional frequencies if 

the affected community were served in conjunction with another community. If 19-seat 

or smaller equipment is proposed, we expect proposals having three round trips per day.

We encourage proposals that meet the community’s requirements in an efficient manner. 

Carriers are also welcome to propose more than one service option, if they choose; they

need not limit themselves to the current service pattern if they envision other, potentially

more attractive service possibilities – different hubs, or longer terms for the contracted

service – with subsidy requirements that remain competitive.

We encourage carriers to work with the community in advance of the due date for 

proposals when proposals can still be adjusted so that they can craft them to best meet the 

community’s needs. As always, we will fully consider the community’s views before 

making a long-term carrier-selection decision. 

New Filing Procedures

Carrier proposals should be submitted to the Department with all materials merged into a 

single document. In addition, because the document will be published on 

Regulations.gov, each page should be formatted to be viewed online.

Historical Traffic

In order to assist carriers in making their traffic and revenue projections, we have 

included historical traffic for the community in Appendix B. For the period through 

February 28, 2011, the most recent annual period, Greenville generated 20.3 daily

enplaned passengers based on 313 service days of service.

 

2 In selecting a carrier to provide subsidized essential air service, 49 U.S.C. 41733(c) (1) directs us to 

consider four factors. (1) service reliability; (2) contractual and marketing arrangements with a larger 

carrier at the hub; (3) interline arrangements with a larger carrier at the hub; and (4) community views. In 

addition, The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008, Public Law 110-161, provides that when selecting a 

carrier to provide EAS, the Department may consider the relative subsidy requirements, thus codifying a 

factor that we have considered since the inception of the program. Interested carriers should also be aware 

that our general provisions governing essential air service will be included in the selection order as part of

our authorization of subsidy for the selected service. Appendix C of this order contains those general 

provisions.
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Other Carrier Requirements

The Department is responsible for implementing various Federal statutes governing lobbying 

activities, drug-free workplaces, and nondiscrimination.3 Consequently, all carriers receiving 

Federal subsidy to support essential air service must certify that they are in compliance with 

Department regulations regarding drug-free workplaces and nondiscrimination, and those 

carriers whose subsidies exceed $100,000 over the life of the rate term must also certify that 

they are in compliance with the regulations governing lobbying activities. Because the 

Department is prohibited from paying subsidy to carriers that do not submit these documents, 

the selected carrier will be required to submit them in order to receive subsidy. Interested 

carriers requiring more detailed information regarding these requirements, as well as copies of 

the certifications, should contact the Office of Aviation Analysis at (202) 366-5903. The 

Department is prohibited from paying subsidy to carriers that do not submit these documents.

Community Comments

Civic officials and the State are welcome to submit comments on the proposals at any time. 

As noted earlier, we will provide a summary of the proposals to the civic parties and ask 

them to submit their final comments shortly after June 8, the due date for carrier proposals.

This order is issued under authority delegated in 49 CFR 1.56a(f) and re-delegated to the 

Director, Office of Aviation Analysis.

ACCORDINGLY,

1. The Department requests proposals from carriers interested in providing essential air 

service at Greenville, Mississippi. Carriers should submit their proposals, with subsidy if 

necessary, by June 8, 2011. Proposals should be emailed to EAS@dot.gov, with the title 

“Proposal to Provide Essential Air Service at Greenville, Mississippi, Docket 

DOT-OST-2008-0209.” Questions regarding filings may be directed to Kevin Adams at 

202-366-1047 or Kevin.Adams@dot.gov;

2. This Docket will remain open until further order of the Department; and

 

3 The certifications are available on the web at http://ostpxweb.dot.gov/aviation/index.html.
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3. We will serve this order on the service list for this Docket.

Persons entitled to petition the Department for review of this order under the 

Department’s Regulations, 14 CFR 385.50, must file such petitions within ten (10) days 

after the date of service of this order. This order will be effective immediately, and the 

filing of a petition for review shall not preclude its effectiveness.

By: 

TODD M. HOMAN

Director

Office of Aviation Analysis

(SEAL)

An electronic version of this document is available on the World Wide Web at

http://www.regulations.gov
Appendix A

Nonstop, Great Circle Miles from Greenville (GLH)

Atlanta, ATL 378

Memphis, MEM 122

New Orleans, MSY 245

Jackson, JAN 97

Birmingham, BHM 244

Columbus, GTR 138

Hattiesburg, PIB 169

This map is provided by Sabre® AirVisionTM Profit Essentials and is being used with express permission of the 

copyright holder, Sabre Airline Solutions®.
Appendix B

Historical Traffic at Greenville, Missisippi, (GLH) T-100 Market Report

Origin Destination

Year Month Passengers Passengers O&D

2007 3 635 572 1,207

2007 4 563 544 1,107

2007 5 712 677 1,389

2007 6 630 572 1,202

2007 7 651 626 1,277

2007 8 679 667 1,346

2007 9 731 666 1,397

2007 10 680 661 1,341

2007 11 799 730 1,529

2007 12 751 726 1,477

2008 1 563 494 1,057

2008 2 459 438 897

YE February 29, 2008 7,853 7,373 15,226

2008 3 541 456 997

2008 4 517 481 998

2008 5 583 553 1,136

2008 6 522 501 1,023

2008 7 607 542 1,149

2008 8 450 452 902

2008 9 372 366 738

2008 10 422 429 851

2008 11 452 506 958

2008 12 535 468 1,003

2009 1 345 303 648

2009 2 283 284 567

YE February 28, 2009 5,629 5,341 10,970

2009 3 378 378 756

2009 4 395 412 807

2009 5 556 529 1,085

2009 6 605 623 1,228

2009 7 854 759 1,613

2009 8 535 567 1,102

2009 9 606 582 1,188

2009 10 474 460 934

2009 11 538 549 1,087

2009 12 514 478 992

2010 1 328 317 645

2010 2 303 281 584

YE February 28, 2010 6,086 5,935 12,021

2010 3 457 457 914

2010 4 390 394 784

2010 5 492 459 951

2010 6 568 523 1,091

2010 7 657 566 1,223

2010 8 502 495 997

2010 9 593 591 1,184

2010 10 615 569 1,184

2010 11 593 622 1,215

2010 12 632 601 1,233

2011 1 447 438 885

2011 2 405 347 752

YE February 28, 2011 6,351 6,062 12,413
Appendix C

Example of General Terms and Conditions for Essential Air Service

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 solicitation beyond 

[DATE]. The Department’s obligation for performance under this solicitation beyond 

[DATE], is contingent upon 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 [DATE], until funds are 

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

performance beyond [DATE], the carrier will receive notice in writing by the 

Department.

All claims for payment must be submitted within 60 days of the last day of service 

provided under this order.