Laurie L. Carson, Commissioner 953 Campion Street 

Robin Bell, Commissioner Ely, Nevada 89301 

Richard Carney, Commissioner (775) 289-8848 or 

RaLeene Makley, Commisssioner (775) 289-3065 

Gary Peres, Commissioner Fax (775) 289-8860 

JoAnn Malone. Ex-Officio Clerk of the Board ^I]tt B ^P^ttt^ ffloUnl'g K ^-p. OtT- l«l<15 - "Bfm \ 

June 29, 2010 

. a 

Essential Air Service Division X-53 ., 

Office of Aviation Analysis -"~ 

Department of Transportation, Room 6401 

400 Seventh Street 

Washington, DC 20500 

Attention: Dennis DeVany and Brian Swanson 

RE: Docket DOT-OST 19995-361 

Dear Mr. Delany and Mr. Swanson: 

At our Commission meeting Wednesday, June 23, the White Pine County Commission 

voted unanimously to accept the recommendation of our Airport Advisory Board to 

support the proposal submitted by Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. to provide air service to 

White Pine County under the Essential Air Service program. 

The community has been pleased with the service provided by Great Lakes Aviation and 

the Commission believes that the higher price of the subsidy is well worth the added 

safety, comfort, and potential for growth in air services represented by the 19 passenger 

pressurized Beachcraft 1900D planes and the flights to Denver. 

The County Commission appreciates the interest shown by McCall Aviation, Inc. 

However, we share our Advisory Board's concerns regarding the limits of the aircraft 

proposed. Because of our altitude, the unpressurized Piper Chieftain cannot provide a 

safe and comfortable passenger flight. While the Beechcraft B200 King Air is 

pressurized, the six passenger plane limits our ability to expand use of air service in our 

area and is more susceptible to cancellations due to winter weather conditions in northern 

Nevada and Utah. In the past, we've found that service to Salt Lake City on the smaller 

planes has not been successful in attracting air service passengers. 
RaLeene Makley 

June 29, 2010 

Page 2 

In supporting the proposal for one flight per day to Denver by Great Lakes Aviation, the 

County Commission requests your consideration of a return to a schedule of two flights 

per day. Flight schedules were reduced when the County could not provide adequate 

security. We have modified our airport termination and now have TSA services in place. 

Historically, air service has been better utilized when passengers have the option of two 

flights. Data on enplanements shows that when we have had two flights per day, we have 

substantially more use of the air service and more repeat passengers. White Pine County 

has no other public transportation and no car rental services. If the single flight per day is 

cancelled, visitors to the area have no other means to travel. With two flights per day, 

passengers gain confidence that they will have options to travel to and from Ely on 

schedule. The Denver flight provides a direct link for a substantial percentage of our 

traveling public with federal land management agencies and the mining industry. 

However, our community hopes eventually to regain a flight connection within the state 

of Nevada to provide an alternative to the 5 to 6 hour drive each way to participate in 

state meetings and work within the state's business community. 

White Pine County appreciates your continued support for the needs of very rural 

communities such as ours. We appreciate the opportunity to provide comments on the 

two proposals submitted under Docket DOT-OST 1995-361. and we hope our insights 

into the needs of the travelers in our area are helpful. If you have any questions regarding 

the County's comments, please don't hesitate to contact me or Karen Rajala at 775-289-

3065 or the Chairman of our Airport Advisory Board, James Adams at 775-289-8804. 

Thank you. 

Sincerely^^^^^^^^^^ ^ 

RaLeene Makley, 

Vice Chairman 

cc: Laura M. Scott. President 

McCall Aviation, Inc. 

Michael O. Matthews, CFO 

Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd.