## Dock^ ^ QO-r-CiST-gLOOO-^QlQ ^ 

# Q

us . Dapartmwi t o f 120 0 Ne w Jers« y Avenue , S

E T*an$portat»O n Marc h 31 , 201 0 Washington , D C 2059 0 Offic e o f th e Secretar

y ofltansportcrtio n
Mr
. Scot t Wardwel l Airpor t Directo r Norther n Main e Regional Airpor

t 65 0 Airpor

t Driv e Suit e 1 1 Presqu e Isle , M E 0476 9 Dea r Mr
. Wardwell , I woul dlike t o update yo

u o n th e essentia l ai r

servic e (EAS ) situatio n a t Norther n Main e Regional Airpor

t an dgiv e you a

n opportunity t o offe

r an y comment s o n th e record befor e w e submi t arecommendatio n t o th e Assistan t Secretar y fo r Aviatio n an d International Affairs
. A s you know , Colga n Ai r Inc. , operatin g a s U S Airway s Expres s (Colgan) , i s th e curren t

EA S provider

a t you r community , and thei r

contrac t expire s Ma

y 31 , 2010
. I

n anticipatio n of

that , w e issue dOrder

2010-3-3 , Marc h 3 , 2010 , solicitin g proposal s fro m carrier s intereste din providin g subsidize d EA S fo r anew , two-yea

r period , beginnin g Jun e 1 , 2010
. I

n respons e t o ou

r request , thre e carrier s responded : Charte r Ai r Transpor t (Charter) , Colgan , an dSovereig n Air , Inc
. (Sovereig n Air)
. You shoul dhav e receive dacop y of th e proposal s fromeac h carrier , an d the y ca n b e accesse da

t www.regulations.go v b y enterin g th e numbe r DOT-OST-2000-801 2 i

n th e searc h block
. A s aresult , w e wil l onl y briefl y summariz e the mhere
. Charter ha s propose don e servic e optio n usin g 30-sea t Embrae r EMB-12 0 aircraf

t operatin g tw o nonsto p roun dtrips , si x day s aweek , ove r aPresqu e Isle-Bosto n routin g fo r a n annual subsidy of

$2,737,133
. Colga n ha s propose don e servic e optio n tha t woul d provid e thre e nonsto p roun d trip s eac h weekda

y an dtw o nonsto p roun d trip s o n Saturda y and Sunda

y (1 9 aweek) , ove r

a Presqu e Isle-Bosto n routin g fo r a n annual subsidy of

$2,812,85 3 usin g 34-sea

t Saa b 34 0 aircraft
. Colgan doe s make clear , however , tha t du e to th e lengt

h of hau l an d fligh

t time , an d FA A approve dpassenger

an d baggag e weights , th e actua l number o f seat s availabl e fo r sal e i s fewe

r than 34
. Du e to thes e conditions , Colgan state s tha t o n th e Bosto n t o Presqu e Isl e le g th e aircraf t i s limite d t o 2 8 passengers , and fro mPresqu e Isl e t o Bosto n th e aircraf t i s limite dt o 3 1 passengers . Therefore , Colgan believe s it s proposal o f thre e roun dtrip s ada

y i s require dt o meet

th e community' s guarantee d 6 7 seat s per da y i n eac h direction
. Sovereig n Ai r

ha s propose dtw o servic e option s over aPresqu e Isle-Bosto n routing
. Optio n 1 woul doffe

r fou r dail y nonsto p roun d trip s usin g 19-sea t Jetstream3 2 aircraf

tfo

r a n annual subsidy of

$2,082,548
. Optio n 2 woul d offe r fiv e dail y nonsto p roun d trip s usin g 12-sea

t Beechcraf

t 35 0 aircraf

t fo r a n aimua l subsidy of

$1,867,936
. Optio n 2 , however , doe s no t

meet th e 15-sea

t requiremen t

in th e EA S program' s governin g statute s (4 9 us e §4173 2 (b)(3))
. Th e schedule s tha

t th e carrier s hav e propose d are illustrativ e onl y and the y ma y mak e schedul e change s t o reflec t changin g conditions , e.g. , to bette r mee t shiftin g connectin g bank time s a t th e hub
. However , th e Departmen t doe s expec t

asubsidize d ai r

carrier t o maintai n well-time dandwell-space d flight s i n orde r t o ensur e ful

l compensation
. W e reques t

that 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

n o late r than Apri l 26
. W e wil l carefull y conside r you r comment s befor e w e submi t

arecommendatio n t o th e Assistan t Secretar y fo r adecision
. Pleas e sen dyour

comment s vi ae-mai l to EAS@dot.go v or b y fa x to 202-366-7638
. I

f you hav e any questions , pleas e fee l fre e to contac t Michae l Marti n o

f m y staf f a t michael.f.martin@dot.go v o r 202-366-6494
. Sincerely ,
Denni s J
. DeWny , Chie f O Essential Ai r

Servic e Divisio n Offic e o f Aviatio n Analysi s
cc : Mr
. Thoma s Stevens , City Manage r