Order 2012-2-7

Served: February 9, 2012

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

 Issued by the Department of Transportation

on the 9th day of February, 2012

ORDER PROHIBITING TERMINATION OF SERVICE 

AND REQUESTING PROPOSALS

Summary

By this Order, the Department is (a) prohibiting Pinnacle Airlines, Inc., Inc. and Atlantic 

Southeast Airlines, Inc., Inc. d/b/a Delta Connection (Delta) from terminating its subsidy-free

service at Greenbrier/White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia (Greenbrier), for 30 days beyond the 

end of its 90-day notice period, and (b) requesting long-term proposals from carriers interested in 

providing Essential Air Service (EAS), with or without subsidy, by March 16, 2012. (See 

Appendix A for a map.)

Background

Gulfstream International Airlines d/b/a Continental Connection (Gulfstream) provided 

subsidized EAS at Greenbrier for a number of years, most recently through September 30, 2010, 

pursuant to Order 2008-5-3. Gulfstream was rebranded as Silver Airways effective 

December 15, 2011. In anticipation of the end of that contract, we would typically have issued a 

Request for Proposals in late spring of 2010 for a new contract. However, Atlantic Southeast 

Airlines, Inc. and Pinnacle Airlines, Inc., both operating as Delta, had announced their intent to 

inaugurate subsidy-free service from Greenbrier Valley Airport to both Atlanta Hartsfield 

Jackson International Airport and New York LaGuardia Airport (LaGuardia). As a result, we 

Essential Air Service at

GREENBRIER/WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, 

WEST VIRGINIA

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

 Docket DOT-OST-2003-15553

 
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issued Order 2010-5-22, May 19, 2010, stating that this level of service met Greenbrier’s EAS 

requirements, and that we would rely on Delta’s subsidy-free service and not request proposals.1

Currently, Delta provides seven (7) weekly nonstop round trips between Greenbrier and New 

York JFK International Airport (JFK) and seven (7) weekly nonstop round trips between 

Greenbrier and Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International Airport using 50-passenger CRJ-200 

aircraft. Delta moved the Greenbrier-LaGuardia round trip to JFK on October 31, 2010. In 

addition, Gulfstream provides one nonstop round trip on Saturday and one on Sunday between 

Greenbrier and Cleveland Hopkins International Airport on a subsidy-free basis.

On December 16, 2011, Delta filed a 90-day notice to terminate all of its service at Greenbrier, 

effective March 15, 2012.

Comments

In a December 19 letter from Delta, the carrier confirms its December 16 filing of a 90-day 

termination notice for its Greenbrier service, citing “heavy losses” and “booked load factors for 

January” of “24% on the Atlanta service and 6% on the JFK service.” To mitigate losses, it 

states it will offer 10 weekly flights between Atlanta and Greenbrier on a one-stop basis via 

Roanoke, Virginia.

An objection was filed on January 4 on behalf of Greenbrier Hotel Corporation. The objection 

requests that the Department issue an Order prohibiting termination of Delta’s service. It also 

suggests a reasonable level of essential air service as two inbound and two outbound flights a 

day, seven days per week, with an additional inbound and outbound flight on weekend days. 

Further, the service should be to Atlanta (ATL) and LaGuardia “to ensure access to major hub 

cities.” The objection asserts that Delta’s reason for termination, specifically that it is “no longer 

economical” is flatly incorrect, noting a Revenue Guaranty Agreement between Delta and Justice 

Family Group, LLC dba The Greenbrier. It also states that there is currently a dispute regarding 

that agreement between Delta and Justice Family Group.

Decision

The Department’s FY 2012 appropriation (P.L. 112-55) limited eligibility in the EAS program in 

the lower 48 states to certain communities, including those that received subsidized EAS “at any 

time between September 30, 2010, and September 30, 2011, inclusive.” Greenbrier is eligible

for subsidized service because it was receiving service on a subsidized basis from Gulfstream on

September 30, 2010.

Greenbrier’s EAS is defined in Order 85-8-77, August 26, 1985, as two daily one-stop round 

trips to Charlotte or Washington, D.C/Baltimore, except during the winter season, when service 

may be provided six days per week.

Because Delta’s proposed termination of service would leave Greenbrier/White Sulphur Springs

with only Gulfstream’s two round trips a week, we must prohibit the carrier from terminating 

such service at the end of its 90-day notice period and request proposals for replacement service. 

 1 Consistent with program practice, we allowed the contract with Gulfstream to run its term and expire as scheduled 

on September 30, 2010.
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We will require Delta to maintain at least 10 round trips per week to a large or medium hub for 

an initial 30-day period after the original 90-day notice period, i.e., through April 14, 2012.

2

 As 

Delta stated in its December 19 letter, it plans to operate these 10 round trips per week to 

Atlanta. Furthermore, we will require Delta to continue to maintain service at the community for 

successive 30-day periods until we have completed processing the carrier replacement case and 

the new carrier has actually started service. Delta’s 10-round-trip-per-week pattern should 

continue through May 1, the traditional start of Greenbrier’s summer season. Delta’s 10 round 

trips per week, plus Gulfstream’s 2 round trips per week will provide Greenbrier with

12 round trips per week. Although Charlotte and Washington, D.C./Baltimore are Greenbrier’s 

stated EAS hubs, Atlanta and Cleveland will continue to provide access to hub airports, 

providing access to the national air transportation system.

Request for Proposals

Carriers interested in filing proposals, with or without subsidy requests, should file them no later 

than March 16, 2012. At the end of that period, we will docket the proposals, thereby making 

them public, and direct each carrier to serve a copy of its proposal on the civic parties and other 

applicants. Shortly afterwards, we will provide a summary of the proposals to the community

officials and ask them to submit their final comments. We will give full consideration to all 

proposals that are timely filed.3

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

proposals will represent their final and only proposals. However, we retain the discretion to 

negotiate proposals with carriers when we deem it desirable; in such cases, of course, we will 

give all applicants the same opportunity. We also retain the discretion to reject outright all 

unreasonable or unrealistic proposals and re-solicit a new round of proposals. However, 

negotiation or rejection are only occasional exceptions to the rule.

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, well-documented proposals that will facilitate their evaluation by 

the affected community and the Department.4

 2 This level of service, coupled with Gulfstream’s two round trips a week, will provide the community with 12 round 

trips a week during the winter season and 14 round trips a week during the summer season.

3 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 typically do not proceed with the carrier-selection case. Instead, we simply rely on that carrier’s 

subsidy-free service as proposed.

4 49 U.S.C. 41733(c)(1) directs us to consider four factors in selecting a carrier to provide subsidized Essential Air 

Service: (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, states that when selecting a carrier to provide Essential Air Service, 

the Department may consider the carriers’ relative subsidy requirements. Interested carriers should also be aware 
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With respect to Greenbrier, if 15-seat or larger aircraft are proposed, we expect proposals 

consisting of two daily round trips (14 total per week) in the summer season (roughly May 1 

through October 31) and two round trips each weekday and weekend (12 total per week) in the 

winter season (roughly November 1 through April 30) to Atlanta, Charlotte, Cleveland, 

Washington, D.C, or another suitable hub airport with airline connections to the national air 

transportation system. If aircraft seating fewer than 15 passengers are proposed, we would 

consider subsidizing additional frequencies.

5

 The community and air carriers are encouraged to 

work together in advance of the due date for proposals to craft service patterns that are desirable 

to the community and meet the operational needs of the airline interested in submitting a 

proposal.

We encourage proposals that meet these 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 those requirements if they envision other, potentially more attractive service possibilities --

different hubs, for example -- with subsidy requirements that remain competitive.

Service and Traffic History

In order to assist interested carriers in developing traffic and revenue projections for their service 

proposals, we have summarized some historical origin-destination traffic in Appendix B. For the 

most recent 12-month period, ended September 30, 2011, there were 45.4 enplaned passengers 

per day at Greenbrier.

6

Other Carrier Requirements

The Department is responsible for implementing various Federal statutes governing lobbying 

activities, drug-free workplaces, and nondiscrimination.7 Consequently, all carriers receiving 

Federal subsidy for 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, all carriers that 

plan to submit proposals involving subsidy should be aware that the selected carrier will be 

required to complete the required certifications. Interested carriers requiring more detailed 

 

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. 5 Since the EAS program was first reauthorized in 1988, most EAS communities were guaranteed to receive service 

with 15-seat or larger aircraft. However, in the Department’s FY 2012 appropriation (Consolidated and Further 

Continuing Appropriations Act, P.L. 112-55, November 18, 2011), Congress repealed the 15-seat guarantee, 

although communities are still entitled to service with twin-engine aircraft.

6 Enplaned passengers per day is calculated by adding enplanement and deplanements totals from Appendix B, then 

dividing by 313 (days), then dividing by 2.

7 The regulations applicable to these areas are: (1) 49 CFR Part 20 -- New restrictions on lobbying; 

(2) 49 CFR Part 21 -- Nondiscrimination in federally-assisted programs of the Department of Transportation --

Effectuation of title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; 49 CFR Part 27 -- Nondiscrimination on the basis of 

disability in programs and activities receiving or benefiting from Federal financial assistance; and 14 CFR Part 382 -

- Nondiscrimination on the basis of disability in air travel; and (3) 49 CFR Part 29 -- Government-wide debarment 

and suspension (non-procurement) and Government-wide requirements for drug-free workplace (grants).
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information regarding these requirements should contact the Office of Aviation Analysis at 

(202) 366-5903.8

Community and State Comments

The community and State are welcome to submit comments at any time. As noted above, we 

encourage prospective applicants to contact the communities before they submit their proposals 

so that they can tailor them to the community’s needs, as they will not be able to amend them 

after the due date. As noted earlier, we will provide a copy of the proposals to the civic parties 

and ask them to submit their final comments shortly after March 16, 2012, the due date for 

carrier proposals.

This order is issued under authority delegated in 49 CFR 1.56a(f).

ACCORDINGLY,

1. We prohibit Pinnacle Airlines, Inc. and Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Inc. d/b/a Delta 

Connection from suspending service at Greenbrier/White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, at the 

end of its 90-day notice period, and require it to maintain service at 10 round trips a week to a 

medium or large hub airport with 50-seat regional jets for an initial 30-day period through 

April 14, 2012, or until a carrier capable of providing reliable Essential Air Service actually 

begins service, whichever is first;9

2. We direct Pinnacle Airlines, Inc. and Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Inc. d/b/a Delta Connection

to retain all books and other source and summary documentation to support claims for payment, 

and to preserve and maintain such documentation in a manner that readily permits its audit and 

examination by representatives of the Department. Such documentation shall be retained for 

seven years from the service date of this Order or until the Department indicates that the records 

may be destroyed, whichever is earlier. Copies of logs for aircraft sold or disposed of must be 

retained. The carrier may forfeit its compensation for any claim that is not supported under the 

terms of this Order;

3. We request that carriers interested in providing Essential Air Service at Greenbrier/White 

Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, submit their proposals, with or without subsidy requests, no 

later than March 16, 2012. The proposals should be e-mailed to EAS@dot.gov, with the subject 

line “Proposal to Provide EAS at Greenbrier, WV, DOT-OST-2003-15553;”10

4. This docket will remain open until further order of the Department; and 

 8 The certifications are also available on the web at http://ostpxweb.dot.gov/aviation/index.html.

9 In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 41734(c), we will extend Delta’s service obligation for successive 30-day periods 

as necessary until replacement service actually begins.

10 Questions regarding filings in response to this order may be directed to Kevin Schlemmer at (202) 366-3176. 

Proposals should be e-mailed to kevin.schlemmer@dot.gov, and to dennis.devany@dot.gov, or faxed to their 

attention at: (202) 366-7638.
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5. We will serve copies of this order on the Mayors of Lewisburg and White Sulphur Springs, the

airport manager of Greenbrier Valley Airport, Pinnacle Airlines, Inc., Atlantic Southeast 

Airlines, Inc., Delta Air Lines, and the persons listed in Appendix E.

By:

SUSAN L. KURLAND

Assistant Secretary for Aviation and 

International Affairs

(SEAL)

An electronic version of this document is available at http://www.regulations.gov
Appendix A

AREA MAP

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

Traffic History1

Greenbrier/White Sulphur Springs, WV (LWB)

Quarter Stn Inbound Outbound Totals

1 LWB 672 688 1,360

2 LWB 1,616 1,559 3,175

3 LWB 2,568 2,613 5,181

4 LWB 1,537 1,563 3,100

1 LWB 531 518 1,049

2 LWB 1,389 1,384 2,773

3 LWB 1,650 1,686 3,336

4 LWB 983 992 1,975

1 LWB 565 574 1,139

2 LWB 1,612 1,518 3,130

3 LWB 5,640 5,757 11,397

4 LWB 4,003 4,185 8,188

1 LWB 2,705 3,003 5,708

2 LWB 4,510 4,557 9,067

3 LWB 5,115 5,063 10,178

Average daily enplanements at LWB (12-months ended 9/30/2011)2 - 45.4 

 1 Source – T-100 Market Report, Passengers in Scheduled Passenger Service 2 Average daily enplanements= total traffic for the most recent 12-month period (33,141 passengers) 

divided by 365 service days divided by 2.
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 Government’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.
Appendix D

Scheduled Air Carriers, Contiguous US and Puerto Rico

Air Choice One Airlines, Shane Storz Horizon Air, Mike McQueen

Air Greco/Wings Air Horizon Air, Jeff Cole

Air Sunshine, Inc. ICEPR, Luis Irizarry

Air Sunshine, Mirmohammad Adili Intrepid Internatl Air, Rick Eyk

Air West, Inc., John Raatz Island Air Charters, Linda House

Air Wisconsin, Annette Daly Jet Air, Daniel Wolford

Air Wisconsin, Jim Rankin Kenmore Air, Tim Brooks

Airline Associates, Bill Mishk McCall Aviation, Dan Scott

Alaska Airlines, Jeff Cole McCall Aviation, Michelle

Alaska Airlines, Sandy Sinick Mesaba, John Spanjers 

Allegiant Air, Brian Davis Mesaba, Max Shemesh

American Airlines, Carl Nelson Michigan DOT, Matt Brinker

American Eagle, Gary Foss MidStar Airlines, Jeffrey Fonner

American Eagle, Robert Emrich Midwest Airlines, Greg Aretakis

American Eagle, Patrick Swift MN Aviation, Jose Maldonado 

Atlantic Southeast, Jon Lindlief Multi Aero, Darnea

Atlantic Southeast, Roger Weston Multi Aero, Shane Storz

Aviation Express, Brad Shriner Northern Air Cargo, David Karp

Aviation Technologies/Charter Air Transport Northern Air Cargo, Eric Van Andel

Bemidji Aviation, Cori Rude NYDC, Henok Araya

Bemidji Aviation, Arlen Rinkenberger OST, Brian Swanson

Cape Air, Andrew Bonney OST, Brooke Chapman

Cape Air, Dan Wolf OST, Dennis DeVany

Cape Air, J. Flaherty OST, Kevin Adams

Chautauqua, Josh Pascoe OST, Kevin Schlemmer

Classic Aviation, Tony Henderson OST, Michael Martin 

Capital Aviation, Mike Colgan OST, Scott Faulk

Colgan Air, Kevin Scott Pacific Aviation Group, Craig Garrick

Colgan Air, Mike Colgan Pacific Aviation Group, Ron Pye

CommutAir, Andy Price Pacific Wings, Frank Ford

CommutAir, Joel Raymond Pacific Wings, Greg Kahlstorf

Consultant, Michael Mooney PenAir, Danny Seybert

Consultant, Robert Silverberg PenAir, Scott Bloomquist

Consultant, Jeff Hartz Pinnacle Airlines, Inc., Jennifer Gammill

Consultant, Ron McNeill Pinnacle Airlines, Inc., Megan Rosia 

Continental, Bruce Keiner Pinnacle Airlines, Inc., Phil Reed

Continental, Dan Weiss Planemasters, Inc. John Kessler

Continental, Lorry Halloway Planemasters, Inc. Paul Berliner

Delta, Anthony Canitano Planemasters, Inc. Todd DeSimone

Delta, Dan Shuman Raytheon, Mike Scheidt

Delta, Dana Debel Rectrix Aviation, Scott LaForge

Delta, Jeff Davidman Saab Group, Polly Prelinger

Delta, Jeff Morgan Scenic, Mary Schneider

Delta, Joe Esposito Scenic, Mitzi Daines

Delta, Kristal Murphy Seaborne Airlines, Shawn Lewis

Delta, Sally Veith SeaPort Airlines, EAS Mailbox

Delta, Sascha Vanderbellen SeaPort/Wings of Alaska, Rob McKinney

Delta, Stephen A. Hedden Shuttle America, Jerry Balsano 

DHS, Bill Ragan SkyWest, Brad Rawson

DHS, David Bernier SkyWest, Eric Christensen

Dorado Jets SkyWest, Michael Thompson

Dorado Jets, Mark McKenna Sovereign Air, Bob Karns

Era Aviation, Lori Goodman Tatonduk, Robert Everts

Executive Airlines, Kate Soled Tatonduk, Robert Ragar

Frontier Flying, Bob Hajducovich Tradewind, Eric Zipkin 

Frontier Airlines, Daniel Shurz TransStates, Fred Oxley 

Frontline Aviation TransStates, Gerry Wigmore

Gem Air, Dan Schroeder Transport Azumah, Joel Anabilah-Azumah

Gem Air, JoAnn Wolters United, Alicia Gabriel

Great Lakes, Chuck Howell United, James Starnes

Great Lakes, Doug Voss US Airways, Benjamin Slocum

Gulfstream, Dave Hackett US Airways, Howard Kass

Gulfstream, Mickey Bowman US Airways, Jason Reisinger 

Gulfstream, T. Cooper Warbelows Air Ventures, Art Warbelow

Horizon Air, Jennifer Thompson