Order 2012

- 7

- 32 Served: July 27 , 2012



### UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

on the 27th day of July , 20 1 2

ORDER EXTENDING SERVICE OBLIGATION

Summary By this O rder, the Department of Transportation extends the Essential Air Service (EAS) obligation of Chautauqua Airlines, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Republic Airways

Holdin gs and doing business as Frontier Airlines (Chautauqua), at Rhinelander, Wisconsin, for an additional 30 days, through September 7 , 2012.

Background On September 12, 201 1 , Chautauqua filed a 90

- day notice with the Department of its

intent to terminate its unsubsidized service at Rhinelander

, effective December 11, 2011. By Order 2011

- 10

- 15, issued October 20, 2011, the Department prohibited Chautauqua from suspending service through December 11, 2011

, and requested proposals from carriers interested in pr oviding replacement service.

By Order 2012

- 3

- 5, March 7, 2012, the Department selected Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. to provide EAS at Rhinelander and Ironwood, Michigan/Ashland, Wisconsin, for a two

year period beginning when it inaugurates full service at both communities through the

end of the 24 th month thereafter

.

On June 11, 2012, however, Great Lakes sent an e

- mail to the Department explaining that it has recently experienced an aggressive expansion, is in the process of re

engineering its business mo del (including its approach to code

- sharing and the associated reservation system infrastructure), has concerns regarding availability of gates and facilities to expand further at Minneapolis/St. Paul, and did not want to hinder

communities from considerin g other alternatives. Great Lakes’ e

- mail encouraged the Department to re

- solicit proposals for EAS at Rhinelander and three other communities. By Order 2012

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- 9, June 15, 2012, the Department requested proposals to provide EAS Essential Air Service at :

RHINELANDER, WISCONSIN

Under 49 U.S.C. 41731 et seq

. D ocket DOT

- OST

- 2011

- 0109- 2

-

at Rhinelander and the thr ee other communities from interested carrier s by July 16,

2012. The due date for proposals was subsequently extended until July 23, 2012.

The Department has received proposals for service at Rhinelander, however, t he carrier

transition will not be completed by August 8

, 2012 , the end of the current ( eighth ) 30

- day hold

- in period. In accordance with 49 U.S.C. § 41734(c), we must extend

Chautau qua’s service obligation for an additional 30 days, or until replacement service actually begins, wh ichever occurs first.

This Order is issued under the authority delegated in 49 CFR Part 1.56(a).

ACCORDINGLY,

1. We require Chautauqua Airlines, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Republic Airways Holdings and doing business as Frontier Airlines , to maintai n its current level of

service at Rhinelander, Wisconsin , as set forth in Appendix A, for an addi tional 30

- day period through September 7

, 2012, or until a carrier capable of providing reliable EAS actually begins service, whichever is first 1 ;

2. We direct Chautauqua Airlines, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Republic Airways Holdings and doing business as Frontier Airlines to retain all books, records, and other source and summary documentation to support subsidy claims for payment, and to

prese rve 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 comes first. Copies of flight 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. This Docket will remain open until further Order of the Department; and

1 In accordance with 49 U.S.C. § 41734(c), we will extend Chautauqua’s service obligation for successive

30

- day periods as necessary until replacement service actually begins.- 3

-

4. We will serve copies of this O rder on t he parties listed in Appendix B.

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.govAppendix A

Chautauqua Airlines, Inc., d/b/a Frontier Airlines

Provision of Essential Air Service at Rhinelander, Wisconsin Summary of Service To Be Provided

Effective Period : Beginning December 1 2

, 201 1, through September 7 , 2012

Scheduled Service : 1 2 nonstop round trips each week to Milwaukee Aircraft type: Embraer 135 (37

- seats) or Embraer 145 (50

- seats)

. Intermediate stops and upline service : No service to any other intermediate point is contemplated under the terms of the carrier’s proposal; accordingly, no such service may be provided on subsidized flights without prior Department approval. Timing of flights: Flights must be well

- timed and well

- spaced in order to ensure full compensatio n.Appendix B

SERVICE LIST

Chautauqua Airlines, Josh Pascoe

Frontier Airlines, Daniel Shurz Rhinelander/Oneida County Airport, Joseph Brauer