Order 2012

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- 6

Served: October 2, 2012



### UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

on the 2 nd day of October , 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 Holdings and doing business as Frontier Airlines (Chautauqua), at Rhinelander, Wisconsin, for an additional 30 days, through November 6 , 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

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

, and requested proposals from carriers interested in providing replacement service.

By Order 2012

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- 5, issued on March 7, 2012, the Departm ent 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 model (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 considering other alternatives. Great Lakes’ e

- mail encouraged the Department to re

- solicit proposals for EAS at Rhinelander and three other communities. Essential Air Service at :

RHINELANDER, WISCONSIN

Under 49 U.S.C. 41731 et seq

. D ocket DOT

- OST

- 2011

- 0109- 2

-

By Order 2012

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- 9, issued on June 15, 2012, the Department requested proposals to provide EAS at Rhinelander and the three other communities from interested carrier s by July 16, 2012. The due date for proposals was subse quently extended until July 23, 2012.

By Order 2012

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- 11, issued on September 11, 2012, the Department selected SkyWest Airlines to provide subsidized EAS at Rhinelander; however, t he carrier transition will

not be co mpleted by October 7

, 2012 , the end of the current 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, whichever occurs

fir st.

This Order is issued under the authority assign ed in 14 CFR Part 385.12 (k)(5)

.

ACCORDINGLY,

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

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

- day period through November 6

, 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 w ill remain open until further o rder 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 November 6 , 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