UNITED STATES OF AMERICA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON, D.C.
Essential Air Service at LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA Docket DOT-OST-2002-11450

PETITION OF LANCASTERFORA WAIVERFROM THE 10-ENPLANEMENT STATUTE
The Lancaster Airport Authority hereby petitions the Department ofTransportation for waiver ofthe 10 enplanement per day requirement set forth in 49 U.S
.C
. 

### § 41731(a)(l)(B) in association with the Essential Air Senice (EAS) Program, and in response to the Department of Transportation's June 24, 2014 Final Order 2014-6-6 terminating EAS eligibility and establishing waiver procedures. Lancaster seeks exemption from the definition ofeligible place
as requiring the maintenance ofan average of 10 enplanements or more per service day during the most recent fiscal year beginning after September 30, 2012, 49 U.S.C
. 

### § 41731(a)(l)(B), as amended by the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of2012. This Petition is being submitted
more than 60 days before the proposed eff ective date of the Final Order terminating EAS eligibility, and more than 60 days before the proposed effective date oftermination of subsidy for EAS, September 30,2014. Under the authority provided in 49 U
.S
.C
. §41731(e), the Secretary may waive, on an annual basis, the 10 enplanements per service day requirement set forth in §41731(a)(1)(B) with

45 1942.5Docket DOT-OST-2002-11450 

### respect to a location ifthe location demonstrates to the Secretary's satisfaction that the reason the location averages fewer than 

### I0 enplanements per day is due to a temporary decline in enplanements. In the case ofLancaster, the number ofenplanements cited in Appendix A ofthe June 24, 2014 Final Order 2014-6-6 is 6.3 enplanements for the fiscal year ending 9/30/13. While Lancaster does not dispute the Departments calculations of enplanements, there are several important factors that demonstrate the 6.3 figure represents a temporary decline
. Enplanements for calendar year 2011 were 7076, averaging 20 passengers per day. Enplanements for calendar year 2012 were 5494, averaging 16 passengers per day. Accordingly, until fiscal year ending 9/30/13, Lancaster was well above the minim um number of enplanements specified in 49 U.S.C. §41731(a)(l)(B). See Exhibit 1attached hereto. An 

### important development occurred in the fall of 2012 which explains the enplanement decline
. A new air 

### carrier Sun Air Express, LLC, d/b/a Sun Air International (Sun Air) replaced Hyannis Air Service, Inc. d/b/a Cape Air. At the same time, the destination was changed from Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) to Washington Dulles International (lAD)
. Although Sun Air was selected by Order ofthe Department ofTransportation, Order 2012-A-9, on August 3, 2012, Cape Air continued service through October 2012, and Sun Air did not commence service at Lancaster until November of2012. Sun Air was, for all intents and purposes, a startup when it began serving Lancaster. The company ran into difficulties arranging full crew and aircraft complements. As it began to ramp up to full operation in early 2013, the Federal Sequester severely constrained its ability to operate, due primarily to a lack of available FAA
resources to administer pilot check rides (thus resulting in a shortage of pilots), as well as a significant delay in approval ofimportant winter operations procedures
. Moreover, Sun Air was inexperienced in serving the mid-Atlantic during winter, and attempted to utilize airplanes

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### Docket DOT-OST-2002-11450
without de-icing capability orheat. These circumstances resulted in only partial schedules being operated, and had a major negative impact on passenger enplanements. These difficulties are best reflected inthe enplanements in November, December 2012 and January 2013, 71, 63 and 66, compared to 520, 520 and 498 the previous year and 156, 141 and 145 the subsequent year. These are the only months in which enplanements were less than 100 per month. Because this three month period ofvery limited air service occurred during the fiscal year ending 9/30/13 (the period examined by the Department), the number ofenplanements per day are averaged over 9 months as opposedto 12 months, thus skewing the calculation. Later in 2013, Sun Air brought in new senior management, and there has been a consistent improvement inreliability
. The first six months of2014 has seen an 11% increase in enplanements overthe same period in 2013, demonstrating that the fiscal year ending September 30, 2013 is an anomaly and represents only a temporary decline in passengers. Again, the enplanement statistics for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2013 represent what amounts to a partial year ofservice hallmarked by erratic flight completion and service, deficient management and unreliability, which has now been corrected. These factors demonstrate that the reason for fewer than 10 enplanements per day during fiscal year 2013 is a temporary decline in enplanements, and support Lancaster' s request for a waiver and exemption from the 10- enplanement criterion imposedunder Section §§41731(a)(l)(B). Furthermore, Lancaster's current Order and contract with Sun Air expires September 30, 2015, See Order 2012-8-9, DOT-OST-2002-11450, and Lancaster would like to work with Sun Airto continue to develop increased daily passenger loads through September2015. Based on Lancaster's history and the anomaly ofcircumstances in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2013, it is clear that the enplanement statistics for that period represent a

- 3-Docket DOT-OST-2002-11450 temporary aberration warranting waiver of the specific requirement of 49 U.S.C. § 41731(a)(l)(B). Thank you for your consideration.
RUSSELL, KRAFFT & GRUBER, LLP

# By**Uh,_~~~** •**hristi ~**  Attorney I.D. # 32373

-4- Counsel for Lancaster Airport Authority Hempfield Center, Suite 300 930 Red Rose Court Lancaster, PA 17601 (717) 293-9293DocketDOT -OST-2002-11450 

### EXHIBIT 1 to Lancaster's Petition for Waiver

2011 Cape Air 

### 2012 Cape Air/Sun Air Month #of enplanements Month 

### # of enplanements Jan 497 Jan 520 Feb 380 Feb 498 Mar 583 Mar 537 Apr 579 Apr 609 May 665 May 589 June 683 June 591 July 659 July 478 Aug 565 Aug 484 Sept 622 Sept 484 Oct 676 Oct 570 Cape Air ends svc, 5360 in 2012 Nov 647 Nov 71 Sun Air begins Dec 520 Total7076 Dec 63 Total 5494



### 2013 Sun Air 

### 2014 Sun Air Month 

### # of enplanements Month # ofenplanements Jan 66 Jan 145 Feb 107 Feb 122 Mar 148 Mar 173 Apr 169 Apr 180 May 207 May 152 June 200 June 230 Total first 6 months 1002 July 185 Aug 166 Sept 152 Oct 203 Nov 156 Dec 141 Total1900

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