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 LANCASTER FOR A WAIVER FROM 

THE 10-ENPLANEMENT STATUTE 

The Lancaster Airport Authority hereby petitions the Department of Transportation for 

waiver of the 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 of eligible place 

as requiring the maintenance of an 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 effective date of the Final Order terminating EAS 

eligibility, and more than 60 days before the proposed effective date of termination 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 

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Docket DOT-OST-2002-11450 

respect to a location if the location demonstrates to the Secretary's satisfaction that the reason the 

location averages fewer than I 0 enplanements per day is due to a temporary decline in 

enplanements. In the case of Lancaster, the number of enplanements cited in Appendix A of the 

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 minimum number of 

enplanements specified in 49 U.S.C. § 41731(a)(l)(B). See Exhibit 1 attached 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 of the Department of Transportation, 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 of important 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 or heat. These circumstances resulted in only partial schedules being 

operated, and had a major negative impact on passenger enplanements. These difficulties are 

best reflected in the 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 of very limited air service occurred during the fiscal year ending 9/30/13 (the 

period examined by the Department), the number of enplanements per day are averaged over 9 

months as opposed to 12 months, thus skewing the calculation. 

Later in 2013, Sun Air brought in new senior management, and there has been a 

consistent improvement in reliability. The first six months of 2014 has seen an 11% increase in 

enplanements over the 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 of service 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 imposed under 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 

Air to continue to develop increased daily passenger loads through September 2015. 

Based on Lancaster's history and the anomaly of circumstances in the fiscal year ending 

September 30, 2013, it is clear that the enplanement statistics for that period represent a 

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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,_~~~ • 

Attorney 

hristi I.D. # 32373 ~ 

-4-

Counsel for Lancaster Airport Authority 

Hempfield Center, Suite 300 

930 Red Rose Court 

Lancaster, PA 17601 

(717) 293-9293 
Docket DOT -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 # of enplanements 

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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