? .o^ ^ ^^ 1 6v^^^5-V-^^.^^ 

BEFORE THE 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION j.^ ^ ,-| /\ S 35 

WASHINGTON, D.C. ^^^^' ^^ ' 

Essential Air Service at 

BUTTE, MONTANA 

Under 49 U.S.C. §41731 er ^ec/. 

) 

) 

) OST-2011-0136 

) 

GULFSTREAM INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES PROPOSAL 

TO PROVIDE SUBSIDIZED AIR SERICE AT BUTTE. MONTANA 

Correspondence with regard to this document should be addressed to: 

Mickey BowmanVice President of Essential Air Service 

Gulfstream International Airlines 

1100 Lee Wagener Blvd. Suite 201 

Ft. Lauderdale, PL 33315 

Telephone: 270-689-2180 

Fax:270-689-2180 

E-Mail: mbowman@eulfstreamair.com 

Gulfstream International Airlines ("Gulfstream") cordially submitsits proposals to provide subsidized air 

service to Butte, Montana. Gulfstream hereby offers two options for service. 

Gulfstream proposes to operate flights, under its independent Gulfstream International Airlines identity to 

the hub airport of Billings, Montana. Gulfstream has an established market presence in Montana serving 

seven eastern Montana cities from the regional business center of Billings. We see synergy to be gained by 

linking the western part of the state to the east. Gulfstream has maintained interline ticketing and baggage 

agreements with most legacy carriers and will schedule its flights to allow connecting opportunities. 

Gulfstream contends that reasonable local fares will stimulate demand and the variety of destinations 

available from Billings will adequately meet the transportation needs of Butte. Toward that end we will 

establish a fare structure predicated on a S99 one way, SI98 round trip fare between Butte and Billings. 

Gulfstream flights will be available for sale through all major reservation portals and we will maintain our 

own web based booking site as well as a reservation call center. This service will be marketed under our 

existing Island Air codeshare affiliation, as are all of our other Montana flights. 

In compliance with Public Law 100-223, Gulfstream proposes to operate these flights using Beech I900D 

turboprops that are pressurized and accommodate 19 passengers to Billings. The 1900D features stand up 

headroom and a pressurized cabin that we feel is critical in recovering lost passengers with ample cargo 

capacity to accommodate even bulky military duffle bags. 

One of the hallmarks of the Gulfstream operation is our ability to provide safe and reliable transportation. 

Toward this end. Gulfstream has established a regional maintenance base in Billings to support these 

flights. Additionally this proposal would benefit from a dedicated spare aircraft that was established with 

the earlier Montana EAS package. With this spare located in Billings, we have great flexibility in 

responding to any operational challenges and can assure this community receives the level of operational 

performance it deserves. 
Service Option 1 

48 Weekly frequencies between Butte, Montana .ind Billings, Montana 

Gulfstream proposes to operate these flights under its own independent marketing identity and in 

conjunction with the existing codeshare agreement it has with Island Air. The timing of these fljghts will 

be optimized for connections to and from both legacy and low cost airline flights at Billings Gulfstream 

proposes to encourage connecting traffic by using a simplified local fee structure whereby passengers 

connecting to or from other airline flights would pay only the low, local fare in addition to the low fares 

already a feature at Billings. The basic service pattern would consist of four roundtrips each weekday to 

Billings. Two round trips would operate on Saturdays and two round trips would operate on Sundays to 

Billings. 

Gulfstream Airlines 

Sample Flight Schedule 

Service Option 1 

FROM 

STA 

BILLINGS 

BILLINGS 

BILLINGS 

BILLINGS 

BUTTE 

BUTTE 

BUTTE 

BUTTE 

TO 

STA 

BUTTE 

BUTTE 

BUTTE 

BUTTE 

BILLINGS 

BILLINGS 

BILLINGS 

BILLINGS 

DEP 

TIME 

0700 

1035 

1405 

1730 

0825 

1200 

1530 

1855 

ARR 

TIME 

0810 

1145 

1515 

1840 

0930 

1305 

1635 

2000 

FLT 

NUM 

3594 

3591 

3562 

3593 

3560 

3591 

3565 

3593 

EQUIP FREQ 

BEl 

BEl 

BEl 

BEl 

BEl 

BEl 

BEl 

BEl 

X7 

X7 

X6 

X6 

X7 

X7 

X6 

X6 

S 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

STOP 

(Note: This Schedule is for illustrative purposes and may not reflect the final published product) • 

Service Option 2 

36 Weekly frequencies between Butte, Montana and Billings, Montana 

Gulfstream proposes to operate these flights under its own independent marketing identity and in 

conjunction with the existing codeshare agreement it has with Island Air. The timing of these flights will 

be optimized for connections to and from both legacy and low cost airline flights at Billings Gulfstream 

proposes to encourage connecting traffic by using a simplified local fee structure whereby passengers 

connecting to or from other airline flights would pay only the low, local fare in addition to the low fares 

already a feature at Billings. The basic service pattern would consist of three roundtrips each weekday to 

Billings. One round trip would operate on Saturdays and two round trips would operate on Sundays to 

Billings. 

Gulfstream Airlines 

Sample Flight Schedule 

Service Option 2 

FROM 

STA 

TO 

STA 

DEP 

TIME 

ARR 

TIME 

FLT 

NUM 

EQUIP FREQ STOP 

BILLINGS BUTTE 

BILLINGS BUTTE 

BILLINGS BUTTE 

0700 0810 

1405 1515 

1730 1840 

3594 

3562 

3593 

BEl 

BEl 

BEl 

X7 

X6 

X6 

0 

0 

0 

BUTTE 

BUTTE 

BUTTE 

BILLINGS 

BILLINGS 

BILLINGS 

0825 

1530 

1855 

0930 

1635 

2000 

3560 

3565 

3593 

BEl 

BEl 

BEl 

X7 

X6 

X6 

0 

0 

0 

(Note: This Schedule is for illustrative purposes and may not reflect the final published product) 
GULFSTREAM INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES 

Essential Air Service Proposal To Provide Service at: 

Butte, Montana 

Hub Served 

Number of Roundtrips per Service 

Day 

Operating Statistics 

Assumed Completion % 

Annual Adjusted Block Hours 

Annual Adjusted Departures 

Annual Adjusted ASMs. 

Annual RPMs 

Projected Load Factor 

Revenue Projections 

Enplaned Passengers 

Mileage (Average as Operated) 

Average Fare 

Passenger Revenue 

Expense Projections 

Flight Operations 

Ownership 

Maintenance 

Reservations, Stations & 

Administration 

Fuel 

Marketing 

Total Annual Expenses 

Projected Profit / (Loss) 

Profit Element 

j AnnuaJ^ Subsidy Requjred 

Subsidy per Departure 

Subsidy per Passenger 

Option 1 

Butte 

Billings 

4 

Non-Stop 

(48rt/week) 

97% 

2,731.25 

2,427.78 

8,810,407 

4,600,872 

52.2% 

24,088 

191 

$ 

89.26 

S 

2,150,185 

S515,920 

5266,400 

51,093.847 

SI.558,886 

51,387,475 

56,000 

54.828,529 

(52,678,344) 

5241,426 

.V.$2,91V70 1 

51,202.65 

5121.21 
GULFSTREAM INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES 

Essential Air Service Proposal To Provide Service at: 

Butte, Montana 

Hub Served 

Number of Roundtrips per Service 

Day 

Operating Statistics 

Assumed Completion % 

Annual Adjusted Block Hours 

Annual Adjusted Departures 

Annual Adjusted ASMs 

Annual RPMs 

Projected Load Factor 

Revenue Projections 

Enplaned Passengers 

Mileage (Average as Operated) 

Average Fare 

Passenger Revenue 

Expense Projections 

Flight Operations 

Ownership 

Maintenance 

Reservations, Stations & 

Administration 

Fuel 

Marketing 

Total Annual Expenses 

Projected Profit / (Loss) 

Profit Element 

1^ Annual Subsid}^ Required 

Subsidy per Departure 

Subsidy per Passenger 

Option 2 

Butte 

Billings 

3 

Non-Stop 

(36rt/week) 

97% 

2,048.44 

1.820.83 

6,607,805 

3,064,181 

46.4% 

16,043 

191 

5 

89.26 

5 

1.432,023 

5407,933 

5266,400 

5830,552 

51.206,244 

51,040,606 

56,000 

53,757,736 

(52.325,713) 

5187,887 

$2,513,600 I 

51,380.47 

5156.68 
In conclusion, Gulfstream believes that this proposal will provide this Montana community with superior 

air service options. We feel the passengers will benefit from the fact that Billings is the financial and 

business center of Montana. The proposed service will connect Butte not only with Billings, but also with 

an additional seven eastern Montana cities on a daily basis. Additional connections will also be available 

with the legacy carriers serving Billings as well. We will provide this service on stand up, pressurized 

airliners and the infrastructure we have established in support of this operation will add jobs to the Montana 

economy. Additionally the integrity of service that has been a hallmark of the Gulfstream operation will 

lead to an enhanced customer experience and bode well for the development of intra-state air service. 

Respectfully Submitted: October 14, 2011 

Mickey Bowman 

Vice President of Essential Air Service 

Gulfstream International Airlines