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u s . Deportment of ) 200 New Jsrsey Avenue, SE 

Transportation ^ „ Washington, DC 20590 

Office Of the SecfBfary ' ' ''^ ' 

of Transportation 

April 8, 2010 

VIA FACSIMILE 

The Honorable Mayor Johnny Dupree 

Mayor 

City of Hattiesburg 

P.O. Box 1898 

Hattiesburg, Mississippi 39403-1898 

Dear Mayor Dupree: 

I would like to update you on the essential air service situation at Laurel/Hattiesburg and give 

you an opportunity to submit comments, if you wish. 

As you know, in anticipation of the end of the cuirent contract on June 30, 2010, by 

Order 2010-2-29, issued February 26, 2010, the Department solicited proposals from air 

carriers interested in providing essential air service at Laurel/Hattiesburg. In response to that 

order, we received proposals from Mesaba Aviation, Inc. (the incumbent), and Sovereign Air, 

Inc. 

In addition to our brief description below, the proposals, as well as Order 2010-2-29, can be 

viewed online at www.regulations.gov, by doing a search on Docket DOT-OST-2001-10685. 

Mesaba proposes to continue operating its current level of service, i.e., 14 nonstop round trips 

per week to Memphis International Airport, operating as Delta Connection, with 34-seat 

Saab 340 aircraft, at the annual subsidy rate of $1,398,798. 

Sovereign Air proposes to provide four nonstop round trips per day to Louis Armstrong New 

Orleans International Airport with 19-seat Jetstream 32 aircraft at the annual subsidy rate of 

$999,248. We note that Sovereign does not currently have the requisite operating authority 

from either the Department or the Federal Aviation Administration to operate the service it 

proposes, although it has applied for such authority. 

Please note that proposed schedules are illustrative and the carriers may make schedule 

changes to reflect changing conditions. The Department expects subsidized air carriers to 

maintain well-timed and well-spaced flights to ensure full compensation. 
My purpose in writing to you at this time is to give you an opportunity to submit any final 

comments you might have on the proposed service. We request that you review this 

information as expeditiously as possible and submit any comments you may have as soon as 

possible, but in any case no later than May 7,2010. We will carefully consider your 

comments before we submit a recommendation to the Assistant Secretary for a final decision. 

If you have questions, or if you find that you need additional time to draft your comments, 

please let us know. 

Please submit your comments to me at: EAS@dot.pov 

In addition, we would appreciate if you would email your comments to both 

dennis.devanV@dot.gov and renee.williams ©dot.gov. You should also send a copy of your 

comments to both applicants. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me or 

Renee Williams of my staff at 202-366-1058. 

An identical letter has been sent to the Mayor of Laurel, MS, as well as the Executive Director 

of the Hattiesburg-Laurel Regional Airport Authority, 

Sincerely, 

lOJ^ • ^ Dennis J. DeVany, Chief 

EAS & Domestic Analysis Division 

Office of Aviation Analysis