Order: 2010-3-28

Served: March 23, 2010

 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

 DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

 OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

 WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

on the 23rd day of March, 2010

 Docket DOT-OST-2006-23931

 

 

ORDER REQUESTING PROPOSALS 

Summary

By this order, the Department is requesting proposals from carriers interested in providing 

essential air service (EAS) at Columbia/Jefferson City, Missouri, for the next two-year period 

from September 1, 2010, through August 31, 2012, with or without subsidy. Proposals are due 

April 30, 2010. (See Appendix A for an area map.) 

Background

By Order 2008-5-2, May 5, 2008, the Department selected Mesaba Aviation, Inc. d/b/a 

Northwest Airlink (“Mesaba”) to provide subsidized EAS at Columbia/Jefferson City for a twoyear period beginning when Mesaba inaugurated service through the end of the 24th month 

thereafter. Columbia/Jefferson City’s service was to consist of 20 nonstop round trips per week 

to Memphis using 34-passenger Saab 340 aircraft, at an annual subsidy amount of $2,186,590. 

Mesaba inaugurated service to Columbia/Jefferson City on August 19, 2008. Since the date of 

the Order, Northwest Airlines, including Mesaba, a wholly-owned subsidiary, was acquired by 

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (“Delta”). Mesaba currently operates as Delta Connection.

On February 11, 2010, Pinnacle, began operating one of three round trips each day in the 

Columbia/Jefferson City – Memphis market with 50-seat CRJ equipment. The remaining two 

round trips continue to be operated by Mesaba, using 34-seat Saab 340. Effective April 6, 2010, 

Essential Air Service at

COLUMBIA/JEFFERSON CITY, MISSOURI

under 49 U.S.C. 41731 et seq.
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Pinnacle will begin operating all three round trips each day (20 per week) to Memphis utilizing 

50-seat CRJ equipment.

Request for Proposals

We note that traffic at Columbia Regional Airport has exceeded Mesaba’s original forecast by 

approximately 70%. In its proposal, Mesaba forecast a load factor of 42% and its year-round 

load factor for calendar year 2009 was 70%. The community, Mesaba, Pinnacle, and Delta Air 

Lines should be recognized for service that the community tells us has far exceeded all 

expectations.

As the end of the current rate term approaches, we are here requesting proposals from carriers 

interested in providing service Columbia/Jefferson City, with or without subsidy, to be filed no later 

than April 30, 2010. After that date, our staff will docket the proposals, thereby making them public, 

and direct each carrier to serve a copy of its proposal on the civic parties and other applicants. 

Shortly afterwards, we will provide a summary of the proposals to the community and ask them to 

submit their final comments. We will give full consideration to all proposals that are timely filed.1 

Interested carriers should prepare their proposals with every expectation that their initial proposals 

will represent their final and only proposals. However, we retain the discretion to negotiate 

proposals with carriers when we deem it desirable; in such cases, of course, we will give all 

applicants the same opportunity. We also retain the discretion to reject outright all unreasonable or

unrealistic proposals and solicit a new round of proposals. However, negotiation or rejections are 

only occasional exceptions to the rule.

We are here providing interested carriers with some basic information to serve as guidance when 

they prepare their proposals, but we will not prescribe a precise format for their proposals. We 

expect proposals to adequately describe the service being proposed and the annual amount of 

subsidy being requested. The applicants can make their own judgments as to the level of detail 

they wish to present; however, they might want to include proposed schedules as well as 

supporting data for their subsidy requests, such as projected block hours, revenues and expenses. 

We strongly encourage clear, well-documented proposals that will facilitate their evaluation by 

the affected communities and the Department.2

With respect to Columbia/Jefferson City, we ask that carriers submit proposals for two round 

trips per day (14 total round trips per week) with 34-seat or larger aircraft, three round trips per 

day (18 total round trips per week) with 30-33 seat aircraft or four round trips per week with 19-

 1 Carriers should not expect the Department to accept late filings. In cases where a carrier proposes to provide 

essential air service without subsidy and we determine that service can be reliably provided without such 

compensation, we do not proceed with the carrier-selection case. Instead, we simply rely on that carrier’s subsidyfree service as proposed.

2 In selecting a carrier to provide subsidized essential air service, 49 U.S.C. 41733(c) (1) directs us to consider four 

factors. (1) service reliability; (2) contractual and marketing arrangements with a larger carrier at the hub; (3) 

interline arrangements with a larger carrier at the hub; and (4) community views. In addition, Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2008, Public Law 110-161, provides that when selecting a carrier to provide EAS, the 

Department may consider the relative subsidy requirements, thus codifying a factor that we have considered since 

the inception of the program. Interested carriers should also be aware that our general provisions governing 

essential air service will be included in the selection order as part of our authorization of subsidy for the selected

service. Appendix C of this order contains those general provisions. 
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seat aircraft (24 total round trips per week) to Chicago O’Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Memphis or

another suitable hub where connections to the national air transportation system can be made. If 

aircraft with fewer than 15 passenger seats are contemplated, service patterns should consist of 

six to eight round trips each weekday and weekend (36 to 48 total round trips per week). If a 

proposal offering aircraft fewer than 15 seats is submitted and the community ultimately 

supports the service, in effect waiving their right to 15-seat or larger aircraft, we would consider 

the waiver to apply only to the two-year carrier-selection at hand, i.e. we would not assume that 

the community waives their rights for all time. As always, we will formally solicit the 

community’s views on any service options we receive before making a long-term carrier 

selection decision. The community and air carriers are encouraged to work together in advance 

of the due date for proposals to craft a service pattern that is desirable to the community and 

meets the operational needs of the airline interested in submitting a proposal. 

We encourage proposals that meet these requirements in an efficient manner. Carriers are also 

welcome to propose more than one service option, if they choose; they need not limit themselves 

to those requirements if they envision other, potentially more attractive service possibilities --

different hubs, for example -- with subsidy requirements that remain competitive.

Carrier proposals should be submitted to the Department with all materials merged into a single 

document. The document will be published on Regulations.gov and each page should be 

formatted to be viewed online. 

Service and Traffic History

For the year ending December 31, 2009, the most recent period for which traffic data are available, 

Columbia/Jefferson City averaged 79 enplanements a day.3 In order to assist carriers in making their 

traffic and revenue forecasts, we have included historical traffic data in Appendix B. 

Other Carrier Requirements

The Department is responsible for implementing various Federal statutes governing lobbying 

activities, drug-free workplaces, and nondiscrimination.4 Consequently, all carriers receiving 

Federal subsidy for essential air service must certify that they are in compliance with Department 

regulations regarding drug-free workplaces and nondiscrimination, and those carriers whose 

subsidies exceed $100,000 over the life of the rate term must also certify that they are in 

compliance with the regulations governing lobbying activities. Because the Department is 

prohibited from paying subsidy to carriers that do not submit these documents, all carriers that 

plan to submit proposals involving subsidy should be aware that the selected carrier will be 

required to complete the required certifications. Interested carriers requiring more detailed 

information regarding these requirements should contact the Office of Aviation Analysis at 

(202) 366-5903.5

 3 See Appendix B for historical traffic data. Enplanements represent one-half of total origin-and-destination traffic, 

and average enplanements per day are based on 77 weekdays and weekends each quarter, except as noted.

4 The regulations applicable to these areas are: (1) 49 CFR Part 20 – New restrictions on lobbying; (2) 49 CFR Part 

21 – Nondiscrimination in federally-assisted programs of the Department of Transportation – Effectuation of title VI 

of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; 49 CFR Part 27 – Nondiscrimination on the basis of disability in programs and 

activities receiving or benefiting from Federal financial assistance; and 14 CFR Part 382 – Nondiscrimination on the 

basis of disability in air travel; and (3) 49 CFR Part 29 – Government-wide debarment and suspension (nonprocurement) and government-wide requirements for drug-free workplace (grants).

5 The certifications are also available on the web at http://ostpxweb.dot.gov/aviation/index.html.
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Community and State Comments

The community and state are welcome to submit comments on the proposals at any time. As 

noted earlier, however, we will provide a summary of the proposals to the civic parties and ask 

them to submit their final comments shortly after April 30, the due date for proposals.

This order is issued under authority delegated in 49 CFR 1.56a(f) and re-delegated to the 

Director, Office of Aviation Analysis. 

ACCORDINGLY,

1. We request that carriers interested in providing essential air service at Columbia/Jefferson 

City, Missouri, for the two-year period from September 1, 2010, through August 31, 2012, 

submit their proposals, with or without requests for subsidy, no later than April 30, 2010. The 

proposals should be e-mailed to EAS@dot.gov, with the title: “Proposal to Provide Essential Air 

Service at Columbia/Jefferson City, Missouri, Docket DOT-OST-2006-23931;6

2. This docket will remain open until further order of the Department; 

3. We will serve copies of this order on the Mayors of Columbia and Jefferson City, Missouri, 

the airport manager of Columbia Regional Airport, and the parties listed in Appendix D. 

Persons entitled to petition the Department for review of this order under the Department’s 

Regulations, 14 CFR 385.50, must file such petitions within ten (10) days after the date of 

service of this order.

This order will be effective immediately, and the filing of a petition for review shall not preclude 

its effectiveness.

By:

TODD M. HOMAN

Director

Office of Aviation Analysis

(SEAL)

An electronic version of this document is available on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov 

 6 Questions regarding filings in response to this order may be directed via e-mail to Kevin Schlemmer at 

kevin.schlemmer@dot.gov or via phone at (202) 366-3176.
Appendix A

AREA MAP

This map is provided by Sabre® AirVisionTM Profit Essentials and is being used with express permission of the 

copyright holder, Sabre Airline Solutions®.
Appendix B

Traffic History*

Columbia/Jefferson City, Missouri (COU)

Year Quarter

Inbound

Pax

Outbound 

Pax Totals

2005 1 4,468 4,532 9,000

2005 2 5,219 5,390 10,609

2005 3 4,813 4,875 9,688

2005 4 4,917 5,160 10,077

39,374 CY2005

2006 1 3,952 4,066 8,018

2006 2 3,731 3,828 7,559

2006 3 3,198 3,242 6,440

2006 4 2,089 2,479 4,568

26,585 CY2006

2007 1 1,823 2,015 3,838

2007 2 2,190 2290 4,480

2007 3 2,199 2100 4,299

2007 4 2,246 2,216 4,462

17,079 CY2007

2008 1 1,544 1,507 3,051

2008 2 1,323 1,247 2,570

2008 3 1,863 1,844 3,707

2008 4 5,983 6,069 12,052

21,380 CY2008

2009 1 5,954 5,888 11,842

2009 2 6,157 6,198 12,355

2009 3 6,265 6,286 12,551

2009 4 6,374 6,388 12,762

49,510 CY2009

Average daily enplanements at Columbia/Jefferson City (CY2009) – 79** 

*Source – T-100 Market Report, Passengers in Scheduled Passenger Service, includes traffic for Trans 

States Airlines, Air Midwest, Inc., Mesaba Aviation, Inc. and Pinnacle Airlines only.

**Average daily enplanements= total traffic for the most recent year divided by 313 service days divided 

by 2.
Appendix C

Example of General Terms and Conditions for Essential Air Service

The carrier understands that it may forfeit its compensation for any flights that it does not 

operate in conformance with the terms and stipulations of the rate order, including the 

service plans outlined in the order and any other significant elements of the required 

service, without prior approval. The carrier understands that an aircraft take-off and 

landing at its scheduled destination constitutes a completed flight; absent an explanation 

supporting subsidy eligibility for a flight that has not been completed, such as certain 

weather cancellations, only completed flights are considered eligible for subsidy. In 

addition, if the carrier does not schedule or operate its flights in full conformance with the 

order for a significant period, it may jeopardize its entire subsidy claim for the period in 

question. If the carrier contemplates any such changes beyond the scope of the order 

during the applicable period of these rates, it must first notify the Office of Aviation 

Analysis in writing and receive written approval from the Department to be ensured of 

full compensation. Should circumstances warrant, the Department may locate and select 

a replacement carrier to provide service on these routes. The carrier must complete all 

flights that can be safely operated; flights that overfly points for lack of traffic will not be 

compensated. In determining whether subsidy payment for a deviating flight should be 

adjusted or disallowed, the Department will consider the extent to which the goals of the 

program are met and the extent of access to the national air transportation system 

provided to the community.

If the Department unilaterally, either partially or completely, terminates or reduces payments for 

service or changes service requirements at a specific location provided for under this order, then, 

at the end of the period for which the Department does make payments in the stipulated amounts 

or at the stipulated service levels, the carrier may cease to provide service to that specific location 

without regard to any requirement for notice of such cessation. Those adjustments in the levels of 

subsidy and/or service that are mutually agreed to in writing by the Department and carrier do not 

constitute a total or partial reduction or cessation of payment.

Funds are not currently available for performance under this solicitation beyond [DATE]. 

The Government’s obligation for performance under this solicitation beyond [DATE], is 

contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds from which payment for services 

can be made. No legal liability on the part of the Government for any payment may arise 

for performance under this order beyond [DATE], until funds are made available to the 

Department for performance. If funds are not made available for performance beyond 

[DATE], the carrier will receive notice in writing by the Department.

Subsidy contracts are subject to, and incorporate by reference, relevant statutes and 

Department regulations, as they may be amended from time to time. However, any such 

statutes, regulations, or amendments thereto shall not operate to controvert the foregoing 

paragraph.

All claims for payment must be submitted within 60 days of the last day of service 

provided under this order.
Appendix D

Scheduled Air Carriers, Contiguous US and Puerto Rico

Air Sunshine, Inc. Intrepid Internatl Air, Rick Eyk

Air Sunshine, Mirmohammad Adili Island Air Charters, Linda House

Air West, Inc., John Raatz Jet Air, Daniel Wolford

Air Wisconsin, Annette Daly Kenmore Air, Tim Brooks

Airline Associates, Bill Mishk McCall Aviation and Salmon Air, Dan Scott

Alaska Airlines, Jeff Cole McCall Aviation, Michelle

Alaska Airlines, Sandy Sinick Mesa, Jonathan Ornstein

Allegiant Air, Robert Ashscroft Mesa, Michael Lotz 

American Airlines, Carl Nelson Mesa, Mike Holcomb

American Eagle, Jeffrey Hartz Mesaba, John Spanjers 

Atlantic Southeast, Jon Lindlief Mesaba, Max Shemesh

Atlantis Southeast, Roger Weston Midstar Airlines, Jeffrey Fonner

Bemidji Aviation, Cori Rude Midwest Airlines, Greg Aretakis

Bemidji Aviation, Arlen Rinkenberger MN Aviation, Jose Maldonado 

Cape Air, Andrew Bonney Multi Aero, Darnea

Cape Air, Dan Wolf Multi Aero, Shane Storz

Cape Air, J. Flaherty Northwest, Tim McDonald 

Classic Aviation, Tony Henderson NYDC, Henok Araya

Colgan Air, Mike Colgan OST, Brian Swanson

CommutAir, Andy Price OST, Dennis DeVany

CommutAir, Joel Raymond OST, Kevin Adams

Consultant, Robert Silverberg OST, Kevin Schlemmer

Continental, Bruce Keiner OST, Michael Martin 

Continental, Dan Weiss OST, Renee Williams

Continental, Lorry Halloway Pacific Wings, Frank Ford

Delta, Amy Martin Pacific Wings, Greg Kahlstorf

Delta, Dan Shuman PenAir, Danny Seybert

Delta, Jeff Morgan PenAir, Scott Bloomquist

Delta, Joe Esposito Pinnacle Airlines, Joe Williams 

Delta, Karen Zachary Pinnacle Airlines, Phil Reed

Delta, Sascha Vanderbellen Public Charters, Jim Gallagher

Dorado Jets Scenic, Mary Schneider

Dorado Jets, Mark McKenna Scenic, Mitzi Daines

Era Aviation, Mike Lenorman Seaborne Airlines, Wayne D'Amico

Executive Airlines, Kate Soled SeaPort Airlines, Jim Day

Frontier Flying, Bob Hajducovich SeaPort Airlines, Rob McKinney

Gem Air, Dan Schroeder Shuttle America, Jerry Balsano 

Gem Air, JoAnn Wolters SkyWest, Eric Christensen

Great Lakes, Chuck Howell SkyWest, Michael Thompson

Great Lakes, Doug Voss Sovereign Air, Bob Karns

Great Lakes, Greg Stephens Sovereign Air, Lois R. Barton

Gulfstream, Dave Hackett Tradewind, Eric Zipkin 

Gulfstream, Mickey Bowman TransStates, Fred Oxley 

Gulfstream, T. Cooper TransStates, Gerry Wigmore

Homeland Security, Bill Ragan United, Alicia Gabriel

Homeland Security, David Bernier United, James Starnes

Homeland Security, Randy Webb US Airways, Benjamin Slocum

Horizon Air, Dan Russo US Airways, Howard Kass

Horizon Air, Jennifer Thompson US Airways, Jason Reisinger 

Horizon Air, Jeff Cole Warbelows Air Ventures, Art Warbelow

ICEPR, Luis Irizarry Wings Air (Air Greco), Aaron Goerlich