Order: 20 10

- 3

- 28

Served: March 23 , 20 1 0



### UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

on the 23 rd day of March , 20 10

Docket DOT

- OST

- 200 6

- 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 , 20 1 0. ( 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 subsid ized EAS at Columbia/Jefferson City for a two

year period beginning when Mesaba inaugurated service through the end of the 24 th month thereafter. Columbia/Jefferson City’s service was to consist of 20 nonstop round trips per week to Memphis using 34

- passe nger 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

Del ta 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.- 2

-

Pinnacle will beg i n 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 4 2 % and its year

- round

load factor for calendar year 2009 was 70%. The community, Mesaba, Pi nnacle, 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 Colu mbia/Jefferson City , with or without subsidy, to be file d no later

than April 30 , 20 1 0

. A fter 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 othe r applicants. Shortly afterwards, we will provide a summary of the proposals to the communit y 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 , w e ask that carriers submit proposals for two round trips per day (14 total round trips per week) with 3 4

- seat or larger aircraf t

, t hree round trips per day ( 18 total round trips per week) with 30

- 33 s eat 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 subsidy

free 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 requir ements, 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 authori zation of subsidy for the selected

service. Appendix C of this order contains those general provisions.- 3

-

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 t he two

- year carrier

- selection at hand, i.e. we would not assume that the community waives their rights for all time. A s always, we will formally solicit the community’s views on any service options we receive before making a long

- te rm carrier

selection de cision. 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 proposa l.

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 m ore attractive service possibilities

-- different hubs, for example

-- with subsidy requirements that remain competitive.

Carrier proposals s hould be s ubmitted to the Department with all materials merged into a single

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

formatted to be viewed online.

Service and Traffic History For the year ending December 31, 2009, th e most recent period for which traffic data are available, Columbia/Jefferson City averaged 79 enplanement s 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 nond iscrimination, 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

infor mation 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 Depa rtment 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

– N ondiscrimination on the basis of disability in air travel; and (3) 49 CFR Part 29

– Government

- wide debarment and suspension (non

procurement) 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.- 4

-

Community and State Comments

The communit y and state are welcome to submit comments on the proposals at any time. As noted earlier, however, we will pr ovide 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, Offic e 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 , 20 1 0

. 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

- 200 6

- 23931 ; 6

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

3 . We will serve co pies of this order on the Mayors of Columbia and Jefferson City, Missouri, the airport manager of Columbia Regional Airport, and the parties lis ted 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 effecti ve 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 ® AirVision TM 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 destinatio n 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 f light 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

o r 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 perform ance 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 with in 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

Comm utAir, 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 Sovereig n 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