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Mesaba Aviation, Inc. d/b/a Mesaba Airlines

No other carrier is currently serving Escanaba. After Mesaba terminates service, Escanaba will be left with no service.

Counsel:  Mesaba Airlines, John Fredericksen, 612.726.5151

Mesaba Aviation, Inc. d/b/a Mesaba Airlines / Escanaba, Michigan / Meridian, Mississippi

Escanaba

The Michigan congressional delegation notes that Northwest Airlines and Mesaba have received payments under sections 101 and 103 of P.L. 107-42, and believes that the acceptance of those payments obligates those carriers to continue service at Escanaba. First, we must make clear that by its own words, section 105 is precatory, not mandatory. Second, any payments received under sections 101 and 103 are specifically intended to compensate carriers for (a) losses associated with government-ordered stoppages of service, such as occurred immediately after the September 11 attacks, and (b) incremental losses incurred through December 31, 2001, as a direct result of those attacks.

The 90-day notice requirement of 14 CFR 323.3(a)(5), or the "one-third rule," was put in place to afford communities a reasonable period of time to react to changes in the market, and to ensure smooth carrier transitions. As noted below, we are requiring Mesaba to accommodate all passengers who have been booked on the carrier.

Escanaba retains its standing under the notice provisions of the EAS program, and any carrier serving the community is obligated to submit a 90-day notice of its intent to suspend if it wishes to discontinue its scheduled service at the community.

After the suspension, Escanaba will still have scheduled service to a major hub airport providing it with excellent access to the nation's air transportation system. The community will continue to receive service on Skyway to Milwaukee, a medium hub and one of the community's designated EAS designated hub destinations. In addition, Skyway has stated that it would increase its Escanaba-Milwaukee service to all nonstop effective at the same time that Mesaba suspends service at Escanaba. Milwaukee has nonstop jet service to most major domestic destinations.

Meridian

Without Express's service, Meridian will still have service on ASA nonstop to Atlanta and one-stop to Dallas/Fort Worth, both large hubs with nonstop jet service to all major domestic destinations. ASA now provides Meridian with 180 inbound and 180 outbound seats to Atlanta and Dallas/Ft. Worth each day, far in excess of Meridian's guarantee of sufficient capacity for 40 passengers in each direction each service day. In addition, six flights a day with 30-seat aircraft will easily accommodate Meridian's current level of passenger demand. In 2000, Express and ASA combined enplaned a total of 21,027 passengers at Meridian, or an average of 58 passengers per day.

We recognize that ASA's continuing service is not operated to Memphis, which is designated as one of Meridian's two hubs in its essential air service determination. However, hub designations assume that the community would receive no service other than to the designated hub or hubs. If other service is in fact available when a carrier files notice to suspend its service, we consider whether the other service can meet the community's needs. In this case, we conclude that ASA's service to Atlanta and Dallas/Ft. Worth will meet Meridian's continuing need for a link to the national air transportation system. Moreover, as a code-share partner of Delta Airlines, the major carrier at Atlanta with a significant presence at Dallas/Ft. Worth as well, ASA is able to offer Meridian travelers on-line connecting service throughout Delta's system.

Under these circumstances, we have decided to allow Mesaba to suspend service at Escanaba, and Express to suspend service at Meridian, at the end of their respective 90day notice periods. We will rely on Skyway at Escanaba and ASA at Meridian to provide those communities with access to the nation's air transportation system.

By:  Read Van de Water

Mesaba Aviation, Inc. d/b/a Mesaba Airlines

While we certainly understand that the current state of the industry has prompted schedule cutbacks for all airlines, the complete termination of Mesaba service leaves ESC without an essential link to its most vital hub, Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Service termination also results in a 71 percent reduction in seat availability for the travelers using ESC.

Senior management at Northwest Airlines, which provides scheduling and fleet planning functions for Mesaba, has indicated that ESC service is not financially viable. Because ESC will still retain service to another designated, but much smaller hub airport, no financial subsidy will be available to retain Mesaba service under the Essential Air Service program.

This situation underscores the shortcomings of the current EAS program which, while guaranteeing a minimum number of flights, fails to provide adequate financing for sustainable levels of air service. We believe additional EAS funding to support appropriate levels of air service would enable many airports, including ESC, to eventually become profitable and self-sustaining.

By:  Michigan Department of Transportation, Bureau of Aeronautics, Pauline Misjak, 517.335.9283

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