Order 2003-12-2 - EAS at Nebraska Communities - Requesting Proposals
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Essential Air Service at Grand Island, Kearney, McCook, Norfolk, North Platte, and Scottsbluff, Nebraska Order 03-12-2 Issued December 2, 2003 | Served December 5, 2003 The Department had already issued orders requesting proposals from carriers interested in serving these communities. However, by letter dated July 14, 2003, the Mayor of Grand Island, the Chairman of the Hall County Airport Authority, and the Chair of the Hall County Board of Supervisors requested that the Department seek proposals offering Grand Island service to a hub to the east, rather than to Denver. In addition, other communities (especially Kearney) have indicated that they, too, are interested in seeking alternatives to the status quo. Further, we have decided to make an additional effort to seek service for Norfolk that falls within the statutory $200 per passenger ceiling. As a result, we ask carriers to construct their proposals so that the subsidy attributable to Norfolk can be readily identified or allocated. (We emphasize that this does not necessarily assure Norfolk of continued eligibility for subsidized service, nor does it grant the community an indefinite time period to attempt to boost its traffic levels. We are primarily interested in seeing proposals for Norfolk that potentially exhibit lower overall costs than the traditional Norfolk-North Platte-Denver package.) Moreover, essential air service at Nebraska communities has traditionally been interconnected to a significant extent. (For example, two of Grand Island's three flights to Denver currently make an intermediate stop at McCook, and Norfolk's service to Denver involves a stop at either Grand Island or Kearney.) Based on all of the above, we find that this is clearly a case that merits being processed in one comprehensive case under our new, streamlined carrier selection procedures. By: Michael Reynolds |
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