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OST-2003-15483 - EAS at Manhattan, KS
http://www.ci.manhattan.ks.us/Airport.asp - Manhattan Regional Airport
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Essential Air Service at Manhattan, Kansas OST-2003-15483 - Notice of Air Midwest to Terminate Service June 20, 2003 Notice of Air Midwest to Terminate Service Though Air Midwest would prefer to continue providing scheduled air service in Manhattan, Kansas, the substantial costs resulting from increased federal regulations for regional carriers makes it impossible to continue without Essential Air Service subsidy. The absence of this subsidy requires Air Midwest to advise the Department that scheduled air service will be discontinued. At present, Air Midwest is the sole provider of certificated scheduled air service at Manhattan. Air Midwest is hereby providing public notice of its intent to terminate scheduled aft service with the expiration of the 90-day notice period as required. Any objections to this Notice to Terminate Service must be filed within twenty (20) days from the date of this filing, in accordance with 14 C.F.R. §323.10. By: Scott Lyon, 602-685-4368
Order 2003-9-17 Issued September 23, 2003 | Served September 26, 2003 Order Prohibiting Suspension of Service and Requesting Proposals | Word Order 2003-9-17, the Department (1) prohibits Air Midwest, Inc., d/b/a US Airways Express (Air Midwest), from terminating its unsubsidized service at Manhattan, Kansas; (2) requires the carrier to maintain service between the community and Kansas City, Missouri for an initial 30-day period following the end of the notice period; and, (3) requests proposals from carriers interested in providing replacement service at Manhattan. Also, the Department continuous a process of introducing new, streamlined procedures for processing replacement-service proposals throughout the Essential Air Service (EAS) program. While the number of passengers has been declining for a number of years, during calendar year 2000, more than 12,600 passengers enplaned at the Manhattan Municipal Airport, or an average of 40.1 passengers per day based on 314 service days. The preceding paragraph reflects streamlined carrier-selection procedures that we first introduced in Order 2003-8-10 for the EAS program generally and are continuing here. In the past, we have accepted initial carrier proposals, reviewed them, and then negotiated final proposals with each applicant before formally presenting them to the community and asking it to submit any final comments. By: Michael Reynolds
Order 2003-10-23 Issued October 21, 2003 | Served October 24, 2003 Order Extending Service Obligation On June 20, 2003, Air Midwest filed a 90-day notice of its intent to suspend its unsubsidized service at Manhattan, effective September 18, 2003. By Order 2003-9-17, September 23, 2003, the Department prohibited Air Midwest from suspending service beyond the end of its 90-day notice period, and requested proposals, with subsidy if necessary, from carriers interested in providing replacement service. This case will not be completed by the end of the current hold-in period. Therefore, in accordance with 49 U.S.C. 41734(c), we will extend Air Midwest's service obligation at Manhattan for an additional 30 days, or until suitable replacement service actually begins, whichever occurs first. By: Randall Bennett
October 29, 2003 By: Mesa, Scott Lyon
October 23, 2003 By: Mulit-Aero, Darnea Wood
Order 2003-11-10 Issued November 18, 2003 | Served November 21, 2003 Order Extending Service Obligation Although we have received proposals, this case will not be completed by the end of the current hold‑in period. Therefore, in accordance with 49 U.S.C. 41734(c), we will extend Air Midwest's service obligation at Manhattan for an additional 30 days, or until suitable replacement service actually begins, whichever occurs first. By: Randall Bennett
December 5, 2003 Correspondence of the Essential Air Service Division to Manhatten, KS International Airport I would like to update you on the essential air service situation at Manhattan and give you an opportunity to submit any final comments if you wish before we issue a final order selecting a carrier and service option for a prospective two‑year period. We are sending an identical letter to Mayor Taussig. As you know, by Order 2003‑9‑17 (Docket 2003‑15483), we solicited proposals from carriers interested in serving Manhattan following the 90‑day notice we received from Air Midwest, Inc. (Air Midwest), the incumbent carrier, to suspend service there. In response to our request, we received four proposals from Air Midwest and one from Multi‑Aero, Inc. (Multi‑Aero). Since you should have received copies from both carriers, we will only briefly summarize them below. By: Dennis DeVany
December 5, 2003 Correspondence of the Essential Air Service Division to the Honorable Mark Taussig By: Dennis DeVany
Order 2003-12-13 Issued December 9, 2003 | Served December 12, 2003 Order Extending Service Obligation Although we have received proposals, this case will not be completed by the end of the current By: Randall Bennett
December 22, 2003 Re: Comments of Salina Airport Authority After reviewing the proposals, Salina recommends that the Department of Transportation accept the Air Midwest/Mesa Air Group Option W. This option maintains a three-flight frequency for the Salina market at a critical time in Air MidwestlMesa's rebuilding efforts. At the same time, Option #4 provides Manhattan with a much needed fourth flight. On October 9, 2003, Air MidwestlMesa announced a very favorable and competitive point-to-point fare schedule for the SLN-MHK-MCI service. The new fare schedule will enable the airline to regain passengers lost in recent years and is another step in a rebuilding process that Air MidwestlMesa is committed to. The selection of Option #4 will further assist the carrier with the rebuilding task. By: Salina, Alan Jilka
Issued January 8, 2004 | Served January 13, 2004 Order Extending Service Obligation Although we have received proposals, this case will not be completed by the end of the current hold‑in period. Therefore, in accordance with 49 U.S.C. 41734(c), we will extend Air Midwest's service obligation at Manhattan for an additional 30 days, or until suitable replacement service actually begins, whichever occurs first. By: Randall Bennett
January 7, 2004 Re: Response of the City of Manhattan to Proposals After considerable discussion by the Manhattan Regional Airport Advisory Board and the Manhattan City Commission, it is our recommendation to support the proposal by Air Midwest (Mesa Air Group), which would continue the present respective air carriers participation and the existing service pattern. Manhattan would prefer to continue with Air Midwest providing for four non‑stop round trip flights a day, (Option #4), three of which would also serve Sauna, Kansas and one that would operate just ManhattanKansas City‑Manhattan. It appears that the continuation of this arrangement, based on the subsidy requests of Mesa Air Group as presented in their proposal, would increase the total federal subsidy expenditure for Manhattan of $311,195. Although we give very careful consideration to Multi‑Aeros proposal to provide Kansas City service without a subsidy, we are concerned with regard to Multi‑Aero's intent to start service under Part 135 regulation with a 9‑seat aircraft. Several important factors led us to the position announced in this response. Although Air‑21 grant funds may be used to offset start‑up costs for Multi‑Aero, Multi‑Aero may be inclined to increase fares to offset the overestimated boarding figures, or worse yet, be forced to seek a service suspension in an effort to reduce costs or increase the amount of subsidy necessary to offset resulting operational losses, in particular when the limited amount of grant funds available through the Small Community Air Service Development Pilot Program have expired. Neither possibility bodes well for the usability, reliability, and dependability of service expected and required by the Flint Hills region and the City of Manhattan. In summary, the City of Manhattan is supportive of the continuation of Air Midwest's present service to Kansas City, with the understanding that possible alternatives as to an alternative hub be reviewed and monitored on an ongoing basis, and that both the carrier and the department will be open to the exploration of other eastern hub designations during the term of the new agreement. Again, we appreciate this opportunity to share our concerns and input, as well as the continued cooperation of the entire EAS staff and the respective air carriers involved. By: Mark Taussig, Mayor
Order 2004-2-14 Issued February 17, 2004 | Served February 20, 2004 Order Selecting Carrier | Word Air Midwest’s subsidy request for Salina and Manhattan combined is $721,605. That includes its current rate of $536,237 for serving Salina, meaning that the implicit cost of serving Manhattan is a relatively modest $185,368. Further, if we were to select Multi-Aero to serve Manhattan, the cost of securing Salina’s EAS would likely increase -- perhaps considerably. The current subsidy of $536,237 covers only the costs of Air Midwest’s operating the 58-mile Salina-Manhattan segment. The subsidy costs of flying the nonstop 161-mile Salina-Kansas City route could be far greater than the current rate of $536,237, and likely even greater than the combined rate of $721,605 for service to both communities. Thus, the selection of Multi-Aero to serve Manhattan would result in minimal subsidy savings, and might even require more subsidy than Air Midwest’s proposal to serve Salina and Manhattan together over a Salina-Manhattan-Kansas City routing. By: Karan Bhatia
Order 2005-11-9 Issued November 7, 2005 | Served November 10, 2005 By this order, the Department is requesting proposals from carriers interested in providing essential air service at Manhattan and Salina, Kansas, for the two-year period beginning March 1, 2006. Manhattan and Salina were served without subsidy for a number of years until Air Midwest, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mesa Air Group, Inc., d/b/a US Airways Express filed 90-day notices to suspend service at both communities. In response to those 90-day notices, the Department issued Order 2001-12-26 and Order 2002-3-3, prohibiting the carrier from suspending service at Sauna and Manhattan, respectively, and requesting proposals for replacement service. By Order 2004-2-14, Air Midwest was selected for the two-year period through February 28, 2006, at Manhattan and Salina at a combined annual subsidy rate of $721,605 to provide three round trips each weekday and weekend (18 round trips per week) to Kansas City using 19-seat Beech 1900-D turboprop aircraft over a Salina Manhattan -Kansas City routing. Air Midwest filed to suspend service at Salina on January 23, 2002, and at Manhattan on June 30, 2003. As the end of the current rate term approaches, we are here requesting proposals from carriers interested in providing service at Manhattan and Sauna, with or without subsidy, for the two-year period beginning March 1, 2006. Carriers should file their proposals within 30 clays of the date of service of this order. At the end of that period, our staff will docket 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 communities and ask them to submit their final comments. We will give full consideration to all proposals that are timely filed. By: Todd Homan
December 8, 2005 Proposal of Multi-Aero, Inc. d/b/a Air Choice One Manhattan-Kansas City - Piper Navajo Chieftan - Six Passenger Seats per Flight
Manhattan-Kansas City - Cessna Grand Caravan - Nine Passenger Seats per Flight
Counsel: Air Choice One, Shane Storz, 800-795-7192
OST-2003-15483 - Manhattan
December 9, 2005 RegionsAir proposes the following weekly frequency to/from STL: MHK - 36; SLN - 36. Both Salina and Manhattan will have nonstop and one-stop service to St. Louis for a combined 36 weekly departures for each community. Specifically, Salina will have 11 nonstop and 25 one-stop departures per week; Manhattan will have 25 nonstop and 11 one-stop departures per week.
By: RegionsAir
December 12, 2005 Proposals of Mesa Air Group d/b/a Air Midwest
There are 6 services days in a week: Monday-Friday and Saturday/Sunday. All operations proposed would utilize our modern fleet of Raytheon/Beechcraft B-1900D airliners. These aircraft offer a very comfortable 19-seat, pressurized cabin with two turboprop engines. Mesa has a long history of offering Essential Air Service throughout the country, from New Mexico to New York. Mesa has seen great passenger enplanements improvements in both markets during the past year, and we feel that we can continue to see an improvement in these markets. We especially feel that having a 4th Roundtrip on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays for Manhattan is particularly important to help grow their traffic even more. Mesa has also seen an incredible increase in the cost of fuel during the prior two year period, which accounts for nearly a $200,000 need of additional subsidy over our current rate. By: Air Midwest
December 22, 2005
I would like to update you on the essential air service situation at Manhattan and give you an opportunity to submit any final comments if you wish before we issue a final order selecting a carrier and service option for a new two-year period. Air Midwest offers four options all of which would serve Kansas City using 19-seat Beech 1900D turboprop aircraft. Air Midwest has code-share agreements with US Airways and Midwest Express Airlines. Multi-Aero offers two options for Manhattan - Kansas City service using either a six-passenger Piper Navajo (twin-engine, piston powered), or a 9-passenger Cessna Caravan (single-engine, turboprop). The carrier did not submit a proposal to serve Salina. Multi-Aero does not have a code-share agreement with a large air carrier for service at Kansas City. Multi-Aero’s proposals do not meet the RegionsAir offers a single proposal for Manhattan and Salina - St. Louis, MO, service at an annual subsidy of $2,707,604 using 30-passenger Saab 340 turboprop aircraft. RegionsAir has a code-share agreement with American Airlines for service at St. Louis. Although not mentioned in the Request for Proposals, the Department is statutorily precluded from selecting any proposal for subsidized service that exceeds $200 per passenger, unless the community is more than 2 10 miles from the closest hub. Based on the most recent annual passenger data available, the year ending September 30,2005, Salina generated 4,763 passengers, meaning that the maximum annual subsidy we could authorize for Salina service is $952,600. Because we allocate the subsidy 50-50% over a linear routing where both communities receive the same number of round trips, the maximum subsidy we can authorize for a combined Manhattan-Salina proposal is By: Dennis DeVany
OST-2002-11376 - Salina December 27, 2005 Grant of Extension to File Community Comments The City of Manhattan, Kansas, has requested an extension, from January 17, until January 23, to file the community’s comments in response to our letter of December 22, 2005. The extension is necessary because Manhattan’s Airport Advisory Board is not scheduled to discuss the carrier selection issue until it meets on January 9, 2006. In addition, the Manhattan City Commission will not discuss the Advisory Board’s recommendations nor prepare its final comments to the Department prior to the Commission meeting on January 17, 2006. This is to advise all parties that we have decided to grant the requested extension to file community comments. Community comments from both Salina and Manhattan must now be filed no later than January 23, 2006. By: Dennis DeVany
January 18, 2006 Comments of City of Manhattan Concerning EAS Proposal Review Process The City is concerned that the options that appear viable based upon your letter dated December 22, 2005 do not meet existing air service needs and certainly do not meet the growth in need occurring at the present time associated with a rapidly expanding Fort Riley. The City believes that we need a minimum of four daily flights at the present time and service split apart from Salina. This scenario would maximize the number of seats available for our region. Unfortunately, this option was not presented. Therefore, the City would first be supportive of Option 2 submitted by Air Midwest, which would increase the current air service by one daily flight each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Secondly, the City would support Option 3 submitted by Air Midwest, which would split the Manhattan air service from Sauna air service. As we have previously indicated to you, there appears to be continuing customer service issues with Air Midwest that are concerning to the City. In light of this, the City would strongly encourage the Department of Transportation to institute performance standards in the Essential Air Service agreements. Such performance standards should provide for acceptable levels of customer service and also provide for a range of acceptable fares. The airline presently receives a subsidy whether or not there are any passengers. Without any incentive for the airline to encourage enplanements, fares can escalate to a point that it is unaffordable to fly. Greater control over these factors will ensure better accountability for the significant federal tax dollars involved with this program. By: Mayor Ed Klimek
January 18, 2006 Comments of City of Manhattan in Hesitant Support of Air Midwest Proposals The City is concerned that the options that appear viable based upon your letter dated December 22, 2005 do not meet existing air service needs and certainly do not meet the growth in need occurring at the present time associated with a rapidly expanding Fort Riley. The City believes that we need a minimum of four daily flights at the present time and service split apart from Salina. This scenario would maximize the number of seats available for our region. Unfortunately, this option was not presented. Therefore, the City would first be supportive of Option 2 submitted by Air Midwest, which would increase the current air service by one daily flight each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Secondly, the City would support Option 3 submitted by Air Midwest, which would split the Manhattan air service from Salina air service. As we have previously indicated to you, there appears to be continuing customer service issues with Air Midwest that are concerning to the City. In light of this, the City would strongly encourage the Department of Transportation to institute performance standards in the Essential Air Service agreements. Such performance standards should provide for acceptable levels of customer service and also provide for a range of acceptable fares. The airline presently receives a subsidy whether or not there are any passengers. Without any incentive for the airline to encourage enplanements, fares can escalate to a point that it is unaffordable to fly. Greater control over these factors will ensure better accountability for the significant federal tax dollars involved with this program. By: Mayor, Ed Klimek
February 6, 2006 Support of Sen. Pat Roberts for Air Midwest Proposal Air Midwest, Inc. has submitted a proposal for Essential Air Service at Manhattan, KS. I write to express my support for an Air Midwest option that provides the region with the best service plan. The City of Manhattan has carefully considered the four service options and evaluated the impact of each option on the viability of scheduled air carrier service for Manhattan and north central Kansas. They determined and I agree that the area would be best served by a plan that increases service to the region, rather than one maintaining the status quo. By: Pat Roberts
February 9, 2006 Thank you for your letter of February 6 supporting the re-selection of Air Midwest to provide increased essential air service at Manhattan for the two-year period beginning July 1, 2006. As you may know, we received seven service options from three carriers, including Air Midwest, to provide subsidized EAS at Manhattan and/or Sauna, the other Kansas community involved in this case. Since this matter is currently under review by the Department, I am sure you understand that I cannot comment on the merits of those options. I assure you, however, that the Department will fully and fairly consider each option in light of the statutory criteria we are directed to follow. These statutory criteria include: giving substantial weight to the views of the community's elected officials; each carrier's marketing, code-share, and interline relationships with larger carriers at hub airports; and the relative subsidy requirements of each option or combination of options. Finally, I also assure you that your office will be notified when the selection order is made public. By: Dennis DeVany
Order 2006-3-15 Issued March 15, 2006 | Served March 20, 2006 Order Re-selecting Carrier and Establishing Subsidy Rate By Order 2004-2-14, the Department selected Air Midwest to provide three nonstop round trips on weekdays and on weekends to Kansas City over a Salina - Manhattan - Kansas City routing with 19-seat Beech 1900D turboprop aircraft for the two-year period ending February 28, 2006, at an annual subsidy of $721,605. As the end of that two-year contract period was approaching, the Department issued Order 2005-11-9 on November 7, 2005, requesting proposals from carriers interested in providing EAS at Manhattan and Salina for a new two-year period beginning March 1, 2006, with or without subsidy. In response to our request, we received proposals from three carriers: Air Midwest, the incumbent; Multi-Aero, Inc., d/b/a Air Choice One; and RegionsAir, Inc., d/b/a American Connection. After carefully considering this matter, including a thorough review of the carriers’ proposals, as well as the communities’ comments, we have decided to select Air Midwest’s Option 1, the status quo option to continue the carrier’s current service at both Manhattan and Salina for a new two-year period beginning March 1, 2006, at the annual subsidy rate of $974,008. The principal consideration regarding the choice of Option 1 over either Option 2 or the combination of Options 3 and 4 is whether demand warrants our paying additional subsidy to support additional service. During 2004, Air Midwest generated an average of 26 enplanements a day at Manhattan and 9 at Salina. The total of 35 enplanements a day can easily be accommodated on Air Midwest’s three round trips a day with 19 seaters at a load factor of 61 percent over the critical Manhattan - Kansas City segment. Further, Air Midwest forecast an average load factor of only 52 percent over the whole route. Thus, we do not find that there is insufficient capacity on the existing service. Moreover, the EAS program was designed to provide a safety-net level of service, not as a market development tool, nor to support all the service that a community might want. We shall make this selection at Manhattan and Salina contingent upon the Department’s receiving properly executed certifications from Mesa Air Group, Inc., d/b/a Air Midwest, that it is in compliance with the Department’s regulations regarding drug-free workplaces, nondiscrimination, and lobbying activities. By: Michael Reynolds
Order 2007-9-28 Issued September 26, 2007 | Served October 1, 2007 By this order, the Department is requesting proposals from carriers interested in providing essential air service at Manhattan and Salina, Kansas, for the two-year period beginning March 1, 2008. With specific respect to Manhattan and Salina, we expect that would provide Manhattan with three nonstop round trips a day with 15-seat or larger aircraft to Kansas City. For Salina, we expect either two nonstop round trips a day or three one-stop round trips a day. In order to give the Department and the communities as broad an array of proposals as possible from which to choose, carriers are also welcome to prepare more than one service option; they need not limit themselves to these requirements if they envision other, potentially more attractive service possibilities, different hubs, for example, with subsidy requirements that remain competitive. Such service is generally consistent with what the communities currently receive. By: Todd Homan
OST-2003-15483 - Manhattan October 30, 2007 Mesa Air Group, Inc. d/b/a Air Midwest cordially submits a proposal to provide Essential Air Service from Manhattan and SaIina, Kansas to Kansas City, Missouri. All flights will be operated with a pressurized, turboprop, Beech 1900D aircraft with 19 seats. It is our intent to continue to aperate these flights under both a US Airways codeshare as US Airways Express and a Midwest Airline codeshare as Midwest Connection.
By: Mesa, Tom Bacon
OST-2003-15483 - Manhattan October 30, 2007 Proposals of Great Lakes Aviation This document contains the response of Great Lakes Aviation, LTD. to Order Requesting Proposals 2007-9-28. Great Lakes Aviation, LTD is pleased to submit these proposals to provide essential air transportation to the Kansas communities addressed in the Order. Great Lakes has more than 20 years of experience in providing reliable Essential Air Service. The proposed service is being offered with local service marketed and priced utilizing the Great Lakes reservations system, which includes customer ticket purchasing capability on both the Great Lakes web site and on all major web booking engines. Great Lakes' proposals all contemplate conveniently timed mnnecting services to interline carriers and/or our code share partners United and Frontier. Our code share agreements will give Manhattan and Salina the greatest competitive oppourtunity available. Great Lakes maintains interline ticketing and baggage agreements with the majority of the other carriers operating from hubs in Kansas City, St, Louis and/or Denver. Optional service transitions to our St, Louis or Denver hubs can be provided for the same subsidy dollars when, and if, a community coordinated and supported air service transition plan is agreed upon. The costing of the proposal contemplates the use of pressurized 19 seat Beech 1900D's which the Company has had a long histoty of operating. By: Great Lakes, Michael Matthews, 307-432-7030, mmatthews@greatlakesav.com
OST-2002-11376 - Salina, KS November 5, 2007 DOT Letter Requesting Comments of: Air Midwest proposes to continue to provide service at Salina for an annual subsidy of $1,186,513 using 19-seat Beech 1900D turboprop aircraft. As you know, Air Midwest operates as US Airways Express, and has codeshare agreements with US Airways and Midwest Airlines (operates as Midwest Connection) that provide seamless connections to US Airways and Midwest Airlines' flights at the Kansas City hub. The carrier also proposes to continue their current level of service at Manhattan, i.e., three non-stop round trips per day to Kansas City for an annual subsidy of $433,053. Great Lakes' proposal is very similar in that the carrier proposes to provide Salina with two nonstop round trips per day to Kansas City or Denver. At Manhattan, it would provide three nonstop round trips to Kansas City or St Louis, with both services using 19-seat Beech 1900D turboprop aircraft. The carrier has codeshare agreements with United Air Lines and Frontier Airlines at the Denver hub. Great Lakes does not currently have any codeshare agreements with any carrier at either St. Louis or Kansas City, and, while it is negotiations with American Airlines at St. Louis and Midwest Airlines at Kansas City, whether those talks will ultimately result in a codeshare agreement is speculative at this point. Great Lakes has proposed a combined annual subsidy for service at both Sauna and Manhattan of $1,997,237. In a related matter, you should be aware that the Department is prohibited from paying subsidy for EAS at any community where the per-passenger rate exceeds $200, unless the community is greater than 210 highway miles from the nearest large or medium hub. In this case, Salina is less than 210 highway miles from Kansas City and, therefore, is subject to the $200 subsidy-per-passenger ceiling. We note that while the community has flirted with the subsidy per passenger ceiling under Air Midwest's current subsidy rate, the carrier's proposed annual subsidy rate places the future of the community's subsidized service at obvious risk. We do note however, that Air Midwest's introduction of nonstop Kansas City service this past April appears to have greatly stimulated local passenger demand. Whether the increased passenger demand will continue in the future, or whether that increase will be enough to preserve the community's subsidized service in the future remains to be seen. Thus, we will continue to closely monitor Salina's required subsidy per passenger going forward. By: EAS Division, Dennis DeVany
OST-2002-11376 - Salina, KS November 15, 2007 By letter dated November 5, 2007, the Department provided an opportunity for officials in Manhattan and Salina to submit any comments they might have regarding the selection of a carrier to provide essential air service at each community for the two-year period beginning March 1, 2008. In an email dated November 20, the Executive Director of the Manhattan Regional Airport requested an extension of the due date for filing the community's comments from November 27 to December 12. He stated that following initial discussions with Air Midwest and Great Lakes, both carriers were expected to provide additional information to assist in submitting a recommendation to the Department regarding future service to their community. Accordingly, we are extending the due date for comments from both communities until December 12, 2007. By: DOT, Mike Waters, 202-366-6494
OST-2002-11376 - Salina, KS December 6, 2007 Re: City of Manhattan Support for Air Midwest After careful review of the proposals provided by Air Midwest, Inc. and Great Lakes Aviation. LLC, the City of Manhattan supports the proposal submitted by Air Midwest, Inc. Our decision to support the proposal of Air Midwest is primarily based on their existing code‑share agreements with US Airways and Midwest Airlines and their established presence in the region that would preclude any possible service interruption. However, the support of Air Midwest does not come without consternation over the level of service currently provided by the airline. The poor on‑time performance of the daily morning flight is unacceptable by any measure. There are documented occurrences of this flight being over three hours late. Mr. Greg Stevens, President of Air Midwest, has acknowledged this deficiency and has promised to look at the feasibility of having an aircraft overnight at Manhattan to resolve the issue. If the airline determines this is not a feasible solution, we expect alternative actions to be implemented. As stated in previous correspondence, we strongly encourage the Department of Transportation to institute better performance standards in the Essential Air Service Agreements. Such performance standards should provide for acceptable levels of customer service. The airline presently receives a subsidy whether or not there are any passengers onboard. Simply completing a landing and take‑off from the airport should not constitute a subsidy eligible completed flight. Non‑weather related delays are within the airlines ability to mitigate and the airline should be held to a higher standard. Additionally, with rapid and significant growth occurring in the region, there is strong evidence supporting the need for increased capacity. Air Midwest has provided the City with a proposal for a fourth daily flight and we look forward to good faith negotiations that will result in an added flight and improved service to the community. By: Tom Phillips, Mayor
Order 2007-12-25 Issued December 21, 2007 | Served December 28, 2007 Order Re-Selecting Carrier and Establishing Subsidy Rate | Word By this order, the Department is re-selecting Air Midwest, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mesa Air Group, Inc., d/b/a US Airways Express to provide subsidized essential air service at Manhattan and Salina, Kansas, for a total annual subsidy of $1,619,566 for the two-year period beginning March 1, 2008. This case is straightforward. Both Salina and Manhattan support the proposal submitted by the incumbent, Air Midwest ($1,619,566); the carrier’s proposal offers significant savings over the proposal submitted by Great Lakes ($1,997,237 – a difference of $377,671); and the carrier offers the advantage of having code-share service with US Airways and Midwest Airlines at the Kansas City hub. Further, we note that passenger traffic has increased significantly since the upgrade to nonstop service on April 1 of this year. Based on all of the above, we have decided to re-select Air Midwest’s proposal to provide EAS at Manhattan and Salina, Kansas, at a combined annual subsidy of $1,619,566 for a new two-year term beginning March 1, 2008. By: Todd Homan
OST-2002-11376 - Salina January 21, 2008 Notice of Air Midwest to Terminate Service Air Midwest, Inc. respectfully serves notice upon the Department of Transportation, in accordance with 14 C.F.R. §323.3 and 14 C.F.R, §323.4, of its intent to discontinue scheduled subsidized Essential Air Service between Manhattan and Salina, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri effective April 20, 2008. By Order 2006-3-15, March 20, 2006 Air Midwest was awarded a 24 month service agreement that commenced March 1, 2006 at an annual subsidy rate of $974,008 for providing 18 Salina-Manhattan-Kansas City roundtrips each week utilizing Beech 1900D aircraft. Subsequently Order 2007-4-6 amended the service pattern allowing 18 Manhattan-Kansas City and 12 nonstop Salina-Kansas City roundtrips each week at the same level of compensation. The termination of service by Air Midwest will reduce air transportation at both Manhattan and Salina to a level below the essential air service determination set forth in Order 2007-4-6. At present, Air Midwest is the sole provider of certificated scheduled air service at Manhattan and Salina, Kansas. By: Mesa, Tom Bacon
OST-2002-11376 - Salina
January 22, 2008 Re: Comments of Manhattan City Manager's Office Order 2007-12-25 selected Air Midwest, Inc. to provide Manhattan with three nonstop round trips a day with a 19-seat aircraft to Kansas City. This level of service does not adequately serve the region. We request USDOT consider subsidizing four daily flights to better meet the needs of the community. Load Factors at Manhattan were very strong in 2007 where the airport realized a 6% increase in enplanements over 2006. In their recent proposal to USDOT Air Midwest, Inc. had requested a subsidy of $19.00 per passengers which is one of the lowest subsidy requirements in the nation under the EAS program. Demand continues to be strong and as such, the City of Manhattan requests that future Requests for Proposals issued by USDOT no longer tie Manhattan with the community of Salina, KS. Combining service to the two communities only resulted in lowering seat availability for both communities. By: Mayor, Tom Phillips, 785-587-2404, phillips@ci.manhattan.ks.us
January 23, 2008 Re: Comments of Salina Airport Authority Salina Airport Authority requests that the U.S. DOT immediately issue hold in order requiring Air Midwest, inc. to maintain scheduled air service at Salina, Kansas as prescribed by U.S. DOT Order 2006 -3-15. The Salina community is committed to work with another air carrier to grow SLN passenger enplanements and get below the EAS program's $200 subsidy per passenger ceiling. Local funds are available to support a local air service development agreement with a new air carrier. By: Timothy Rogers
OST-2003-15483 - Manhattan January 25, 2008 Re: Manhattan Regional Airport Request to Expedite Selection of Replacement Carrier On January 22, 2008 the City of Manhattan formally objected to the notice by Air Midwest, Inc. to terminate scheduled air service at Manhattan, KS. In that letter Mayor Phillips requested that the Department of Transportation take measures to prevent Air Midwest, Inc. from terminating service to Manhattan until a suitable replacement carrier is named. In order to expedite the selection of a replacement carrier, and to minimize the impact of Air Midwest's action on this region, on behalf of the City of Manhattan, I request that the Department of Transportation immediately vacate Order 2007-12-25 awarding a 2008-2010 Essential Air Service contract to Air Midwest, Inc. and instead award the contract to Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. in accordance with their proposal submitted October 30, 2007. By: Airport Director, Peter Van Kuren, 785-587-4560 OST-2003-15483 - Manhattan
January 22, 2008 Re: Manhattan City Manager's Office Opposing Termination of Service On January 21, 2008 Mesa Air Group, acting for Air Midwest, Inc., served notice upon USDOT of its intent to discontinue scheduled subsidized Essential Air Service between Manhattan, KS and Kansas City, MO effective April 20, 2008. In accordance with 14 C.F.R. § 323, the City of Manhattan is objecting to the termination of essential air service to the Manhattan Regional Airport. The City of Manhattan requests USDOT prevent Air Midwest, Inc. from discontinuing service at Manhattan until, under established procedures, a suitable replacement carrier can be found. By: Mayor, Tom Phillips
January 25, 2008 Re: Salina Airport Authority Requesting Vacating Order 2006-3-15 On behalf of the City of Salina, Saline County and the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce, the Salina Airport Authority requests that the U.S. DOT immediately vacate Order 2006-3-15 awarding a 2008 - 2010 EAS contract to Air Midwest, Inc. and award the contract to Great Lakes Aviation, LTD. Great Lakes has assured the Salina community that the airline is prepared to provide scheduled EAS air service at SLN in accordance with its October 31, 2007 proposal. The award of the 2008 - 2010 SLN/MHK EAS contract to Great Lakes is in the best interests of Salina, KS and Manhattan, KS. By: Timothy Rogers Order 2008-2-5 Issued February 1, 2008 | Served February 6, 2008 Order Prohibiting Suspension of Service, Selecting a New Carrier and Establishing New Subsidy Rates | Word By this order, the Department is (a) prohibiting Air Midwest, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mesa Air Group, Inc., d/b/a US Airways Express from suspending its subsidized essential air services at Manhattan and Salina, Kansas, until Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. begins full replacement service, and (b) selecting Great Lakes to provide those services for a new two-year period at an annual subsidy rate of $1,997,237. By: Michael Reynolds |
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