Essential Air Service at Alexandria, Louisiana

Order 2005-1-5
OST-2004-19207 - EAS at Alexandria, LA

Issued January 7, 2005 | Served January 14, 2005

Order Allowing Suspension of Service | Word

By this order, the Department is allowing Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Inc., d/b/a Delta Connection, to suspend its scheduled service between Alexandria, Louisiana, and Dallas/Ft. Worth, after January 30, 2005.

After careful consideration, we have decided to allow ASA to suspend service at Alexandria after January 30, 2005, as it intends. Alexandria will continue to receive substantial service, albeit not to its designated hubs of Dallas or New Orleans. However, hub designations assume that service would not be available from the community to any other hubs. If other service is in fact available when a carrier files notice to suspend service, we consider whether the remaining service can meet the community's needs.2 Expressjet operates four daily nonstop round trips to Houston providing at least 187 seats outbound and inbound, and Northwest Airlink operates three daily nonstop round trips to Memphis, providing at least 99 seats inbound and outbound. This level of service is far in excess of Alexandria's guarantee of 67 seats inbound and outbound each day, and far in excess of the level of service that the essential air service program would ever guarantee. In addition, effective January 31, 2005, ASA intends to increase its service to Atlanta from two round trips a day to three, providing 130 seats inbound and outbound. These airports are among the largest airports in the country, providing access to the rest of the country as well as international destinations. We conclude that Alexandria's remaining service to Atlanta, Houston and Memphis fully meets the core responsibility of the essential air service program to provide the community a continuing link to the national air transportation system

By: Karan Bhatia