Essential Air Service at Altoona and Johnstown, Pennsylvania

Order 05-02-05
OST-02-11446 - EAS at Altoona, PA
OST-02-11451 - EAS at Johnstown, PA

Issued and Served February 7, 2005

Order Establishing Interim Rate | Word

Colgan Air, Inc., d/b/a USAirways Express, is now providing essential air service at Altoona and Johnstown, Pennsylvania. By Order 2002-9-23, issued September 26, 2002, the Department established a combined subsidy rate of $847,576 for the carrier’s service at these communities for a two-year period ending November 30, 2004. We have requested proposals from all interested carriers for service for a new two-year period, and Colgan is the only carrier to submit a proposal. However, the selection process has not yet been completed and we must establish an interim rate for Colgan’s service in order for the carrier to continue to be compensated beginning December 1, until this process is completed.

Colgan’s proposal contains five service options, including one (Option 1) that proposes continuing its current service at both communities: three round trips each weekday and three each weekend period routed either AOO-PIT-JST-PIT-AOO or JST-PIT-AOO-PIT-JST. For this service, the carrier requests an annual subsidy of $1,454,387 for service with 19-seat Beech 1900 aircraft. By this order, we will set this proposed rate as an interim rate for Colgan’s service at Altoona and Johnstown, to be effective December 1, 2004, until further notice, pending the completion of the carrier selection case. As an interim subsidy rate, it is subject to retroactive adjustment to December 1, 2004, and the final rate may be higher, lower or the same as the interim rate we are setting here.

By: Randall Bennett