Essential Air Service at Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Order 2006-6-12
OST-2002-11450

Issued and Served June 9, 2006

Order Requesting Proposals - Bookmarked | Word

By Order 2004-5-20, May 27, 2004, the Department selected Mesa Air Group, Inc., d/b/a Air Midwest, to provide essential air service with subsidy support at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, for a two-year period from when the carrier inaugurated service at annual subsidy rate of $1,611,707. Air Midwest started service at Lancaster on September 4, 2004, and thus its rate expires on September 30, 2006.  Under that order, Air Midwest provides three nonstop round trips to Pittsburgh on weekdays and weekends, with 19-seat Beech 1900D aircraft.

As the end of the current rate term approaches, we are here requesting proposals from carriers interested in providing service at Lancaster, with or without subsidy, for the one-year period from October 1, 2006, through September 30, 2007. Carriers should file their proposals within 30 days of the date of service of this order.

With specific respect to Lancaster, we expect proposals consisting of service with two-pilot, twin-engine aircraft with at least 15 passenger seats, and offering three round trips each weekday and weekend period from Lancaster to Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit, Washington Dulles, or other suitable hub offering convenient access to the nation’s air transportation system.  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.

By: Todd Homan