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OST-2006-23931 - EAS at Columbia/Jefferson City, MO
http://www.jeffcitymo.org/airport
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Essential Air Service at Columbia, Missouri February 9, 2006 Notice of Termination of Service at Columbia, Missouri The routing and schedule of the service that TS is terminating on or after May 9, 2006, is as follows:
No other carrier is currently serving Columbia, Missouri. After TS terminates service, Columbia will be left with no service. Counsel: Trans States, Hulas Kanodia, 314-222-4300
Issued April 6, 2006 | Served April 11, 2006 Order Prohibiting Suspension of Service and Requesting Proposals for Replacement Service By this order, the Department is (a) prohibiting Trans States Airlines, Inc., d/b/a American Connection, from suspending its service at Columbia/Jefferson City, Missouri, at the end of its 90‑day notice period, and (b) requesting proposals, with or without subsidy requests, from carriers interested in providing replacement service. We expect proposals consisting of service, at a minimum, with two-pilot, twin-engine aircraft offering at least 15 passenger seats. Given the high traffic levels, proposals should contemplate sufficient capacity to meet the program maximum of 67 seats a day: for instance, 18 round trips a week (three each weekday and weekend) with 30-seat aircraft, or 24 round trips a week (four each weekday and weekend) with 19-seat aircraft. Carriers are welcome to propose more than one service option, if they envision other, potentially more attractive service possibilities -- a different hub, for example -- with subsidy requirements that remain competitive. During calendar year 2005, Columbia/Jefferson City averaged 62.8 enplanements a day, which represented an 11.2 percent improvement over the previous calendar year. By: Michael Reynolds
May 11, 2006 Proposal of Mesa Air Group d/b/a Air Midwest Mesa Air Group, Inc d/b/a Air Midwest is pleased to submit two proposals to provide Essential Air Service at Columbia/Jefferson City, Missouri. Mesa's proposed options would contemplate service to Kansas City and/or St. Louis. Mesa proposes to operate all flights as America West/US Airways Express. 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 utilized an ultra‑low fare for service from Columbia/Jefferson City to Kansas City, which would allow for walkup fares to be as low as $59 one‑way. That would make our local fare $694 roundtrip cheaper than the lowest walkup fare currently being offered in the local market by American Connection to St. Louis. This ultra high fare that American Connection currently offers in the local market effectively limits any passengers from utilizing the low fares of Southwest Airlines or any other carrier besides American at St. Louis. Mesa's ultra-low fare to Kansas City and St. Louis would also serve as a very minimal "add-on" fare on any airline that we do not codeshare with, such as Southwest, AirTran, American etc... allowing for substantially cheaper fares than what the citizens of Columbia currently receive. By operating as America West Express, the community also enjoys the benefit of Electronic Ticketing Interline agreements with most major carriers, which will allow for seamless ticketing in St. Louis or Kansas City to most major carriers, allowing the passenger to "choose" their preferred connecting carrier by utilizing Mesa's ultra-low local fare. By: Mesa, Mickey Bowman
May 10, 2006 RegionsAir is proposing four daily nonstop roundtrip flights for a total of 48 weekly departures between Columbia/Jefferson City and St. Louis, Missouri. The flights will be operated as AmericanConnection using the British Aerospace Jetstream 32 equipment and will augment our existing service and provide seamless connections to American Airlines and partners from the popular St. Louis Hub. By: RegionsAir
May 12, 2006 Re: Request for Comments on Proposals from: In response to our request, two carriers have filed proposals: Mesa Air Group, Inc., on behalf of its subsidiary, Air Midwest, Inc., and RegionsAir, Inc.
In reviewing the carriers' subsidy calculations, it is important to bear in mind that the projected passenger revenues are not simply based on the average local fares that passengers would actually pay. Rather, they are based on the carriers' expected revenue per passenger, and therefore largely reflect the prorated shares of ticket prices that the carrier expects to receive for providing the local segments of through trips ‑‑ for example, the Columbia/Jefferson City‑St. Louis segment of a Columbia/Jefferson City‑St. Louis-New York trip. By: EAS Division, Dennis DeVany
May 26, 2006 City of Jefferson in Support of RegionsAir We are aware that the City of Columbia is studying proposals submitted by Mesa/Air Midwest, Inc, and RegionsAir, Inc. to provide service. We are of the opinion that the proposal that offers the most convenience and options to the traveling public within the mid-Missouri region should be given greatest consideration. At this point we endorse the RegionsAir proposal to offer four daily nonstop flights to St. Louis as fulfilling this need. Perhaps this is also an opportunity to examine the role of the facility within the area and offer ways to enhance the regional appeal of this mid-Missouri airport. By: Mayor John Landwehr
Issued June 5, 2006 | Served June 8, 2006 Order Extending Service Obligation On February 10, 2006, Trans States filed a 90-day notice of its intent to suspend its subsidized service at Columbia/Jefferson City as of May 11. By Order 2006-4-6, April 6, 2006, the Department prohibited Trans States from suspending service and requested proposals, with subsidy if necessary, from carriers interested in providing replacement service. 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 Trans States' service obligation at Columbia/Jefferson City for an additional 30 days, or until suitable replacement service actually begins, whichever occurs first. By this order, the Department of Transportation extends the service obligation of Trans States Airlines, Inc., d/b/a American Connection at Columbia/Jefferson City, Missouri, for an additional 30 days, through July 12, 2006. By: Todd Homan
June 8, 2006 City of Columbia in Support of Mesa Air Option #1 The Columbia, Missouri City Council held an advertised public hearing at the June 5, 2006, City Council meeting to hear comments concerning the two proposals received for EAS for Columbia Regional Airport in Columbia, Missouri. Following public comment, Columbia's City Council passed a motion recommending the City support Option 1 from Mesa Air Group, Inc. This option would give Columbia Regional Airport twelve nonstop round trips per week to St. Louis arid twelve nonstop round trips per week to Kansas City for an annual subsidy of $598,751. By: City of Columbia, William Watkins
Order 2006-6-21 Issued June 21, 2006 | Served June 26, 2006 Order Selecting Carrier and Establishing Final Subsidy Rate By Order 2006-4-6, April 6, 2006, the Department requested proposals from carriers interested in providing essential air service at Columbia/Jefferson City after Trans States Airlines, Inc., d/b/a American Connection, filed a 90-day notice of intent to suspend its unsubsidized service there on or after May 11. That order also required Trans States to maintain service at the community for 30 clays beyond the end of the 90-day notice period by operating 20 nonstop round trips a week to St. Louis with 30-seat Jetstream 41 aircraft. In response to our request, two carriers have filed proposals: Mesa Air Group, Inc., on behalf of its subsidiary Air Midwest, and RegionsAir, Inc., d/b/a American Connection. By this order, the Department is selecting Air Midwest, Inc. d/b/a US Airways Express, to provide essential air service at Columbia/Jefferson City, Missouri, for a two-year period at a subsidy of $598,751 annually. By: Michael Reynolds
Order 2006-6-40 Issued June 30, 2006 | Served July 6, 2006 Order Extending Service Obligation On February 10, 2006, Trans States filed a 90-day notice of its intent to suspend its subsidized service at Columbia/Jefferson City as of May 11. By Order 2006-4-6, April 6, 2006, the Department prohibited Trans States from suspending service and requested proposals, with subsidy if necessary, from carriers interested in providing replacement service. As required by 49 U.S.C. 41734, we have extended Trans States' service obligation for additional 30-day periods, the latest through July 12, 2006, by Order 2006-6-3. By Order 2006-6-21, June 21, 2006, the Department selected Air Midwest to provide subsidized essential air service at Columbia/Jefferson City for the two-year period beginning when the carrier inaugurates service, at the annual subsidy rate of $598,751. However, carrier transition will not have taken place by the end of the current hold-in period. Therefore, we will extend Trans States' service obligation at Columbia/Jefferson City for an additional 30 days, through August 11, 2006, or until Air Midwest actually begins service, whichever occurs first. By: Todd Homan
Order 2006-7-28 Issued July 31, 2006 | Served August 3, 2006 Order Extending Service Obligation By Order 2006-6-21, June 21, 2006, the Department selected Air Midwest to provide subsidized essential air service at Columbia/Jefferson City for the two-year period beginning when the carrier inaugurates service at the annual subsidy rate of $598,751. However, carrier transition will not have taken place by the end of the current hold-in period. Therefore, in accordance with 40 U.S.C. 41734(c), we will extend Trans States' service obligation at Columbia/Jefferson City for an additional 30 days, through September 11, 2006, or until Air Midwest actually begins service, whichever occurs first. By: Todd Homan
Issued August 11, 2006 | Served August 16, 2006 Order Establishing Final Subsidy Rate By Order 2006-4-6, April 6, 2006, the Department required Trans States Airlines, Inc., d/b/a American Connection, to maintain service at Columbia/Jefferson City, Missouri, after the carrier had filed a 90-day notice of intent to suspend its unsubsidized service there as of May 11, and requested proposals from carriers interested in providing replacement service, with or without subsidy, at the community. Order 2006-4-6 required Trans States to continue operating 20 nonstop round trips a week between Columbia/Jefferson City and St. Louis with 30-seat Jetstream 41 aircraft for 30 days beyond the end of the notice period, and subsequent orders are extending Trans States' service obligation for additional 30-day periods until replacement service begins. As a result of discussions with Department staff, Trans States has agreed to an annualized subsidy rate of $1,366,325 for its ongoing hold-in service at Columbia/Jefferson City. On review, we conclude that the agreed rate is reasonable for the service at issue, and we will establish it as the final rate for Trans States' hold-in service from May 11 until another carrier begins service at the community and Trans States' service obligation ends. By: Michael Reynolds
Issued September 5, 2006 | Served September 8, 2006 Order Extending Service Obligation By this order, the Department of Transportation extends the service obligation of Trans States Airlines, Inc., d/b/a American Connection at Columbia/Jefferson City, Missouri, for an additional 30 days, through October 11, 2006. By: Todd Homan
April 18, 2007 Re: City of Columbia Endorsement of Mesa's Schedule Change Along with the endorsement of the schedule change, Columbia's City Council has also requested the below listed items be brought to your attention for future consideration. Although implementation of these items is not contingent on our approval of the schedule change, Columbia welcomes the opportunity to work with the DOT to improve the success of the EAS program for our airport as well as other airports facing the same issues with their EAS service. Columbia requests confirmation of the codeshare arrangement between Mesa/Air Midwest and Midwest Airlines. (The City of Columbia received a fax from Midwest Airlines, copy attached, indicating this codeshare agreement would be announced in the near future.) Columbia would like to have an earlier flight to Kansas City International be added to the schedule to maximize connection opportunities to the east that will be lost with the elimination of the early morning flight to St. Louis. This will give the region's travelers an additional round trip out of Columbia Regional and offer more early morning connection opportunities to the Washington, DC area, which was identified in the May 2006 Passenger Demand Analysis report as the number one destination from Columbia Regional's catchment area. Columbia requests Mesa/Air Midwest track delays and submit monthly reports to the DOT and the City on any flight that is delayed more than one hour from its scheduled departure time. Columbia staff strongly encourages the Department of Transportation work with Mesa/Air Midwest to include specific performance standards in the Essential Air Service contract which imposes real penalties for failure to perform as contracted. By: City of Columbia
April 23, 2007 Request of Air Midwest to Alter Service Pattern Air Midwest, Inc. respectfully requests the Department of Transportation, in accordance with the 14 C.F.R. 5323.3 and 14 C.F.R. 5323.4, of its intent to alter the subsidized pattern of service for Columbia, Missouri as set forth in Order 2006-6-21 between Columbia and Kansas City and St Louis. In that order the DOT selected Air Midwest to operate two non-stop roundtrips to Kansas City each weekday and weekend and two non-stop roundtrip to St Louis each weekday and weekend. The current pattern of service has proven to be inadequate to the community at large, especially with the By: Jeffrey Hartz
May 11, 2007 City of Jefferson in Support of Alternate Service Plan At this time, we would like to support the decision of the Columbia City Council and endorse the airline's proposal to change their schedule to provide four daily round-trip flights to Kansas City International Airport and discontinue service to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. Though the City of Jefferson would have preferred to see the four daily round-trip flights from Columbia Regional Airport provide service to St. Louis only, we will accept the carrier's claim that improvements can only be implemented if they are allowed to discontinue the flights to St. Louis and concentrate solely on providing connections through Kansas City. The City of Jefferson would also ask that the issues raised by the City of Columbia regarding an earlier morning flight to Kansas City, submission of monthly reports to the DOT on flight delays exceeding one hour from scheduled departure time, and perfomiance standards in the Essential Air Service contract which impose real penalties for failure to perform as contracted be considered by the DOT in determining changes to the current schedule. By: Director of Community Development, Patrick Sullivan, 573-634-6410
Issued May 14, 2007 | Served May 17, 2007 Order Approving Alternate Service Pattern On April 23, 2007, Air Midwest submitted a request to implement an alternate service pattern for Columbia/Jefferson City, under which it would operate all 24 of the community's weekly round trips to Kansas City at the subsidy level already authorized by Order 2006-6-21. Air Midwest plans to implement the alternate pattern on or about July 5. The City Manager of Columbia and the Director of Community Development of Jefferson City have submitted letters stating that they support Air Midwest's request. We will approve Air Midwest's request, which meets the three conditions necessary for approval under authority assigned under 14 CFR 395.12(k)(3) of the Department's Regulations: (1) the alternate service pattern is equal to or greater than that determined to the essential; (2) the community does not object to the alternate service pattern; and (3) the alternate service pattern will not increase Air Midwest's subsidy. Of Course, Air Midwest will retain the discretion to revert to the service pattern originally authorized by Order 2006-6‑21. By: Todd Homan
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 Columbia/Jefferson City, Missouri and both Kansas City, Missouri and St. Louis, Missouri effective April 20, 2008. By Order 2006-6-21, June 26, 2006 Air Midwest was awarded a 24 month service agreement that commenced October 6, 2006 at an annual subsidy rate of $598,751 for providing 12 nonstop Columbia/Jefferson City-Kansas City and 12 nonstop Columbia/Jefferson City-St. Louis roundtrips each week utilizing Beech 1900D aircraft. Subsequently that service was altered to provide 24 nonstop Columbia/Jefferson City-Kansas City flights. The termination of service by Air Midwest will reduce air transportation at Columbia/Jefferson City to a level below the essential air service determination set forth in Order 2006-6-21. At present, Air Midwest is the sole provider of certificated scheduled air service at Columbia, Missouri. By: Mesa, Tom Bacon
Order 2008-2-2 Issued February 1, 2008 | Served February 6, 2008 Order Prohibiting Termination of Service and Requesting Proposals | Word By this order, the Department is (a) prohibiting Air Midwest from terminating its subsidized service at the nine, above-captioned communities for 30 days beyond the end of its 90-day notice period, and (b) requesting long-term proposals from carriers interested in providing essential air service at any or all of the communities, with or without subsidy, by February 29. On January 22, 2008, Air Midwest filed 90-day notices with the Department of its intent to terminate its subsidized service at all nine of the above-captioned communities, plus Manhattan and Salina, Kansas,2 effective April 21, 2008. Air Midwest’s parent company, Mesa Air Group, Inc. in its 4Q2007 Revenue and Earnings statement, said that it has incurred “significant losses (at Air Midwest),” and “with little prospect of future profitability we have reluctantly begun to liquidate those assets and operations.” With respect to each community, we expect proposals consisting of service with 15-seat or larger aircraft to a suitable hub airport, with airline connections to the national air transportation system. Service levels should be comparable to those in the table on page 2 and in Appendix D. Grand Island has specifically requested that we solicit standalone service (not connected with another city) to Kansas City (18 weekly round trips) or a combination of Kansas City (12 weekly round trips) and Denver (6 weekly round trips) service. Communities and air carriers are encouraged to work together in advance of the due date for proposals to craft a service pattern that is desirable to the community and meets the operational needs of the airline interested in submitting a proposal. In addition, carriers should be very clear as to whether a specific community’s proposal is on a stand-alone basis, or whether it is part of a larger, inseparable package with other communities. By: Michael Reynolds
February 8, 2008 Re: City of Columbia Objection to Termination of Service by Air Midwest Columbia, Missouri, the community served by Columbia Regional Airport, objects to Air Midwest, Inc.'s proposal to terminate service to the Airport effective April 20, 2008. "Essential" air service is just that. We ask the U.S. Department of Transportation to either enforce the agreement we have with Air Midwest or assure that a viable company serves in its place until we negotiate a new agreement with another essential air service provider. By: City Manager, Bill Watkins
OST-2002-13983 - Grand Island, NE February 27, 2008 Re: Extension of Proposal Dates By Order 2008-2-2, February 1, 2008, the Department requested proposals from air carriers interested in providing essential air service at any or all of the above communities for a two-year period beginning when the selected carrier or carriers is ready to inaugurate service. In an email dated February 26, the Chief Operating Office of Hawaii Island Air requested a three-week extension of the due date for filing carrier proposals for all of the communities, from February 29 to March 21. He stated in his email that he needed the additional time to better assess the markets and determine the feasibility of filing a proposal. In response, also by email dated February 26, we requested input from each of the affected communities regarding the carrier's request. Most of the communities support the request, and none objected. Therefore, we will grant the request and extend the due date for carrier proposals from February 29 to March 21. By: Dennis DeVany
OST-2002-13983 - Grand Island February 26, 2008 Email Message - Hawaii Island Air Request for Three-Week Extension Hawaii Island Air is requesting a 3 week extension to better assess market and cost analysis to determine feasibility of our pending EAS application. Our intent is to bring in Dash 8 -100's to service these communities and if awarded we would like to target initial service within a 3-6 month period. I am confident that we will be able to provide an upgraded service to what is presently available to these and other out-lying communities. By: Hawaii Island Air, Les Murashige, lmurashige@islandair.com
OST-2006-23931 - Columbia/Jefferson City February 26, 2008 Option #1:
Option #2:
Option #3:
With over 230 daily flights serving 88 non-stop destinations. Northwest's Memphis hub provides extensive connecting opportunities to cities throughout the world. The Saab 340 is a comfortable and spacious regional aircraft offering in-flight service, a flight attendant and restroom. By: Mesaba, John Spanjers
March 18, 2008 Service Proposals of Air Choice One Please find our proposals to provide Essential Air Service to the communities of El Dorado, AR; Harrison, AR; Hot Springs, AR; Jonesboro, AR; Kirksville, MO. We will utilize 9-seat, twin engine turbine powered, Raytheon/Beechcraft King Air configured for 9 passenger seats. For option 12 on Kirksville we would be using a twin engine piston aircraft with six passenger seats. The aircraft will be operating with two crew members and air conditioning for passenger safety and comfort. All proposals are using St. Louis, MO as the hub. By: Air Choice One, Shane Storz, 866-435-9847, shane@airchoiceone.com
March 21, 2008 Proposals of Great Lakes Aviation Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. is pleased to submit these proposals to provide essential air transportation at these points in Arkansas, Missouri and Nebraska. Each proposal should be considered a stand alone proposal. We were not able to provide a proposal for Kirksville, MO that would comply with current legislation which limits subsidy, per passenger, at a $200 maximum. El Dorado and Hot Springs, AR are not commercially feasible for Great Lakes to serve to hubs within our current system and we feel would be better served by a carrier with an established hub in Dallas, TX. Great Lakes will provide service at these Essential Air Service points in a similar fashion as is offered at our Denver hub and utilize our codeshare and interline agreements, which will enable connecting bag service through our Kansas City and St. Louis hubs. All proposals contemplate the use of 19 seat Beechcraft 1900D airliner equipment. By: Great Lakes, Michael Matthews, 307-432-7000
OST-2002-13983 - Grand Island, NE March 21, 2008 Proposals of Hawaii Island Air Hawaii Island Air dba Island Air respectively submits 13 proposal options for Essential Air Service at these 7 markets. These options would provide passenger service to Kansas City International Airport operating as Island Air. Island Air currently operates 37-seat DeHavilland Dash-8-100 series aircraft in our inter-island service, and plan on utilizing the same aircraft for this service. Island Air's primary goal, besides operating within our current communities, will be to commence service to these communities in a timely manner and feel comfortable with being able to commence service within 90 to 120 days of selection. Island Air currently operates with code shares for United Airiines & Continental Airlines and plan on having those same code shares to these markets in Kansas City. We also plan on pursuing other code share relationships in Kansas City that would be beneficial to our customers. We would like to also reserve the right to substitute a similar 30+ seat cabin-class aircraft in place of the Dash-8 in the future, allowing us to keep our options open to growing into other aircraft. By: Hawaii Island Air, Les Murashige, 808-840-2310, lmurashige@islandair.com
OST-2002-13983 - Grand Island, NE April 1, 2008 DOT Memorandum Extending Comment Period By Order 2008-2-2, February 1, 2008, the Department prohibited Air Midwest, Inc. from terminating service at the above communities and solicited requests for proposals for essential air service. Proposals were due February 29, 2008. On February 26, Hawaii Island Air requested a 3 week extension, so that it could better assess the market and its pending EAS application. On March 25, we sent an e-mail to all of the above communities that included all proposals received for service and requested comments by April 18, 2008. In an e-mail received April 1, the City of Columbia, Missouri, notified us of its intention to "hold a public hearing regarding the EAS proposals so that the City Coimcil will have the opportimity to hear public comments prior to making the City's determination." The city would like to set a pubhc hearing for the April 21 council meeting. In order to give the City of Columbia enough time to summarize its response to the hearing, we will extend the deadline for community comments at all of the communities until April 23, 2008. By: Dennis DeVany
OST-2002-13983 - Grand Island, NE April 8, 2008 Withdrawal of Service Options of Island Air Please accept this as Island Air's formal withdrawal of options 3,4,6,&13 that have McCook included. We still look forward to the opportunity to serve the other airports in this RFP and appreciate the DOT's help with this matter. By: Island Air, Jeffrey Hartz, imapilot@gmail.com
OST-2006-23931 - Columbia
April 22, 2008 Re: City of Columbia in Support of Mesaba Airlines Option 3 Following public comment, Columbia's City Council made a motion recommending the City show support for the two Mesaba options, which are listed below in priority order:
By: City Manager, William Watkins
April 22, 2008 Re: Congressman Kenny Hulshof in Support of Mesaba Airlines and Air Choice One I request that you respect the local stakeholder's preference and award the Columbia, Missouri EAS contract to Mesaba Airlines. When taken in concert with the City of Kirksville's preference, there is a strong case for awarding the EAS contract to Air Choice One. By: Kenny Hulshof
OST-2006-23931 - Columbia
April 25, 2008 Re: Letter from US Senator Christopher Bond The Columbia City Council along with the city's Airport Advisory Board have carefully weighed each option and discussed the impact each proposal will have on the Columbia community. In doing so, they have selected a proposal that will best service the surrounding community by providing several daily flights to larger airports on.a schedule that will allow for the success of the airline. Please give the Columbia City Council recommendation full and favorable consideration when reviewing Essential Air Service for the community.
April 25, 2008 Re: DOT Letter to Congressman Kenny Hulshof Thank you for your letter of April 22 regarding the essential air service situation at Columbia and Kirksville, Missouri. You expressed support for the selection of Mesaba Airlines, d/b/a Northwest Airlink, to serve Columbia, and for Multi-Aero, Inc., d/b/a Air Choice One, to serve Kirksville. There is not a service hiatus at either community. In addition, by Order 2008-2-2, February 1, 2008, the Department is requiring Air Midwest to continue to serve both communities, as well as seven others, while we process a carrier-selection case for all of the communities. By: Michael Reynolds
April 30, 2008 Re: DOT Letter to Senator Christopher Bond As you know, in making EAS carrier-selection decisions, we are required by statute to carefully consider various factors, including the views of the affected community. The Columbia City Manager submitted the community's comments by letter dated April 22. After considering the community's views, together with all other relevant material, the Department will issue a final decision. As this is a competitive case currently pending before the Department, it would be inappropriate for me to discuss the relative merits of any particular proposal. However, we will notify your office as soon as we issue a carrier-selection decision. By: Dennis DeVany
Order 2008-5-2 Issued and Served May 5, 2008 Order Selecting Carriers, Setting Final Subsidy Rates and Requesting Proposals - Bookmarked | Word We request that carriers interested in providing essential air service at El Dorado/Camden, Arkansas, submit their proposals, with or without subsidy requests, no later than June 13, 2008. The Department selects Hawaii Island Air d/b/a Island Air to provide essential air service at Grand Island, Nebraska, Harrison and Hot Springs, Arkansas, and Joplin, Missouri, as described in Appendix C, pages 1-4, beginning when the carrier inaugurates full service at all four communities through the 24th month thereafter. The Department selects Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. to provide essential air service at McCook, Nebraska, and Jonesboro, Arkansas, as described in Appendix C, pages 5 and 6, beginning when the carrier inaugurates full service at both communities through the 24th month thereafter. The Department selects Mesaba Aviation, Inc. d/b/a Northwest Airlink to provide essential air service at Columbia/Jefferson City, Missouri, as described in Appendix C, page 7, beginning when the carrier inaugurates service through the 24th month thereafter. The Department selects Multi-Aero, Inc. d/b/a Air Choice One to provide essential air service at Kirksville, Missouri, as described in Appendix C, page 8, beginning when the carrier inaugurates service through the 24th month thereafter. The Department sets the final rate of compensation for Hawaii Island Air d/b/a Island Air for the provision of essential air service at Grand Island, Nebraska, Harrison and Hot Springs, Arkansas, and Joplin, Missouri, as described in Appendix B, page 1, payable as follows: for each calendar month during which essential air service is provided, the amount of compensation shall be subject to the weekly ceilings set forth in Appendix C, pages 1-4, and shall be determined by multiplying the subsidy-eligible flights completed during the month by $1,233.08 (Grand Island); $1,949.02 (Harrison); $1,140.67 (Hot Springs); and $703.09 (Joplin). The Department sets the final rate of compensation for Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. for the provision of essential air service at McCook, Nebraska, and Jonesboro, Arkansas, as described in Appendix B, page 2 and 3, payable as follows: for each calendar month during which essential air service is provided, the amount of compensation shall be subject to the weekly ceilings set forth in Appendix C, pages 5 and 6, and shall be determined by multiplying the subsidy-eligible flights completed during the month by $1,290.36 (McCook); and $1,310.01 (Jonesboro). The Department sets the final rate of compensation for Mesaba Aviation, Inc. d/b/a Northwest Airlink for the provision of essential air service at Columbia/Jefferson City, Missouri, as described in Appendix B, page 4, payable as follows: for each calendar month during which essential air service is provided, the amount of compensation shall be subject to the weekly ceilings set forth in Appendix C, page 6, and shall be determined by multiplying the subsidy-eligible flights completed during the month by $1,083.54. The Department sets the final rate of compensation for Multi-Aero, Inc. d/b/a Air Choice One for the provision of essential air service at Kirksville, Missouri, as described in Appendix B, page 5, payable as follows: for each calendar month during which essential air service is provided, the amount of compensation shall be subject to the weekly ceilings set forth in Appendix C, page 8, and shall be determined by multiplying the subsidy-eligible flights completed during the month by $717.23. By: Michael Reynolds
May 9, 2008 Ex-Parte Letter to Congressman Christopher Bond Thank you for your letter of April 25, regarding the carrier selection case for air service at Columbia, Missouri, under the Essential Air Service program. I am happy to inform you that the Department recently issued Order 2008-5-2, selecting Mesaba to provide three weekday round trips (20 per week) from Columbia Regional Airport to Memphis, for a two-year rate term. As you know, the selection of Mesaba was frilly supported by the community. By: Dennis DeVany
May 14, 2008 Re: Service Termination of Air Midwest Air Midwest reluctantly advises the Department that it has decided to discontinue all air carrier operations, liquidate its assets and surrender its FAA and DOT certificates. The service terminations will occur on the following schedule:
Air Midwest has no choice but to shutdown operations. Air Midwest has determined that it does not have the financial resources to continue air carrier operations. Air Midwest is in severe financial distress due to the fact that it has incurred significant and unrelenting losses over many years and has no prospect of future profitability, particular in light of current conditions, including record high fuel prices. This decision should come as no surprise to the Department as Air Midwest previously advised the Department of its intention to withdraw its services beginning over a year ago with its first traunch of termination notices. In addition, representatives of Air Midwest met with Dennis DeVany on March 6, 2008 to advise that Air Midwest would shortly go out of business. While the Department solicited proposals for subsidized replacement service at these points, to date replacement services have commenced at only six points-Cedar City, Moab, Vernal, Manhattan, Salina and Alamogordo. Over nine months ago the Department selected Great Lakes Aviation to provide subsidized essential air service at Merced, Visalia, and Ely, but inexplicably Great Lakes has not yet commenced its proposed service at those points. Air Midwest's situation is similar to the situations involving Big Sky Airlines and Skyway Airlines, both of which terminated all of their air services earlier this year. On December 20, 2007, Big Sky announced its intent to terminate all service on January 7, 2008. Although the Department issued a hold-in Order and sought replacement carriers on an emergency basis, it recognized that Big Sky would not provide service during the hold-in period. See DOT Order 2007-12-20. Similarly, Skyway Airlines terminated all air service on April 5, 2008, after a long hold-in period and prior to the commencement of service by replacement carriers. As with Big Sky and Skyway, Air Midwest does not have the financial wherewithal to continue its air carrier operations. Counsel: Hogan & Hartson, Robert Cohn, 202-637-4999, recohn@hhlaw.com |
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