Essential Air Service at Iron Mountain/Kingsford, Manistee/Ludington, Escanaba and Ironwood, Michigan/Ashland, Wisconsin

Order 2007-1-2
OST-1999-5175 - EAS at Iron Mountain/Kingsford, MI
OST-1999-5712 - EAS at Ironwood, MI/Ashland, WI
OST-1996-1711 - EAS at Manistee/Ludington, MI
OST-2003-15128 - EAS at Escanaba, MI

Issued January 5, 2007 | Served January 10, 2007

Order Requesting Proposals

By this order, the Department is requesting proposals from air carriers interested in providing essential air service at: Iron Mountain/Kingsford, Michigan; Ironwood, Michigan/Ashland, Wisconsin; Manistee/Ludington, Michigan; and Escanaba, Michigan, for a new two-year period, beginning June 1, 2007, with or without subsidy.

With specific respect to Iron Mountain/Kingsford, Ironwood/Ashland, Manistee/Ludington and Escanaba, the Department expects proposals consisting of service with 19-passenger aircraft and offering a mix of two or three round trips a day between each community and Milwaukee. Larger aircraft, offering fewer daily trips may be substituted in lieu of the 19-passenger aircraft, higher frequency service so long as the number of available seats between the EAS community and the hub are approximately equivalent. Such service is generally consistent with what the communities currently receive, and fully satisfies their essential air service requirements. We encourage proposals that meet those requirements in an efficient manner. Carriers are also welcome to propose more than one service option, if they choose; they need not limit themselves to those requirements if they envision other, potentially more attractive service possibilities -- different hubs, for example -- with subsidy requirements that remain competitive.

By: Todd Homan