Essential Air Service at Brookings, South Dakota, Hagerstown, Maryland and Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Order 2008-4-16
OST-2002-11450 - Lancaster
OST-2006-25228 - Hagerstown
OST-1997-2785 - Brookings

Issued April 8, 2008 | Served April 11, 2008

Order Requesting Proposals | Word

By this order, the Department is requesting proposals from carriers interested in providing essential air service at Brookings, Hagerstown and Lancaster through September 30, 2008, with or without subsidy. Proposals are due April 25.

Proposals should generally provide service levels comparable to those in effect at the time that the communities lost subsidy eligibility, as described below. Service should be with two-pilot, twin-engine aircraft with at least 15 passenger seats, unless the communities agree to smaller aircraft.

On February 28, 2008, the President signed into law the Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-190). Among other things, that Act reinstated the “most commonly used route” standard in measuring distance from EAS communities to hub airports. The practical effect of the legislation is once again to make Brookings, Hagerstown and Lancaster eligible for subsidized EAS, this time through September 30, 2008.

By Order 2008-3-27, February 29, 2008, we requested proposals from carriers interested in providing EAS to these communities. We did not receive any responses to that request. As a result, we are here again soliciting proposals from carriers interested in providing these communities’ EAS.

At the time that the communities lost subsidy eligibility, September 2007, Air Midwest was serving Hagerstown and Lancaster, while Great Lakes Aviation was serving Brookings, service in each case being provided with 19-seat Beech 1900 aircraft. Air Midwest provided Lancaster with three nonstop round trips to Pittsburgh each weekday and weekend (18 a week) at an annual subsidy rate of $1,377,257 and Hagerstown with two round trips each weekday and weekend (12 a week) to Pittsburgh at an annual subsidy rate of $854,452.2 At Brookings, Great Lakes provided two one-stop round trips to Denver each weekday and weekend (12 a week) at an annual subsidy of $1,212,400.

By: Todd Homan