THE GOVERNMENT OF ÅLAND (Ålands landskapsregering) Invitation to tender for the operation of scheduled air services on the Mariehamn Stockholm/Arlanda route from 29.2.2016 to 31.12.2020; ÅLR 2015/7649/24.06.2015 Official Journal XX.X.2015 (2015/C XXX/XX)
AX-MAriehamn: Operating scheduled air services
INVITATION TO TENDER
1. Introduction
Pursuant to Article 16(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1008/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 September 2008 on common rules for the operation of air services in the Community, the Finnish Government (The Government of Åland) has decided to impose a public service obligation for scheduled air services on the Mariehamn–Stockholm/Arlanda route. The obligation is imposed on scheduled air services from Mariehamn to Stockholm/Arlanda from 1 March 2016 to 29 February 2020.
2. Purpose of the invitation to tender
The purpose of the invitation to tender is to purchase scheduled air services between the City of Mariehamn and Stockholm/Arlanda in 2016 – 2020. The Government of Åland act as buyer of the services.
The services must be operated with a plane with at least 30 seats.
The operation of scheduled air services on the Mariehamn - Stockholm route from 1 March 2016 to 29 February 2020, excluding the dates (holidays etc.) noted as an example of the ongoing year 2015 (see separate table Annex 6 “Flights and Rotations”).
There will be two (2) return flights (rotations) from Monday to Friday, as well as one (1) rotation on Sunday during the whole traffic period. There are no flights on Saturdays.
Operation terminates 29 February 2020. There are 4 592 flights in total, the number of return flights, i.e. rotations, is 2 296.
3. Participating in the tendering procedure
All service providers, with an operating licence granted by a competent licensing authority of a Member State in accordance with (EC) No 1008/2008 Article 3 of the European Parliament and of the Council and an air operator certificate in accordance with Article 6, are eligible to tender.
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4. Tendering procedure
The tendering procedure will be conducted in accordance with Article 17 of Regulation (EC) No 1008/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
The buyer may reject all bids if the price level is too high or if circumstances or the requirements for organising the service change significantly before the obligation comes into effect, in such a way as to make it unfeasible or impossible to implement the planned service in the way described in the invitation to tender.
Until a contract is signed, the buyer will retain the right to defer the start date of the planned service. Deferral of the start date does not impact the length of the scheduling season or the term of the contract.
In the tender, the tenderer must provide an email address, which is used by the client to inform the tenderer about decisions concerning procurements and to stay in contact on other matters.
5. Tender documents
A full set of tender documents including the invitation to tender, tender conditions, terms of contract, the public service obligation and tender forms, can be obtained on the Internet by accessing the following address:
www.regeringen.ax/upphandlingar
or by emailing:
Note: Bids may be sent only by post to the address:
Ålands landskapsregering P.O.B. 1060 AX-22111 Mariehamn ÅLAND/FINLAND
6. Financial compensation
Bids must clearly specify, in euros, the amount of compensation required for the operation of the air service in question. The amount of compensation 3 required should be based on an estimate of actual costs and revenue, taking into account the minimum requirements imposed by the public service obligation. The compensation may cover only the actual operation of air services and costs incurred at Mariehamn and Stockholm/Arlanda airports in connection with the operation of these routes alone. The amount of compensation does not include costs incurred on other routes or at other airports.
The compensation may not exceed the amount required to cover the net costs incurred in discharging each public service obligation, taking into account the revenue relating thereto kept by the air carrier and a reasonable profit.
All compensations and costs must be specified in euros.
7. Ticket prices
A breakdown of ticket prices, the conditions of validity of tickets and the various types of tickets included in the price system shall be specified in the bid. The prices must be in keeping with the public service obligation imposed on this route.
8. Selection criteria
The selection will be made from among the bids that meet the requirements set out in the invitation to tender and the tender documents. In the selection, account will be taken of the criteria referred to in Article 17(7 and 8) of Regulation (EC) No 1008/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
9. Period of validity of the contract
The contract is valid from the signing of the contract until 29 February 2020. The scheduling season runs from 1 March 2016 to 29 February 2020.
10. Amendment or termination of the contract
The contract may be amended only if the amendments will not lead to a situation in which the requirements of the public service obligation will no longer be met on this route. Any amendments regarding the contract must be made in writing. Both parties to the contract have the right to terminate the contract if there is a valid reason stated in the terms of contract.
If the winning tenderer abandons the service or does not commence it, the winning tenderer is obligated to pay The Government of Åland a contractual penalty, the obligation to pay of which is laid down in more detail in section 14 4 of the document "Tender conditions".
11. Consequences in the event of failure to comply with the contract:
The air carrier is responsible for meeting the obligations set out in the contract. If the air carrier fails to meet the obligations in the contract or if they have been performed inadequately, the buyer may reduce the amount of compensation.
12. Deadline for submission of bids and the language of the bid
Bids must be submitted within 61 days of when an information notice regarding the invitation to tender, that is in accordance with the regulations regarding common rules for the operation of air services in the community stated in Article 17(5) of (EC) No 1008/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council, has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union, excluding the publishing date.
The bid and annexes thereto must be submitted in Swedish or English. The documents relating to the invitation to tender have been drawn up only in English. The English documents are dominant but all the matters are dealt in Swedish and the Swedish language is thereby dominant.
The tenderer must deliver reports asked for by The Government of Åland in Swedish or English. If demanded by The Government of Åland, the tenderer must deliver the reports asked for by The Government of Åland as both the original and translated into Swedish. In this case the translations must be, if The Government of Åland so requires, translated by a sworn translator and documents granted by foreign officials must also be duly legalized.
13. Questions and requests for additional information regarding the invitation to tender
Tenderers may ask The Government of Åland questions regarding the invitation to tender within 51 days of when an information notice regarding the invitation to tender, that is in accordance with the regulations regarding common rules for the operation of air services in the community stated in Article 17(5) of (EC) No 1008/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council, has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union, excluding the publishing date.
14. Publicity of tenders
Pursuant to the law on openness of government activities (621/1999), bids submitted to The Government of Åland for this invitation to tender are, as a 5 rule, public documents. If the tenderer finds that the bid includes business or trade secrets, the tenderer must clearly mark such information in the bid. The bid as a whole can not be kept confidential. The total price used as criteria for selection in the invitation to tender can also not be kept confidential.
15. Submission of bids
Bids must be at The Government of Åland by the date specified in section 12 by 4:00 p.m., at the latest. Envelopes may have the following reference:
” Anbud: Mariehamn – Stockholm/Arlanda flygtrafik 1.3.2016 - 29.2.2020, ÅLR 2015/7649/24.06.2015 ”.
Bids may be sent by post to the address given in section 5 or be delivered in person to the registry of :
The Government of Åland (Ålands landskapsregering) Självstyrelsegården Strandgatan 37 AX-22100 Mariehamn ÅLAND/FINLAND
The registry is open from Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The price of the bid must be disclosed in a separate sealed envelope marked with the name of the tenderer.
The bid must remain valid as a binding contract until 20 April 2016.
16. Validity period of the invitation to tender
If an air carrier has, within 60 days of the publishing of the invitation to tender in the Official Journal of the European Union, notified of its intention to begin operating scheduled long-term air services on the route between Stockholm and Mariehamn, either as non-stop flights or via an intermediate stop-over point between the airports, in compliance with the public service obligation The Government of Åland must suspend the tendering procedure (cf. Article 16(9) of (EC) No 1008/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council).
Otherwise The Government of Åland may restrict the number of air service carriers on this route to a single carrier for a period no longer than that specified in the obligation. In this case, the right to operate air services on this route is granted based on the basis of an invitation to tender in accordance with the regulations described in Article 16(9 and 10) of the above mentioned regulation.
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A tender can be accepted on the condition that sufficient funds have been allocated to the project in question in the Budget and that The Government of Åland as the buyer of the services has undertaken to finance the project, at least insofar as the compensation paid to the air carrier.
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TENDER CONDITIONS
This invitation to tender is carried out in accordance with procedure enacted in (EC) No 1008/2008 Article 17 paragraphs 2 – 10 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
1. Conditions for the procurement
Service operation must begin on 1 March 2016 and the last day of service is 29 February 2020. Until a contract is signed, The Government of Åland will retain the right to defer the start date of the planned service.
This tendering procedure is only in effect if no air carrier has, within 60 days of the publishing of the invitation to tender in the Official Journal of the European Union, notified of its intention to begin operating scheduled long-term air services on the route between Mariehamn and Stockholm, in compliance with the public service obligation, without exclusive rights and with no financial compensation.
The service carrier is responsible for the equipment required to operate the above mentioned scheduled air services.
2. Validity of Air Operator Certificate and operating licence
At the time of submitting the tender and operating services, the service provider must have an operating licence granted by a competent licensing authority of a Member State in accordance with (EC) No 1008/2008 Article 3 of the European Parliament and of the Council and an air operator certificate in accordance with Article 6.
3. Use of subcontractors
If the tenderer will employ a subcontractor, the proportion of the services to be subcontracted shall be indicated in the bid.
The subcontractor must hold a valid operating licence and an air operator certificate. Only an air service carrier meeting the requirements imposed in the tender documents may be approved as a subcontractor.
The winning carrier may not submit its subcontractor for the buyer’s approval after the conclusion of the contract. Subcontractor information and copies of the documents referred to above and below must be submitted in conjunction with the other tender documents.
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The tenderer is liable for the actions of its subcontractor as for its own.
Separate specific provisions concerning subcontracting during the term of the contract are laid down in the contract.
4. Information concerning the carrier
The name and contact information of the tenderer and, in respect of legal entities, the name of the person responsible for the execution of the service shall be given in the bid.
The above information shall also be given about the subcontractor. The following information and reports concerning the tenderer shall also be included in the tender: 1) copies of the valid operating licence and air operator certificate 2) Articles of Association and financial statements for the past three financial years and a report of the carrier’s financial situation 3) the tax authority’s statement of the carrier’s and its subcontractor’s outstanding taxes 4) the insurance company’s statement on the payment of employee accident and pension insurance premiums by the carrier and its subcontractor. 5) copy of the certificate if the carrier is IOSA certified. More details in section 12 of the document “Selection criteria”.
A document other than that mentioned above under sections 2–4 may, for justified reasons, also be accepted as proof of the tenderer’s creditworthiness and financial standing.
The above documents, with the exception of the financial statements, shall also be submitted about the subcontractor.
5. Object of the tender
The tenderer may propose to operate the service as non-stop flights. Scheduled flights in accordance with section 1 must be included in the bid.
The timetable for the service is as follows:
Time of flight (at least two round-trip Route flights on each working day are included in the public service obligation) Mon–Fri, morning Arrival from Mariehamn to Stockholm/Arlanda Airport at the latest at 07:00 AM Mon–Fri, afternoon/evening Arrival from Mariehamn to Stockholm/Arlanda Airport between 04:30 PM and 06:30 PM Mon–Fri, morning Departure from Stockholm/Arlanda 9
to Mariehamn Airport between 08:00 AM and 09:30 AM Mon–Fri, evening Departure from Stockholm/Arlanda to Mariehamn Airport between 07:30 PM and 09:00 PM Time of flight (one round-trip flight on Route Sunday is not included in the public service obligation. Note! To be added in the bid as additional flights) Sun, afternoon Departure from Stockholm/Arlanda to Mariehamn Airport between 04:30 PM and 06:00 PM Sun, afternoon/evening Arrival from Mariehamn to Stockholm/Arlanda Airport between 05:30 PM and 07:00 PM
The departure and arrival timetable may be altered at Christmas and other holiday periods according to demand. The buyer and the carrier may agree on a departure and arrival timetable that differs from that presented in the table above for the summer months. The number of operating days can be increased if separately agreed upon, but the The Government of Åland is solely responsible for possible extra costs.
If the tenderer wishes to change the above-mentioned timetable by bringing the flights forward or postponing them by 15 minutes, it must present a timetable.
6. Aircraft
Speed (TAS) must be at least 360 km/h. The aircraft must have a pressurized cabin and a toilet. The carrier must submit a report to confirm that the aircraft to be used meet the needs of passenger demand in accordance with the public service obligation imposed on this route. There should be enough luggage and cargo capacity to enable each passenger, on a full flight in normal weather conditions, to carry on 8 kg in hand luggage and put at least 20 kg in the hold.
7. Minimum quality requirements; occupational safety and conditions of employment
The quality requirements defined in the contract shall be complied with in the tendered service. Obligations relating to aviation safety, conditions of employment, occupational health and safety, and working hours and rest periods shall also be taken into account in the operation of the service. An IOSA certified airline company will have an advantage in the procurement in accordance with article 12.
8. Exclusion of tenderers
In awarding the contract, tenderers that cannot be deemed to meet the obligations imposed in the tender documents in light of technical, financial or other considerations shall be excluded. 10
Any tenderer that does not meet the aviation requirements in force will be excluded.
A tenderer may be excluded from the tendering procedure if
1) the technical capabilities or financial standing of the tenderer are judged to be so poor as to give rise to a reasonable presumption of the tenderer having difficulties in meeting its contractual obligations,
2) the tenderer has been convicted by a legally binding court sentence of a significant offence relating to the operation of services or the tenderer has committed a serious breach of contract or other procedural breach in the operation of services, or
3) the tenderer has in the tendering procedure provided the buyer with false information concerning a factor which is of significance with regard to the contract;
4) the tenderer does not have the technical capability to adapt its operations to the development of national navigation and control systems as conventional navigation aids, with the exclusion of ILS devices, are gradually replaced with satellite-based methods;
5) the tenderer has not submitted its bid in Swedish or English.
9. Ticket types and ticket prices
The bid must include a breakdown of ticket prices, their conditions of validity and the various types of tickets included in the price system. Prices shall be given inclusive of all applicable taxes and fees.
The ticket prices and conditions of validity of the various types of tickets shall apply for the entire scheduling season.
10. Ticket sales and reservations system
The carrier must have access to an international reservation and ticketing system valid in Finland and have an IATA interline agreement with through-pricing and luggage-handling arrangements. Information concerning prices and timetables must be included in the international reservations and ticketing system.
Before the client decides which tenderer wins the invitation to tender, the carrier must have a cooperation agreement covering through-pricing with at least one operator that flies to foreign destinations from Stockholm airport.
Flights must be marketed using at least one computerised reservations system.
The bid must contain details on the above-mentioned agreements and the partners with which the carrier cooperates in ticketing and reservations.
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11. Bid price
Bids must specify the bid price with Annex 2 of tender documents (which the tenderer can not change and which must be enclosed in an envelope separate from the rest of the tender) this value-added tax inclusive bid price with which the carrier commits to operate the services during the contract period in accordance with section 5, but takes into account the exceptions in the schedule mentioned in section 2. The scheduling season runs from 1 March 2016 to 29 February 2020.
In the bid the presumed average number of passengers should be 15 passengers per flight. The presumed average revenue per passenger should be 50 euros exclusive of value-added tax. The aforementioned 50 euros includes per passenger fees of 11.40 euros.
In 2015 there have been in average 15 passengers per flight.
The carrier will retain the passenger revenue mentioned in the contract.
The bid shall be denominated in euros and include the value-added tax of ten (10) percent imposed on passenger transport services. The amount of value-added tax shall be shown as a separate item. If the value-added tax is increased, the increase will not be compensated by the Buyers.
The bid shall meet the requirements of the public service obligations (Annex 1).
The service may be changed during the term of the contract on the basis of the grounds agreed and specified in the contract.
In addition to the value-added tax inclusive total price, the tender shall also indicate the unit price per return flight Mariehamn-Stockholm-Mariehamn (rotation), to be calculated by dividing the bid price including value-added tax by the number of rotations (2 296) stated in the bid. This unit price is also used as the basis of calculation of sanctions under the contract.
The bid (Annex 2) must include the fuel costs at the time of submitting the bid and the name of the fuel supplier.
12. Selection criteria
The buyer’s representatives will make their selection from among the bids corresponding to the invitation to tender and meeting the terms imposed in the tender documents. The following will be taken into account when evaluating the bids:
Note! Using one decimal accuracy
a) Points for the bid price (“1. Bid price” in Bid form). The bid with the lowest price gets 80 points. Following bids get according to: Points = lowest bid price/bid price x 80. E.g. Lowest bid is 100 and the second lowest 110, lowest bid gets 80 points, second lowest [100/110x80]=72,7 points 12
b) Points for size of air craft (30 - 60 pax). No extra points for an air craft with 30 seats. Every six (6) seats added get extra two (2) points. E.g. 42-47 seats gets 4 points, 48 seats gets 6 points and full 60 seats air craft gets finally 10 points.
c) Points for ticket prices. Two categories gets zero (0) points, three categories gets three (3) points and four or more gets six (6) points.
d) Points for IOSA certification. IOSA certified airline company gets four (4) points.
All the points (from a to d) are calculated together for each bid. The bid with the highest (maximum 100 in theory) points is selected. However – if two bids receive the same amount of points, the bid with the lowest bid price is selected.
The buyer may reject all bids if their price level is too high or if circumstances or the requirements for organising the service have changed significantly in such a way as to make it unfeasible or impossible to implement the planned service in the way described in the invitation to tender.
13. Notification of awarding the contract
The buyer sends the procurement decision they have made to the email addresses the tenderers have provided in their tenders. The procurement decision shall include the information about the invitation to tender and the evaluation of the bids, reasons for the decision made as well as instructions for making an appeal or a corrigendum.
The contract between The Government of Åland and the chosen carrier is only valid after the signing of a written contract. Contract is not formed with the notification about decision made regarding the invitation to tender.
14. Cancelling the bid and contractual penalty
A bid can be cancelled if the letter or email concerning the cancellation has arrived to the buyer before opening event and before the buyer has opened the tenders. If the cancellation is delivered by email, a scanned and signed cancellation letter must be attached to the email.
After having signed the contract, the winning tenderer may not withdraw from its bid or abandon the service without an acceptable reason. Reasons that are not deemed acceptable include receiving greater revenue than that of the bid from operating some other route than that referred to in this tender.
If the winning tenderer nevertheless abandons the service or does not commence it, the tenderer is obliged to pay The Government of Åland a lump-sum compensation of 300 000 euros. Liability to compensate arises on 1 March 2016 or later if The Government of Åland has used its right referred to under section 1 to defer the start date of the planned service
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15. Changes and specifications to objects of tender
The buyer may alter or revise the object of the tender during the tendering procedure and prior to the expiry of the deadline imposed for submission of tenders if deemed necessary due to facts that have come to light The deadline for the submission of bids may be extended if warranted by the changes and specifications referred to herein. All known parties who have ordered the tender documents will be advised of any changes and specifications.
Further information about the service subject to tender may be requested by email from the address [email protected] using reference:
” Upphandling om reguljär flygtrafik på rutten mellan Mariehamn och Stockholm ÅLR 2015/7649/24.06.2015, frågor ”.
Or by phone: +358 18 25 159
Answers will be publisched:
www.regeringen.ax/upphandligar
16. Abandoning the object of tender
Until a contract is signed, The Government of Åland will retain the right to defer the start date of the planned service. Deferral of the start date does not impact on the length of the scheduling season or the term of the contract.
If circumstances or the requirements for organising the service have changed in such a way as to make it unfeasible or impossible to implement the planned service in the way described in the invitation to tender, the buyer may abandon the object of the tender during the tendering procedure.
17. Supplementary documents and inspections
The buyer may request the tenderer to provide supplementary documents as necessary.
The buyer is entitled to inspect the fleet and the maintenance services of the tenderer and the proposed subcontractor. Such inspections do not reduce the liability and obligations of the tenderer.
18. Contract
Once the winning tender has been selected, a CONTRACT will be concluded between the buyer and the winning carrier.
The winning carrier must accept the conditions of purchase of the Finnish Airports 14
Operator Finavia and the Swedish Airports Operator Swedavia 30 days before beginning the operation of the service.
The bid shall be based on the terms and conditions of the contract. The carrier shall confirm in the bid form that it accepts the terms and conditions.
19. Public service obligation
The offer shall comply with the public service obligation imposed by The Government of Åland on 14 July 2015 (appendix 1). The carrier shall confirm in writing that it accepts the terms and conditions. he decision is based on section 65 of the Aviation Act (864/2014). The notice on the imposed public service obligation was published in the Official Journal of the European Union 2015/C 229/07). 15
Net cost estimate (MODEL)
(eur) 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Total
Passenger revenue ticket revenue 15 passenger/flight á 50 € without 721.500 859.500 861.000 861.000 141.000 3.444.000 value added tax euros euros euros euros euros euros other revenues Costs Passenger costs 11,40 € Route costs (excl. fuel) Fuel costs Aircraft costs Crew costs Administrative costs Marketing Return on capital Costs, total
Deficit (excl. VAT) VAT 10% Compensation (incl. VAT)
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Background information table (MODEL)
Basic estimate: 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Total Number of contract days 262 313 313 313 51 1252 Number of rotations 481 573 574 574 94 2296 Number of flights 962 1146 1148 1148 188 4592 Number of seats (30 seats) 28860 34380 34440 34440 5640 137760
Number of passengers per 14430 17190 17220 17220 2820 68880 flight (15) Number of passengers per flight, total Average utilisation
Ticket revenue per passenger without added value tax (eur) 50 € 50 € 50 € 50 € 50 € other revenues Revenue per flight Total revenue
Fuel costs per rotation
Total fuel costs Total costs for term of contract
Total costs per rotation
Deficit, i.e. net costs (excl. VAT) Deficit, i.e. net costs (incl. VAT)
Deficit per rotation (incl. VAT)
Number of contract days Number of *contractual days for which compensation is paid.
Number of rotations Return flight Number of seats Number of seats calculated by multiplying the number of individual flights (one way) by 30 Number of flights Number of one-way flights Average utilisation Number of passengers on a one-way flight in relation to the number of seats purchased
* Note! Public holidays etc. are not taken into account, but which are deducted in practice (Annex 6)