466 890 U.S. Department of 400 Seventh St., S.W. Transportation Washington, D.C. 20590 Office of the Secretary of Transportation July 28, 2006 Mr. Jack Skinner Business Manager, Laramie Regional Airport 555 General Brees Road Laramie, Wyoming 82070 Dear Mr. Skinner: I would like to update you on the Essential Air Service (EAS) situation at Laramie and Worland and give you an opportunity to submit comments if you wish. A similar letter has been sent to the Airport Manager and civic officials of Worland, and the Wyoming Department of Transportation, Aeronautics Division. In anticipation of the end of Great Lakes’ current contract on September 30, 2006, the Department issued Order 2006-6-24 on June 21, 2006, to solicit proposals from all interested air carriers to provide EAS at Laramie, Worland and Riverton, for a new, two-year term. However, on July 24, 2006, Great Lakes notified the Department that it will continue to provide its existing service at Riverton on a subsidy-free basis beginning October 1, 2006. (The Department received no proposals other than Great Lakes’ subsidy-free proposal for EAS at Riverton.) In response to that order, the Department received proposals from two carriers. Great Lakes proposed to continue EAS at Laramie and Worland, offering a single service option for each community. Big Sky Transportation Co., d/b/a Big Sky Airlines proposed one combined operational proposal for both communities. We have directed each carrier to serve its proposal on you. Copies of the proposals may also be accessed online through the Department’s Dockets Management System at: http://dms.dot.gov/ by doing a simple search on Docket Number 2958 or 2981. As a result, we will only briefly summarize them below. Great Lakes submitted two options, both utilizing 19-passenger Beech 1900D aircraft and offering connecting services with its code-share partners United Airlines and Frontier Airlines at Denver. Option One would continue to provide three nonstop round trips from Laramie to Denver each weekday and four over each weekend, for an annual subsidy rate of $487,516. Option Two would continue to provide two one-stop (through Laramie or Cheyenne) round trips from Worland to Denver each weekday and a single one-stop round trip on Saturday and Sunday, for an annual subsidy rate of $972,757. Big Sky Airlines submitted a package bid to provide EAS at Laramie and Worland. Big Sky Airlines would offer connecting services with its code share partners US Airways, Northwest Airlines and Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air. It would provide three nonstop round trips between Laramie and Denver each weekday and each weekend and two one-stop (at Laramie) round trips Mr. Jack Skinner Page 2 between Worland and Denver each weekday and each weekend, utilizing 19-passenger Beech 1900D aircraft. Big Sky also indicated that it would provide five weekly unsubsidized nonstop round trips between Worland and Billings, if the Department awarded it EAS contract. This additional service would be completely voluntary and could not be required by the Department, thus, it will not enter into the Department’s decision making process. The annual subsidy requirement for the package bid is $1,341,447. Please note that the average passenger fares shown in the proposals do not necessarily reflect the average local fare passengers would actually pay, but, rather, reflect a prorated portion of the total ticket price (e.g., the Laramie - Denver portion of a Laramie - Denver - Chicago ticket) that the subsidized carrier would realize. Also, the fare shown is net of certain charges such as Federal transportation security fees, excise or ticket taxes, and Passenger Facility Charges. Of course, carriers have the discretion to charge fares they deem appropriate, and the passenger fare presented in the proposal has been developed for subsidy rate computation purposes only. You should also note that the carrier’s schedules may change to reflect changing conditions (e.g., to better meet shifting connecting bank times at the hub). The Department does expect subsidized air carriers to maintain well-timed and well-spaced flights in order to ensure full compensation. We request that you review the proposals and submit any comments you may have before we submit a recommendation to the Assistant Secretary. We ask that you submit any comments you may have as soon as possible, but in any case no later than August 28, 2006. We will carefully consider your comments before we submit a recommendation to the Assistant Secretary for a decision. Should you have any questions or need additional time to draft your comments, please let us know. Please send an original and one copy of your comments to me at the following address: Essential Air Service Division, X-53; Room 6401; Office of Aviation Analysis; Department of Transportation; 400 Seventh Street, S.W.; Washington, D.C. 20590. You should also send a copy to Great Lakes and Big Sky Airlines. In order to expedite the process, we would appreciate your sending an advance copy by fax to 202-366-7638 or by email to [email protected] and [email protected]. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Brian Swanson of my staff at 202-366-5392. Sincerely, Chief, Essential Air Service Division Office of Aviation Analysis cc: The Honorable Jodi Guerin, City of Laramie Ms. Shelly Reams, Wyoming Department of Transportation, Aeronautics Division The Honorable L.W. Shearer, City of Worland Mr . Gary Thompson, Worland Municipal Airport .