“There’s a reason they call it essential air service,” said Rehberg, a member of the House Appropriations Committee.  “These communities depend on it. Temporarily shutting down these flights will effectively shut down local airports, prove burdensome and costly for residents traveling on business or for medical care, and affect the overall economy of eastern Montana.  The Department of Transportation and Great Lakes Aviation need to live up to their commitments and find a way to keep this disruption from happening.”

            In December 2007, Big Sky Airlines indicated that they would be ceasing operation to Montana’s EAS communities.  In response, DOT awarded a no-bid contract to Great Lakes Aviation to take over all Montana EAS routes based on assurances of a “seamless transition”. However, Great Lakes Aviation recently announced that, though Big Sky Airlines would be ending service in March, they would not be operational until the beginning of July.

In his letter, Rehberg criticized Great Lakes failure to provide immediate service and expressed disappointment over DOT’s ability to properly determine whether Big Sky Airlines was financially fit for operation and if Great Lakes would have the necessary infrastructure in place to begin service immediately.

“The recent announcement that there would now be a four month complete interruption in service shows a complete failure to live up to these commitments,” said Rehberg in the letter.  “This situation is unacceptable and the people of Montana should not be made to pay for the lack of foresight and coordination by the Department of Transportation and officials at Great Lakes Aviation.”

Letter:

Mary Peters

Secretary

United States Department of Transportation

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE

Washington, DC 20590

Dear Secretary Peters:

It has come to my attention that 7 EAS Communities in Montana will be without air service from the months of March to July of this year.  Tragically, the provider who was initially selected to operate these routes, Big Sky Airlines, indicated in December of 2007 that they would be ceasing service to Montana’s EAS communities within a 90 day period.  In response to the situation, the DOT issued an order on December 21^st that allowed Big Sky Airlines to cease operations and for another interested party, Great Lakes Aviation, to take over all necessary EAS routes in Montana in a no-bid situation based on their assurance of a “seamless transition”.  Unfortunately, recent reports have told a different story.

It is distressing that the Department of Transportation certified Big Sky Airlines as the Montana EAS carrier on November 26^th of 2007, implying a certification of their status as financially fit to receive federal funding for this vital service.  This was clearly not the case, as just 3 weeks later the company indicated their complete inability to honor the contract.  Please provide any information or certification requirements that are employed by the Department to ensure the financial fitness of an applicant. 

Additionally, during initial discussions, it seemed as though Great Lakes Aviation, with the support of DOT, was dedicated to doing everything possible to “minimize” distress to the EAS communities and their clients during the transition period.  In fact, Great Lakes assurances of uninterrupted service led the Department of Transportation to conclude that a carrier-replacement proceeding would not be needed, and instead they chose to provide Great Lakes with a no bid award.  However, the recent announcement that there would now be a four month complete interruption in service shows a complete failure to live up to these commitments.

EAS is a vital link to many of Montana’s rural areas. Please do what you can to ensure a “smooth transition” for EAS service to Montana’s communities as was promised in the order issued on December 21^st of 2007.  This situation is unacceptable and the people of Montana should not be made to pay for the lack of foresight and coordination by the Department of Transportation and officials at Great Lakes Aviation.

Sincerely,

Denny Rehberg