Essential Air Service at

BEFORE THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

) ) )

MACON, GEORGIA ) OST-2007-28671 )

Under 49 U.S.C. §41731 et seq. )

SUN AIR INTERNATIONAL PROPOSAL TO PROVIDE SUBSIDIZED ESSENTIAL AIR SERICE

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By Order 2012-5-25, the Department requested proposals for Essential Air Service to Macon, Georgia. Pursuant to that order, Sun Air Express, LLC. ("Sun Air") cordially submits this proposal to provide subsidized air service to the community of" Macon, Georgia.

Correspondence with regard to this document should be addressed to:

Thomas L. Cooper President & CEO Sun Air Express, LLC. dba Sun Air International 3201 Griffin Road, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33312 Telephone: 954-660-9865 Fax: 954-894-0367 E-Mail: tlcooper@gosunair.com

Bid Summary Sun Air hereby offers a proposal to provide service to the community of Macon, Georgia from Atlanta Hartstield International Airport. Sun Air's proposed operations will be operated with nine-passenger twin-engine Piper Chieftain aircraft. Flights will be displayed in major travel agent systems including Online Travel Agencies.

Sun Air has constructed its' proposal to incorporate the following essential elements for providing successful, quality air transportation in these proposed markets:

l. LOW FARES: Sun Air will market its flights with a simple, low unrestricted price structure, ranging from $39 to $59 each way. The company is proj~cting net average fares approximately $44 each way, net of taxes. Sun Air strongly believes that low unrestricted tares are essential to l'acilitating passenger t1ight connections, particularly when using standard interline connections.

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Savings to customers can be substantial. With current round trip fares to Atlanta priced at $267, Sun Air's local fares will be 50% to 70% lower, making them affordable to a vastly greater segment of the traveling public .

. 2. FREQUENT AND CONVIENENT FLIGHTS: Macon currently receives four scheduled round trips each weekday, the same number proposed by Sun Air. Sun Air believes this is an appropriate frequency to serve the market, however we also believe that the schedules need to be more closely tailored to the communities' needs. Specifically, Sun Air's proposed schedule provides for an early morning departure from Macon, almost two hours earlier than present, as well as an evening return that is two hours later than the existing schedules offer.

Sun Air plans to utilize gate space that is within the "sterile" concourse and terminal areas in Atlanta, avoiding the need for passengers to clear security again and allowing for the seamless transfer of bags to their final destination. ·

3. INTERLINE E-TICKETING AND BAGGAGE AGREEMENTS: Sun Air has provided for a significant investment in reservations, and distribution systems to acquire access to industry interline and baggage agreements with most major airlines. These agreements allow for passengers to complete their itinerary on a single ticket, and allow for that full itinerary to be displayed in Global Distribution Systems and Online Travel Agencies.

5. A COMMITMENT TO RELIABILITY: Sun Air's operations include investment in a regional maintenance base, staffed by a full complement of technicians, as well as a full-time backup aircraft. Passenger ridership to Macon haS' qeclined precipitously over the past few years, and in addition to limited interline connection availability, a high number of cancellations has negatively impacted ridership. Sun Air is committed to the highest levels of reliability, as we believe it is essential to rebuilding the passenger traffic base at Macon .

. . '· S~r.vice Proposal . . . :., . _ Sun Air will provide four ( 4) daily round trips per weekday to Macon, with two (2) daily round trips on Saturday and two (2) daily round trips on Sunday. All t1ights will operate on a non-stop basis to Atlanta Hartstieldlnternational Airport/.

Sun Air proposes an Essential Air Service subsidy of $727 per departure tor a two-year period. Sun Air recognizes that this amount would put Macon above the $200 per passenger limit based upon the most recent traffic data.

A review of passenger traffic prior to the tithe when the incumbent airline served the market paints a very different pictl1re. For example, annual ridership on the MCN-ATL segment (one way) has declined dramatically since 2006:

2011 9l6 2010 1,420 2009 I ,423 2008 10,579 2007 12,473 2006 14,682

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~ . • .' • • ,· : '_,; •'. ' • ,. : ' .. ,__ ,I • '·' ' ' ..... ,. Sun Air is confident it can successfully rebLilld the traffic base, and that its proposed subsidy level will return the per-passenger subsidy rates to bel9w $200 over a reasonable period of time.

A representative schedule, along with passenger, revenue and cost projections, are incorporated in Schedule l.

· About Sun Air Internationai

Sun Air Express, LLC is a ForfT:.auderdale, FL based regional airline serving Florida and the Bahamas, and offers on-demand air cargo services within Florida and the Bahamas; as well as scheduled services with four or fewer weekly flights to Cat Island, Great Harbour Cay, Chub Cay, and Andros Island in the Bahamas.

Sun Air currently has a fleet of six Piper Chieftain aircraft, all owned free and clear, and is prepared to acquire sufficient additional aircraft needed to support the proposal awarded here. The airline has access to the financial resources necessary to acquire the additional equipment.

The airline has been in opera,tion for more' than ten y~ars, and was pur-chased in.May, 2011 by Thomas L. Cooper. Mr. Cooper is the founder of several regional airlines, including Gulfstream lnternationalAirlines, where he also founded Sun Air as a subsidiary of Gulfstream. He sold his interests in Gulfstream to a private investment group in 2006. Mr. Cooper has been involved in aviation for more than 40 years, including more than 20 years as a 727 Captain for Eastern Airlines in addition to his extensive career with regional airlines. Since his acquisition of Sun Air in May of last year, he has invested heavily in new aircraft, support equipment and additional

' · support personnel. · · ·

Sun Air received Commuter Air Carrier Authorization from the Department on June 18, allowing it to conduct full scheduled airline operations, subject to certain additional compliance steps which the airline expects to have completed shortly.

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. : ':·. · ·· '·: . scftEDULE 1

Representative Timetable

FROM MACON

ATLANTA

Projected Operations

Passenger

Ot'fier Revenues

l ...

TOTAL OPERATING REVENUE

OPERATING EXPENSES

Flight Operations

·Fuel & lntoplane.

Maintenance

Passenger Service

Aircraft Ownership

Other

Total Operating .Cost .. , .. ·.

OPERATING INCOME/{LOSS)

ATLANTA

MACON

Profit Element- 5% of Operating Costs

Subsidy Required

DEPT 645AM 945AM 230PM 515PM

815AM llOOAM 345PM 630PM

Anr:1ual

MCN-ATL

$

$

477,034 .• 7,156

484,190

195,500

562,162

496,603

717,263 169,952

173,240

2,314,,720

$(1,830,530)

$ 115,736

$(1,946,266)

ARR 740AM 1040AM 325PM ... 655PM

855AM 1155AM 440PM 720PM

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, ..

,·;.'

ASMs (OOO's)

RPMs (OOOs)

Load Factor

Average Fare·

EAS Subsidy per Departure

Departures

Block Hours

Flight Hours

Available Seats

Passengers

Avg Daily Enplanements

. ~- .. \

.. ~ ..

. -r· ..

2,963,395

1,333,528

45.0%

- $ 44.00

$ 727

2,677

2,409

1,740

24,093

10,842

14.9

In conclusion, Sun Air believes that its proposal will provide excellent levels of service to the community of Macon, and ensure that they have proper access to the national air transportation network, offering cost-effective options that meet the requirements of the Essential Air Service

Program.

Respectfully Submitted: June 20, 2012

Thomas L. Coope'r · President & CEO Sun Air Express, LLC

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