HR 2466 — Essential Air Service Reform Act

(a) General.— Basic essential air service provided under section 41733 of this title is scheduled air transportation of passengers and cargo— (1) to a medium or large hub airport less than 650 miles from an eligible place (unless such airport or eligible place are located in a noncontiguous State); or (2) to a small hub or nonhub airport, when in Alaska or when the nearest medium or large hub airport is more than 400 miles from an eligible place. (b) Minimum Requirements.— Basic essential air service shall include at least the following: (1) (A) for a place not in Alaska, 2 daily round trips 6 days a week, with not more than one intermediate stop on each flight; or (B) for a place in Alaska, a level of service at least equal to that provided in 1976 or 2 round trips a week, whichever is greater, except that the Secretary of Transportation and the appropriate State authority of Alaska may agree to a different level of service after consulting with the affected community. (2) flights at reasonable times considering the needs of passengers with connecting flights at the airport and at prices that are not excessive compared to the generally prevailing prices of other air carriers for like service between similar places. (3) service provided in aircraft with at least 2 engines and using 2 pilots, unless scheduled air transportation has not been provided to the place in aircraft with at least 2 engines and using 2 pilots for at least 60 consecutive operating days at any time since October 31, 1978. (c) Waivers.— Notwithstanding section 41733(e), upon request by an eligible place, the Secretary may waive, in whole or in part, subsections (a) and (b) of this section or subsections (a) through (c) of section 41734. A waiver issued under this subsection shall remain in effect for a limited period of time, as determined by the Secretary.

(a) Decisions Made Before October 1, 1988.— For each eligible place for which a decision was made before October 1, 1988, under section 419 of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958, establishing the level of essential air transportation, the level of basic essential air service for that place shall be the level established by the Secretary of Transportation for that place by not later than December 29, 1988. (b) Decisions Not Made Before October 1, 1988.— (1) The Secretary shall decide on the level of basic essential air service for each eligible place for which a decision was not made before October 1, 1988, establishing the level of essential air transportation, when the Secretary receives notice that service to that place will be provided by only one air carrier. The Secretary shall make the decision by the last day of the 6-month period beginning on the date the Secretary receives the notice. The Secretary may impose notice requirements necessary to carry out this subsection. Before making a decision, the Secretary shall consider the views of any interested community and the appropriate State authority of the State in which the community is located. (2) Until the Secretary has made a decision on a level of basic essential air service for an eligible place under this subsection, the Secretary, on petition by an appropriate representative of the place, as defined by the Secretary, shall prohibit an air carrier from ending, suspending, or reducing air transportation to that place that appears to deprive the place of basic essential air service. (c) Availability of Compensation.— (1) If the Secretary decides that basic essential air service will not be provided to an eligible place without compensation, the Secretary shall provide notice that an air carrier may apply to provide basic essential air service to the place for compensation under this section. In selecting an applicant, the Secretary shall consider, among other factors— (A) the demonstrated reliability of the applicant in providing scheduled air service; (B) the contractual, marketing, code-share, or interline arrangements the applicant has made with a larger air carrier serving the hub airport; (C) the preferences of the actual and potential users of air transportation at the eligible place, including the views of the elected officials representing the users; (D) whether the air carrier has included a plan in its proposal to market its services to the community; (E) for an eligible place in Alaska, the experience of the applicant in providing, in Alaska, scheduled air service, or significant patterns of non-scheduled air service under an exemption granted under section 40109(a) and (c)–(h) of this title; and (F) the total compensation proposed by the air carrier for providing scheduled air service under this section. (2) Under guidelines prescribed under section 41737(a) of this title, the Secretary shall pay the rate of compensation for providing basic essential air service under this section and section 41734 of this title. (d) Compensation Payments.— The Secretary shall pay compensation under this section at times and in the way the Secretary decides is appropriate. The Secretary shall end payment of compensation to an air carrier for providing basic essential air service to an eligible place when the Secretary decides the compensation is no longer necessary to maintain basic essential air service to the place. (e) Review.— The Secretary shall review periodically the level of basic essential air service for each eligible place. Based on the review and consultations with an interested community and the appropriate State authority of the State in which the community is located, the Secretary may make appropriate adjustments in the level of service, to the extent such adjustments are to a level not less than the basic essential air service level established under subsection (a) for the airport that serves the community. (f) Notice to Communities Prior to Termination ...