Chapter 54, Section 5402, Subsection (g) · 39 U.S.C. Chapter 54 — TRANSPORTATION OF MAIL BY AIR

Contents

(g)

(1)

(A)The Postal Service, in selecting carriers of nonpriority bypass mail to any point served by more than 1 carrier in the State of Alaska, shall adhere to an equitable tender policy within a qualified group of carriers, in accordance with the regulations of the Postal Service, and shall, at a minimum, require that any such carrier—

(i)hold a certificate of public convenience and necessity issued under section 41102(a) of title 49;

(ii)operate at least to such point at least the number of scheduled flights each week established under subparagraph (B)(i);

(iii)exhibit an adherence to such scheduled flights; and

(iv)have provided scheduled service with at least the number of scheduled noncontract flights each week established under subparagraph (B)(ii) between 2 points within the State of Alaska for at least 12 consecutive months with aircraft—

(I)up to 7,500 pounds payload capacity before being selected as a carrier of nonpriority bypass mail at an applicable intra-Alaska bush service mail rate; and

(II)over 7,500 pounds payload capacity before being selected as a carrier of nonpriority bypass mail at the intra-Alaska mainline service mail rate.

(B)

(i)For purposes of subparagraph (A)(ii)—

(I)for aircraft described under subparagraph (A)(iv)(I) the number is 3; and

(II)for aircraft described under subparagraph (A)(iv)(II), the number is 2, except as may be provided under subparagraph (C).

(ii)For purposes of subparagraph (A)(iv)—

(I)for aircraft described under subparagraph (A)(iv)(I), the number is 3; and

(II)for aircraft described under subparagraph (A)(iv)(II), for any week in any month before the effective date of the Rural Air Service Improvement Act of 2004, the number is 3, and after such date, the number is 2.

(C)The Postal Service, after consultation with affected carriers, may establish for service by aircraft described under subparagraph (A)(iv)(II)—

(i)a larger number of flights than required under subparagraph (B)(i); or

(ii)the days that service will operate.

(2)The Postal Service—

(A)may provide direct mainline non-priority bypass mail service to any bush point in the State of Alaska, without regard to paragraph (1)(B), if such service is equal to or better than interline service in cost and quality;

(B)shall deduct the non-priority bypass mail poundage flown on direct mainline flights to bush points within the State of Alaska by any carrier, from such carrier’s allocation of the total poundage of non-priority bypass mail transported to the nearest appropriate Postal Service hub point in any month;

(C)shall offer a bush passenger carrier providing service on a route in the State of Alaska between an acceptance point and a hub not served by a mainline carrier the opportunity to receive equitable tender of nonpriority bypass mail at mainline service rates when a mainline carrier begins serving that route if the bush passenger carrier—

(i)meets the requirements of paragraph (1);

(ii)provided at least 20 percent of the passenger service (as calculated in subsection (h)(5)) between such city pair for the 6 months immediately preceding the date on which the bush carrier seeks such tender; and

(iii)continues to provide not less than 20 percent of the passenger service on the city pair while seeking such tender;

(D)shall offer bush passenger carriers and nonmail freight carriers the opportunity to receive equitable tender of nonpriority bypass mail at mainline service rates from a hub point to a destination city in the State of Alaska if the city pair is also being served by a mainline carrier and—

(i)for a passenger carrier—

(I)the carrier meets the requirements of paragraph (1);

(II)the carrier provided at least 20 percent of the passenger service (as calculated in subsection (h)(5)) on the city pair route for the 6 months immediately preceding the date on which the carrier seeks such tender; and

(III)the carrier continues to provide not less than 20 percent of the passenger service on the route; or

(ii)for a nonmail freight carrier—

(I)the carrier meets the requirements of paragraph (1); and

(II)the carrier provided at least 25 percent of the nonmail freight service (as calculated in subsection (i)(6)) on the city pair route for the 6 months immediately preceding the date on which the carrier seeks such tender;

(E)

(i)shall not offer equitable tender of nonpriority mainline bypass mail at mainline rates to a bush carrier operating from an acceptance point to a hub point in the State of Alaska, except as described in subparagraph (C); and

(ii)may tender nonpriority bypass mail at bush rates to a bush carrier from an acceptance point to a hub point in the State of Alaska if the Postal Service determines that—

(I)the bush carrier meets the requirements of paragraph (1);

(II)the service to be provided on such route by the bush carrier is not otherwise available through direct mainline service; and

(III)tender of mail to such bush carrier will not decrease the efficiency of nonpriority bypass mail service (in terms of payments to all carriers providing service on the city pair route and timely delivery) for the route;

(F)may offer tender of nonpriority bypass mail to a passenger carrier from an acceptance point to a destination city beyond a hub point in the State of Alaska at a composite rate if the Postal Service determines that—

(i)the carrier provides passenger service in accordance with the requirements of subsection (h)(2);

(ii)the carrier qualifies under subsection (h) to be tendered nonpriority bypass mail out of the hub point being bypassed;

(iii)the tender of such mail will not decrease efficiency of delivery of nonpriority bypass mail service into or out of the hub point being bypassed; and

(iv)such tender will result in reduced payments to the carrier by the Postal Service over flying the entire route; and

(G)notwithstanding subparagraph (F), shall offer equitable tender of nonpriority bypass mail in proportion to passenger and nonmail freight mail pools described in this section between qualified passenger and nonmail freight carriers on a route from an acceptance point to a bush destination in the State of Alaska at a composite rate if—

(i)

(I)for a passenger carrier, the carrier receiving the composite rate provided 20 percent of the passenger service on the city pair route for the 12 months immediately preceding the date on which the carrier seeks tender of such mail; or

(II)for a nonmail freight carrier, the carrier receiving the composite rate provided at least 25 percent of the nonmail freight service for the 12 months immediately preceding the date on which the carrier seeks tender of such mail; and

(ii)

(I)nonpriority bypass mail was being tendered to a passenger carrier or a nonmail freight carrier at a composite rate on such city pair route on January 1, 2000; or

(II)the hub being bypassed was not served by a mainline carrier on January 1, 2000.

The tender of nonpriority bypass mail under subparagraph (G) shall be on an equitable basis between the qualified carriers that provide the direct service on the city pair route and the qualified carriers that provide service between the hub point being bypassed and the destination point, based on the volume of nonpriority bypass mail on both routes.

(3)

(A)The Postal Service shall determine the bypass mail bush points and hub points described under paragraph (2)(B) after consultation with the State of Alaska and the affected local communities and air carriers.

(B)Any changes in the determinations of the Postal Service under subparagraph (A) shall be made—

(i)after consultation with the State of Alaska and the affected local communities and air carriers; and

(ii)after giving 12 months public notice before any such change takes effect.

(C)When a new hub results from a change in a determination under subparagraph (B), mail tender from that hub during the 12-month period beginning on the effective date of that change shall be based on the passenger and freight shares to the destinations of the affected hub or hubs resulting in the new hub.

(4)

(A)Except as provided under subparagraph (B) and paragraph (5), the Postal Service shall select only existing mainline carriers to provide nonpriority bypass mail service between an acceptance point and a hub point in the State of Alaska.

(B)The Postal Service may select a carrier other than an existing mainline carrier to provide nonpriority bypass mail service on a mainline route in the State of Alaska if—

(i)the Postal Service determines (in accordance with criteria established in advance by the Postal Service) that the mail service between the acceptance point and the hub point is deficient and provides written notice of the determination to existing mainline carriers to the hub point; and

(ii)after the 30-day period following issuance of notice under clause (i), including notice of inadequate capacity, the Postal Service determines that deficiencies in service to the hub point have not been eliminated.

(C)A providing carrier selected under subparagraph (A) may subcontract the transportation of nonpriority bypass mail to another existing mainline carrier when additional or substitute aircraft are temporarily needed to meet the delivery schedule of the Postal Service or the carrier’s operating requirements. The providing carrier shall remain responsible for the mail from origin through destination.

(5)

(A)The Postal Service shall offer equitable tender of nonpriority bypass mail to a new 121 mainline passenger carrier entering a mainline route in the State of Alaska, if the carrier—

(i)meets the requirements of subsection (g)(1)(A)(iv)(II); and

(ii)has provided at least 75 percent of the number of insured passenger seats as the number of available passenger seats being provided by the mainline passenger carrier providing the greatest number of available passenger seats on that route for the 6 months immediately preceding the date on which the carrier seeks tender of such mail.

(B)A new 121 mainline passenger carrier that is tendered nonpriority mainline bypass mail under subparagraph (A)—

(i)shall be eligible for equitable tender of such mail only on city pair routes where the carrier meets the conditions of subparagraph (A);

(ii)may not count the passenger service provided under subparagraph (A) toward the carrier meeting the minimum requirements of this section; and

(iii)shall provide at least 20 percent of the passenger service (as determined for bush passenger carriers in subsection (h)(5)) on such route to remain eligible to be tendered nonpriority mainline bypass mail.

(C)Notwithstanding subparagraph (A) and paragraph (1)(B), a new 121 mainline passenger carrier, otherwise qualified under this subsection, may immediately receive equitable tender of nonpriority mainline bypass mail to a hub point in the State of Alaska if the carrier meets the requirements of subparagraphs (A), (C), and (D) of paragraph (1) and subsection (h)(2)(B) and—

(i)all qualified 121 mainline passenger carriers discontinue service on the city pair route; or

(ii)no 121 mainline passenger carrier serves the city pair route.

(D)A carrier operating under a code share agreement on the date of enactment of the Rural Service Improvement Act of 2002 that received tender of nonpriority mainline bypass mail on a city pair route in the State of Alaska may count the passenger service provided under the entire code share arrangement on such route if the code share agreement terminates. That carrier shall continue to provide at least 20 percent of the passenger service (as determined for bush passenger carriers in subsection (h)(5)) between the city pair as a 121 mainline passenger carrier while seeking such tender.

(6)

(A)Notwithstanding paragraph (1)(B), passenger carriers providing essential air service under a Department of Transportation order issued under subchapter II of chapter 417 of title 49, United States Code, shall be tendered all nonpriority mail, in addition to all nonpriority bypass mail, by the Postal Service to destination cities in the State of Alaska served by the essential air service flights consistent with that order unless the Postal Service finds that an essential air service carrier’s service does not meet the needs of the Postal Service.

(B)Service provided under this paragraph, including service provided to points served in conjunction with service being subsidized under the Essential Air Service contract, may not be applied toward any of the minimum eligibility requirements of this section.

(7)Nothing in this section shall preclude the Postal Service from establishing by regulation aircraft preferences for the dispatch of postal products other than nonpriority bypass mail.

United States Government work; public domain under 17 U.S.C. § 105.