Air Taxi and ground handling services for the transport of mail in the state of California: Long Beach Airpot and Santa Catalina Island.

Sources Sought Notice - Request for Information (RFI) USPS Transportation Category Management Center Washington DC Air Taxi Transportation In accordance with the Postal Service's Supplying Principles and Practices, the Postal Service is issuing a request for information (RFI) as a source sought notice. This is an invitation for potential suppliers to register interest in providing air transportation and supporting services between the following service points in the state of California: Long Beach and Santa Catalina Island. This does not imply a commitment to acquire the services from any responding supplier. An RFI provides the Postal Service with useful information to further assess innovative solutions and a better understanding of how the requirement can best be met. Scope of Service The supplier must execute reliable, dedicated air transportation and ground handling service between designated points. In addition, supplier must accept at least (1) pouch of express mail at designated points. Schedule and Frequency: Trip No. 5266 Service Points/Frequency Trip No. 5267 K7* 0800 LV Long Beach Airport (LGB) AR 1650 0820 AR Catalina Island Avalon Bay Airport (AVX) LV 1630 * Daily except Sunday and Holidays. Express Mail Pouches Schedule and Frequency: Frequency Tuesday-Friday Time Service Points LV 1100 Long Beach Postal Facility AR 1330 Avalon Bay Airport * Service Tuesday through Friday only (2 3 4 frequency) The suppliers must: Be a Certificated FAR Part 135 airline supplier. Have a multi-engine aircraft with an estimated mail load capacity of 2,000 pounds and 200 cubic feet of useable load space. Provide sufficient aircraft and associated aviation service to meet (i) tender and delivery times specified in the schedule listed above. Load/unload loose-sack mail; deliver sorted loose-sack mail to the Long Beach Airport, CA and Catalina Island Avalon Bay Airport, CA. Give mail preference over passengers, baggage, non-postal express packages and/or freight on scheduled or authorized extra mail trips. Be in an acceptable financial condition, which will allow the Contracting Officer to determine that operations will remain ongoing. Additional information: Service must be performed in accordance with all applicable Federal, State and local authority laws. Persons who handle the mail must be screened, to include a criminal background check, drug screening fingerprinting, and must receive a clearance issue by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the federal law enforcement arm of the Postal Service. Strict protection of the mail while in the possession of the supplier shall apply. U.S. Department of Labor Area Wage determination will apply depending on the status of the supplier as an employer or sole proprietor. Estimated contract term is for four years, beginning on September 1, 2012. Contract pricing and payment will be a fixed per pound rate. The per pound rate consists of the following itemized components: Line-Haul (non-fuel), Line-Haul (fuel), and Terminal Handling. A monthly fuel adjustment will be used to determine increases and decreases for the jet fuel component of the unit price every 30 days, pursuant to the Department of Energy Fuel Index, Energy Information Administration, and Petroleum Navigator for Kerosene-Type Jet Fuel (Los Angeles). Payment for the Express Mail pouches will be a separate fixed rate per pouch. Provision A-2: Solicitation for Information on Planning Purposes (March 2006) A. The Postal Service does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this solicitation or to pay for the information selected. B. This solicitation is issued for the purpose of potential suppliers registering interest in providing air transportation and supporting services. Interested suppliers should submit responses including a company overview and supplier capabilities addressing the aforementioned requirements to this office via email, US mail, or fax on or before March 30, 2012. Your response should be directed to: Erika V. Ramirez Management Intern Air Transportation CMC 475 L'Enfant Plaza, SW, 1P650 Washington, DC 20260 e-mail address: Erika.V.Ramirez@usps.gov fax: 202.268.5879 If you have additional questions, please contact Erika Ramirez at 202-268-6150.