17.2.2005   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 40/26

1.

Introduction: Ireland has amended the public service obligations published in the Official Journal of the European Communities C 66/05 of 15 March 2002 pursuant to Article 4(1)(a) of Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92 of 23 July 1992 on access for Community air carriers to intra-Community air routes, in respect of scheduled air services operated between Dublin and Galway with effect from 22 July 2005. The standards required by the revised public service obligation were published in the Official Journal of the European Communities No C 39 of 16.2.2005.

Insofar as by one month of publication, no air carrier will have commenced or be about to commence such air services in accordance with the public service obligation and without requesting financial compensation, Ireland has decided, in accordance with the procedure laid down by Article 4(1)(d) of that Regulation, to continue to limit access to the route to a single air carrier from 22 July 2005 and to offer the right to operate such services by public tender.

2.

Object of invitation to tender: Operation from 22 July 2005 of scheduled air services between Dublin and Galway in accordance with the public obligation imposed on that route and published in the Official Journal of the European Communities No C 39 of 16.2.2005.

3.

Participation: Participation is open to all air carriers holding a valid operating licence issued by a Member State in accordance with Council Regulation (EEC) No 2407/92 of 23 July 1992 on licensing of air carriers. The services will operate to aerodromes under the jurisdiction of the Irish Aviation Authority.

4.

Tender procedure: The present tender is subject to the provisions of points d), e), f), g), h) and i) of Article 4(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92.

5.

Information for tenderers: The complete tendering dossier, including tender proposal form, financial information requirements, a note on demographic and socio-economic features of Galway airports catchment area, a not on the airport (past passenger numbers, landing fees, technical facilities, etc.) and the full conditions of the contract, may be obtained free of charge from:

Department of Transport, 44 Kildare Street, Att: Mr Liam Keogh, IRL- Dublin 2. Tel. (353-1) 604 15 94. Fax (353-1) 604 16 81. E-mail: liamkeogh@transport.ie.

6.

Information required from tenderers: In addition to a fully completed tender proposal form, tenderers are required to satisfy the awarding authority, having regard to the requirement for the services to commence on 22 July 2005 and to the requirements for reliability and continuity of services, that they have:

Subject to being satisfied in relation to each of a), b) and c) above, tenders will be evaluated according to which tender is the most economically advantageous, while also taking account of the carriers capacity to secure the operation of the PSO air services for the duration of the contract term. However, the awarding authority is not obliged to accept any tender. In certain circumstances, the Minister reserves the right to negotiate with bidders on a price related to his bid, but taking account of projected losses based on operating costs, projected yields etc.

The awarding authority reserves the right to solicit further information about any applicant's financial and/or technical resources and abilities, and without prejudice to the foregoing, to solicit or seek further information, whether from a third party or from the applicant, regarding the ability of the applicant to undertake and operate the relevant scheduled air services.

Tenders should be priced in euro and all supporting documents must be in the English language.

The contract shall be considered as a contract made under Irish law and subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Irish courts.

7.

Financial compensation: Tenders must explicitly state the amount of financial compensation required for the operation of the public service obligation on the route for each of the 3 years from the scheduled starting date. The compensation should be calculated in accordance with the required minimum standards.

The actual amount of the compensation payable by the Department of Transport will be determined annually, on an ex-post basis, and will be limited to the actual losses incurred, having regard to actual costs, revenues and if applicable, profit margin, by the successful tenderer in operating the services, subject, as a maximum, to the limit of the amount stated in respect of each year in the tender.

Payments may be claimed by the carrier on a regular instalment basis, in accordance with the procedures set out in the dossier, referred to at 5, above. A balancing payment will be payable at the end of each contract year, subject to receipt by the awarding authority of appropriately documented claims accompanied by certification from the carrier's auditors, in accordance with the terms of the contract.

The contract will include provision for the maximum limit of compensation in any year(s) to be increased, at the sole discretion of the awarding authority, in the event of changes in operating conditions. Without prejudice to the provisions governing the termination of the contract, the awarding authority will, in assessing any proposal for an increase in the maximum limit of subvention in any year(s), have due regard to developments affecting the operation of the services that were not or could not have been anticipated by the tenderer or are due to factors outside the control of the tenderer.

All payments under the contract will be in euro.

8.

Period of validity, amendment and termination of the contract: The contract will be awarded by the Minister for Transport. The contract will be valid for a period of 3 years from 22 July 2005. A new invitation to tender will be made, if applicable, before the end of a period of 3 years maximum from 22 July 2005. Any amendment or termination of the contract will be in accordance with the terms of the contract. Variations in the standards required by the public service obligation will be permitted only with the prior agreement of the awarding authority.

9.

Penalties in the event of the carrier failing to comply with the contract: Where a flight is cancelled for reasons directly attributable to the carrier, the compensation payable will only be in respect of costs, if any, actually incurred by the carriers in handling passengers disrupted by the non-operation of such flights. The awarding authority reserves the right to serve notice of termination of the contract, if having regard to the adequacy of service provided by the carrier and in particular to the number of flights cancelled and/or delayed for reasons directly attributable to the carrier, it is of the opinion that the standards required by the public service obligation have not or are not being met satisfactorily.

10.

Deadline for submission of bids: Thirty one (31) calendar days from publication of this communication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

11.

Application procedure: Tenders must be submitted by registered letter, date as post-marked, or delivered to:

Department of Transport, 44 Kildare Street, IRL-Dublin 2, by 12.00 noon (Irish time) on the date in point 10, in envelopes marked ‘EASP Tender’.

12.

Validity of invitation to tender: In accordance with the first sentence of Article 4(1)(d) of Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92, the validity of this invitation to tender is subject to the condition that no Community air carriers presents, prior to deadline for submission of bids, a programme for operating the route in accordance with the public service obligation without receiving any financial compensation.

13.

Freedom of information Act, 1997: The Department of Transport undertakes to use its best endeavours to hold confidential any information provided by tenderers, subject to the Department's obligation under law, including the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 1997 as amended by Freedom of Information Act 2003. If tenderers wish that any of the information supplied by them in their tenders should not be disclosed because of its commercial sensitivity, they should, when providing the information, identify same and specify the reasons for its sensitivity. The Department will consult with tenderers about this sensitive information before making a decision regarding release of the information under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. If tenderers consider that none of the information supplied by them is commercially sensitive, they should make a statement to that effect and such information may be released in response to an FOI request.