RFP QA Amendment 1 8.31.2026.pdf
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- Solicitation number
- 70RDA326R00000003
- Issued by
- Not on record
About this file
This is a Questions and Answers (Q&A) document addressing industry inquiries regarding a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) aircraft operations and maintenance contract for four Boeing 737-700 aircraft. The contract involves aircraft upfit, modification, operations, and maintenance services supporting Congressional Delegation (CODEL) and Executive Distinguished Visitor (DV) transportation missions.
The contractor must hold its own FAA Air Carrier Certificate and operate the aircraft under Part 121 regulations. CODEL flight crew require Secret clearance while Executive aircraft flight crew require Top Secret clearance. The contractor bears full responsibility for aircraft maintenance, modifications, certification through FAA-approved processes (STCs or FAA Form 337), and operations support. Three pilots (2 Captains/1 First Officer) and three flight attendants (2 Standard Crew/1 Augmentee) are required per mission. The Government will not provide ground support equipment, maintenance tooling, aircraft inspection access pre-award, or detailed configuration specifications; instead, offerors develop their own design approaches for the CODEL and Executive configurations, pricing to their proposed technical solutions. Aircraft are currently maintained under FAA-approved programs and will transfer airworthy with maintenance records provided post-award. The contract is firm-fixed-price with no Economic Price Adjustment for fuel; aviation fuel and routine ground handling costs remain fully burdened in the flight hour rate. The Government extended the proposal deadline to September 8, 2026, and may assign a DFAS priority rating post-award to facilitate long-lead procurement. No small business set-aside applies; the requirement is competed under full and open competition using NAICS code 336411 (Aircraft Manufacturing).
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Number Question Response
These aircraft were recently awarded to a contractor under OSAMS, is there a correlation between these two programs?
No. This contracting effort is not related to Contract Award Number 70CDCR26P00000010.
Will these operate under FAA Part 121 passenger rules or under a DHS Air program/Public/State Use parameters
The aircraft will operate under Part 121, the vendor will be required to provide an Air Carrier
Certification. and comply with Part 121 requirements.
3 What level of security clearance will be required to operate these aircraft? Executive aircraft will required Top Secret Clearance. CODEL aircraft will require Secret Clearance.
Will any specialized ground support equipment (GSE) or maintenance tooling be transferred to the contractor as Government-Furnished Property (GFP) for the heavy maintenance phase, or must the contractor completely source all custom 737 tooling?
No specialized ground support equiment or maintenance tool will be transferred to the contractor as GFP or GFE.
What is the nature of the operations and maintenance (O+M) work that needs to be done on these 737s?
The contractor will be responsible for operating the aircraft to transport passengers between
CONUS and OCONUS locations and for performing all maintenance necessary to support those operations and maintain the aircraft in an airworthy condition in accordance with applicable requirements.
6 Will Boeing and/or DHS provide access to the native files for existing technical manuals? Yes. Any available manuals will be transferred with the aircraft.
Does DHS have a technical data ecosystem the updated technical manuals will need to be conformed to and/or delivered in?
Yes. Updated technical manuals for all upfit configurations (to include the partial upfit configuration) will be provided to DHS via portable electronic storage media.
These aircraft have been in long term maintenance under an incumbent in Louisiana. Are they flyable so a contractor can relocate them to an alternate MRO facility?
Yes. The aircraft are required to be airworthy at completion of current maintenance activities. PWS will be updated to discuss inspections, minor maintenance and up to 7 hours of operations per aircraft to transfer to alternate MRO facility.
Beyond aircraft engineering, certification, maintenance, and flight operations, what program management, mission planning, logistics coordination, passenger support, security coordination, reporting, and operational support functions does DHS expect the contractor team to provide?
The government has no additional requirements to add to what is documented within the PWS.
Beyond the aviation functions, what non-flight operational support functions does DHS expect from the contractor team throughout the period of performance?
The government has no additional requirements to add to what is documented within the PWS.
Please confirm whether an HMR is required by the PWS and, if so, the applicable PWS paragraph(s).
Yes. Heavy Maintenance Representative will be contractor-furnished
12 Please confirm whether the HMR is Government-furnished or contractor-furnished Yes. Contractor Furnished.
Please confirm whether the HMR must be on-site at the incumbent Louisiana maintenance facility until each aircraft is released as flyable
No. HMR is not required for transfer of aircraft to alternate MRO facility unless any initial inspections by the performer prior to transfer to an alternate MRO facility reveals heavy corrective maintenance is required.
Minimum qualifications (e.g., FAA A&P, 737 NG heavy-check experience, records/configuration control) Yes. Current FAA Airframe and Powerplant certification, Please confirm hether the HMR function is evaluated under Factor 1.1 (QC/Certifications), Factor 1.3 (Maintenance & Logistics), or another factor.
Yes Evaluation will be under Factor 1.1 (QC/Certifications)
PWS Section 2.2 states that aircraft modifications shall be certified "through the appropriate FAA-approved process, including Supplemental Type Certificate, FAA Form 337
Major Alteration approval, or other authorized approval method as determined by the
Government and FAA requirements." Please identify the airworthiness determination authority that will govern these aircraft. Specifically, will airworthiness and configuration approval be made under FAA authority (e.g., STC or Form 337), under DHS flight program or public aircraft authority, or under a combination of both? Please also identify the governing airworthiness standard or directive that offerors should apply for design, certification, and pricing purposes
Airworthiness and configuration approval will be governed by the applicable FAA-approved process, unless otherwise approved in writing by the Government in coordination with applicable FAA requirements. Aircraft modifications shall be certified through the appropriate FAA-approved process, including Supplemental Type Certificate, FAA Form 337 Major Alteration approval, or another authorized approval method identified in the solicitation or approved by the Government.
DHS will conduct final review and acceptance of the modified aircraft for contract purposes, including review of engineering packages and certification documentation. DHS acceptance does not waive any applicable FAA certification, airworthiness, or operational requirements. Offerors should base design, certification, and pricing on compliance with the applicable FAA airworthiness and certification requirements for the aircraft and proposed modifications, together with the requirements of the PWS and solicitation.
PWS Sections 2.3, 2.3.1, and 2.3.2 assign interior configuration design responsibility to the contractor and describe configuration features using permissive language (e.g., "may include" and "when required"), while Attachment 5, Sub-Element 1.2, requires offerors to submit Congressional Delegation and Executive configuration drawings with their proposals and to price the CLIN 0001 upfit. To support consistent design and pricing across offerors, please clarify the following:
a. Does the Government intend for each offeror to develop and propose the CODEL and
Executive configurations based on the offeror's own design approach, and is it correct that no separate Government design specification, reference configuration, or minimum design standard document is being provided for these configurations? If any such document exists, please make it available to all offerors.
b. For each configuration element the Government intends offerors to include within CLIN
0001 pricing, please provide the minimum required technical, functional, integration, performance, capacity, certification, and interoperability requirements necessary for design and pricing purposes.
c. Where such minimum requirements are not yet defined, please confirm whether offerors should price and design to their own proposed technical solution, or whether the
Government intends to issue additional specifications by amendment.
d. Please identify the governing regulatory standard the Government intends to apply to passenger seating and cabin occupancy for the CODEL and Executive configurations, including any applicable seating limits or occupancy requirements for taxi, takeoff, and landing, and confirm whether the configurations are to be certified under the same standard identified as the airworthiness determination authority for these aircraft.
a. The Government intends for each offeror to develop and propose the CODEL and Executive Configuration based on the offerors own design approach.
b. Minumum requirements are not defined.
c. Yes. Offers should price and design to their on porposed technical solution.
d. Cabin configuration will be in accordance with FAA guidelines
Sub-Element 1.2 directs Offerors to submit, as part of the Technical Volume, an Engineering
Plan detailing structural, electrical, and avionics integration, along with Drawings for both the Congressional Delegation and Executive Configurations demonstrating alignment with that plan. Developing detailed, integration-level engineering drawings and a formal engineering plan prior to award represents a substantial engineering investment that is typically matured during performance under the FAA certification process (e.g., STC/Form
337 development). To ensure proposals are evaluated on a consistent and price-reasonable basis, will the Government confirm the level of fidelity it expects for the Sub-Element 1.2
Engineering Plan and configuration Drawings at proposal submission? Specifically, will conceptual/representative drawings and a preliminary (non-certified) engineering approach be sufficient to demonstrate capability and alignment, or does the Government expect detailed, certification-level engineering drawings at this stage?
Yes. Attachment 5 will be updated to read as follows:
The Government will evaluate the Offer’s preliminary engineering plan outlining structural, electrical, and avionics integration.
The Government will evaluate the Offer’s preliminary drawings for the Congressional Delegation
Configuration and Executive Configuration that demonstrates alignment with the engineering plan discussed in the narrative.
The Government will evaluate the Offer’s preliminary weight and balance impact assessment.
The Government will evaluate the Offer’s preliminary Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) mapping milestones from contract award to operational readiness.
The solicitation requires the Contractor to respond to Aircraft on Ground (AOG) notifications within two hours and provide a corrective action plan within four hours. The solicitation also states that Off-Station AOG travel shall be processed under CLIN 0004 and that work shall not commence until a fully executed Work Directive has been returned by the Government. For time-sensitive mission support events involving operational aircraft, please clarify the Government's intended authorization process for Off-Station AOG travel and repairs. Specifically, does the Government intend to establish expedited approval procedures, pre-authorized funding thresholds, standing authorization mechanisms, or other processes to support immediate response when mission requirements do not permit waiting for execution of a Work Directive? Would the Government consider establishing a pre-authorized CLIN 0004 response threshold or other expedited authorization mechanism for Off-Station AOG travel and repairs necessary to support mission-critical operations, thereby avoiding delays associated with obtaining individual Work Directive approval before contractor personnel may depart for the repair location?
The Government has established an expedited approval procedure within the PWS. Per PWS
Section 2.5.4, the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) has the unilateral delegated authority to approve and sign Over & Above (O&A) Work Directives under $20,000.00. Additionally, the 2-hour response requirement applies to initial notification and the 4-hour requirement applies to providing a corrective action plan, not necessarily physical arrival at an off-station location.
Please reconcile the PWS requirement that all flight crew maintain Top Secret clearances with the Industry Day statement that clearance was expected for executive aircraft but not
CODEL aircraft, and identify clearance level, access, timing, and eligibility requirements by labor category and aircraft configuration.
CODEL flight crew will require Secret Clearances. Executive aircraft will require Top Secret
Clearances.
Given that this requirement supports senior leader and Congressional Delegation transportation as a mission-critical national security function, and given the compressed upfit and delivery milestones established in PWS Section 3.2, we respectfully recommend that the Government consider assigning a DPAS priority rating (e.g., DO or DX) with the applicable program identification symbol under 15 CFR Part 700. A rated order would allow the successful offeror to place priority-rated orders with suppliers and subcontractors for long-lead aircraft parts, materials, and specialized components, improving the ability to meet the required delivery schedule.
The government may assign a DFAS rating post award.
The five sub-elements are stated to be evaluated holistically to arrive at a single Confidence
Rating for Factor 1. Will the Government confirm whether all five sub-elements are weighted equally, or whether any sub-element carries greater influence on the overall
Confidence Rating?
No. Weighting factors are not assigned to the sub-elements. As stated in Attachment 5, a holistic evaluation approach will be used.
Sub-Element 1.5 (Safety Management Approach) directs offerors to submit a safety narrative but does not state whether offerors should also provide copies of underlying safety documentation, such as a Safety Management System (SMS) manual, safety program plan, or written safety procedures. Please confirm whether the Government requires only the safety narrative, or whether copies of supporting safety documents should also be submitted. If supporting safety documents are desired, please confirm whether they will be excluded from the 20-page Volume II limit, consistent with the existing exclusion for required quality control procedures, facility certifications, and configuration drawings.
Underlying safety documentation is not needed. A narrative is required to convey to the government that a Safety Management System is in place in accordance with their Air Carrier
Certificate.
To help ensure a consistent and comparable pricing approach among offerors, please clarify the Government's expected flight crew and cabin crew staffing assumptions for
Congressional Delegation (CODEL) and Executive/Distinguished Visitor (DV) missions.
Specifically, please identify the minimum pilot, relief pilot (if applicable), Mission Specialist, Cabin Attendant, and other mission-support personnel requirements that offerors should assume when pricing CLIN 0002 operations and mission support services as well as the projected OCONUS length of flight and duty day.
Three Pilots (2 Captains/ 1 First Officer) and three Flight Attendants (2 Standard Crew/ 1
Augmentee) are required.
Section 4.1, Quality Management, identifies certain certifications that the Contractor shall maintain, as applicable. Please clarify how the Government will assess compliance with these certification requirements when an Offeror proposes a team composed of multiple legal entities:
a. If the Prime Offeror is a joint venture, will the Government consider a required certification held by any organizational member of the joint venture, or must the certification be held by the joint venture entity itself?
b. Will the Government consider a required certification held by a subcontractor (with an executed teaming agreement), provided that the subcontractor will perform the portion of the work to which the certification applies?
Entities must hold certification for the work that they are responsible to conduct under the contract.
Does the Government have a preferred Layout of Passenger Accommodations (LOPA) for either the Congressional Delegation or Executive configuration? If so, will it be released as an attachment or amendment? Will the Government be providing the equipment called out in the LOPA?
No. The government has yet to identify a preferred LOPA for either configuration.
No, The government will not provide a LOPA for either configuration.
Within the Executive configuration, how many seats are to be located inside the
Distinguished Visitor cabin, and how many outside it?
The Government has not established Configuration specifications.
Is the Government's intent to retain and refurbish the existing seats where serviceable, or does the requirement assume one hundred percent new seat installation?
Assume 100% new seat installation.
29 How many crew rest seats are required, and at what cabin location? The Government has not established Configuration specifications.
The Aircraft 1 partial configuration milestone specifies "four (4) Domestic First-Class Seats."
Does the Government have a specific make, model, and part number in mind, or is seat selection at the contractor's discretion subject to Government approval?
The Government has not established Configuration specifications.
Must all newly installed passenger and crew seats meet 16g dynamic performance standards under 14 CFR 25.562? If the Government intends to retain any 9g seats under a grandfathered installation, please identify which.
Newly installed aircraft seating must comply with 14 CFR 25.562-Emergency landing dynamic conditions. The Government does not intend to retain any 9G seats.
Does either configuration require fully lie-flat seats? If so, how many, in which configuration, and at what location?
At a minimum, Crew rest seats will lie-flat. The Government has not established Configuration specifications for the remainder.
PWS 2.3.1 specifies forward-facing passenger seating, and separately specifies removable conference tables. A conference grouping normally requires aft-facing or side-facing seats, which carry a different certification basis and a materially different cost. Will the equipment be supplied by Government?
The Government has not established Configuration specifications. The Forward-facing passenger seating statement does not restrict VIP grouping or Conference grouping design.
Does the Government own, or have access to, any seats, monuments, or interior components that it intends to furnish as Government-furnished equipment for this effort?
The government does not own or have access to any seats, monuments or interior components that it intends to furnish as GFE.
Are seat dress covers to be leather or fabric? Does the Government have a required color, pattern, or material specification?
No. The Government has not established Configuration specifications.
For cabin flooring, does the Government require standard commercial airline carpeting or
VIP-grade carpeting? Please state any required color, pattern, or specification.
No. The Government has not established Configuration specifications. However, it is noted that the configurations are for Congressional Delegation and Executive Transport.
Are sidewalls, headliners, window reveals, and curtains to be refurbished, replaced, or left as-is? Please state any required color scheme.
The Government has not established Configuration specifications.
How many class dividers or cabin partitions are required in each configuration, and at what fuselage stations or approximate locations?
The Government has not established Configuration specifications.
How many removable conference tables are required, what seating capacity should each serve, and where in the cabin does the Government want them installed?
The Government has not established Configuration specifications.
For the Executive configuration, does the Government require a hard bulkhead, a soft divider, or is the choice at the contractor's discretion subject to approval? Is any separation required in the Congressional Delegation configuration?
The Government has not established Configuration specifications. However, it is noted that the configurations are for Congressional Delegation and Executive Transport.
Are the existing galleys to be retained, refurbished, or replaced? Are any specific galley inserts required, such as ovens, coffee makers, or chillers?
The Government has not established Configuration specifications.
Does the Government intend that the existing Passenger Service Units be retained? If the new LOPA makes retention impracticable, will the Government furnish replacement PSUs, or is PSU procurement contractor scope?
The Government has not established Configuration specifications. PSU procurement, if required by contractor proposed configurations, will be within scope.
Will the Government furnish the Starshield terminal, antenna, and associated equipment as
Government-furnished equipment, or is procurement contractor scope?
Aircraft will be equipped with Starshield/Link. Subscription will be provided by the vendor.
The same question for Starlink: is the terminal Government-furnished or contractor-furnished? Is the service subscription contractor scope under Exhibit A item M-02?
Aircraft will be equipped with Starshield/Link. Subscription will be provided by the vendor.
For the multi-level network printer station operating at Unclassified, Secret, and Top Secret levels: will printers, cryptographic devices, and network equipment be Government-furnished? Which authority will accredit the installation, and what security guidance applies?
The Government will furnish the printer and DHS will accredit the print off our networks.
Both configuration sections state that the configuration "may include" the listed items. For the purpose of pricing the firm-fixed-price CLIN 0001 line items, are those lists the required baseline, or is a subset the baseline with the remainder to be treated as options? Offerors cannot price a fixed-price lot against a permissive list.
The Government has not established Configuration specifications. The permissive list allows for cost and capability trade to achieve schedule.
Attachment 6 provides Base Price cells only for the five CLIN 0001 line items, with no option year columns populated. Please confirm CLIN 0001 is a base period requirement only.
No option CLINs are needed for CLIN 0001. CLIN 0001 is for aircraft Configuration Upfit, and all four
(4) aircraft will be completed within the one (1) year.
Attachment 6 as posted contains no formulas; all price cells are static. Attachment 5 2.1 requires the model to be submitted "with all applicable formulas intact and unlocked."
Please confirm that offerors are to build the formulas, and that doing so is not a prohibited alteration of the Government template.
Yes, Offerors are allowed to build formulas into the template as needed to comply with Attachment
5. Doing so is not considered a prohibited alteration of the Government template. Attachment 6 does not contain pre-set formulas.
Attachment 5 4.1 directs offerors to "RFP Attachment 5 - Pricing Template," while the RFP lists the Pricing Template as Attachment 6. Please confirm Attachment 6 is the correct reference.
Yes, Attachment 6 is the correct reference. The Government will issue an amendment to revise the
Attachment 5 Addenda accordingly.
Wil the Government publish the estimated baseline quantities it will use to calculate the
Total Evaluated Price? Without them, offerors cannot verify that their rate structure is evaluated as intended.
No, the Government will not provide the estimated baseline quantities. These quantities are an internal sample used to evaluate and compare rates equally among all Offerors.
Item M-01 instructs offerors to "assume a baseline of 4 VIP missions per month, per plane."
Is that assumption for pricing purposes only, or does it establish a minimum level of effort the contractor must be able to support?
This assumption is provided strictly for pricing/estimating purposes so that all Offerors bid against the same baseline for the Firm-Fixed-Unit-Price of M-01 (Monthly Readiness Support). It does not establish a minimum level of effort or guarantee a specific number of missions.
Item U-01 requires the flight hour rate to be inclusive of all aviation fuel, held firm across a base period and four option years. Is any economic price adjustment mechanism contemplated for fuel? If not, please confirm that offerors are to absorb five years of fuel price volatility within a fixed rate.
The Government does not contemplate an Economic Price Adjustment (EPA) clause for aviation fuel. Offerors must account for market volatility and propose a fully burdened Firm-Fixed-Price for U-
01 across all Option Years.
Are offerors expected to propose escalated rates across the option years, and is there any ceiling on year-over-year escalation that would be considered reasonable?
Offerors may propose escalated rates across the option years based on their own pricing models and economic forecasting. The Government has not established a specific ceiling for year-over-year escalation; however, all proposed prices will be evaluated for fair and reasonableness, as well as unbalanced pricing in accordance with FAR RFO 15.404.
Please confirm the $2,500 parts cost threshold applies to the total verifiable wholesale cost of replacement parts per discrepancy, rather than to any single part.
Confirmed. The $2,500 threshold applies to the aggregate (total) cost of all parts combined required to fix a single discrepancy/squawk. It does not apply to each individual part separately.
Item M-01 requires the monthly rate to include two qualified pilots per aircraft. Please confirm that pilot cost is to be recovered entirely through M-01 and not through the flight hour rate U-01.
Yes. However the PWS is being modified to three Pilots (2 Captains/ 1 First Officer) and three Flight
Attendants (2 Standard Crew/ 1 Augmentee) as a requirement.
PWS 1.3 and 6.1 make the contractor responsible for making the Government-furnished aircraft airworthy and transporting them to the place of performance. Under which CLIN is that pre-ferry airworthiness work and relocation to be priced? It does not appear in the
CLIN 0001 line item descriptions.
The aircraft are required to be airworthy at completion of the current maintenance activities. PWS will be updated to discuss inspections, minor maintenance and up to 7 hours of operations per aircraft to transfer to alternate MRO facility.
Are the four aircraft currently maintained under an FAA-approved continuous airworthiness maintenance program — for example, an approved program under the aircraft's original type certificate maintenance program, or an equivalent Government-approved aviation maintenance program? If so, will that program and its associated records be made available to offerors before or at award?
Yes. The four aircraft currently are maintained under an FAA approved maintenance program.
The records will be made available after award.
For each of the four tail numbers, please provide current status (active flight or parked/stored), total time and cycles, date of last flight, date and scope of last completed heavy inspection, and open Airworthiness Directive and deferred maintenance status.
Records will be made available after award.
If any aircraft is currently parked, is it being maintained under an FAA-approved or manufacturer-recommended storage and preservation program — covering engine preservation, corrosion control, and periodic systems cycling? If not, please describe the current preservation status. Extended storage without an approved preservation program can generate substantial return-to-service work that is not contemplated in the CLIN 0001 upfit price or the ninety-one-day Aircraft 1 milestone.
The aircraft are currently being maintained under an FAA approved program. The aircraft will be airworthy upon transfer.
Does each aircraft currently hold a valid registration and standard airworthiness certificate, or will special flight permits be required for relocation?
Each Aircraft holds a valid registration and a standard airworthiness certificate.
61 What are the anticipated delivery dates and delivery locations for each of the four aircraft? Refer to PWS 3.2.
The Government stated that no ground support equipment will be provided for the maintenance phase. Please confirm this includes jacks and jacking adapters, engine handling equipment, landing gear handling equipment, and aircraft weighing equipment.
The government will not provide any ground support equipment including jacks and jacking adapters, engine handling equipment, landing gear handling equipment, and aircraft weighing equipment.
The forty-eight hour receipt inventory window is short for four aircraft delivered on separate dates. Will the Government accept a written condition report submitted within forty-eight hours, with any discrepancies discovered during subsequent detailed inspection handled through the Over and Above process?
The government will accept a written condition report submitted within 48 hours with any discovered during subsequent detailed inspection handled through the Over and Above process.
Is the contractor expected to hold its own operating certificate or authorization for these flights, or does the contractor operate under DHS's own operating authority as contracted flight crew? This determines whether the contractor's own Part 91K, 135, or 121 certificate and operations specifications are relevant to this requirement, or whether none are required.
Yes. The Contractor will be required to hold its own Air Carrier Certificate.
Attachment 5 3.1 requires a Facility Clearance at the Top Secret level, while the Volume I instructions at 2.2 contain an unfilled placeholder reading "[Insert Level, e.g., SECRET]."
Please confirm the Facility Clearance level actually required.
The Government will issue an amendment to post a usable Attachment 4 (DD Form 254).
PWS 12 requires all flight crew to be eligible for and maintain a Top Secret clearance. At the industry engagement event the Government stated that a clearance would be required for the executive aircraft and that no clearance was expected for the CODEL aircraft. Please reconcile these two statements.
Executive aircraft will required Top Secret Clearance. CODEL aircraft will require Secret Clearance
Attachment 4, the DD Form 254, contains no completed or fillable form; the file renders only a viewer placeholder with no form fields. Offerors cannot comply with the instruction to submit "the Government-provided DD Form 254." Please post a usable form by amendment, or advise what offerors are to submit in its place.
The Government will issue an amendment to post a usable Attachment 4 (DD Form 254).
Must the Facility Clearance be active at the time of proposal submission, or will the
Government accept evidence of an in-process clearance or a sponsorship commitment?
Yes. Evidence of an in-process clearance or sponsorship commitment that demonstrates ability to support the delivery milestones will be accepted.
Where flight crew must hold a Top Secret clearance, will DHS sponsor clearance processing for personnel who are eligible but not currently cleared? What adjudication timeline should offerors assume relative to the 11 December 2026 mission-ready milestone?
DHS will sponsor clearances. Adjudication timeline will be as soon as possible.
For subcontractors requiring access to classified information, must they be identified on the
DD Form 254 at proposal submission, or may they be added post-award by modification?
Yes. Subcontracts may be added to the DD form 254 post award.
The Aircraft 1 airworthiness activities window is 09 to 11 December 2026, with mission-ready status on 11 December 2026. RFP E.2(c) allows the Government up to thirty calendar days for inspection and acceptance. Please confirm that Government inspection and acceptance for Aircraft 1 will run concurrently with the 09 to 11 December window rather than after it.
Yes, the government inspection and acceptance for Aircraft 1 will run concurrently with the 09 to 11
December window rather than after it.
Please confirm that a title page and a table of contents count against the twenty-page limit for Volume II, and that the Integrated Master Schedule and the preliminary weight and balance assessment are likewise counted, since only quality control procedures, facility certifications, and configuration drawings are listed as excluded.
No. title page, table of contents, preliminary integrated Master Schedules and preliminary weight and balance assessments do not count against the 20 page limit.
Attachment 5 3.5 evaluates the Safety Management Approach against "PWS 1.1, 2.3, &
13." The Performance Work Statement ends at Section 12 and contains no Section 13.
Please identify the intended reference.
Intended reference is PWS 1.3.
The Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan identifies S. Andrew Whittaker as the assigned
Contracting Officer, while RFP G.3 identifies Jonathan Igwebueze as the Contracting Officer and Mr. Whittaker as the Contract Specialist. Please confirm which is correct.
The RFP G.3 holds the correct information. The Government will issue an amendment to revise
QASP accordingly.
Industry Day for this requirement was attended by numerous qualified small businesses, including the incumbent contractor and at least four additional firms identified as small businesses under the applicable NAICS code. Given this demonstrated level of small business interest and capability, does the Government intend to apply the Rule of Two analysis under FAR 19.502-2(b) prior to issuance of the solicitation?
Specifically, has the Government determined whether a reasonable expectation exists that offers will be received from at least two responsible small business concerns capable of performing the work at fair market prices, such that the requirement should be set aside in whole or in part for small business participation?
Will the government solicit this requirement as a 100% small business set-aside?
No. As stated in the Combined Synopsis/Solicitation, this requirement is being competed under Full and Open Competition (Unrestricted) and is not set aside for small business concerns.
What is the intended NAICS code for this requirement? The SF1449 does not have one printed on it.
SAM.gov lists 336411 - Aircraft Manufacturing.
Yes, the Government will issue an amendment to revise the SF 1449 to include this NAICS code.
Number of flight attendants is calculated based on the number of passengers. The 737-700 has 149 seats, which normally requires 3 flight attendants to manage the cabin. Will the government provide an expected seat count for the two different aircraft configurations?
Will the government provide a more detailed description of the two (2) Interior configurations to include total number of seats?
No. The Government has not established Configuration specifications.
Three Pilots (2 Captains/ 1 First Officer) and three Flight Attendants (2 Standard Crew/ 1
Augmentee) are required.
"Physical aircraft modification and maintenance work shall be performed at the contractor’s FAA-certificated facility or another Government-approved location." Basing the aircraft is critical. After the aircraft have completed their maintenance uplift, where will the aircraft be based?
Basing locations has significant pricing impact on labor, taxes, & available facilities. Can the government provide a desired location?
No. Basing location will be provided by the vendor. For notional planning purposes, passenger initial departure and final return can be assumed to be at a national capital region.
Typical STCs for reconfiguration of the aircraft with engineering takes a minimum of 6 months. The government's timeline does not reflect a realistic expectation of completion of
STCs and reconfiguration. An expedited timeline has significant cost implications. Will the government readjust its expected timeline?
The government will not readjust it's expected timeline due to typical completion of STCs and reconfiguration.
The government has not given an indication of where it wants to fly, domestically or internationally, which has additional cost implications. What ratio of missions per year are intended to be international or domestic?
The government will not pre-define flight routes.
The government has not provided a desired configuration of air stairs, tables, first class seats, regular seats, etc. for the contractor to quote the modifications. Will the government provide desired configuration per aircraft?
No. The Government has not established Configuration specifications.
82 Do you have an estimated schedule, or are the pilots expected to be on call/available 24/7? No. Aircraft will be pre scheduled.
The government has had these aircraft for nearly a year. Rushing a solicitation in under 7 days is irresponsible. A requirement of this complexity typically requires a minimum of 30 days. Will the government extend the deadline to allow for more competition, qualified responses, and a reasonable timeline to survey the aircraft, review maintenance records and develop a complete proposal?
The government will extend the deadline for the Request for Proposal to 8 September 2026.
It is our understanding that DHS is developing a new set of flight standards for these aircraft in accordance IAW 41 CFR Part 102-33 - Management of Government Aircraft. Will the government provide offerors with its flight program standards to comply with?
No. Aircraft will be operated and maintained under the Vendor's FAA Certificate.
The PWS does not reference what authorities the aircraft will operate under. Will the government provide guidance on FAA Part 121, Public-Use, State-Use approvals for these aircraft?
Aircraft will be operated and maintained under the Vendor's Air Carrier Certificate.
To take responsibility for 22-year old aircraft typically provides offerors an opportunity to review maintenance records, component data, and configuration logs. Will the government provide offerors the maintenance records for these four aircraft?
Aircraft maintenance records will not be provided prior to the award.
Will the government allow offerors an opportunity to inspect the aircraft prior to providing adequate pricing and bid submission?
The government will not allow aircraft inspection prior to the award.
Starlink (unclassified) and Starshield (classified) systems typically need to be dual-installed on the aircraft. Is it the government's intent to have both systems on all four aircraft?
Starlink and Starshield have data limits and speed limits per subscription. Will the government provide the amount of data space and data speeds they need per month for each aircraft? This impacts costing.
Are Starlink and Starshield already installed and STC'd in the aircraft?
Two aircraft have Starlink currently installed along with two aircraft have Starshield currently installed. The government will require a backup satellite commercial data internet system (i.e., Ka) for the two aircraft with Starshield installed. Subscription will be provided by the vendor.
Historically, DD254s are prepared by the government and provided to the contractor with the required level of access and specifics on the requirement. The DD254 provided was blank. Will the government provide an adequate DD254 to determine the appropriate level of clearance required?
Yes, The government will provide an adequate DD254.
The Government is asking for:
"1. A detailed narrative demonstrating prior experience executing aircraft interior modifications and obtaining FAA Supplemental Type Certificates (STCs) or FAA Form 337
Major Alteration approvals of similar scope and complexity.
2. An Engineering Plan detailing structural, electrical, and avionics integration.
3. Drawings for the Congressional Delegation Configuration and Executive Configuration that demonstrates alignment with the engineering plan discussed in the narrative.
4. A preliminary Weight and Balance Impact Assessment.
5. A detailed Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) mapping milestones from contract award to operational readiness, and strictly adhere to all upfit delivery deadlines as required in the
PWS."
However, the government has provided zero information on these aircraft (maintenance records, configuration information, LOPA, no weight and balance information, etc.). This renders this request impossible. Will the government provide maintenance records, weight and balance, historical data, wiring diagrams, etc. to facilitate accurate pricing?
No. The government will not provide maintenance records, final configuration, weight and balance, historical data, and wiring diagrams prior to the award.
Aviation fuel and ground handling price varies dramatically depending on locations and going market rates. Will the government consider ground handling and fuel as an ODC cost?
No. The Government intends to award a Firm-Fixed-Price contract. Aviation fuel and routine ground handling shall remain fully burdened into the Comprehensive Flight Hour Rate (U-01) as defined in
Exhibit A.
92 If the government only requires two pilots, why does the aircraft need a crew rest area?
Three Pilots (2 Captains/ 1 First Officer) and three Flight Attendants (2 Standard Crew/ 1
Augmentee) are required.
To provide a continuous airworthiness maintenance program, we need to the airworthiness records and maintenance logs of each aircraft. Will the government provide this information?
What CAMP air engines and airframe programs are the aircraft currently on?
Aircraft maintenance records will be provided after award.
These aircraft were formerly Southwest Airlines aircraft with minimal food preparation configuration, i.e. ovens, meal prep, refrigerator, etc. Is it the government's intent to refurbish the galley to support VIP movements?
The Government has not established Configuration specifications.
Has the government purchased any parts or support equipment for these four aircraft?
Under what CLIN does the government desire a spare parts inventory to be purchased?
No. The government has not purchased any parts or support equipment.
Parts consumed will be charged against the applicable CLIN under which the service was performed.
The government has not provided any transition CLIN to cover the cost of starting up this program. How does the government intend to cover the cost of startup?
The aircraft are required to be airworthy at completion of current maintenance activities. PWS will be updated to discuss inspections, minor maintenance and up to 7 hours of operations per aircraft to transfer to alternate MRO facility.
Not all aircraft can support forward air stair installation and/or auxiliary fuel tank installation. Can the government confirm that these aircraft can support these modifications?
The government cannot confirm that all of the aircraft can support these modifications.
Will the government provide all registration and serial numbers for all aircraft?
Is there a technical library with historical records of each tail number A/C?
No, the government will not provide registration and serial numbers. Aircraft records will be provided after award.
99 Can the government provide a specific description of each pricing CLIN?
Specific descriptions of each pricing CLIN and their associated billing mechanisms are fully detailed in Section B.1 Contract Pricing of the RFP, as well as Exhibit A (Scheduled O&M Catalog) and Exhibit
B (Unscheduled Maintenance Catalog & Complexity Tiers).
File details come from the government source that posted it. Updated .