Vendor Questions (FA487720R0035).pdf

Solicitation FA4877‐20‐R‐0035; Vendor Questions

1) Question: PWS section 4.1.2, states vendors are required to be both Commercial Airlift Review Board (CARB) certified IAW DoDI 4500.53 and be listed on the U.S. Air Mobility Command (AMC) Paratroop Commercial Operator Listing. As vendors listed under the Paratroop Commercial Operators are not evaluated/accredited by the AMC CARB, the vendor listing is only approved by the USSOCOM J-31. To compliant with the solicitation, are vendors required to be both AMC CARB accredited and USSOCOM J-31 approved to engaging in parachute operations and/or training?

Answer: Para 4.1.2. of the PWS states “The contractor shall be Department of Defense (DoD) approved commercial operators to include aircraft certifications and licenses in accordance with Department of Defense Instruction (DoDI) 4500.53, DoD Commercial Air Transportation Quality and Safety Review Program, and listed on the Paratroop Commercial Operator Listing” .The Government does not require the contractor to be CARB certified as transportation is not required.

Contractors must however be listed in the U.S. Air Mobility Command (AMC) Paratroop Commercial Operator Listing for the jump training portion of the service.

2) Question: Within PWS aircraft requirements, section 4.4.1, states type of aircraft shall possess U.S.

Air Mobility Command (AMC) approval to include aircrew certifications and licenses. Only vendors aircraft that maintain FAA Part-135 aircraft certification leading to AMC CARB accreditation/approval can meet this requirement. Are vendors proposed aircraft required to be listed on their FAA-Part-135 certificate with the vendor’s aircraft to be AMC CARB accredited to meet this AMC aircraft approval level?

Answer: We don’t require or want FAA Part-135. We don’t need transport we just need Air support for airborne operations in the area. Rescue Squadrons require only FAA Part 91 requirements, although the Vendor must be able to present applicable FAA licenses for their pilots upon request.

3) Question: Within PWS section 4.4.11, it states aircraft must have a side door suitable for spotting.

Side door must be capable of opening and closing during flight. Is a vendor’s proposed aircraft that has a rear powered ramp with in-flight adjustable angle capacity for spotting acceptable?

Answer: Military Freefall Jumpmaster course mandates a side door for student training and a RAMP aircraft does not meet the requirements IAW Military Freefall Course Syllabus. Also, for safety considerations a Side Door with the ability to open/close during flight is a safety concern.

4) Question: Within PWS section 3.3, it states any repositioning time shall be separate from the total cost per hour; individual line items will be used for repositioning during the contract period of performance. PWS section 4.8, states the cost of the contractor's lodging and per diem and the cost of aircraft movement to and from the staging location shall be included in the contract price. To be compliant in a vendor’s pricing proposal, please confirm that the flight hours include the contractor's lodging and per diem costs for the duration of the task order performance period and any aircraft repositioning costs will be captured within the pricing schedule under CLINs 0003, 0004 and related option year CLINs?

Answer: The CLINs titled Scheduled Arizona/Oregon Airlift Support Hours should consist of the pricing for performing service during the period of performance (ex: 18 – 20 Aug) for each training.

Per 4.8. This pricing should include the cost of the aircraft and aircrew to include per diem and lodging while performance takes place at each location.

The CLINs titled Arizona/Oregon Relocation Costs shall include all costs associated with repositioning the plane from the home airfield to the performance airfield and back to the home airfield. This pricing should include all costs associated with the aircraft and aircrew (per diem and lodging if applicable).

The government intends to award each task order with 1 each relocation cost plus the number of blade hours requested on a separate CLIN. For example, if the government plans to complete 30 blade hours of service in Portland, Oregon in September of 2020 the selected vendor would get a task order with the following CLIN structure:

CLIN 0002 –Scheduled Oregon Airlift Support Flight Hours – 30 Hour at proposed price per blade hour.

CLIN 0004 – Oregon Relocation Cost – 1 Each at price for relocation (covers both trip to and from Oregon)

5) Reference: The solicitation instructions for pricing state to submit one (1) copy of price schedule.

In addition, submit pricing for Attachment 2 - Sample Schedule. The submitted pricing will be utilized to determine the total evaluated price for each proposal. The solicitation evaluation criteria for pricing states the Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all ordering periods to the total price for the basic requirement.

Question-4: Please identify which submitted pricing will be utilized to determine the total evaluated price for each proposal.

Answer: Per section M - Evaluation Factors for award of the solicitation, the pricing in Attachment 2 – ‘Sample Schedule’ will be utilized to determine the total evaluated price. This is approximately the correct breakdown of anticipated contract hours and locations over a 3 month period. Utilizing this as the total evaluated price will help ensure the government is getting the best price for their actual needs.

The price schedule will be referenced to ensure the pricing matches the sample schedule.

Additionally, the CLINs in the price schedule will be analyzed to ensure that the vendor is not unreasonably inflating prices in each out year to recoup buy-in pricing in the first year. If this is found a proposal may be considered unacceptable as the price cannot be determined fair and reasonable.

Question-1: How is a vendor required to propose compliant pricing under the multiple CLIN structure identified on page 3 and 4 within the solicitation?

Answer: The vendors shall propose a price per blade hour for each CLIN titled Scheduled Arizona/Oregon Airlift Support Flight. This CLIN will only be for the hours/days in support of military operations.

In addition, the vendors shall propose one (1) lump sum price for each CLIN titled Arizona/Oregon Relocation Cost. This CLIN shall include all costs associated with transporting the plane and aircrew from their home airfield to the airfield where services will be rendered as well as the return to their home airfield.

Question-2: Are vendors to propose pricing in both the price schedule on page 3 and 4 based on the maximum 1,600 Blade hours spread over all CLINs and the Attachment 2 - Sample Schedule?

Answer: The government will not direct the contractor to propose based on any set amount of hours.

The sample schedule is an anticipated airlift support needs over August, September, and October.

However, due to the inherit unpredictability of military training requirements, deployment cycles, manning, etc. hours cannot be predicted over the entirety of the contract. The contractor is encouraged to do their own due diligence on historic utilization of airlift services by 355 CONS and make their own risk based assessment on how to price each CLIN.

Question-3: Are vendors to propose pricing in the price schedule on page 3 and 4 based on the quantities identified within Attachment 2 - Sample Schedule?

See answer to Question 2 above.