Protest of Determination That Offeror Met Definitive Responsibility Criteria

A firm protested the award of a contract to a second firm under a request for proposals (RFP) issued by the Department of the Navy. Both proposals were considered to be in the competitive range, and final competition was based on price alone. The awardee was low offeror. The protester contended that the awardee did not have enough suitable hangars to house the six aircraft involved. The firm also contended that the awardee's other contractual commitments made it impossible for it to properly perform its contract. The firm had initially protested these issues before the contract was awarded, and the Navy sent a preaward evaluation team to inspect the facilities of the awardee. The team determined that the facilites were adequate to perform the specifications of the contract. It also reviewed the prior commitments of the awardee. Based on these findings, GAO concluded that the awardee did meet the definitive criteria of the RFP and that the contract was properly awarded. Accordingly, the protest was denied.