DOT ATTACHMENT


On December 17, 1997, the Mexican Government extended the approval of the Northwest Airlines/Alaska Airlines code-share arrangement for an additional six months. Given that the authorization of the Northwest/Alaska code-share services continues to be short-term in nature, we have limited our approval of the codeshare services authorized here for a period of 179 days, consistent with the short-term approval of the Northwest/Alaska services by Mexican authorities. We have dismissed the balance of the request for longer-term authority. Because the authority granted here is for a period of less than 180 days, APA rights will not apply. The dismissal is without prejudice to the carriers filing for extension of the authorizations at the appropriate time. Should the carriers file for extension, we will consider such request in the context of the Mexican Government's position with respect to the continued approval of the Northwest/Alaska code-share arrangement.

The code-share operations authorized here are subject to the condition that the foreign air transportation be sold in the name of the carrier holding out service in computer reservation systems and elsewhere, that the carrier selling such transportation accept all obligations established in the contract of carrier with the passenger (ie., the ticket), and that where applicable the operator shall not permit the code of its U.S. code-sharing partner to be carried on any flight that enters, departs, or transits the airspace of any area for whose air space the Federal Aviation Administration has issued a flight prohibition.

Authorization of the code-share services may be withdrawn in any U.S.-Mexico city-pair market where another U.S. carrier proposes to operate services with its own aircraft (direct carrier services) and (1) additional designations are not available to authorize the proposed direct carrier service; and (2) the Department determines that the proposed direct carrier services would provide benefits and service options superior to the code-share operations in the market.