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Last Updated 03/20/03 07:30 PM

Applications and Renewals: 

Apoyo Aereo - Mexican Taxi Renewal

Santa Barbara - Venezuela-US Renewal

Answers and Replies: 

Alaska / American - Motion for Leave to File and Reply of Alaska (Los Angeles-Guadalajara)

American and British Airways - Affidavits for Counsel to American/ British Airways/ Northwest

Birdy - Amendment to Application (Wet-Lease with SN Brussels / Codeshare for American) 

Cool Tours - Response to Additional Information Request

CRS - Comments of Travel Agents

Delta, Northwest, and Continental - Comments

Notices of Action Taken:

American - US-Spain Codeshare with Iberia Renewal

American Trans - US-Mexico Renewal

Mesa - US-Mexico

UPS - US-Venezuela Renewal

United - US-Mexico

US Airways - US-Mexico

Notices and Orders:

None

Alaska Airlines, Inc. / American Airlines, Inc.

Although American acknowledges that Alaska's proposed year-round service constitutes a more attractive service proposal than American's seasonal proposal, American attempts to create doubt with respect to Alaska's intention to being service in the Los Angeles-Guadalajara market this summer.  Alaska fully intends to being daily nonstop Los Angeles-Guadalajara service on July 10, 2003.

American overreaches in suggesting that Alaska's request for inclusion of the department's usual ninety-day dormancy provision signals a retreat from Alaska's plan to commence daily service.  Alaska is only requesting that the Department apply to Alaska the very same dormancy provision that has been applied uniformly since 1988 to all U.S. carriers, including American, awarded U.S.-Mexico operating authority.  The twofold purpose of that condition is to (i) ensure that a minor interruption in service does not result in a surrender of route authority; and (ii) that carriers be afforded a reasonable measure of operating flexibility to accommodate unforeseen developments.

Since Alaska submitted its exemption application, Alaska has been working to refine its service proposal and has made inquiries in Mexico to determine the availability of groundhandling and other services at Guadalajara as well as the likely amount of time required to obtain all necessary Mexican Government approvals. Alaska has now determined, after these inquiries, that it will begin daily year-round nonstop service between Los Angeles and Guadalajara on July 10, 2003. While this is slightly later than Alaska had initially hoped, Alaska will operate daily service during virtually the entire July-August period American proposes to serve, and will continue daily service beyond August 31 when American would suspend service. The public benefits resulting from Alaska's service thus clearly exceed those associated with American's proposal and the Department should grant Alaska's application as promptly as possible

Counsel: Squire Sanders, Marshall Sinick, 202-626-6651

Index

American Airlines, Inc.

Scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail between New York, Chicago, and San Juan, on the one hand, and Madrid, Spain, on the other. American intends to operate this service under a code-share arrangement with Iberia Lineas de Espana, S.A. American has requested the authority for an indefinite duration.

By: Paul Gretch

Index

American Airlines, Inc. and British Airways Plc

Counsel:  American, Carl Nelson, Greg Sivinski

Counsel:  American, George Nicoud

Counsel:  Daryl Libow, Don Hainbach, Paul Jasinski, James Blaney

Counsel:  Megan Rae Rosia

Index

American Trans Air, Inc.

Scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail between (1) the terminal point Chicago (Midway), Illinois, and the terminal point Cancun, Mexico; and (2) the terminal point Chicago (Midway), Illinois, and the terminal point Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The carrier requests that the Department issue the renewal in its new name, ATA Airlines, Inc. The carrier also requests a waiver of the 60-day advance filing requirement under Part 377 of the Department's regulations in order to invoke its rights to provide continuous service during the pendency of this application.

By Order 2003-3-6, the Department granted American Trans Air's request to change its name to ATA Airlines, Inc., d/b/a ATA and also authorized use of the trade name "American Trans Air."

By: Paul Gretch

Index

Apoyo Aereo, S.A. de C.V.

Counsel: Juilo Santos, 011-52-81-8319-7784

Index

Birdy Airlines N.V./S.A.

Birdy Airlines hereby submits this Amendment to its Application for Exemption Authority and for a Statement of Authorization for a long-term wet lease to SN Brussels Airlines and for a Statement of Authorization to display American Airlines' code on flights operated by Birdy Airlines on a wet lease basis for SN Brussels Airlines.  In its Application, Birdy requested exemption authority to allow it to provide scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property and mail between a point or points behind Belgium, via Belgium and intermediate points, to a point or points in the United States and beyond. Pursuant to a wet lease agreement between SN Brussels and Birdy and a codeshare agreement between SN Brussels and American Airlines, Birdy seeks operate wet lease flights between Belgium and Africa on which American Airlines will be allowed to place its designator code. Birdy therefore seeks to amend its application to request the underlying exemption authority and statements of authorization necessary to allow it to conduct its proposed operations.

Counsel: Condon Forsyth, Thomas Whalen, 202-289-0500

Index

Computer Reservation Systems - Travel Agent Comments

By: Sharolyn Clark

Cool Tours, Inc. d/b/a San Juan Aviation

Counsel: Luis Irizarry, 787-752-7621

Index

Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, and Continental Airlines

ACI-NA takes no position in the comments on the merits or deficiencies of the alliance carriers' counter-proposal. However, ACI-NA and its members are greatly concerned about the way in which the DOT proposal as well as the counter-proposal would contribute to the gradual but persistent intrusion into airport rights and responsibilities. These rights, including the rights to manage, operate and finance their airports, were carefully preserved by Congress in the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978. Nevertheless, in recent years the Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration, are increasingly undermining the ability of airport operators to make crucial decisions regarding the management and financing of their airports. The result is that airport operators have been placed in the untenable position of having the responsibility to the traveling public for the safe, efficient and financially sound operation of their airports without having the power to implement rational decisions to satisfy their important public duties.

The latest example of this unfortunate trend is DOT's cavalier treatment of contractual obligations between airports and airlines contained in the "Termination of Review Under 49 U.S.C. 41720 of Delta/ Northwest/ Continental Agreements"

Counsel: Patricia Hahn, 202-293-8500

Massport supports the Alliance Airlines' proposed alternative to the DOT ­imposed condition to the extent that it requires the release to Massport, at its request, of two Northwest gates at Boston-Logan and does not preempt contractual conditions.  In the alternative, Massport recommends that the Alliance Airlines' proposal be modified to require the surrender of Terminal E, Gates 3A and 3B. Gates 3A and 3B are contiguous to existing Massport-controlled common-use gates and common-use support facilities, and can be easily added to that inventory and reallocated for the best and most efficient use of those facilities in an effort to accommodate the excess demand for such facilities during more normal industry operational levels.  Furthermore, Gates 3A and 3B are wide-body gates. Northwest operates only one daily wide-body flight at Boston-Logan and, therefore, squanders wide­body gate capacity, a scarce resource at Boston-Logan.

By: Thomas Kinton

Galileo has a more general concern that the overall effect of the alliance arrangement will be anticompetitive. As explained below, however, Galileo has a particular concern about the proposed joint marketing arrangements and accordingly focuses these comments on language for the condition relating to joint bids. In particular, carriers that have substantial shares of the traffic in hub markets have engaged in anticompetitive conduct with respect to their CRS affiliates in an effort to increase their dominant airline position in such markets and are likely to do so in the future. These carriers have the ability to exert significant pressure on corporations and travel agencies in these markets, and they have used such pressure to disadvantage both CRS and airline competitors. In this connection, it is significant that two of the alliance carriers are owners of the Worldspan CRS, and that all three are owners of Orbitz, an on-line service that is now making airline booking services available to travel agents and corporations.

Counsel: Covington Burling, Carolyn Corwin, 202-662-6000, ccorwin@cov.com

After its review, the Department rightfully concluded that the proposed alliance is not designed to stimulate new traffic, thus benefiting consumers, but rather designed to simply capture passengers now traveling on other airlines. Just as the alliance failed to meet even a prima facie case that it merited DOT's approval on grounds that it would be in the interest of the American consumer, so too Delta's Song is equally designed not with the consumer or competition in mind, but rather the thwarting of competition and long-term harm to the consumer as its goal. Delta's own leaders have stated that Song is intended to "attack" and aggressively target low fare competition, apparently regardless of cost or expected financial losses even at a time of unprecedented economic duress.

Counsel: Robert Land, 301-279-9727, robert.land@jetblue.com

The Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority has reviewed the airlines proposed alternative language on three of the conditions contained in the Department's review of the proposed codeshare and frequent-flyer program reciprocity agreements and find them to be appropriate and acceptable.

By: Larry Cox  

The Montana Department of Transportation supports the alternative language as submitted by Delta, Northwest and Continental Airlines for the marketing agreement.

By: David Galt

If anything, the carriers' additional authorized operations should be geared toward the Department's stated goal of adding flights to smaller cities that have limited service. However, a careful review of the carriers' proposal indicates that the additional year 2 flights will almost exclusively be category II and unrestricted flights, with the vast majority being in the unrestricted category. The parties have proposed that no less than 12% of the year 2 increases be category I flights, but this is a meaningless restriction. A review of the alliance carriers' current schedules indicates that they do not even serve enough category I cities to meet the flight percentage thresholds. And, under their proposal (though buried in a footnote), the parties would be able to substitute category II for category I flights. Thus, DL-NW-CO have developed a proposal that pays lip service to the Department's concerns for small community benefits, yet results in exactly what the Department was trying to prevent-unfettered code share to large markets.

Counsel: O'Melveny Myers, Joel Burton, 202-383-5300

 Index

Mesa Airlines, Inc.

Exemption for two years under 49 U.S.C. 40109 to provide the following service:  Scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail between the terminal point Phoenix, Arizona, and the terminal point Guadalajara, Mexico. Mesa proposes to use the authority pursuant to a code share arrangement with America West Airlines, Inc., where America West will place its code on Mesa's flights in the market.

Mesa currently operates the Phoenix-Guadalajara route pursuant to a code-share arrangement with America West using 50-seat CRJ Model aircraft (relying on economic authority under Part 298 of the Department's regulations for small aircraft operations). This application is necessitated by Mesa's proposal to use 64-seat CRJ Model 700 aircraft (or larger) in the subject market.  In its supplement filed March 4, 2003, Mesa explains that its affiliate, Freedom Airlines, Inc., which recently received exemption authority to serve the Phoenix-Guadalajara market (see Notice of Action Taken dated February 26, 2003, in Docket OST-2003-14318), will use the authority on a temporary basis until Freedom's aircraft and certificate are transferred to Mesa.

By: Paul Gretch

Index

Santa Barbara Airlines, C.A.

Counsel: Lawrence Wasko, 202-862-4370

Index

United Air Lines, Inc.

OST-96-1988: Scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail between (1) the terminal point Chicago, Illinois, and the terminal point Guadalajara, Mexico; (2) the terminal point Denver, Colorado, and the terminal point Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; (3) the terminal point Denver, Colorado, and the terminal point San Jose del Cabo, Mexico; (4) the terminal point Los Angeles, California, and the terminal point Cancun, Mexico; (5) the terminal point San Francisco, California, and the terminal point Guadalajara, Mexico; and (6) the terminal point San Jose, California, and the terminal point Guadalajara, Mexico, for the purpose of code sharing on flights operated by Compania Mexicana de Aviacion, S.A. de C.V. (Mexicana).

OST-97-3237: (A) Scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail between (1) the terminal point Chicago, Illinois, and the terminal point Morelia, Mexico; (2) the terminal point San Francisco, California, and the terminal point Morelia, Mexico; (3) the terminal point Chicago, Illinois, and the terminal point Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; (4) the terminal point Los Angeles, California, and the terminal point San Jose del Cabo, Mexico; (5) the terminal point Los Angeles, California, and the terminal point Guadalajara, Mexico; (6) the terminal point Miami, Florida, and the terminal point Cancun, Mexico; (7) the terminal point New York, New York/Newark, New Jersey, and the terminal point Mexico City, Mexico; (8) the terminal point Oakland, California, and the terminal point Guadalajara, Mexico; and (9) the terminal point San Antonio, Texas, and the terminal point Mexico City, Mexico, for the purpose of code sharing on flights operated by Mexicana. (B) Scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail between points in the United States, on the one hand, and points within Mexico beyond United's authorized Mexican gateway points, on the other hand, for the purpose of blind-sector code-sharing services between the Mexican gateway points and other points within Mexico on services operated by either United or Mexicana.

By: Paul Gretch

Exemption for two years under 49 U.S.C. 40109 to provide the following service: Scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail between (1) the terminal point Boston, Massachusetts, and the terminal point Cancun, Mexico; (2) the terminal point Charlotte, North Carolina, and the terminal point Cancun, Mexico; (3) the terminal point Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the terminal point Cancun, Mexico; (4) the terminal point Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the terminal point Cancun, Mexico; (5) the terminal point Charlotte, North Carolina, and the terminal point Cozumel, Mexico; (6) the terminal point Charlotte, North Carolina, and the terminal point Mexico City, Mexico; and (7) the terminal point Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the terminal point Mexico City, Mexico. United proposes to use the requested authority to provide code sharing services on US Airways' flights. United proposes to begin services in the U.S: Cancun/Cozumel markets beginning April 3, 2003, and the U.S: Mexico City markets beginning October 1, 2003.

By: Paul Gretch

Index

United Parcel Service Co.

Scheduled foreign air transportation of property and mail between (1) Miami, Florida, the intermediate point San Juan, Puerto Rico. and Caracas. Venezuela: and (2) Miami, Florida, and the coterminal points Valencia and Maracaibo, Venezuela.  The route integration authority granted UPS is subject to the condition that any service provided under this exemption shall be consistent with all applicable agreements between the United States and the foreign countries involved.  The aviation agreement between the United States and Venezuela does not provide for coterminalization of Caracas and Maracaibo, These points may only be served as separate terminal points.

By: Paul Gretch

Index

US Airways, Inc.

Exemption for two years under 49 U.S.C. 40109 to provide the following service: Scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail between (1) the terminal point Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the terminal point Mexico City, Mexico; and (2) the terminal point Charlotte, North Carolina, and the terminal point Mexico City, Mexico.

By: Paul Gretch

Index

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