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OST Docket Filings for February 26, 2008
Updated:
| Applications and Renewals:
Air One - Milan-Boston/Chicago Antonov Airlines - Moffett Field-NASA Shuttle Landing Facility - Emergency Exemption Copa and KLM - Panama City-San Juan Codesharing Delta and Alitalia - Additional Codesharing (Delta's Italy Gateways-Verona/Vienna/Third Countries) Pinnacle Airlines - US-Open Skies Countries Certificate Answers and Replies: 2008 Los Angeles-San Jose del Cabo Proceeding - Answers of Delta, United and Virgin America American, Iberia, Finnair, Malev and Royal Jordanian - Certification Letters of Malev and Royal Jordanian and Confidential Documents of Iberia Reciprocity Confirmations - Confirmation of Portuguese National Institute of Civil Aviation Taga Air Charter - DOT Request for Additional Information (Commuter Authority - Northern Mariana Islands-Guam) Notices of Action Taken: Air New Zealand - Los Angeles-Heathrow Codeshare with bmi Brit Air, CityJet and Northwest - Blanket Codesharing SAP - Dominican Republic-US Permit Renewal Notices and Orders: Aeroflot-Cargo - Granting Exemption and to Show Cause (Russia-US All-Cargo) Gulfstream Air Charter - Canceling Commuter Authority Pullmantur - Granting Exemption and to Show Cause (Spain-US Passenger Charters) |
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2008 Los Angeles-San Jose del Cabo Exemption Proceeding
February 26, 2008 Answer of Delta Air Lines - Bookmarked Delta hereby answers (i) in support of its Application for an exemption and designation authorizing it to serve the Los Angeles–San Jose del Cabo route, and (ii) in opposition to the applications of United Air Lines, Inc. and Virgin America, Inc. for that same authority. United is submitting a proposal that would dramatically increase the annual frequencies it operates with double-daily service during a shorter (June-August) peak season, and daily service during the remainder of the year. Given United’s harsh criticism of Delta in the 2006 proceeding for the alleged “inconsistencies between Delta proposals here and its actions in other similar markets,” the irony of United’s new fictitious proposal is palpable. In 2006, the Department awarded this valuable third designation for Los Angeles-San Jose del Cabo service to Frontier Airlines, a new entrant and self-proclaimed low-cost carrier, with little experience or presence in Los Angeles. See DOT Order 2006-6-25. Delta was awarded back-up authority over United and Continental Express. Within 18 months of the award, Frontier announced it was withdrawing from the route entirely. That outcome is not surprising given the level of competition in the market and Frontier’s lack of experience and presence at Los Angeles and in Mexico. The Department should not commit the same mistake again by awarding this designation to another so-called “new entrant” that has limited presence at Los Angeles and no international experience, much less experience in operating Los Angeles-Mexico service. Counsel: Hogan & Hartson, Robert Cohn, 202-637-4999, recohn@hhlaw.com
OST-2008-0056 February 26, 2008 Answer of United Air Lines - Bookmarked Delta's proposal to institute daily service in the LAX-SJD market also suffers by comparison to United's in three important respects: (1) Delta would provide fewer annual and peak season seats than United; (2) Delta does not have a hub at LAX, so it can offer fewer network connections than United; and (3) an award to Delta would worsen, rather than improve, the competitive structure of U.S.-Mexico air travel markets. Outside the summer travel season, Delta would provide somewhat more seats per day than United if it carries through on its proposal to use a B757 aircraft on this route. That proposal, however, should be viewed with considerable skepticism -- because Delta has no hub at LAX, and it uses smaller aircraft to offer service to all of the 14 other points in Mexico to which it currently holds out service from Los Angeles. In a limited-entry market like LAX-SJD, seating capacity is a key consideration, and there is no contest between United and Virgin America on this score. United will offer over 34,000 more annual seats than Virgin America. And the capacity advantage would be especially marked during the summer months, when United (with its two conveniently timed daily flights) will offer more than twice as many seats per day as Virgin America to meet the summer spike in demand. By offering far greater capacity, United would do more to promote competition in this limited-entry market and would better ensure that public benefits will be maximized through the award of this additional designation. With its LAX hub, United also has a far more extensive connecting network at Los Angeles than Virgin America. Counsel: Wilmer Hale, Bruce Rabinovitz, 202-663-6960, bruce.rabinovitz@wilmerhale.com
February 26, 2008 Consolidated Answer of Virgin America - Bookmarked This proceeding presents the Department with a unique opportunity to select one new-entrant, low-cost carrier, Virgin America, to replace another, Frontier Airlines, in the Los Angeles-San Jose del Cabo market. In this proceeding, as well as the one in which Frontier was selected, the Department stated its objective for awarding this limited-entry route opportunity would be to maximize public benefits. More specifically, the Department would determine which applicant would be most likely to offer and maintain the best service for the traveling and shipping public, and how the service offered would affect the overall competitive environment, including the market structure and the level of competition in the U.S.-Mexico market. The record demonstrates that the high-quality, low-cost, low-fare, competitive service proposed by Virgin America will maximize the public benefits from this award. Indeed, Virgin America believes that its proposal is superior to the service proposed by Frontier. This is so because Virgin America’s proposal, unlike the proposals put forward by Delta and United, will provide beneficial service options, will lower fares and will offer convenient connecting possibilities for the benefit of the traveling and shipping public to and from Los Angeles, thereby resulting in demonstrable competitive and market structure benefits in several U.S.-Mexico markets where Virgin America’s new service will have an impact. Counsel: Virgin America, David Pfleiger, 650-762-7115, Dave.Pflieger@VirginAmerica.com
OST-2008-0011 - Statement of Authorization - Los Angeles-Heathrow Codeshare with bmi Filed January 8, 2008 | Approved February 26, 2008 Department Action on Application Application of Air New Zealand Limited for Statement of Authorization pursuant to 14 CFR Part 212 to allow it to display the designator code of British Midland Airways Limited for the carriage of passengers between Los Angeles and London Heathrow on Air New Zealand's scheduled services. The parties intend to begin code-share operations on March 30, 2008. In Order 2007-9-24, issued September 25, 2007, we granted bmi exemption authority to conduct expanded operations, including those at issue here, under the terms of the U.S.-EU Air Transport Agreement. This authority allows bmi to commence operations over these expanded routes effective March 30, 2008 (the date for provisional application of the U.S.-EU Agreement), and authorized it to accept payments and issue tickets for these services effective September 25, 2007. By: Thuy Cooper OST-2008-0073 - Exemption - Milan-Boston/Chicago February 25, 2008 Air One seeks exemption authority to provide service between Milan and Boston (five flights a week, commencing on June 14, 2008), and Milan and Chicago (six flights a week, commencing on June 21, 2008). Continuing service to points within the United States will be offered beyond Boston through US Airways and beyond Chicago through United Airlines, both Air One codeshare partners. Through this arrangement, Boston flights will continue to Washington DC, Philadelphia, and Phoenix, and Chicago flights will continue to Denver, Los Angeles and Seattle. By Notice of Action Taken dated November 30, 2005, in docket OST-2005-22809, Air One was granted an exemption and statement of authorization for codeshare operations under which US Airways would place its designator code on flights operated by Air One within Italy. Air One will shortly apply for expanded codeshare authority that would allow it to place its designator code on US Airways flights within the United States. An application for a statement of authorization for the Air One/ United codeshare, to allow each party to put its designator code on flights operated by the other party, was filed on December 31, 2007, and is currently pending in docket OST 2008-0001. Air One will provide required notice of the addition of the Chicago-Denver/Los Angeles/Seattle routes as these city pairs were not noted in the initial application. Counsel: Sher & Blackwell, Mark Atwood American Airlines, Inc., Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana, S.A., Finnair OYJ, Malev Hungarian Airlines and Royal Jordanian Airlines OST-2007-28845 - Antitrust Immunity
February 21, 2008 Re: Certification of Malev - Nemesne Kane Aniko Counsel: Condon & Forsyth, John Maggio, 212-894-6792, jmaggio@condonlaw.com
February 25, 2008 Re: Certification of Royal Jordanian - Guido Ruther Counsel: Condon & Forsyth, John Maggio, 212-894-6792, jmaggio@condonlaw.com
February 25, 2008 Re: Confidential Documents and Index of Iberia The enclosed confidential document supplements Iberia's February 21, 2008 submission of confidential documents in response to Order 2007-11-12. It is being filed under seal pursuant to the joint motion of the applicants for confidential treatment under 14 C.F.R. 302.12, which was filed with the Department on February 21, 2008. Electronic versions of this letter and the revised Iberia Index of Confidential Documents are today being filed in the public record and served on those persons shown on the Certificate of Service attached to the Joint Motion. Counsel: Steptoe & Johnson, Carol Gosain, 202-429-6461, cgosain@steptoe.com OST-2008-0071 - Emergency Exemption - Moffett Field-NASA Shuttle Landing Facility February 25, 2008 Application for an Emergency Exemption Antonov Design Bureau, trading as Antonov Airlines hereby applies for an emergency exemption pursuant to 49 U.S.c. §§ 40109(g) and 41703(c), to permit Antonov to operate a single one-way all-cargo charter flight transporting an outsized satellite container, plus ancillary equipment, from Moffett Field, California, to NASA Shuttle Landing Facility, Florida, on or about February 27/28, 2008, using its AN-124-100 aircraft. The flight is presently scheduled to depart Moffett Field on the evening of February 27 and to arrive at the Shuttle Landing Facility the next morning. However, Antonov requests that the emergency exemption remain in effect from February 27 through March 3, 2008, to account for any unforeseen delays. Three Way, Inc., a logistics company acting on behalf of Space Systems Loral has requested that Antonov operate a flight from Moffett Field, California, to the NASA Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, transporting an outsized commercial satellite, with associated support equipment, for a subsequent launch from KSC. The satellite, as fitted in its container measures approximately 59' x 15'10" x 12'3" and the cargo weighs approximately 65,000 lbs. in total. Cargo of this size cannot be accommodated by any freighter aircraft operated by U.S. carriers. Moreover, due to the highly delicate nature of the satellite and its extremely high value, SS/L cannot risk moving this cargo via surface transportation. As a result, the satellite container needs to be transported using Antonov's AN-124-100 aircraft. Counsel: Hogan & Hartson, Sheryl Israel, 202-637-8898 Brit Air, CityJet Limited and Northwest Airlines, Inc. OST-2007-0107 - Exemption and Statement of Authorization - Blanket Codesharing Filed December 12, 2007 | Issued February 25, 2008 Exemptions under 49 USC §40109 and statements of authorization pursuant to 14 CFR 212 of the Department’s regulations to permit Brit Air and CityJet to display the airline designator code of Northwest over the intra-European city-pair segments on which Brit Air and CityJet operate flights for Société Air France. The Joint Applicants also request consolidation of these applications in Docket OST-2007-0107 into Docket OST-2004-19214, the Docket established by the Department for the administration of the grant of the blanket statements of authorization to engage in reciprocal code sharing issued to Northwest and Air France. Brit Air and CityJet will not sell seats in their names for travel to or from the United States and will not operate their aircraft to any U.S. points. By: Paul Gretch
Order 2008-2-31 Issued and Served February 26, 2008 Order Granting Exemption and to Show Cause We exempt CJSC Aeroflot-Cargo from the provisions of 49 U.S.C. §41301 to the extent necessary to permit it to engage in scheduled foreign air transportation of property and mail between: 1) Khabarovsk, Russia, and the coterminal points Anchorage, Alaska, and Chicago, Illinois; 2) Khabarovsk, Russia, and the coterminal points Anchorage, Alaska, and New York, New York; and 3) Khabarovsk, Russia, and Seattle, Washington. We also exempt CJSC Aeroflot-Cargo from the provisions of 49 U.S.C. §41301 to the extent necessary to permit it to engage in charter foreign air transportation of property and mail between any point or points in the Russian Federation and any point or points in the United States, and other charters in accordance with 14 CFR Part 212. To the extent not acted upon above, we dismiss all requests for relief in Docket OST-2007-0072. The charter authority we are granting CJSC Aeroflot-Cargo is consistent with that we have granted other foreign air carriers of the Russian Federation. See, e.g. Order 2007-11-2. With respect to the applicant’s request for a foreign air carrier permit in this proceeding, we direct all interested persons to show cause why our tentative decision on that application, set forth above, should not be made final. Any interested person objecting to the issuance of an order making final our tentative findings and conclusions with respect to the applicant’s request for a foreign air carrier permit shall, no later than twenty-one calendar days after the date of service of this order, file with the Department. By: Paul Gretch Compania Panamena de Aviacion, S.A. and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, N.V. OST-2008-0070 - Statement of Authorization - Panama City-San Juan Codesharing February 22, 2008 Joint Application for a Statement of Authorization Under the arrangement proposed herein, Copa will carry KLM's code on its nonstop flights between Panama City and San Juan., which will connect to KLM's flights between Panama City and the Netherlands. While KLM will hold out single carrier service between San Juan and the Netherlands, it will not hold out or sell single carrier service between San Juan and Panama City. Similarly, since KLM will carry Copa's code between Panama City and the Netherlands, Copa will hold out and sell single carrier service between San Juan and the Netherlands via Panama City. As part of the arrangement, KLM will display Copa's code on KLM flights between Panama City and the Netherlands, for which KLM does not require a Statement of Authorization. Copa holds authority to engage in foreign air transportation of persons, property and mail from points behind the Republic of Panama via the Republic of Panama and intermediate points to a point or points in the United Stated and beyond (Notice of Action Taken in OST-1997-2675, dated February 19, 1998). Copa operates two daily nonstop round trips between Panama City and San Juan, and may serve points behind Panama City, such as the Netherlands, which would permit the operation of Netherlands-Panama City-San Juan service. Counsel: Mietus Law, William Evans, 202-747-5212, bill@mietuslaw.com for Copa / Paul Mifsud, 202-861-5867, pmifsudklm@earthlink.net for KLM Delta Air Lines, Inc., Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Inc. and Comair, Inc. and Alitalia-Linee Aeree Italiane-S.p.A. and Alitalia Express S.p.A. OST-2001-10417 - Blanket Statements of Authorization - US-Italy Codeshare February 22, 2008 Notice of Additional Codesharing Delta Air Lines, Inc., Alitalia-Linee Aeree Italiane-S.p.A. and Alitalia Express S.p.A. hereby notify the Department that the carriers plan to display Delta's designator code: a) on flights between Delta's gateways in Italy, on the one hand, and Verona, Italy, and Vienna, Austria, on the other hand, operated by Alitalia, Alitalia Express, or both; and b) on flights between Delta's gateways in Italy, on the one hand, and points in Italy and third countries for which notice has previously been given, on the other hand, with the flexibility for the operating carrier to be Alitalia, Alitalia Express, or both, and for the flights to operate via any Delta gateway in Italy. Such flexibility is consistent with DOT precedent in similar codesharing dockets involving multiple international gateways and affiliated carriers. See, e.g., Delta/Air France/Brit Air/City Jet/Regional, Docket OST-2000-6939. Counsel: Zuckert Scoutt, Richard Mathias, 202-298-8660 for Alitalia / Hogan & Hartson, Robert Cohn, 202-637-4999 for Delta Order 2008-2-29 Issued and Served February 25, 2008 Order Canceling Commuter Authority By Order 2005-12-14, issued December 23, 2005, the Department found GAC fit, willing, and able to conduct scheduled passenger operations as a commuter air carrier and issued to it a Commuter Air Carrier Authorization. By Order 2006-2-13, issued February 17, 2006, the Department confirmed its oral action of February 7, 2006, making the commuter authority issued to GAC effective on that date. On February 22, 2007, GAC submitted an application requesting that the Department approve a change in the air carriers name from "Gulfstream Air Charter, Inc." to "Gulfstream Connection, Inc." and reissue its commuter Authorization to reflect its new corporate name. By letter dated March 13,2007, the Department notified the air carrier that we could not process GAC's request until certain issues, namely GAC's operational status, were resolved. Based on the information available to us, we concluded that GAC had not commenced actual scheduled passenger operations. Section 204.7 of the Department's Aviation Economic Regulations (14 CFR 204.7) provides that, if an air carrier fails to conduct operations within one year of being found fit, or ceases conducting the operations for which it was found fit, its authority to conduct those operations is 'automatically suspended as of the date those operations ceased or as of the anniversary of the date the air carrier was found fit. We further stated that should GAC wish to commence operations, a redetermination of its fitness would have to be accomplished within one year of the date of this letter, that is, by March 13, 2008; otherwise GAC's commuter authority would be revoked for dormancy. On January 29, 2008, GAC notified the Department that it had no objections to the Department canceling its commuter authority prior to its March 13, 2008, revocation date. Under these circumstances, and in accordance with section 204.7 of our rules, we find it appropriate to revoke the Commuter Air Carrier Authorization made effective to GAC on February 7, 2006, by Order 2006-2-13. This action is without prejudice to the company's filing for new commuter authority in the future. By: Todd Homan OST-2007-0084 - Blanket Route Integration Authority and Blanket Open-Skies Certificate Authority February 25, 2008 Application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity Pinnacle Airlines, Inc. applies for a certificate of public convenience and necessity to engage in scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property and mail between (i) a point or points in the United States and a point or points in all countries with existing "Open Skies" Air Services Agreements with the United States, via intermediate points and beyond; and (ii) a point or points in the United States and a point or points in all countries that in the future become U.S. open-skies partners, via intermediate points and beyond. Pinnacle requests that all authority issued in response to this application be effective for an indefinite period. Pinnacle operates primarily scheduled service between various points in the United States as well as between points in the United States and points in Canada and Mexico, all pursuant to capacity purchase agreements with various code-share partners. Pinnacle anticipates that in the future as more open-skies agreements are reached with countries in the Caribbean and Central America, its code-share partners will request expansion of the points Pinnacle serves pursuant to these capacity purchase agreements to include additional foreign markets. The open-skies authority requested here is ideally suited to that purpose since it will maximize flexibility enabling flights to operate from less prominent foreign points of origin. Issuance of such authority would eliminate the need for multiple applications for non-controversial exemption or certificate authority, conserving the Department's and Pinnacle's time and resources. Counsel: Garofalo Goerlich, Gary Garofalo, 202-776-3970, ggarofalo@ggh-airlaw.com Order 2008-2-30 Issued and Served February 26, 2008 Order Granting Exemption and to Show Cause We grant the request of Pullmantur Air, S.A. for an amended exemption under 49 U.S.C. §40109 to permit it (1) effective on the issue date of this order, to accept payments, issue tickets, and enter into charter contracts, and (2) effective March 30, 2008, to commence flight operations, for the services set forth below: a) foreign scheduled and charter air transportation of persons, property and mail from any point or points behind any Member State of the European Union, via any point or points in any Member State and via intermediate points to any point or points in the United States and beyond; b) foreign scheduled and charter air transportation of persons, property and mail between any point or points in the United States and any point or points in any member of the European Common Aviation Area; c) foreign scheduled and charter cargo air transportation between any point or points in the United States and any point or points; d) other charters pursuant to the prior approval requirements set forth in 14 CFR Part 212 of the Department’s regulations; and e) transportation authorized by any additional route rights made available to European Community carriers in the future. To the extent not acted upon above, we dismiss the applicant’s requests for exemption authority in the referenced Dockets OST-2003-16831 and OST-2003-16832. With respect to the applicant’s request for a foreign air carrier permit in this proceeding, we direct all interested persons to show cause why our tentative decision on that application, set forth above, should not be made final. Any interested person objecting to the issuance of an order making final our tentative findings and conclusions with respect to the applicant’s request for a foreign air carrier permit shall, no later than twenty-one calendar days after the date of service of this order, file with the Department. By: Paul Gretch February 13, 2008 Re: Confirmation of Portuguese National Institute of Civil Aviation The National Institute of Civil Aviation herewith confirms that this civil aviation authority will grant, on the basis of reciprocity, to any air carrier designated by the United States of America the right to conduct third, fourth and fifth freedom non-scheduled (charter) passenger flights to/from Portugal in conformity with the Air Transport Agreement between the Portuguese Republic and the United States of America, signed in Lisbon on 30 April, 2000. By: Joao Confranria, 351-21-842-35-00 Servicios Aereos Profesionales, S.A. OST-1997-3077- Foreign Air Carrier Permit - Dominican Republic-US Filed January 28, 2008 | Issued February 26, 2008 Renew exemption from 49 U.S.C. § 41301 to engage in charter foreign air transportation of persons and property between the Dominican Republic and the United States. The applicant requests that the authority be granted for a two-year term. If renewal, date and citation of last actions: (1) August 20, 2007, in this docket, where we removed the condition on SAP’s authority limiting SAP to operations using wet-leased aircraft only, (2) March 5, 2007, in this docket, where we previously granted the underlining economic authority at issue here. By: Paul Gretch Taga Air Charter Service, Inc. OST-2006-25577 - Commuter Air Carrier Authority - Northern Mariana Islands-Guam February 22, 2008 Re: DOT Request for Additional Information
By: Air Carrier Fitness Division, Ronale Taylor |
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