Order 970938

OST Filings by Docket Number

American Airlines, Inc. and Aero California, S.A. de C.V. / United Air Lines, Inc. and Compania Mexicana de Aviacion, S.A de C.V. / Delta Air Lines, Inc. and Aerovias de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. / Northwest Airlines, Inc. / American Airlines, Inc. / United Air Lines, Inc.

Final Order and Order on Reconsideration

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By this order we make final our tentative decision in Order 97-7-31, issued July 29, 1997, to condition all existing and future U.S.-Mexico code-share authorities to establish a rebuttable presumption in favor of replacing code-share services with direct air carrier services in a given city-pair market. Further, upon reconsideration, we affirm our decision in Order 97-7-31 to defer action on certain portions of the American/Aero California applications.

It has been our longstanding policy to grant authority only in cases where the route rights are available under the bilateral agreement between the United States and the country involved or where we have assurance from the country involved that it is prepared to approve the proposed operations on an extrabilateral basis. Furthermore, because of the limited-entry nature of the U.S.-Mexico market, along with the dormancy provisions attached to all U.S.-Mexico route authority, we have awarded U. S.-Mexico authority only in markets where carriers have firm plans for service. Consistent with these policies, we granted the applications of American and Aero California only in markets where the authority was available under the U.S.-Mexico aviation agreement and where Aero California held the requisite authority and corresponding Mexican Government designation. No party has presented any persuasive reason to deviate from those polices here.

By: Charles Hunnicutt