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OST-00-6955

Transportes Aereos Mercantiles Panamericanos, S.A. (TAMPA)

The U.S.-Colombia Air Transport Agreement provides for service between Miami and Colombia via intermediate points. TAMPA holds exemption authority to serve Caracas, Venezuela, and now seeks to add Panama as only its second U.S.-Colombia intermediate point.  Tampa has been serving the Panama market from Colombia for several years, and has strong commercial and economic ties with Panamanian shippers. Tampa intends to enter into a blocked-space agreement with COPA, a Panamanian air carrier, on the Miami-Panama portion of the flight. The remainder of the cargo will be utilized by TAMPA for its U.S.-Colombia cargo operations.

Counsel:  Winthrop Stimson, John Gillick, 202.775.9800, gillickj@winstim.com

Transportes Aereos Mercantiles Panamericanos, S.A. (TAMPA)

In an attempt to establish that comity and reciprocity exists in the U.S.-Colombia market, TAMPA points to the Colombian Government's approval of two U.S. carriers which have been authorized to serve Colombia via the intermediate point Panama, the same routing sought by TAMPA herein. However, the fact that 2 U.S. carriers have been authorized by the Government of Colombia to operate in one particular market, Panama, does not alter the fact that overall substantial comity and reciprocity cannot be said to exist, and has not existed for some time. Further, attempting to isolate a single intermediate point, Panama, and declaring then U.S.-Colombia comity and reciprocity exists on that sole basis, completely the ignores the overall lack of comity and reciprocity and the long-standing, continuing problems faced by U.S. carriers seeking to exercise their bilaterally-authorized rights. The Government should not be permitted to pick and choose which intermediate points U.S. carriers are apparently permitted to serve or how commercially choose to serve them. In consideration of TAMPA's application, the Department should therefore at a very minimum, await the outcome of the upcoming (March 13-14, 2000) resumed negotiations with Colombia where hopefully, these triangular routing, reciprocity and other issues will, once again, be discussed and hopefully this time favorably resolved. Until these issues are satisfactorily resolved, the Department should defer action on the application herein.

Counsel:  Pierre Murphy, 202.872.1679, pmurphy@lopmurphy.com

Polar supports expansion of U.S.-Colombia service and the further liberalization of the U.S.-Colombia bilateral aviation agreement. It is important, however, that Polar's application for Miami-Bogota all-cargo exemption authority pending in Docket OST-98-3939 be granted no later than TAMPA's application, and that the government of Colombia provide an assurance of routing flexibility so that carriers may develop their Miami-Bogota services with competitive parity.

Counsel:  Wilmer Cutler, Jeffery Manley, 202.663.6670, jmanley@wilmer.com

Transportes Aereos Mercantiles Panamericanos, S.A. (TAMPA)

Answers were filed by Fine Air Services, Inc. and Polar Air Cargo. Fine contends that "overall substantial comity and reciprocity" is lacking in the U.S.-Colombia market and, therefore, the Department should defer action on TAMPA’s application until the conclusion of the U.S.-Colombia bilateral talks scheduled for March 13-14, 2000.  Polar does not object to TAMPA’s application provided the Department also grant its pending application for Miami-Bogota all-cargo authority and that "assurance of routing flexibility" is provided by the Colombian government.

Counsel:  Winthrop Stimson, John Gillick, 202.775.9800, gillickj@winstim.com

Transportes Aereos Mercantiles Panamericanos, S.A. (TAMPA)

Counsel:  Wilmer Cutler, Jeffery Manley, 202.663.6670, jmanley@wilmer.com

Transportes Aereos Mercantiles Panamericanos, S.A. (TAMPA)

OST-99-6593, filed December 2, 1999: Exemption from 49 U.S.C. 41301 to conduct scheduled foreign air transportation of property and mail between Colombia, via the intermediate point Valencia, Venezuela, and Miami. OST-2000-6955, filed February 7, 2000: Exemption from 49 U.S.C. 41301 to conduct scheduled foreign air transportation of property and mail over a Colombia-Miami-Panama-Colombia routing.

Fine Air Services, Inc., and Polar Air Cargo, Inc., filed answers to both applications; Arrow Air, Inc., filed an answer in Docket OST-99-6593 only. TAMPA filed replies. All of the U.S. carrier submissions raised concerns about whether the Colombian authorities would permit the U.S. carrier in question to perform certain operations or fly certain routings described as comparable to those at issue here. In its replies, TAMPA stated that the authority it seeks is consistent with the provisions of the U.S.-Colombia bilateral agreement and that Colombia has authorized analogous requests by U.S. carriers. These submissions were all filed prior to our most recent round of U.S.-Colombia aviation negotiations, held March 13-14, 2000. At these negotiations, the U.S. delegation raised the various U.S. carrier concerns and received assurances from the Colombians that the types of authorizations sought would be forthcoming. Following these negotiations, Polar submitted a further pleading stating that it did not oppose a four-month grant of authority to see whether Colombia would accord reciprocal treatment to U.S.-carrier requests for route authority comparable to that sought here.

The authority is provided for in the U.S.-Colombia Air Transport Agreement. While we are sensitive to the U.S. carrier concerns, we concluded, taking into account the assurances we received at the March 13-14 consultations, that withholding the authority requested by TAMPA would not be consistent with the public interest. We note that while we have granted the authority for a longer duration than that proposed by Polar, we reserve the right, should circumstances warrant, to amend, modify or revoke grant of this authority at any time and without hearing.

Effective dates of authority granted: May 26, 2000 - May 26, 2001

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