OST-95-110
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OST-95-110
Air Aruba N.V. (Exemption Renewal)
OST-96-1250, 96-1146, 95-110 | August 11, 1997
Application for Renewal and Amendment of Exemptions
Requests renewal of its exemption authority to provide scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property and mail between Aruba, via Bonaire and Curacao, and the coterminal points Miami, Florida; New York, New York (including Newark); Baltimore, Maryland; Tampa, Florida; and Houston, Texas, for a period of two years. Air Aruba also requests renewal of its authority to conduct charter flights to and from the United States under Part 212 of the Department's regulations.
Additionally, Air Aruba requests that its exemption authority be amended so that it can operate flights originating or terminating at a point or points behind Aruba via Aruba to or from a point or points in the U.S. and beyond to any point. Under its current schedule, Air Aruba operates nine weekly services between Aruba and Miami, nine weekly services between Aruba and Newark, two weekly services between Aruba and Baltimore, and five weekly services between Aruba and Tampa.
Counsel: Ginsburg Feldman, Bruce Rabinovitz, 202 637 9036
Air Aruba, N.V. (Notice of Action Taken)
OST-96-1250 | OST-96-1146 | OST-95-110 | Filed August 11, 1997 | Action Taken February 27, 1998
Exemption from 49 U.S.C. § 41301 to renew and amend existing authorities to conduct scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property and mail from points behind Aruba via Aruba and intermediate points to a point or points in the United States and beyond; charter foreign air transportation pursuant to the Air Transport Agreement between the United States and Aruba; and other charters subject to Part 212 of our rules.
Applicant Rep: Bruce Rabinovitz, 202-637-9036
Order 98-3-16 | Issued March 17, 1998 | Served March 23, 1998
Order Confirming Notices of Action Taken
By: Paul Gretch
| OST-96-1250 OST-96-1146 OST-95-110 |
February 10, 1999 | Application for Reissuance of an Exemption |
Aruba-US |  HTML |
| Service List |
Recently, the Government and Air Aruba entered into an agreement to sell a major portion of the airline to private investors. The parties interested in investing in Air Aruba are Aserca Airlines C.A., a Venezuelan corporation ("Aserca"), and two Aruban corporations beneficially owned by Venezuelan nationals. Collectively, these investors have agreed to purchase shares representing approximately 70% of Air Aruba's equity capital, subject to certain conditions precedent.
Although one of the goals of the Department's open skies initiative is to expand and develop U.S. aviation markets, small countries like Aruba have a very limited ability to take advantage of such agreements because of the small size of their national airlines. and their limited access to capital markets to raise the funds necessary to use the expanded service opportunities an open skies agreement makes possible. For that reason, many small countries are reluctant to sign open skies agreements with the United States for fear that their national airlines will be unable to benefit from the market liberalization such agreements entail. If the United States hopes to persuade more such countries to join with it in liberalizing world aviation markets, the U.S. must be flexible in permitting broader investment in foreign airlines where such investment is not inimical to broader U.S. international aviation policy objectives. The Government of Aruba took considerable risk in being the first Caribbean Basin nation to sign an open skies agreement with the United States. It would be unfortunate indeed, and clearly inconsistent with basic U.S. policy objectives, if the Department were effectively to deny the Government of Aruba the opportunity to recapitalize Air Aruba through the sale of a substantial portion of its holdings to the Investor Group, as described herein.
Counsel: Kirkland Ellis, Bruce Rabinovitz, 202-879-5116
| OST-96-1250 OST-96-1146 OST-95-110 |
February 24, 1999 | Answer of Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela |
Resissuance of Exemption / Codeshare with Continental |
| Attachment: Air Aruba Advertisement |
Under normal circumstances, Aeropostal would take no position on the authority applied for herein by Air Aruba. However, in light of: (i) the pendency of the Continental/Air Aruba code-share application for, inter alia, Miami - Caracas authority; and (ii) the contingent objection of Aserca's "partner" in Venezuela, Continental, to the American/Aeropostal codeshare, Aeropostal has no choice but to file its Answer herein.
Counsel: Pierre Murphy, 202-872-1679, pmurphy@lopmurphy.com
Reference: United Filed an Undocketed Answer Today (2/24/99)
Air Aruba, N.V. / Continental Airlines, Inc. and Air Aruba, N.V.
| OST-96-1250 OST-96-1146 OST-95-110 |
March 8, 1999 | Reply of Air Aruba |
Reissuance of an Exemption | HTML |
The Government of Aruba has been actively seeking investors for Air Aruba since it acquired a majority interest in the airline. Until Air Aruba is able to form a strategic partnership and receive the capital necessary to further develop its operations and route system, the airline will continue to struggle. Fortunately, the Government of Aruba has successfully negotiated a transaction that will offer Air Aruba the resources it needs, while at the same time preserving its status and route structure as the national flag carrier of Aruba. This is no small feat. Consummation of the transaction, however, is dependent on the Department's prompt affirmation that Air Aruba will continue to be authorized to utilize its U.S. operating authority. If the Department were to delay action here, it would unnecessarily threaten Air Aruba's future, putting at risk important airlinks between the United States and Aruba, a U. S. open skies partner. Such a delay would threaten substantial harm to Air Aruba, the Government of Aruba, and Aruba's tourist-based economy.
Counsel: Kirkland Ellis, Bruce Rabinovitz, 202-879-5116, bruce_rabinovitz@kirkland.com
| OST-96-1250 OST-96-1146 OST-95-110 Undocketed |
March 8, 1999 | Motion for Leave to File an
Otherwise Unauthorized Document and Reply of The Hillsborough County Aviation
Authority |
Reissuance of an Exemption / US-Aruba Codesharing | HTML |
Last month, Air Aruba and Continental submitted two applications that by all reasonable measure should be deemed non-controversial. Aviation relations between the United States and Aruba are governed by an open skies agreement under which airlines of both countries have virtually unrestricted operating and code-share rights in third, fourth and fifth freedom markets. In that procompetitive environment, the U.S. interest lies in assisting Air Aruba regain financial strength through privatization; indirect Venezuelan investment in Air Aruba should not be of U.S. concern. Moreover, a code-share arrangement between Air Aruba and a U.S. airline is expressly authorized by the U.S. Aeropostal makes several invalid arguments in an attempt to raise U.S. policy concerns. The first involves timing -- specifically, that the Department should not grant the applications until such time as it also grants a pending Aeropostal/American application for code-share authority in the U.S.-Venezuela market. We respectfully submit that this 'me too' approach should not guide U.S. policy, at least in situations where, as here, the applications deal essentially with different country-pair markets.'' Here, two airlines have proposed a code-share arrangement that is contemplated by the applicable aviation bilateral and is in the public interest. The arrangement should be evaluated and authorized on its own merits.
Counsel: Verner Liipfert, Michael Roberts, 202-371-6000
Continental and Air Aruba Filed an Undocketed Answer on March 5th
| Order 99-3-21 OST-96-1250 OST-96-1146 OST-95-110 |
Issued and Served March 23, 1999 |  Order |
Aruba-US |
By: Bradley Mims
| OST-96-1250 OST-96-1146 OST-95-110 |
September 24, 1999 | Re: Order 99-3-21 | U.S.- Aruba |
| Service List |
Pursuant to Order 99-3-21, ordering paragraph no. 2 (p. 6), we are writing to advise you that the transaction outlined in Air Aruba's February 10, 1999 Application for Reissuance of an Exemption closed on Friday evening September 17, 1999
Counsel: Kirkland Ellis, Bruce Rabinovitz, 202.879.5000
| OST-96-1250 OST-96-1146 OST-95-110 |
February 25, 2000 | Application for Renewal of Exemptions | Aruba-US |
| Service List |
By Order 99-3-21, the Department reissued Air Aruba's exemption authority to operate scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property and mail from points behind Aruba, via Aruba and intermediate points, to a point or points in the United States and beyond; charter foreign air transportation pursuant to the Air Transport Agreement between the U. S. and Aruba; and other charters subject to Part 212 of the Department's regulations. The exemption authority, which was reissued as a result of a change in ownership of Air Aruba, remains in effect until February 27, 2000.
Counsel: Air Aruba and Wilmer Cutler, Bruce Rabinovitz, 202-663-6960, brabinovitz@wilmer.com
| OST-95-110 OST-96-1146 OST-96-1250 |
Filed February 25, 2000 Issued March 14, 2000 |
Notice of Action Taken | U.S.- Aruba |
By: Paul Gretch
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