OST-98-4288
Home | OST Filings by Number | OST Orders
and Notices | OST
Filings by Carrier
OST Filings by
Proceeding | OST Filings by Day | Office of Intl Aviation Filings by Carrier | Office of Intl Filings by Day
OST-98-4288
Continental Airlines, Inc. (Certificate of Public Convenience, US-Johannesburg) / US-South Africa Third Country Codeshare Services
OST-98-4288 | Undocketed | August 6, 1998
Application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and
Necessity
Continental proposes U.S.-South Africa code-share service with Air France between Newark and Houston, on the one hand, and Johannesburg, on the other hand, via Paris (CDG), France. Continental will operate the transatlantic flights and place its "CO" designator code on seven weekly Paris-Johannesburg flights operated by Air France with A-340 aircraft. Continental plans to begin its year-round U.S.-France-South Africa code-sharing service with Air France on November 1, 1998.
Counsel: Continental and Crowell Moring, Bruce Keiner, rbkeiner@cromor.com
OST-98-4301 | OST-98-4288 | August 17, 1998
Answer of Continental Airlines
Continental and Air France offer no U.S.-Africa code-share service today, although Continental intends to offer code-share service between the U.S. and points throughout Africa with Air France. In sharp contrast, Delta already offers extensive code-share service between the U.S. and Africa through two of its Worldwide Alliance partners, Sabena and Swissair, and it holds authority to serve the same African points with Air France as well. Delta offers code-share service between the U.S. and the African countries of Egypt, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
Counsel: Continental and Crowell Moring, Bruce Keiner, 202-624-2500
In contrast to Delta's eight-gateway proposal, Continental would serve South Africa from only two gateways, Newark and Houston, both of which already receive online service. Moreover, Continental's two-gateway proposal would produce fewer network benefits because Continental's two hubs serve fewer cities than Delta's hubs. Continental only serves 96 nonstop city-pairs at Houston and 81 nonstop city-pairs at Newark. Exhibit DL-R-1. Continental will only offer service at 128 unduplicated cities.
Counsel: Delta and Shaw Pittman, Robert Cohn, 202-663-8060
Undocketed | OST-98-4288 | OST-98-4301 | August 21, 1998
Reply of the City of Houston and the Greater Houston
Partnership
Just last year, the Department stated that its goal is to maximize the level of U.S.-South Africa services available to the public, thereby facilitating development of the market. Order 97-9-18, September 17, 1997, at 4. Thus, the Department's priority in this proceeding should be to ensure that scarce and valuable service rights do not go unused and that competition is maximized. However, if Continental and Houston are prevented from operating third-country codeshare service to South Africa and that exclusion means that the 1999 designation goes unused, the Department may later kind that it has squandered an opportunity to ensure that all available rights are used and that the maximum number of U.S. cities enjoy service, not just over the next 12 months, but in the longer term. Therefore, the Department's best option is to maximize the number of U.S. carriers competing to provide third-country codeshare service to South Africa by selecting Continental in this proceeding. For the foregoing reasons, the City of Houston and the Greater Houston Partnership urge the Department to select Continental.
Counsel: Zuckert Scoutt, David Heffernan, 202.298.8660
Reply of Continental Airlines, Inc.
Continental urges the Department to grant its application for South Africa code-share authority and deny Delta's application for the same authority.
Counsel: Crowell Moring, Lorraine Halloway and R. Bruce Keiner, 202.624.2500
Reply of Delta Air Lines, Inc.
The Department should select Delta to provide U.S.-South Africa third-country code-share service beginning November 1, 1998.
Counsel: Shaw Pittman, Robert Cohn, 202.663.8060
Consolidated Reply of the Regional Business Partnership
(Newark)
Delta's U.S.-South Africa code-share plans, selecting Delta over Continental would foreclose Continental's U.S.-South Africa code-share opportunities, thus denying hub-carrier on-line Johannesburg access for the many businesses and travelers who rely on Newark International Airport. Such a result would clearly be at odds with the Department's objectives of fostering competition among gateways and codeshare alliances.For the foregoing reasons, the Regional Business Partnership urges the Department to select Continental for the available U.S.-South Africa third-country code-share opportunity.
By: Samuel Crane, RBP, 973.242.6237
| Order 98-11-14 OST-98-4755 OST-98-4288 OST-98-4301 |
Issued and Served November 13, 1998 | Order to Show Cause |
US-South Africa Third-Country Codeshare |  HTML |
By this order, we tentatively select Delta Air Lines to serve Johannesburg under its codeshare arrangement with Air France. In these circumstances, we find that Delta's proposal to provide more U.S. cities with more competitive code-share services than Continental is entitled to significant weight in the context of this proceeding. In this regard, the record shows that Delta would offer new competitive service in eight U. S.-South Africa markets--Atlanta, Cincinnati, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Washington. By contrast Continental would provide competitive service in only two markets--New York (Newark) and Houston. Therefore, Delta would provide competitive service in six more markets than would Continental. Furthermore, Delta would offer the first on-line U.S. carrier service to Johannesburg from Cincinnati, whereas Continental's proposal is limited to cities that now receive U.S. carrier service.
By: Patrick Murphy
| OST-98-4755 OST-98-4288 OST-98-4301 |
November 24, 1998 | Objections of Continental
Airlines |
US-South Africa Third-Country Codeshare |
The Department's tentative selection of Delta in this case delays Continental's ability to establish a foothold in Africa and to compete effectively with the other U.S. carriers, including Delta, which already have extensive operations on that continent. Delta has had code-share operations throughout Africa with other alliance partners for several years, while Continental only recently received authority to begin Africa code-share operations with Air France. Awarding Continental U.S.-South Africa code-share authority now and giving Delta the opportunity to apply again next year with one of its three primary European partners will give the public 11 U.S. gateways by two code-share partnerships after one year. The net gateway advantage of Delta's proposal during the first year does not outweigh the public benefits of having two vigorous new code-share partnerships competing between the U.S. and South Africa after one year. The Department should set aside its tentative findings and conclusions in favor of Continental's proposal.
Counsel: Continental and Crowell Moring, Bruce Keiner, 202-624-2500
| OST-98-4755 OST-98-4301 OST-98-4288 |
December 3, 1998 | Answer of Delta Air Lines |
US-South Africa |
Continental does not even attempt to refute the reasons supporting the Department's conclusion that Delta has the superior service proposal in this proceeding. Delta will offer on-line service from a total of eight U.S. gateways, including its major international gateway at JFK, its Atlanta hub (the largest hub in the world), its Cincinnati hub and five additional cities. Delta's eight-gateway proposal will provide far greater coverage to more cities in the United States than Continental's two gateway proposal. As a result, Delta will be able to offer more than twice as many (87 vs 35) same day nonstop-to-nonstop connections than Continental.
Counsel: Delta and Shaw Pittman, Robert Cohn, 202-663-8060
Home | OST Filings by Number | OST Orders
and Notices | OST
Filings by Carrier
OST Filings by
Proceeding | OST Filings by Day | Office of Intl Aviation Filings by Carrier | Office of Intl Filings by Day
