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 http://www.alaskaair.com/

Alaska Airlines, Inc.

Hereby requests an exemption from 49 U.S.C. 41101 and from any regulations of the Department to the extent necessary to permit Alaska to engage in year round scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property and mail between Los Angeles, California, on the one hand, and Guadalajara, Mexico, on the other hand. Alaska requests that this exemption be granted for at least a two-year period. Alaska plans to commence service on this route on June 8, 2003.

Alaska plans to commence daily year round scheduled service in the Los Angeles­Guadalajara market on June 8, 2003. All operations will be conducted with B737-400 aircraft configured to seat a total of 138 passengers-12 first class and 126 economy class.

The only U.S. carrier today serving the Los Angeles-Guadalajara market with its own aircraft is Delta Airlines, Inc., which operates a single daily flight. In contrast, the Mexican carriers Aeromexico and Mexicana operate two and four flights daily, respectively, providing Mexican carriers with a six to one daily frequency advantage. Clearly, this is a market in need of a robust additional U.S. carrier service option. Alaska can and will provide passengers with that option.

Counsel: Squire, Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P, Marshall Sinick, 202-626-6651

Related Dockets:  OST-2003-14447 |  OST-2001-9431

Alaska Airlines, Inc.

American recognizes that the Department will favor Alaska's application for year-round service over American's application for seasonal service. Accordingly, American will not prolong this proceeding by objecting to Alaska's request. However, American asks that its application for seasonal service in OST-2003-14447 be granted on a back-up basis in the event that Alaska fails to start Los Angeles-Guadalajara nonstop service by June 8, 2003, or fails to maintain such service on a year-round basis.

Counsel: Carl Nelson, 202-496-5647, carl.nelson@aa.com 

Alaska Airlines, Inc.

Alaska intends to make every effort to begin its new year-round service between Los Angeles and Guadalajara as soon as reasonably possible after receipt of the Department's and the Mexican Government's approvals. Alaska should not, however, be prohibited from availing itself of the Department's dormancy condition under which every U.S. carrier has operated to Mexico for nearly fifteen years. It would be especially inappropriate and clearly contrary to the public interest to approve early activation of American's back-up authority in view of the superior service proposal submitted by Alaska. Alaska's exemption application should be granted subject only to the Department's standard dormancy condition, as established by Order 88-10-2, and other standard exemption conditions.

Counsel:  Alaska and Squire Sanders, Marshall Sinick, 202-626-6651

American Airlines, Inc. / Alaska Airlines, Inc.

Recognizing that the Department would favor Alaska's year-round proposal over American's seasonal proposal, we advised the Department on February 27, 2003 that we would not object to receiving a back-up award to Alaska's primary award, to be triggered if Alaska fails to meet its promised start-up date of June 8, 2003.  Alaska is now retreating from the start-up date it proposed in its own application, and has asked the Department to add a 90-day dormancy allowance, in effect giving Alaska until September 8, 2003 to start service. American opposes that request.

In light of this new development -- Alaska's stated unwillingness to commit to a June 8 start-up -- the Department should promptly conclude this proceeding by granting American's application for Los Angeles-Guadalajara seasonal service from July 2-August 31, 2003. If Alaska wants to start year-round service after that period, American would have no objection to such an award. In this manner, the public will be assured of competitive service this summer, and Alaska will still have the opportunity to commence operations in September, which is its apparent intention by asking for a 90-day start-up condition beyond June 8. For the Department to decide otherwise would be contrary to well-established policy that limited-entry bilateral rights should be utilized to the maximum extent possible.

Counsel:  American, Carl Nelson, 202-496-5647, carl.nelson@aa.com

Alaska Airlines, Inc. / American Airlines, Inc.

Although American acknowledges that Alaska's proposed year-round service constitutes a more attractive service proposal than American's seasonal proposal, American attempts to create doubt with respect to Alaska's intention to being service in the Los Angeles-Guadalajara market this summer.  Alaska fully intends to being daily nonstop Los Angeles-Guadalajara service on July 10, 2003.

American overreaches in suggesting that Alaska's request for inclusion of the department's usual ninety-day dormancy provision signals a retreat from Alaska's plan to commence daily service.  Alaska is only requesting that the Department apply to Alaska the very same dormancy provision that has been applied uniformly since 1988 to all U.S. carriers, including American, awarded U.S.-Mexico operating authority.  The twofold purpose of that condition is to (i) ensure that a minor interruption in service does not result in a surrender of route authority; and (ii) that carriers be afforded a reasonable measure of operating flexibility to accommodate unforeseen developments.

Since Alaska submitted its exemption application, Alaska has been working to refine its service proposal and has made inquiries in Mexico to determine the availability of groundhandling and other services at Guadalajara as well as the likely amount of time required to obtain all necessary Mexican Government approvals. Alaska has now determined, after these inquiries, that it will begin daily year-round nonstop service between Los Angeles and Guadalajara on July 10, 2003. While this is slightly later than Alaska had initially hoped, Alaska will operate daily service during virtually the entire July-August period American proposes to serve, and will continue daily service beyond August 31 when American would suspend service. The public benefits resulting from Alaska's service thus clearly exceed those associated with American's proposal and the Department should grant Alaska's application as promptly as possible

Counsel: Squire Sanders, Marshall Sinick, 202-626-6651

Alaska Airlines, Inc.

Scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail between the terminal point Los Angeles, California, and the terminal point Guadalajara, Mexico. Alaska states that it will use the authority to provide daily nonstop service in the market on a year-round basis, beginning July 10, 2003.

In its original application, Alaska proposed that it would start service in the market on June 8, 2003. On March 20, 2003, Alaska advised that, in refining its service proposal and after making inquiries in Mexico regarding groundhandling and other services at Guadalajara, Alaska now proposes to commence nonstop year-round service in the Los Angeles-Guadalajara market on July 10, 2003. United Air Lines, Inc.. holds authority to provide code-share service in the market.

We have decided to grant Alaska's application here. The application is unopposed. We believe that Alaska's offer of year-round service holds the promise of significant service benefits for the market. While we will not award American the backup authority it requested, we will take certain steps designed to enhance the likelihood that Alaska's new service will indeed be introduced during the first half of July. Specifically, we will require Alaska to institute service in the Los Angeles-Guadalajara market no later than its proposed startup date of July 10, 2003. We will also require Alaska to file a notice with the Department no later than May 1, 2003, confirming that it will commence service on or before that date. We will also require Alaska to file a notice with the Department no later than June 1 2003, providing evidence of any public announcements of the inauguration of such service and placement of its schedules for such service in its computer reservation system. We disagree with Alaska that such action is unprecedented. Where we have had competitive interest in a route, we have imposed startup conditions requiring a service to begin on a date certain.

Currently, Delta Air Lines, Inc., is the only U.S. carrier authorized to provide direct carrier service in the Los Angeles-Guadalajara market.

By: Paul Gretch

Alaska Airlines, Inc.

April 15, 2003

OST-03-14542 - Los Angeles, CA-Guadalajara, Mexico

Re: LAX-GDL

Alaska Airlines loaded the Guadalajara schedule "subject to government approval" into its reservation system on April 11, 2003. Please see the attached internal computer reservation display of the schedule. Due to the standard "processing lag", this new service will start displaying in the Global Distributions Systems over the weekend of April 19,2003. The placement of the schedule in Alaska's computer reservation system can also be seen by accessing http://wwwalaskaair.com

Counsel:  Alaska, John Macleod

OST-2003-14542 - Los Angeles-Guadalajara

March 8, 2006

Application for Renewal of Exemption

On December 1, 2004, Alaska Airlines, Inc. requested renewal and amendment of its existing certificate authority (Route 559) to serve Mexico, including the Los Angeles-Guadalajara route which Alaska has served continuously since 2003. Recently, the Department of Transportation released its compilation of U.S. carrier international route authority. With the exception of the Los Angeles-Guadalajara route and one other route, all of Alaska's U.S.-Mexico route authority is identified in the Department's list. To ensure that the Department is aware of Alaska's pending request in Docket OST-1999-6276 regarding its Los Angeles-Guadalajara route authority and out of an abundance of caution, Alaska is filing this additional renewal application and again requesting that the Department renew its authority to perform scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property and mail between Los Angeles and Guadalajara. Alaska relies on the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act and Part 377 of the Department's procedural regulations to continue its existing authorization in force pending a final decision on this renewal request as well as its pending renewal request in Docket OST-1999-6276.

Alaska currently operates daily year-round scheduled flights on the Los Angeles-Guadalajara route with B737 aircraft.

Counsel: Squire Sanders, Marshall Sinick, 202-626-6651, msinick@ssd.com

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