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OST-2005-22640 - Air Sahara - India-US Codeshare with American Airlines
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Sahara Airlines Limited d/b/a Air Sahara OST-2005-22640 - US-India Codeshare with American Airlines Application for Exemption - Bookmarked Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 40109 and Subpart C of the Department's Rules of Practice, 14 C.F.R. § 302, Sahara Airlines Limited d/b/a Air Sahara requests an exemption from 49 U.S.C. § 41301 to engage in foreign air transportation of persons, property and mail from points behind India via India and intermediate points to a point or points in the United States and beyond by means of a Codeshare Agreement between Air Sahara and American Airlines. Under the Codeshare Agreement, American Airlines and its affiliate carriers will initially display the "S2" designator code of Air Sahara on flights operated by American between Chicago, Illinois, and Delhi, India, and on certain connecting U.S. domestic flights operated by American. American has submitted an Application for a Statement of Authorization in Docket OST-2005-22622 to display the "S2" code of Air Sahara on the flights in question. Counsel: Roller & Bauer, Moffett Roller, 202-331-3300, mroller@rollerbauer.com
OST-2005-20112 - Notice of Regulatory Review October 7, 2005 In its application, Air Sahara seeks an exemption for authority to offer code-share services to and from the U.S. on services to be operated by American Airlines, Inc.. Air Sahara does not seek by this application authority to operate its own aircraft to or from the U.S. In support of its exemption application, Air Sahara offers an abbreviated description of its operations and management rather than the detailed description that has previously been required by the Department to support such applications. United has previously urged that the Department should reduce the regulatory filing requirements relating to code-share services. The application filed by Air Sahara is consistent with the sort of reduced filing requirements that United has in mind and would seem to offer DOT sufficient information on which to award authority to a foreign carrier proposing to offer only code-share service. If the Department is now prepared to accept an abbreviated application for exemption authority for a foreign carrier proposing to offer only code-share services such as that filed by Air Sahara, then it should include in the order granting Air Sahara's application a statement that, in the future, other foreign carriers seeking similar authority may rely on the abbreviated format used by Air Sahara, Such a declaration will help relieve an unnecessary regulatory burden that has been imposed on foreign carriers whose only interest in offering service subject to a DOT-imposed authorization requirement is in conjunction with a code share. In future, a foreign carrier proposing to offer services on aircraft operated by another authorized carrier or to offer code-share services solely outside the U.S. for a U.S. carrier should be allowed to rely on the application submitted here by Air Sahara as a template for its own application for similar authority related to code-share services not involving the operation of its own aircraft to or from the US. Counsel: Wilmer Cutler, Jeffrey Manley, 202-663-6670, jeffrey.manley@wilmerhale.com
OST-2005-22640 - Sahara Airlines - Exemption - India-US Codeshare with American October 7, 2005 Reply of Sahara Airlines to Comments of United Air Lines United does not oppose the Air Sahara Application, but instead asks the Department to include in the order that grants Air Sahara's exemption a general policy statement regarding the format for codesharing applications by foreign carriers. The Department's action on Air Sahara's Application is not, however, an appropriate forum for such a policy statement. The Department's action based on the Application will speak for itself, and DOT should not delay action on Air Sahara's Application in order to formulate a response to United's Comments. Counsel: Roller & Bauer, 202-331-3300, mroller@rollerbauer.com OST-2005-22640 - US-India Codeshare with American Airlines Continental has not opposed, and does not oppose, either the application of Air Sahara in this proceeding or the application of American in Docket OST-2005-22622, but Continental is constrained to submit this reply to United's "comments" in this proceeding, which are part of United's campaign to eliminate regulatory review and supervision of international codeshare service. Continental does not object to abbreviated applications by foreign airlines, such as the application presented by Air Sahara, in appropriate circumstances. In some circumstances, however, the Department may well require additional information to address consumer, reciprocity, competition or other issues. For this reason, the Department should not hamstring its ability to secure additional information or delay its processing of the Air Sahara application to address United's proposal for a new policy on the information required for any and all foreign airline applications for international codeshare authority. Instead, the Department should continue its current practice of requiring applications for codeshare authority and tailoring information requirements to specific situations. Counsel: Crowell & Moring, Bruce Keiner, 202-624-2615, rbkeiner@crowell.com OST-2005-22640 - US-India Codeshare with American Airlines October 21, 2005 Response of United Air Lines and Motion for Leave to File The mischief done by the present unwritten requirement may be illustrated by comparing the Application of Air One SpA. filed on October 20, 2005, in Docket OST-2005-22809 with that of Air Sahara herein. Both carriers are from open skies countries and both are seeking exemption authority solely to support code-share services involving U.S. carriers, with neither seeking to operate its own aircraft to the U.S. And yet, Air One has filed a 68-page application (35 pages excluding a code-share agreement) with exhibits corresponding to the detailed requirements of 14 CFR §302.303 while Air Sahara has filed a more abbreviated 15 page application with exhibits consisting primarily of a reproduction of its internet site. The information the Department needs is provided by Air Sahara's application, and future applicants should be spared the expense of the preparation of the more detailed application in the format followed by Air One. To assure consistency, the Department should simply include a formal statement in its order granting Air Sahara's application confirming that it is deemed to contain sufficient information for the Department's regulatory review of this type of application. To the extent that oversight may be needed to address "competition, bilateral or reciprocity and consumer issues and to ensure coordination as needed regarding security and safety issues", as urged by Continental, this could be accomplished by requiring authorized carriers to submit a simple notice of their codeshare arrangement in advance of its implementation. This would give the Department whatever opportunity it might need to intervene in the unusual situation where "regulatory oversight" was called for. At the same time, it would avoid the wasteful determination" that "codeshare services constitute a form of wet lease). At no time did the Department ever provide the necessary statement of basis and purpose for including "code‑share arrangement" in this rule. Rather, it merely inserted it into Part 212 instead of including it in a specific proposal accompanied by an explanation for its need. Counsel: Wilmer Cutler, Jeffrey Manley, 202-663-6670, jeffrey.manley@wilmerhale.com OST-2005-22640 - Sahara Airlines - Exemption - India-US Codeshare with American October 31, 2005 Supplement to Application for Exemption Supplements its Application For Exemption with the following information:
Operations by Air Sahara's own aircraft are not involved in the codeshare service with American, but Air Sahara maintains liability insurance coverage on those operations through the National Insurance Company Limited in Lucknow, India, and through Lloyds of London. The Codeshare Agreement between American Airlines, Inc. and Sahara Airlines Limited is attached to the Application of American Airlines for a Statement of Authorization to engage in codeshare services with Sahara Airlines Limited, dated September 29, 2005, in Docket OST-2005-22622. Counsel: Roller & Bauer, Moffett Roller, 202-331-3300, mroller@rollerbauer.com OST-2005-22640 - US-India Codeshare with American Airlines November 2, 2005 As counsel for Sahara Airlines Limited dlb/a Air Sahara, our firm has polled all of the U.S. air carriers on the Service List of the Application in the above docket, as supplemented by the Supplement filed on October 31, 2005. None has any objection to the Application as supplemented. American Airlines and Air Sahara must meet impending deadlines in order to implement the codesharing arrangement under which the Air Sahara code will be displayed on American's new service between Chicago and Delhi, India, effective November 15, 2005. Failure to meet these deadlines would delay the introduction of Air Sahara's new service and cause the loss of the additional competitive options that it would provide to the public. In view of the lack of objections and the need for urgent approval, Air Sahara requests the Department to grant immediate approval to the Application. Please let us know whether the Department requires any additional information in order to expedite its action. Counsel: Roller & Bauer, Moffett Roller, 202-331-330, mroller@rollerbauer.com OST-2005-22640 - US-India Codeshare with American Airlines Filed October 3, 2005 | Issued November 8, 2005 Exemption from 49 U.S.C. § 41301 to engage in foreign air transportation of persons, property and mail from points behind India, via India and intermediate points to a point or points in the United States and beyond pursuant to a code share arrangement with American Airlines. United Airlines, Inc. filed comments stating that Air Sahara had filed an abbreviated. application as regards Air Sahara’s operations and management. On October 18, 2005, Continental Airlines filed a reply, to which United responded on October 21, 2005. Neither party opposed grant of the application. On October 31, 2005, Air Sahara supplemented its application to include, among other things, additional information on its operations and management. We were advised by Air Sahara that neither United nor Continental had any comment on this supplemental filing Based on the record in this case, we found that Air Sahara is financially and operationally qualified to perform the services authorized above. With respect to the ownership and control of the carrier, all of the shares of Air Sahara are owned by citizens of India, and all of the members of the carrier's Board of Directors are Indian citizens. However, the president of Air Sahara is a U.S. citizen, as are two of five vice presidents (with the remaining vice presidents being two Indian citizens and one U.K. citizen). To the extent that a question may exist as to the ownership and control of the carrier, we find that a waiver of our ownership and control standard is justified in this case, as there is nothing in the ownership and control of the carrier that would be inimical to U.S. aviation policy or interests. By memorandum dated November 4, 2005, the FAA advised us that it knew of no reason why we should act unfavorably on Air Sahara's application.By: Paul Gretch |
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