Home | Search | Help
OST by Number | OST by Order | OST by Carrier | OST by Subject | OST by Day
OIA by Carrier/Subject | OIA by Day | FAA by Number | FAA by Subject | FAA by Day
Carrier Financials | Charter Office | Answer/Reply Calendar
Updated:
OST-2005-22766 - Expressjet Airlines - Los Angeles-San Jose del Cabo
|
Expressjet Airlines, Inc. OST-2005-22766 - Designation - Los Angeles-San Jose del Cabo October 17, 2005 Pursuant to the Department's October 5, 2005 Notice, ExpressJet Airlines, Inc. d/b/a Continental Express asks the Department to designate it for Los Angeles-San Jose del Cabo scheduled combination service. ExpressJet plans to initiate daily year-round flights using 50-seat Embraer regional jet aircraft' within 90 days of the award of a designation to ExpressJet. Counsel: Crowell & Moring, Bruce Keiner, 202-624-2615, rbkeiner@crowell.com Delta Air Lines, Inc. / JetBlue Airways Corp. / USA 3000 Airlines / Frontier Airlines, Inc. / Spirit Airlines, Inc. / United Air Lines, Inc. / ExpressJet Airlines, Inc. / America West Airlines, Inc. / Florida West International Airways, Inc. / Centurion Air Cargo, Inc. / Kitty Hawk Air Cargo, Inc OST-2005-22551 - Delta - Exemption - New York-Cancun Served October 20, 2005 Notice Suspending Further Procedures | Word By Notice dated October 5, 2005, we invited interested U.S. carriers to supplement already-filed applications and/or to file new exemption/certificate applications for new U.S.-Mexico combination and all-cargo air transportation services under the September 21, 2005, Memorandum of Consultations between the United States and Mexico. We instructed U.S. carriers to file their submissions within seven business days of the Notice, that is, not later than October 17, 2005. Our stated objective in issuing the October 5 Notice was to be in a position promptly to implement the new rights once they become effective (currently anticipated to occur on October 26, 2005), and to promote an orderly process for doing so. We have received numerous applications and supplements to existing applications for the newly available authority and, accordingly, have now identified the service markets for which carrier selection proceedings will be necessary. Captioned above are those city-pair markets for which we will be instituting carrier selection proceedings. Also captioned above are dockets reflecting limited designation opportunities for all-cargo Mexico City services that will also require carrier selection proceedings. For each of the captioned city-pair markets we are suspending further procedures under 14 CFR part 302 (part 302). Instead, we intend to issue notices shortly, establishing procedures and timetables for the applicants and other interested parties to follow so that we may establish a decisional record for carrier selection as to each of the subject markets. Accordingly, for the city-pair and all-cargo markets captioned, we request that interested parties not file responsive pleadings at this time, but rather that they await the issuance of the aforementioned notices. We hereby suspend as to applications filed for those markets, and until further notice, the procedural requirements of part 302 to the extent consistent with this approach. For all other applications filed in response to our October 5 Notice (i.e., applications seeking authority in markets other than those listed above), the procedures set forth in part 302, including the time limits for filing responsive pleadings, will continue to apply. By: Paul Gretch United Air Line, Inc. / Delta Air Lines, Inc. / Frontier Airline, Inc. / Spirit Airlines, Inc. / USA 3000 Airlines / ExpressJet Airlines, Inc. / America West Airlines, Inc. d/b/a US Airways OST-2005-22767 - United - Exemption - Chicago-Cancun; Los Angeles-San Jose del Cabo; Chicago-Puerto Vallarta; Los Angeles-Puerto Vallarta October 20, 2005 United requests that the Department immediately grant United's pending applications for exemptions to serve Chicago-Puerto Vallarta and Los AngelesCancun, as well as applications of other carriers for city-pair authorizations for which sufficient designations will be available under the Memorandum of Consultations between the U.S. and Mexico dated September 21, 2005 and streamline the process for granting exemption authority on the three U.S.-Mexico routes requiring carrier selection. In particular, United requests that the Department allow carriers that filed exemption applications for Chicago-Cancun, Los Angeles-Puerto Vallarta and Los Angeles-San Jose del Cabo one additional opportunity to file answers to competing applications, along with any other pertinent information to support their own applications, before the Department proceeds to a decision. The Department should issue a notice setting the date for submission of these answers and related information. United suggests that the filing date be no less than 15 days after the issuance of the notice. With regard to Los Angeles-Puerto Vallarta, for which there are only two applicants, the Department should proceed directly to final order. With regard to Chicago-Cancun and Los Angeles-San Jose del Cabo, for which there are four and five applicants, respectively, the Department should proceed to a show-cause order. These valuable bilateral rights will soon be available, and all interested parties have had an opportunity to file applications pursuant to the Department's Notice dated October 5, 2005. Counsel: Wilmer Cutler, Jeffrey Manley, 202-663-6670, jeffrey.manley@wilmerhale.com OST-2005-22767 - United - Exemption - Chicago-Cancun; Los Angeles-San Jose del Cabo; Chicago-Puerto Vallarta; Los Angeles-Puerto Vallarta October 28, 2005 Weeks before answers to the United application for Chicago-Cancun, Los Angeles-San Jose del Cabo, Chicago-Puerto Vallarta and Los Angeles-Puerto Vallarta authority were due and moments before issuance of the Deparment's Notice on procedures governing US-Mexico applications, United asked the Department to grant its Chicago-Puerto Vallarta and Los Angeles-Cancun exemption applications "immediately." Although United's request for immediate action on those applications has been mooted by the Department's Notice of October 20, United's request that the Department truncate its normal processes for comparative consideration of other U.S.-Mexico applications has not been mooted. ExpressJet supports fully the Department's efforts to streamline its licensing procedures, but the specific relief sought by United may well prove counterproductive in this instance. The Department should be wary of truncating proceedings when less input from applicants might actually delay final decisions. Although ExpressJet is anxious to expand its Los Angeles-Mexico services and begin Los Angeles-San Jose del Cabo service as promptly as possible, ExpressJet urges the Department to ensure that its procedures meet due process requirements and provide the Department with all relevant information it requires for thoughtful consideration of the issues raised by the contested applications for new US-Mexico combination route authority. Counsel: Crowell & Moring, Bruce Keiner, 202-624-2615, rbkeiner@crowell.com OST-2005-22636 - USA 3000 Airlines - Exemption - Newark/Chicago-Cancun November 3, 2005 Allocation of all Mexico authorities in markets already dominated by a few carriers involve important limited entry rights. It is essential that these authorities be allocated through a timely and reasonable process. It is not reasonable to hold a consolidated or multi-step proceeding. It is interesting that some "legacy" carriers, including those in bankruptcy, appear determined to seek all available routes and some now suggest that the Department should engage in lengthy proceedings that will add on to the costs for obtaining these authorities. Apparently, additional costs are worth it to these "struggling" carriers if Departmental actions and new entry are delayed. The Department should allow some additional information to be submitted but should not create complicated and lengthy route proceedings. Counsel: Wiley Rein, Edward Faberman, efaberman@wrf.com OST-2005-22636 - USA 3000 Airlines - Exemption - Newark/Chicago-Cancun November 8, 2005 Reply of United Air Lines and Motion for Leave to file Delta and Frontier support United's request that the Department adopt streamlined procedures, although Delta suggests: 1) that applicants be allowed to file answers and replies to competing applications; and 2) that the same procedures be used for all routes requiring carrier selection. Delta also agrees that answers should be due 15 days after the issuance of the Department's procedural notice, and that there is no need for briefs or traffic forecasts. Delta and Frontier do not object to United's request that the Department immediately grant United's applications for Chicago-Puerto Vallarta and Los Angeles-Cancun. ExpressJet, on the other hand, which operates as Continental Express and filed an application for a single route, rejects the idea of streamlined procedures, preferring that DOT impose a more lengthy and cumbersome process than that sought by United and Delta. ExpressJet urges DOT to consolidate the applications for all four contested city pairs into a single proceeding and to utilize two or three more rounds of pleadings; it even opposes the immediate grant of United's Chicago-Puerto Vallarta and Los Angeles-Cancun applications, routes for which ExpressJet has not applied and no carrier selection proceeding is necessary. ExpressJet's vague, unsubstantiated, and disingenuous arguments must be wholly rejected. BxpressJet offers no compelling reason as to why United's Chicago-Puerto Vallarta and Los Angeles-Cancun applications should not be immediately granted. With regard to ExpressJet' s assertion that the October 20 Notice mooted United's request, that Notice only suspended further procedures under Part 302 for "markets for which carrier selection proceedings will be necessary." Notice at 2. Those markets, specifically identified by the Department in the Notice, do not include Chicago-Puerto Vallarta or Los Angeles-Cancun. For Chicago-Puerto Vallarta and Los Angeles-Cancun, "the procedures set forth in part 302...will continue to apply." Thus, United's request for immediate action on these routes has not been mooted and remains before the Department. United Air Lines, Inc. requests that the Department immediately grant United's pending applications for exemptions to serve Chicago-Puerto Vallarta and Los Angeles-Cancun, streamline the process for granting exemption authority on the three U.S.-Mexico routes requiring carrier selection as setforth above, and grant United such other and further relief as the Department deems to be consistent with the public interest. Counsel: Wilmer Cutler, Jeffrey Manley, 202-663-6670, jeffrey.manley@wilmerhale.com Order 2005-12-18 OST-2005-23494 - New York/Newark-Cancun Combination Service Proceeding OST-2005-22551 - Delta - Exemption - New York-Cancun OST-2005-22636 - USA 3000 - Exemption - Newark/Chicago-Cancun OST-2005-22620 - Delta - Exemption - Atlanta-Acapulco; Boston-Cancun; Los Angeles-Puerto Vallarta/San Jose del Cabo/Zihuatanejo; Washington, DC-Cancun OST-2005-22769 - America West d/b/a US Airways - Exemption - Los Angeles-San Jose del Cabo Issued and Served December 29, 2005 Instituting Order - Bookmarked By this order we institute proceedings to select one primary carrier and one backup carrier to provide direct carrier (own-aircraft), scheduled combination air services in the New York/Newark-Cancun, Chicago-Cancun, Los Angeles-Puerto Vallarta, and the Los Angeles-San Jose del Cabo markets, thereby implementing new rights available to US. carriers under the recently amended US.-Mexico aviation agreement. We grant the motions to consolidate applications into the relevant proceedings as described in this instituting order, and we consolidate the applications for the four city-pair markets addressed in this instituting order into the four carrier selection cases described herein. We grant the motion of Spirit Airlines, Inc. to withdraw its application for exemption authority to serve the Chicago-Cancun market and hereby dismiss that application. Procedural Timetable:
By: Michael Reynolds OST-2005-23496 - Chicago-Cancun Combination Service Proceeding OST-2005-23498 - Los Angeles-San Jose del Cabo Combination Service Proceeding January 4, 2006 Petition for Reconsideration of Frontier Airlines Frontier Airlines, Inc. hereby asks the Department of Transportation to reconsider the procedural schedule set forth in Order 2005-12-18 so that additional time is available to submit "Supplements/Amendments to Applications", "Answers", and "Replies." Frontier agrees that this proceeding should be handled in an expedited timetable, however, the timetable set forth in this Order is not only short but included time between the busy holiday week at the end of December and beginning of January. At the same time, there are other proceedings at the Department that need to be addressed. In order to ensure that all parties have time to file all needed information that will allow the Department to make appropriate and timely decisions, Frontier asks the Department to amend the procedural schedule as follows:
This would add approximately 2.5 weeks to the schedule. By adopting this modified schedule, the Department will provide each carrier with ample opportunity to respond and will help ensure that the record is complete. It would still allow the Department to award the authorities in time for initiation of services in the spring/summer seasons. Counsel: Wiley Rein, Edward Faberman, 202-719-7402, efaberman@wrf.com OST-2005-22766 - Designation - Los Angeles-San Jose del Cabo January 17, 2006 Amended/Supplemental Application of ExpressJet Airlines for Designation - Bookmarked In accordance with Order 2005-12-18, as modified by the Department's Notice Amending Procedural Schedule served January 9, 2006, ExpressJet Airlines, Inc. d/b/a Continental Express amends and supplements its application as follows: Continental Express holds blanket U.S.-Mexico exemption authority for operations with its 50-seat aircraft and therefore does not require specific Los Angeles-San Jose del Cabo exemption authority, as the other applicants do. Since Order 2005-12-18 says applicants "should ensure that their submissions include requests both for exemption authority and for designation," however, Continental Express supplements its application for a designation to request Los Angeles-San Jose del Cabo exemption authority to the extent necessary to conform with the requirements of Order 2005-12-18. Continental Express indicated in its application for a designation that it would institute service within 90 days of an award of Los Angeles-San Jose del Cabo authority, and Continental Express still intends to do so. If the Department grants the Continental Express request for a designation prior to March 1, 2006, Continental Express intends to institute Los Angeles-San Jose del Cabo service on June 1, 2006. Since the precise date Continental Express will institute service will vary depending on when the Department reaches its final decision in this proceeding, Continental Express asks that it be authorized to institute service by June 1, 2006, or within 90 days of the Department's award, whichever is later. Counsel: Crowell & Moring, Bruce Keiner, 202-624-2615, rbkeiner@crowell.com |
|||||||||||||||||||