Capital Cargo International Airlines, Inc. and Air Transport International Limited Liability Company

Order 2006-2-17
OST-2005-23326 - Pendente Lite Exemption

Issued and Served February 24, 2006

Order Granting Exemption

CCIA holds interstate scheduled all-cargo certificate authority, as well as foreign charter all-cargo certificate authority. The company also holds exemption authority to engage in foreign scheduled air transportation from Toledo, Ohio, on the one hand, and Saltillo, Guadalajara, and Monterrey, Mexico, on the other hand CCIA currently operates B-727 freighter aircraft on a charter basis to points in the Caribbean, Central America, and South America.

ATI holds interstate scheduled certificate authority, as well as foreign scheduled all-cargo certificate authority to serve Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, FinIand, France, Ireland (Shannon), Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom." ATI currently operates DC-8 aircraft on a scheduled basis to Europe and on a charter basis for the U.S. military and other commercial customers.

No answers opposing the Joint Applicants' exemption request were filed.

We have decided to grant the Joint Applicants' request for an exemption from the provisions of section 4120.5 until we have ruled on the de facto transfer request. The Joint Applicants correctly noted that our grant of exemptions in cases such as this is contingent upon the carriers involved, in this case CCIA and ATI, remaining separate and independently operated corporations until a ruling has been made in the underlying de facto transfer case. In this case, as in previous cases, we see no reason to withhold exemption authority pending Departmental action on the certificate transfer application. As long as CCIA and ATI remain separate entities, should we disapprove the proposed transfer either in whole or in part, CHI could divest itself of ATI. The Joint Applicants should not construe our grant of this exemption as a decision to approve the related de facto transfer application or any aspect of that application.

By: Michael Reynolds