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OST-2006-26737 - American and Malev Hungarian - US-Hungary Reciprocal Codesharing
http://www.aa.com/
http://www.malev.hu/
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American Airlines, Inc. and Malev Hungarian Airlines OST-2006-26737 - Exemption - US-Hungary Codesharing December 22, 2006 Joint Application for Reciprocal Codesharing - Bookmarked
Malév currently holds authority to operate scheduled combination service (passenger, property and mail) between Budapest and the co-terminal points New York, Chicago and Los Angeles via intermediate points in Europe and Canada (Order 1990-6-42), as well as authority for mail only codesharing with American on scheduled flights operated by Malév between New York (JFK) and Budapest (Approval of Application, OST-2006‑24500)
The Joint Applicants propose to begin marketing their proposed codeshare services on March 1, 2007, and to begin codeshare operations on March 25, 2007. The Joint Applicants request that statements of authorization be granted for an indefinite period, and that exemptions be granted for a period of at least two years. Counsel: Condon & Forsyth, Stephen Fearon, 212-490-9100, sfearon@condonlaw.com
January 8, 2007 United has no objection to the request of American/Malév for approval of their codeshare arrangement. Such approval is fully consistent with the provisions of the U.S.-Hungary bilateral air services agreement. However, American/Malév give notice of several services beyond Hungary that are inconsistent with applicable international agreements or with U.S. policies. United questions the propriety of notices of codeshare services by American/Malév displaying the AA code on Malév operated flights in some of these markets. United urges the Department not to grant any approval of this codeshare that will prejudice other carriers in seeking entry to these markets when opportunities become available. United notes that American/Malév plan to implement codeshare service to points in Croatia such as Dubrovnik, Zagreb and Split. United would also like to codeshare to these and other cities in Croatia with its Star Alliance Regional Partner Croatian Airlines. However, United is unable to implement such codeshare service because the FAA has not conducted a safety audit of Croatian civil air authorities under its IASA program and, as we understand it, will not do so until a Croatian flag carrier seeks the right to serve the U.S. in its own aircraft. At present, there is no Croatian flag carrier prepared to implement transatlantic services to the U.S. Meanwhile, Delta has been permitted to serve Croatian points under third-country codeshares with Air France and Alitalia. And now an additional competitor of United -- American -- seeks to implement third-country codeshare services to Croatia. These codeshare services offer maximum consumer benefits only when the networks offering them are free to compete with each other. Therefore, the Department should use this opportunity to secure a commitment from the FAA to conduct the necessary IASA audit of Croatia to enable United and Croatian Airlines to offer competing services. Counsel: Wilmer Hale, Bruce Rabinovitz, 202-663-6960, bruce.rabinovitz@wilmerhale.com
January 10, 2007 Joint Reply of American Airlines and Malev Hungarian Airlines In its answer, United "questions the propriety" of the initial notice of certain of the codeshare points (AA* on Malev beyond Budapest) submitted by American and Malev as part of their joint application. Specifically, United alleges that Beirut and Damascus are precluded for security reasons; points in Greece (Athens and Thessaloniki) are precluded because the Government of Greece has not approved UA* on Lufthansa to those points; Cairo, Moscow, and Odessa are precluded due to limitations on third-country codeshare opportunities; and points in Croatia (Dubrovnik, Split, and Zagreb) are precluded because United is unable for regulatory reasons to engage in same-country codesharing with Croatian Airlines. In the interest of removing any cause for delay in approval of the American/Malev application, we hereby withdraw initial notice of AA* on Malev beyond Budapest to the following cities: Beirut, Damascus, Cairo, and Odessa. We maintain our notice with respect to the remaining cities questioned in United's answer.
Counsel: Condon & Forsytn, Stephen Fearon, 202-490-9100, sfearon@condonlaw.com for Malev / American, Carl Nelson, 202-496-5647, carl.nelson@aa.com for American
March 23, 2007 Supplement to Codesharing Application On March 22, 2007, the Council of European Transport Ministers unanimously ratified an historic open skies agreement between the United States and the European Union. That agreement, which will supplant the current U.S.-Hungary Air Transport Agreement, is expected to take full effect on March 30, 2008, the beginning of the Summer 2008 traffic season. American and Malev hereby request that their pending application be processed as if U.S.-EU open skies were already in effect, and that the two carriers be granted broad codesharing authority on an extra-bilateral basis during the brief intervening period between now and next March. In light of the current state of U.S.-EU aviation relations, and Hungary's support of U.S.-EU open skies, broad authority would best serve the public interest. In the event, however, that the Department determines to strictly enforce the U.S.-Hungary bilateral agreement until March 30, 2008, and to reject any extra-bilateral requests, American and Malev hereby name the following intermediate points for U.S.-Hungary codeshare service:
If the Department limits American/Malev codesharing through March 2008 to the terms of the U.S.‑Hungary agreement, we request that the Notice of Action Taken provide for full open skies codesharing rights on an automatic basis upon the effective date of U.S.‑EU open skies. Counsel: American, Carl Nelson, 202-496-5647, carl.nelson@aa.com for American / Condon & Forsyth, Stephen Fearon, 202-490-9100, sfeardon@condonlaw.com for Malev
Filed December 22, 2006 | Supplemented March 23, 2007 | Issued May 17, 2007
Dismissed, as moot, request of American for broad exemption authority to serve between points in the United States and Hungary via intermediate/beyond points effective March 30, 2008. Dismissed requests of American and Malév for route integration. By: Paul Gretch
March 31, 2008 Re: List of Certificates and Exemptions Superseded by US-EU Open-Skies American Airlines, Inc., in light of the March 30, 2008 effective date of U.S.-EU open skies, and American's open skies certificate for Route 835, Order 2007-4-2, April 1, 2007, hereby provides a list of its certificates and exemptions that have been superseded and are no longer required. The entries with asterisks have pending renewal applications that can be dismissed. Certificates:
Exemptions:
Counsel: American, Carl Nelson, 202-496-5647, carl.nelson@aa.com |
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