Sundt Air AS

OST-2008-0180 - Exemption and Foreign Air Carrier Permit - Norway-US Charters

May 30, 2008

Application for a Foreign Air Carrier Permit and an Exemption - Bookmarked

Sundt Air AS hereby applies for a foreign air carrier permit to engage in on-demand charter transportation of passengers, property and mail between point(s) in Norway and point(s) in the United States, as well as other charters subject to pertinent national, bilateral and international laws and regulations. Sundt Air intends to start operating the requested services as soon as the Department permits them. Sundt Air intends to operate Dassault Falcon 900 EX, Bombardier Challenger, and Cessna Citation equipment in conjunction with its contemplated ad hoc charter services to the United States.

Sundt Air AS is a 100% owned subsidiary of the Norwegian private limited company Sundt AS, a company incorporated in Norway in 1995, under the applicable laws of Norway. As an airline, Sundt Air was originally formed in 1989 when Norwegian Air Ambulance commenced fixed wing ambulance flights. The Fixed Wing Division was detached in 1996 and the company Nor Aviation, which is the predecessor of Sundt Air, was founded. All assets of Nor Aviation were acquired by Sundt AS in 2000, and the company changed name to Sundt Air at the same time. Sundt Air is owned and effectively controlled by Norwegian nationals.

Counsel: The Wicks Group, Glenn Wicks, 202-457-7790

June 24, 2008

Re: Additional Application Information

This is to confirm that Sundt Air operates exclusively “small” aircraft in the meaning of the U.S. Department of Transportation Order OST 98-3304 granting exemption under 49 U.S.C. section 41313 from the requirement to develop and submit plans to address needs of families of passengers involved in foreign air carrier accidents to foreign carriers operating “only small aircraft (i.e., aircraft designed to have a maximum passenger capacity of not more than 60 seats or a maximum payload capacity of not more than 18,000 pounds).” As is stated in its referenced application in Docket OST-2008-0180, Sundt Air intends to operate Dassault Falcon 900 EX, Bombardier Challenger, and Cessna Citation equipment in conjunction with its contemplated ad hoc charter services to the United States.

Sundt Air further confirms that, as is stated in Exhibit SA-4 to the above referenced Application, Sundt Air AS is a 100% owned subsidiary of the Norwegian private limited company Sundt AS, a company incorporated in Norway in 1995 with organization number 974 525 836 and address in Dronningen 1, 0287 Oslo.

Counsel: The Wicks Group, Glenn Wicks, 202-457-7790

July 14, 2008

Motion for Confidential Treatment

Sundt Air AS hereby files this Motion, pursuant to Rule 12 of the Department’s Rules of Practice to withhold from public disclosure certain confidential information contained in an abbreviated income statement for the 2005-2006 fiscal years, four pages, and an estimated budget for 2008 U.S. operations, two pages, which are submitted as Exhibit SA-13 and SA-14, respectively, in support of the above-referenced application, filed May 30, 2008.

Sundt Air is a well-known business jet operator in Europe. Furthermore, the Government of Norway designated it to perform the requested foreign air transportation services between the U.S. and Norway, as is required by 49 U.S.C. § 41302(2)(A). Where, as is the case here, the financial fitness of a carrier is not in question, the disclosure of confidential financial information does not further the public interest.

Counsel: The Wicks Group, Glenn Wicks, 202-457-7790

Order 2008-7-26
OST-2008-0180 - Exemption and Foreign Air Carrier Permit - Norway-US Charters

Issued and Served July 24, 2008

Order Granting Exemption and to Show Cause

We grant the request of Sundt Air AS for an exemption under 49 U.S.C. §40109 to permit it to engage in: (1) charter foreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail between any point or points in Norway and any point or points in the United States, and between any point or points in the United States and any point or points in a third country or countries, provided that such service constitutes part of a continuous operation, with or without a change of aircraft, that includes service to Norway for the purpose of carrying local traffic between Norway and the United States; and (2) other charter operations pursuant to 14 CFR Part 212.

We grant the request of Sundt Air AS for confidential treatment of its financial submissions, consistent with the provisions of 14 CFR §302.12.

With respect to the applicant’s request for a foreign air carrier permit in this proceeding, we direct all interested persons to show cause why our tentative decision on that application, set forth above, should not be made final. Any interested person objecting to the issuance of an order making final our tentative findings and conclusions with respect to the applicant’s request for a foreign air carrier permit shall, no later than twenty-one calendar days after the date of service of this order, file with the Department.

By: Paul Gretch

Order 2008-10-15
OST-2008-0180 - Exemption and Foreign Air Carrier Permit - Norway-US Charters

Issued August 15, 2008 | Served October 16, 2008

Final Order

By Order 2008-7-26, issued July 24, 2008, we directed all interested persons to show cause why we should not make final our tentative findings and conclusions stated therein and award a foreign air carrier permit in the form attached to the Order and subject to the conditions attached thereto. We gave interested persons 21 days to file objections to the Order. We said that if no objections are filed, all further procedural steps shall be deemed waived, and the Department will enter an order (subject to Presidential review under 49 USC §41307) which will make final the findings and conclusions of the Order.

No objections were received within the time period provided.

By: Paul Gretch