Spirit Airlines, Inc.

OST-2008-0211 - Exemption - Ft. Lauderdale-Manaus, Brazil

July 3, 2008

Application for an Exemption

Spirit Airlines, Inc. applies for an exemption from 49 U.S.C. § 41101 to authorize scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property and mail between points in the United States and Manaus, Brazil. Spirit also requests an allocation of seven weekly frequencies to conduct this service and that it be designated to the Government of Brazil to operate this service.

Specifically, Spirit requests the following authority: From a point or points in the United States via intermediate points to Manaus, Brazil and beyond to points in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Chile. Spirit intends to offer daily scheduled air service between Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and Manaus using 144-seat Airbus A319 aircraft, pursuant to the schedule attached as Exhibit NK-1. Under the amended agreement with Brazil, the U.S. currently has twenty one new weekly frequencies available for immediate allocation. Spirit is requesting seven of these new frequencies. Spirit would bring important new competition to the market and is prepared to begin service as soon as it receives all needed government approvals from the U.S. and Brazil.

Counsel: Kirstein & Young, Joanne Young, 202-331-3348

July 16, 2008

Amended Application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity and an Exemption

Spirit Airlines, Inc. applies for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity and an Exemption from 49 U.S.C.§ 41101 to authorize scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property and mail between points in the United States and Manaus, Brazil. Spirit also requests an allocation of seven weekly frequencies to conduct this service commencing in the Fall of 2009, and that it be designated to the Government of Brazil to operate this service.

Spirit intends to offer daily scheduled air service between Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and Manaus using its 144-seat Airbus A319 aircraft, pursuant to the schedule attached as Exhibit NK-1. Under the amended agreement with Brazil, the U.S. currently has twenty-one new weekly frequencies available for immediate allocation and an additional 7 frequencies available on June 1, 2009, for service to points in the Northern, Northeastern, and Midwestern regions of Brazil. Spirit is requesting seven of these new frequencies. Spirit would commence service in the Fall of 2009 and bring important new competition to the market.

Counsel: Kirstein & Young, Joanne Young, 202-331-3348

July 16, 2008

Answer of Delta Air Lines

Spirit requests an allocation of seven (7) U.S.-Brazil frequencies for its proposed Fort Lauderdale-Manaus service. Delta has today filed its own competing application for fifteen (15) U.S.-Brazil frequencies for service from Delta Atlanta hub to Manaus, Fortaleza, and Belo Horizonte. There are currently only twenty (21) frequencies available for allocation under the U.S.-Brazil Air Transport Agreement, as recently amended by the Memorandum of Consultations between the United States and Brazil dated June 26, 2008 (the 2008 Agreement). Accordingly, Delta and Spirit’s service proposals are mutually exclusive, and the Department is required to institute a comparative selection proceeding to consider the merits of the competing applications in accordance with Ashbacker Radio Corp. v. FCC, 326 U.S. 327 (1945). Delta looks forward to the opportunity to demonstrate the superiority of its service proposal in that proceeding.

Counsel: Delta, Scott McClain, 404-773-6514

July 18, 2008

Answer of American and Motion to Dismiss

Spirit's request for seven U.S.-Brazil frequencies that it does not propose to use until late 2009 is both outside the scope of the Department's Notice Inviting Applications, and in conflict with longstanding policy calling for the prompt use of newly negotiated limited-entry route rights. Spirit's application should therefore be dismissed.

Spirit itself is currently opposing motions by jetBlue and Delta (OST-2007-0006) to delay their start-up of Orlando-Bogota and New York-Bogota service for approximately 10 months. Spirit is asking that immediately-available Brazil frequencies remain unused for an even longer period than what JetBlue and Delta are seeking in the Colombia case, over Spirit's strong objection.

Counsel: American, Carl Nelson, 202-496-5647

July 18, 2008

Re: Correction of American

In the answer of American Airlines and motion to dismiss, filed on July 18, 2008 in the captioned docket regarding Spirt Airlines (US-Brazil), "jetBlue and United" on page 3 should be changed to "jetBlue and Delta."

Counsel: American, Carl Nelson, 202-496-5647

July 22, 2008

Answer of Spirit Airlines to American Airlines Motion and Request of Spirit Airlines to Defer Action

American's suggestion that Spirit's application here is contrary to its position with respect to Colombia frequencies is an "apples to oranges" comparison. There is no similarity between, on the one hand, Spirit's objection to the requests of JetBlue and Delta in the Colombia case to extend the Department's mandated start up date by approximately 10 months, when Spirit is prepared to use those 14 frequencies now, and, on the other hand, Spirit's application for new Brazil frequencies that might otherwise have gone unused. For over a year since requesting American's long dormant Colombia frequencies, Spirit has consistently argued that valuable limited frequencies should be allocated to a carrier that is prepared to immediately operate them.

Spirit's Manaus application has its own docket number and the Department has not yet issued an instituting order establishing a procedure for the needed comparative selection to allocate the immediately available Brazil frequencies. The Department, in keeping with its standard practice, will likely create a new docket for the allocation of the 21 frequencies and transfer the American and Delta applications to that docket. There is no reason to dismiss Spirit's application, which serves as a marker of its interest in Brazil service and can be considered when the Department requests applications for the 2009 frequencies.

Counsel: Kirstein & Young, Joanne Young, 202-331-3348