Docket OST-95-332 / Midway / June 6, 1997

Application of

for exemption authority pursuant to 49 U.S.C.§ 40109 (Raleigh/Durham-St. Maarten)

Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 40109, Midway Airlines Corporation ("Midway") hereby applies for renewal of its exemption authority, granted by Order 95-10-13, authorizing Midway to engage in scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property and mail between Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina and St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles. Midway's Raleigh/Durham-St. Maarten authority expires on August 8, 1997. Midway requests renewal of this authority for a period of two years, through August 8, 1999, or until 90 days after final Department action on Midway's application for certificate authority filed in Docket OST-95-33 1, whichever occurs first.

In filing this renewal application, Midway hereby invokes the automatic extension provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 558(c), as

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implemented by 14 C.F.R. Part 377. This application is timely filed pursuant to Section 377. 10(c).

In support of this renewal exemption application, Midway states the following:

1. By Notice of Action Taken dated August 14, 1995, as confirmed by Order 95-10-13, the Department granted exemption authority to permit Midway to provide scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property and mail between Raleigh/Durham and St. Maarten. /1 This authority expires on August 8, 1997.

2. Midway hereby requests renewal of its Raleigh/Durham-St. Maarten exemption authority. Although it has not commenced service on this route, Midway seeks renewal of its exemption authority to provide it with the flexibility to inaugurate scheduled service between Raleigh/Durham and St. Maarten should market conditions warrant. Midway continues to be fit, willing and able to perform the proposed service utilizing suitable aircraft from its fleet, which consists of Airbus Industrie A320 and Fokker F100 aircraft.

3. Midway incorporates herein by reference its service proposal and fuel consumption data as described in the attachments to its application dated July 19, 1995, filed in this docket. Midway anticipates that it will have no difficulty in

1/ By Order 95-10-13, the Department also granted exemption authority to Midway for the Raleigh/Durham-Cancun route. The Department subsequently issued certificate authority to Midway for the Raleigh/Durham-Cancun route by Order 96-11-25, but deferred action on Midway's request for Raleigh/Durham-St. Maarten certificate authority.

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obtaining adequate fuel supplies for its proposed Raleigh/Durham-St. Maarten services.

4. The grant of this renewal application would be consistent with the public interest. Renewal will permit Midway to implement the first nonstop service between Raleigh/Durham and St. Maarten. Such new service would provide travelers in the local Raleigh/Durham-St. Maarten market with a convenient alternative to the limited number of connecting services currently available, while providing other U.S. travelers with a competitive alternative to the various services to the Netherlands Antilles via other U.S. gateways. Moreover, the authority requested herein is governed by the U.S.-Netherlands open skies agreement, which provides for open entry for carriers from both countries. Continued authority will enable Midway to benefit fully from the rights available to U.S. carriers under the bilateral agreement.

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WHEREFORE, Midway Airlines Corporation respectfully requests that the Department renew Midway's exemption authorizing nonstop foreign scheduled air transportation between Raleigh/Durham and St. Maarten as described above, and grant Midway such other additional and further relief as the public interest may require.

Respectfully submitted,

Robert E. Cohn

SHAW, PITTMAN, POTTS & TROWBRIDGE

2300 N Street, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20037

(202) 663-8060

Attorneys for MIDWAY AIRLINES CORPORATION