OST-00-6982 / American Airlines / US-Egypt Third-Country Codeshare / February 24, 2000
Application of
AMERICAN AIRLINES, INC. / OST-00-6982
under 49 USC 40109 for U.S.-Egypt thirdcountry codesharing designation (services with Swissair via Zurich)
APPLICATION OF AMERICAN AIRLINES, INC. FOR U.S.
EGYPT THIRD-COUNTRY CODESHARING DESIGNATION
(SERVICES WITH SWISSAIR VIA ZURICH)
American Airlines, Inc. hereby applies for a thirdcountry codesharing designation under the U.S.-Egypt Air Transport Agreement in order to provide services pursuant to an arrangement with Swissair between U.S. points and Cairo, to begin August 6, 2000, the day following termination of codesharing operations by Swissair and Delta Air Lines, Inc.
Under the arrangement proposed here, the "AA11 designator code will be displayed on Swissair's flights between Zurich and Cairo, connecting with flights operated by American or Swissair between Zurich and the United States. American and Swissair separately hold blanket statements of authorization under 14 CFR Part 212 to engage in codesharing operations,
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approved by Department Action on November 2, 1999 (
OST-99-5944), subject to a 30-day notice requirement. /1American already holds underlying economic authority to serve between U.S. points and Egypt via Switzerland. See Route 137, reissued by Order 96-5-9, May 4, 1996; Route 602, reissued by order 91-4-47, April 24, 1991; Notice of Action Taken
OST-97-2336, May 5, 1999 (route integration authority).The requested designation is consistent with the public interest, as it will facilitate the expansion of codesharing services operated by American and Swissair, thereby offering a greater number of competitive options to the traveling and shipping public. See Statement of United States International Air Transportation Policy, 60 Fed. Reg. 21841, 21842-43, May 3, 1995.
Under the U.S.-Egypt Air Transport Agreement, three U.S. carriers may operate codesharing services with thirdcountry foreign airline partners. The authorized partnerships presently consist of United/Lufthansa via Frankfurt, Northwest/KLM via Amsterdam, and Delta/Swissair via Zurich. See
Order 97-9-16, September 16, 1997.1/ By submitting this application, American hereby gives the required 30-day notice of additional codesharing services with Swissair between Zurich and Cairo.
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On August 5, 2000, the Delta/Swissair codeshare arrangement will end. As set forth in the attached letter to Paul L. Gretch, filed today, Delta and Air France have submitted an undocketed notice of codesharing services to Egypt via Paris, effective August 5, 2000, but Delta does not hold any authority to engage in such services. Accordingly, absent a competing application by Delta, the Department should grant American's application forthwith. In the event Delta chooses to submit a competing application, the Department will be required to conduct a carrier-selection proceeding, as the American and Delta requests would be mutually exclusive. See Ashbacker Radio Corp. v. FCC, 326 U.S. 327 (1945).
American and Swissair will provide important competitive benefits in the U.S.-Egypt market via Zurich. American's application for a third-country codesharing designation should be granted at the earliest possible date.
Respectfully submitted,
CARL B. NELSON, JR.
Associate General Counsel American Airlines, Inc.
February 24, 2000
American Airlines
February 24, 2000
Paul L. Gretch, Director
Office of International Aviation
Department of Transportation
400 7th Street, S.W.
Room 6402
Washington, D.C. 20590
Re: Notice of Delta Air Lines, Inc. and Air France (Third-Country Codesharing to Bucharest and Cairo)
Dear Mr. Gretch:
American Airlines, Inc. hereby objects to the notice submitted on February 17, 2000 by Delta Air Lines, Inc. and Air France, in their undocketed codeshare authorization No. 98-303, to the extent that the two carriers propose to conduct thirdcountry codesharing services via Paris, effective August 6, 2000, to Bucharest, Romania and Cairo, Egypt.
Bucharest and Cairo are subject to bilateral entry limitations, and Delta holds no authority to codeshare with Air France to either of them. Delta does hold authority to codeshare to these points with Swissair, granted by Order 99-5-15, May 31, 1999 (Bucharest), and by order 97-9-16, September 16, 1997 (Cairo). But both of those authorizations are specific to the Delta/Swissair arrangement, i and provide no basis for Delta to switch its codeshare partner from Swissair to Air France, or its European gateway point from Zurich to Paris.
1/ See
Order 99-5-15, P. 1 n. 1 ("Delta will codeshare with Swissair and operate service in the U.S.-Romania market via Zurich"); Order 99-2-9 (show-cause), February 12, 1999, p. 4 para 3 ("[w]e tentatively select Delta ... to provide scheduled foreign air transportation of person's property, and mail in the U.S.-Romania market under (its) codeshare arrangement ... with Swissair (via Zurich)"; order 97-9-16, September 16, 1997, P. 4 para 1 ("[w]e grant the application of Delta ... to provide scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail in the U.S.-Egypt market under a third-country codeshare arrangement with Swissair").
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See 1999 U.S.-Brazil Combination Service Case,
Order 99-9-23, September 30, 1999, p. 3 (American "is not entitled to move (its] frequencies to different markets without specific authorization because our original award was city-pair specific"). /2On February 9, 2000, American applied for U.S.-Romania exemption authority via Zurich, and a third-country codesharing designation for services with Swissair (
OST-00-6903). American is this day filing a similar application for a U.S.-Egypt third-country codesharing designation for services with Swissair (American already holds underlying economic authority to serve Egypt via Switzerland). Inasmuch as Delta is terminating its codesharing relationship with Swissair on August 5, 2000, and absent competing applications by Delta to engage in third-country codesharing to Romania and Egypt with Air France via Paris, the Romania and Egypt opportunities that become available in August should be awarded to American forthwith. In the event that Delta chooses to submit competing applications, the Department will be required to conduct a carrier-selection proceeding, as the American and Delta requests would be mutually exclusive. See Ashbacker Radio Corp. v. FCC, 326 U.S. 327 (1945).For the foregoing reasons, American objects to the Delta/Air France codesharing notice with respect to Bucharest and Cairo. We request that the Department promptly advise Delta and Air France that they cannot engage in such services, or hold them out for advance sale, because Delta has no authority from the Department to do so.
2/ While American objected to that finding, and will pursue judicial relief, so long as that is the Department's stated policy, then it should apply equally, and Delta cannot be permitted to change its authorized codeshare partner and move its gateway without specific authorization.
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Respectfully submitted,
Carl B. Nelson, Jr.
Associate General Counsel
American Airlines, Inc.
1101 17th Street, N.W.
Suite 600
Washington, D.C. 20036
(202) 496-5647
(202) 857-4246 (fax)
carl-nelson@amrcorp.com (email)
CC: Robert E. Cohn
Michael F. Goldman
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