BEFORE THE

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Joint Application of :

 : 

UNITED AIRLINES, INC. and : Docket DOT-OST-2014-____

SKYWEST AIRLINES, INC. : and

 : Docket DOT-OST-2013-0114

for amended exemption pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 40109 :

and designations (Los Angeles-Leon/Guanajuato, Mexico) :

------------------------------------------------------------------------

JOINT APPLICATION OF

UNITED AIRLINES, INC. AND SKYWEST AIRLINES, INC. 

FOR AMENDED EXEMPTION AND DESIGNATIONS

Communications with respect to this document should be sent to:

Hershel I. Kamen

Senior Vice President-Alliances,

 Regulatory and Policy

Daniel A. Weiss

Managing Director-International

 Affairs and Regulatory

UNITED AIRLINES, INC.

233 South Wacker Drive

10th Floor – HDQIZ

Chicago, IL 60606

(872) 825-6828

hershel.kamen@united.com

dan.weiss@united.com

Steve Morrissey

Managing Director-Regulatory Affairs 

 and Policy

Karine R. Faden

Managing Counsel-Regulatory, Antitrust &

 Competition

UNITED AIRLINES, INC.

1225 New York Avenue, NW

Suite 1100 – DCAIZ/DCALD

Washington, DC 20005

(202) 521-4373

(202) 521-4363

steve.morrissey@united.com

karine.faden@united.com

April 18, 2014

Thomas Newton Bolling

Vice President and Deputy General Counsel

Abby L. Bried

Associate General Counsel-Regulatory, 

 Alliances & International

UNITED AIRLINES, INC.

233 South Wacker Drive

11th Floor – HDQLD

Chicago, IL 60606

(872) 825-8068

(872) 825-7415

thomas.bolling@united.com

abby.bried@united.com

Todd Emerson

General Counsel

SKYWEST AIRLINES, INC.

444 South River Road

St. George, UT 84790

(435) 634-3530

temerson@skywest.com

Gerald F. Murphy

Steven J. Seiden

CROWELL & MORING LLP

1001 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20004

(202) 624-2500

gmurphy@crowell.com

sseiden@crowell.com

Counsel for

United Airlines, Inc. 

and SkyWest Airlines, Inc.

NOTICE: The Joint Applicants have requested expedited treatment of this application. They will poll 

U.S. carrier representatives and inform the Department of the results. 
BEFORE THE

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Joint Application of :

: 

UNITED AIRLINES, INC. and : Docket DOT-OST-2014-____

SKYWEST AIRLINES, INC. : and

: Docket DOT-OST-2013-0114

for amended exemption pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 40109 :

and designations (Houston-Leon/Guanajuato, Mexico) :

------------------------------------------------------------------------

JOINT APPLICATION OF 

UNITED AIRLINES, INC. AND SKYWEST AIRLINES, INC. 

FOR AMENDED EXEMPTION AND DESIGNATIONS

United1and SkyWest (d/b/a United Express) (the “Joint Applicants”) apply, pursuant to 

49 U.S.C. § 40109 and Subpart C of the Department's Rules of Practice, to amend SkyWest’s 

exemption from 49 U.S.C. § 41101 authorizing SkyWest to provide scheduled foreign air 

transportation of persons, property and mail between Los Angeles and Leon/Guanajuato, Mexico

to permit it to operate as a United Express carrier on that route beginning on or about October

26, 2014. In addition, the Joint Applicants request a U.S.-Mexico operating carrier designation 

for SkyWest on this route and a marketing carrier designation for United to permit United to 

display its “UA*” designator code on SkyWest’s flights. The Joint Applicants ask that the 

requested authority become effective as soon as possible2and that the authority be effective for a 

period of at least two years, subject to the Department’s standard conditions. The Joint 

Applicants also ask the Department to issue the necessary notices to Mexican authorities 

 

1 Common names are used for airlines. 

2

 The Joint Applicants will conduct a poll of all carrier representatives listed on the 

service list and advise the Department of the results.
Joint Application of United and SkyWest

Page 2

confirming the carriers’ authority to serve the Los Angeles-Leon/Guanajuato route as described 

herein. 

The Joint Applicants state as follows in support of this application:

1. SkyWest currently holds exemption authority to provide scheduled Los AngelesLeon/Guanajuato service on behalf of another major U.S. carrier (see Notice of Action Taken

dated June 26, 2013 in Docket DOT-OST-2013-0114), which it will continue to operate until on 

or about July 2, 2014.

3

 Granting SkyWest the amended exemption authority requested herein 

will permit the Joint Applicants to tailor capacity to demand for Los Angeles-Leon/Guanajuato

service by using SkyWest’s CRJ-200 or CRJ-700 aircraft. The Joint Applicants urge the 

Department to act promptly on this application so that they can secure foreign authority, make 

final operating plans and begin marketing the Los Angeles-Leon/Guanajuato flights well in 

advance of operations, which they plan to commence on October 26, 2014, provided all 

necessary approvals have been secured. 

2. SkyWest will operate these Los Angeles-Leon/Guanajuato flights pursuant to a 

capacity purchase agreement with United. SkyWest’s United Express service will be substituted 

for the mainline service that United currently provides on this route subject to the Joint 

Applicants’ receipt of all necessary approvals.

4

 

 

3

 See Notice of Action Taken dated Apr. 11, 2014 in Dockets DOT-OST-2013-

0114, DOT-OST-1997-3289 and DOT-OST-2000-7708, at 1, n. 1.

4 United already holds exemption authority to provide service on this route. See

Notice of Action Taken dated Sep. 10, 2012 and Application of United for Renewal dated Jul. 9, 

2012 in Docket DOT-OST-2010-0226. By Order 2011-3-14, the Department reissued authorities 

previously issued only to United or Continental, including the Los Angeles-Leon/Guanajuato 

exemption authority that is the subject of this application, in the name of “Continental Airlines, 

Inc. and/or United Air Lines, Inc.” By Order 2013-4-11, the Department reissued the 

United/Continental authorities on a blanket basis to reflect the completion of the 

United/Continental merger and integration process and United’s new corporate name “United 

Airlines, Inc.” effective as of March 31, 2013. 
Joint Application of United and SkyWest

Page 3

3. The Joint Applicants’ service on the Los Angeles-Leon/Guanajuato route will 

provide substantial consumer benefits by maintaining the service options available to the U.S. 

traveling public, including the online connections between points on United’s network served via

its Los Angeles hub. In addition, SkyWest will provide double daily service – offering

consumers increased time of day coverage as compared to the single large jet flight United 

currently operates between Los Angeles and Leon/Guanajuato. The SkyWest aircraft to be used 

on the route will also offer a two class cabin configuration, catering to business travelers that 

desire a first class product offering. The Joint Applicants will comply with the Department’s 

rules on codesharing as set forth in Part 257 of the Department’s Regulations. 

4. The authority sought by the Joint Applicants complies fully with the terms of the 

U.S.-Mexico Air Transport Services Agreement (“U.S.-Mexico Agreement”), as amended. 

Route 1(a) of the U.S.-Mexico Agreement authorizes carriers designated by the United States to 

operate from “a point or points in the United States to a point or points in Mexico.” U.S.-Mexico 

Agreement, Annex I, A(1)(a). Further, the U.S.-Mexico Agreement permits the United States to 

designate two airlines to provide scheduled combination services between any point or points in 

the United States and Leon/Guanajuato (see U.S.-Mexico Agreement, Annex I, B(4)) and 

permits such designated airlines to enter into cooperative marketing arrangements with other 

airlines provided they both hold appropriate authority and meet the requirements applied to such 

arrangements. See id., Annex III(1). Lastly, the United States is authorized to allocate up to 10 

codeshare designations for each nonstop city pair segment. See id., Annex III(3). Sufficient 

designations are available for SkyWest to operate on the Los Angeles-Leon/Guanajuato route 

and for United to codeshare on the SkyWest-operated services. Inasmuch as SkyWest’s United 
Joint Application of United and SkyWest

Page 4

Express service will replace United’s existing mainline service, no additional designation will be 

required.

5

 

5. The Joint Applicants hold various certificates of public convenience and necessity 

and exemptions authorizing them to engage in scheduled air transportation of persons, property 

and mail between the U.S. and foreign countries, and the Joint Applicants are fit, willing and 

able to provide the service for which they seek authority. See, e.g., United: Order 2013-4-11 

(reissuing United/Continental authorities to United), Order 2010-5-17 (U.S.-Mexico), and 

Notices of Action Taken dated February 20, 2014 in Docket DOT-OST-2014-0022 (Los 

Angeles-Durango, Mexico) and February 6, 2013 in Docket DOT-OST-2013-0019 (Austin-San 

Jose del Cabo, Mexico); and SkyWest: Order 2011-12-11 at 4 (continuing fitness review), Order 

2008-4-26 (Blanket Open Skies), and Notices of Action Taken dated February 20, 2014 in 

Docket DOT-OST-2014-0023 (Los Angeles-Durango, Mexico) and February 7, 2014 in Docket 

DOT-OST-2014-0016 (Washington, D.C.-Nassau, Bahamas). Pursuant to Rule 24 of the 

Department’s Rules of Practice, the Joint Applicants request that the Department take official 

notice of all information and data that have been filed to establish their fitness. 

 

5

To ensure that United’s mainline service on this route is not disrupted, United will 

retain its operating designation until the Department has taken action on the Joint Application, 

the Joint Applicants have begun providing the service requested herein, and United has given 

notice to the Department that its operating designation is no longer required.