BEFORE THE

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

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

Joint Application of :

 : 

UNITED AIRLINES, INC. and : Docket DOT-OST-2015-____

SKYWEST AIRLINES, INC. : and

 : Docket DOT-OST-2015-____

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

designations (Houston-Acapulco/Huatulco) :

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

JOINT APPLICATION OF

UNITED AIRLINES, INC. AND SKYWEST AIRLINES, INC. 

FOR EXEMPTION AND DESIGNATIONS

Communications with respect to this document should be sent to:

Steve Morrissey

Vice President-Regulatory & Policy

UNITED AIRLINES, INC.

1225 New York Avenue, NW

Suite 1100 – DCAIZ

Washington, DC 20005

(202) 521-4373

steve.morrissey@united.com

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

dan.weiss@united.com

February 2, 2015

Thomas Newton Bolling

Vice President and Deputy General Counsel

Abby L. Bried

Associate General Counsel-Regulatory, 

 Alliances & International

James Conneely

Counsel-Regulatory

UNITED AIRLINES, INC.

233 South Wacker Drive

11th Floor – HDQLD

Chicago, IL 60606

(872) 825-8068

(872) 825-7415

(872) 825-8311

thomas.bolling@united.com

abby.bried@united.com

james.conneely@united.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-2015-____

SKYWEST AIRLINES, INC. : and

: Docket DOT-OST-2015-____

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

designations (Houston-Acapulco/Huatulco) :

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

JOINT APPLICATION OF 

UNITED AIRLINES, INC. AND SKYWEST AIRLINES, INC. 

FOR 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, for an exemption from 

49 U.S.C. § 41101 authorizing SkyWest to provide scheduled foreign air transportation of 

persons, property and mail on a seasonal basis between Houston, on the one hand, and Acapulco

and Huatulco, Mexico, on the other hand, beginning on or about July 2, 2015. In addition, the 

Joint Applicants request U.S.-Mexico operating carrier designations for SkyWest on these routes

and marketing carrier designations for United to permit United to display its “UA*” designator 

code on SkyWest’s flights. The Joint Applicants ask that the requested exemption 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 confirming the carriers’ 

authority to serve the Houston-Acapulco/Huatulco routes. 

 

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

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

1. Awarding the requested exemption authority to SkyWest will permit the Joint 

Applicants to tailor capacity to demand for Houston-Acapulco/Huatulco service by using

SkyWest’s CRJ-700 aircraft. SkyWest will operate these flights pursuant to its capacity 

purchase agreement with United,3and replace the United Express service that ExpressJet 

currently provides on these routes. 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 Houston-Acapulco/Huatulco flights well in advance of operations, which they plan 

to commence on or about July 2, 2015, provided all necessary approvals have been secured. 

2. The Joint Applicants’ service on the Houston-Acapulco/Huatulco routes will 

continue to provide substantial consumer benefits by enhancing the service options available to 

the U.S. traveling public, including the online connections between points on United’s network 

served via its Houston hub. The SkyWest aircraft to be used on these routes 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. 

3. 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 

 

3 United holds certificate authority to provide own-aircraft service on the HoustonAcapulco route (see Order 2000-5-31) and to codeshare on United Express carrier flights on the 

Houston-Huatulco route (see Order 2010-5-17). By Order 2011-3-14, the Department reissued 

authorities previously issued only to United or Continental, including the HoustonAcapulco/Huatulco 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

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

the United States and Acapulco and Huatulco (see U.S.-Mexico Agreement, Annex I, B(5)) 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 Houston-Acapulco/Huatulco routes and 

for United to codeshare on the SkyWest-operated services. 

4. Inasmuch as SkyWest’s United Express service on these routes will replace 

ExpressJet’s existing service, no additional designations will be required.4 In this regard, the 

Joint Applicants wish to clarify that in addition to SkyWest replacing ExpressJet’s service on 

these routes, United is relinquishing its operating designation for Houston-Acapulco. As a result, 

only one operating designation will be occupied in each of the Houston-Acapulco/Huatulco 

markets. Because two designations will be available in each of these markets, no valid basis 

exists for objecting to, or otherwise trying to delay the Department’s processing of, this 

application. Doing so would be nothing more than a transparent attempt to disrupt the Joint 

Applicants’ commercial plans and delay the benefits of the first class product that SkyWest’s

CRJ-700 aircraft will bring to these markets. 

 

4

To ensure that United Express service on this route is not disrupted, ExpressJet

will retain its operating designations until the Department has taken action on the Joint 

Application, the Joint Applicants have begun providing the service requested herein, and 

ExpressJet has given notice to the Department that its operating designations are no longer 

required. This is consistent with the approach the Department has taken on numerous recent 

occasions. See, e.g., Notice of Action Taken dated Jul. 29, 2014 in Dockets DOT-OST-2014-

0100 and DOT-OST-2014-0101 (United Express service transitioning from ExpressJet to 

SkyWest).
Joint Application of United and SkyWest

Page 4

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 January 20, 2015 in Docket DOT-OST-2014-0224 (New OrleansCancun, Mexico) and June 5, 2014 in Docket DOT-OST-2014-0088 (Washington, D.C.-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 October 14, 2014 in Dockets 

DOT-OST-2014-0158 and DOT-OST-2014-0159 (Houston-Monterrey, Mexico) and September 

3, 2014 in Dockets DOT-OST-2014-0129 and DOT-OST-2014-0130 (Houston-Mexico City, 

Mexico). 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. 

WHEREFORE, the Joint Applicants urge the Department to grant immediately the 

requested exemption authority and corresponding designations and whatever other relief that the 

Department may deem necessary or appropriate. 

Respectfully submitted,

CROWELL & MORING LLP

_________________________

Gerald F. Murphy

Steven J. Seiden

gmurphy@crowell.com

sseiden@crowell.com

Counsel for

United Airlines, Inc. 

and SkyWest Airlines, Inc.

February 2, 2015
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that I have this date served the foregoing document on the following persons in 

accordance with the Department’s Rules of Practice.

robert.wirick@aa.com

howard.kass@aa.com

nssparks@fedex.com

gbleopard@fedex.com

dheffernan@cozen.com

jeremy.ross@alaskaair.com

robert.land@jetblue.com

jhill@cooley.com

perkmann@cooley.com

dkirstein@yklaw.com

jyoung@yklaw.com

bob.kneisley@wnco.com

leslie.abbott@wnco.com

matwood@cozen.com

anita.mosner@hklaw.com

jennifer.nowak@hklaw.com

sascha.vanderbellen@delta.com

chris.walker@delta.com

robert.cohn@hoganlovells.com

patrick.rizzi@hoganlovells.com

thomas.ting@suncountry.com

john.fredericksen@suncountry.com

john.varley@virginamerica.com

barbara.russell@virginamerica.com

dwight.moore@ustranscom.mil

john.s.duncan@faa.gov

englets@state.gov

__________________________________

Steven J. Seiden

February 2, 2015