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-2014-____

for 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 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-2014-____

for 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 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 between Houston and Leon/Guanajuato, Mexico 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 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-Leon/Guanajuato

route. 

 

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-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 Houston-Leon/Guanajuato flights well in advance of operations, which 

they plan to commence on or about October 26, 2014, provided all necessary approvals have 

been secured. 

2. SkyWest will operate these Houston-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.3 

3. The Joint Applicants’ service on the Houston-Leon/Guanajuato route 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 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. 

 

3 United already holds certificate authority to provide service on this route. See

Order 2000-5-31 (reissuing Continental’s certificate authority for Route 561, including HoustonLeon/Guanajuato). By Order 2011-3-14, the Department reissued authorities previously issued 

only to United or Continental, including the Route 561 certificate authority, 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

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 Houston-Leon/Guanajuato route and for 

United to codeshare on the SkyWest-operated services. Inasmuch as SkyWest’s United Express 

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

required.

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 February 20, 2014 in Docket DOT-OST-2014-0022 (Los 

 

4

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.