BEFORE THE

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

__________________________________________ 

 ) 

Joint Application of ) 

 ) 

AEROLITORAL, S.A. DE C.V. ) DOCKET OST-2014-_____ 

 D/B/A AEROMEXICO CONNECT, ) 

AEROVIAS DE MEXICO, S.A. DE C.V., and ) 

DELTA AIR LINES, INC. ) 

 ) 

for exemptions and a code-share ) 

statement of authorization ) 

(Guadalajara/Monterrey – New York) ) 

__________________________________________) 

EXPEDITED ACTION REQUESTED

JOINT APPLICATION OF AEROLITORAL, S.A. DE C.V., AEROVIAS DE 

MEXICO, S.A. DE C.V., AND DELTA AIR LINES, INC. FOR EXEMPTIONS 

AND A STATEMENT OF AUTHORIZATION

Communications with respect to this document should be sent to:

John R. Mietus, Jr.

LAW OFFICE OF JOHN MIETUS, LLC

6701 Democracy Boulevard Ste 300

Bethesda, Maryland 20817

(202) 747-5212

john@mietuslaw.com

Counsel for AEROLITORAL

 and AEROMEXICO

Alexander Van der Bellen

Managing Director-Regulatory and 

International Affairs & Associate General 

Counsel

Christopher Walker

Regional Director-Regulatory and 

International Affairs

DELTA AIR LINES, INC.

1212 New York Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20005

(202) 842-4184

sascha.vanderbellen@delta.com

chris.walker@delta.com

NOTICE: Any person may support or oppose this application by filing an answer and 

serving a copy of the answer on counsel for the Joint Applicants and upon 

persons served with this application no later than September 18, 2014. THE 

JOINT APPLICANTS INTEND TO POLL.

September 3, 2014
BEFORE THE

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

__________________________________________ 

 ) 

Joint Application of ) 

 ) 

AEROLITORAL, S.A. DE C.V. ) DOCKET OST-2014-____ 

 D/B/A AEROMEXICO CONNECT, ) 

AEROVIAS DE MEXICO, S.A. DE C.V., and ) 

DELTA AIR LINES, INC. ) 

 ) 

for exemptions and a code-share ) September 3, 2014

statement of authorization ) 

(Guadalajara/Monterrey – New York) ) 

__________________________________________) 

EXPEDITED ACTION REQUESTED

JOINT APPLICATION OF AEROLITORAL, S.A. DE C.V., AEROVIAS DE 

MEXICO, S.A. DE C.V., AND DELTA AIR LINES, INC. FOR EXEMPTIONS 

AND A STATEMENT OF AUTHORIZATION

Aerolitoral, S.A. de C.V. d/b/a Aeromexico Connect, Aerovias de 

Mexico, S.A. de C.V. ("Aeromexico"), and Delta Air Lines, Inc. (“Delta”)

(together, the “Joint Applicants”) respectfully apply for the following 

authority to engage in scheduled, foreign air transportation of persons, 

property, and mail between Guadalajara and Monterrey, Mexico, on the one 

hand, and New York, New York on the other: 

(1) an exemption, for an initial one-year period and pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 

§ 40109, authorizing Aerolitoral to operate such service;

(2) a code-share exemption, for an initial one-year period and pursuant to 

49 U.S.C. § 40109, authorizing Aeromexico to operate such service by 

placing its code on Aerolitoral flights; 1

1/ Aeromexico currently holds an exemption, issued by Notice of Action Taken dated 

September 10, 2013 in Docket OST-2013-0168, to operate service in the GuadalajaraNew York market, but it does not intend to renew that exemption.

 
Aerolitoral Aeromexico Delta

Application

Page 2 

(3) a code-share exemption, for an initial period of two years, authorizing 

Delta to operate such service by placing its code on Aerolitoral2;

(4) a statement of authorization, of indefinite duration and pursuant to 14 

C.F.R. Part 212, permitting Aerolitoral to display the AM* and DL* 

designator codes of Aeromexico and Delta, respectively, on Aerolitoraloperated flights on this route; and

(5) Waiver of the 45-day advance filing requirement for the codeshare 

statement of authorization under 14 C.F.R. Part 212.

The Joint Applicants request expedited consideration of this application, and 

after polling U.S. carriers served with it, they will report the poll results to 

the Department. In support of this Joint Application, the Joint Applicants

state as follows:

1. Aerolitoral and Aeromexico are flag carriers of the United Mexican 

States that hold a range of Department permit and exemption authority to 

provide service between Mexico and numerous U.S. points. They provide 

extensive transborder service pursuant to this authority, generally under 

Aeromexico’s “AM” code. Aerolitoral proposes initially to operate daily 

Guadalajara-Monterrey-New York (JFK) service with Embraer ERJ-190 

aircraft.

2. Annex 1 to the 1960 Air Transport Agreement, as amended, between 

the United Mexican States and the United States provides that a carrier 

designated by the Government of Mexico is entitled to operate "[f]rom a point 

2/ Delta requests the authority for an initial, two-year period and further requests the 

Department transmit the necessary code-share designation to the Government of 

Mexico to facilitate Mexican licensing of Delta’s proposed services on Aerolitoral 

under the U.S.-Mexico Air Transport Agreement. 

 
Aerolitoral Aeromexico Delta

Application

Page 3 

or points in Mexico to a point or points in the United States." The Joint 

Applicants understand that Aerolitoral has been or will shortly be designated 

to serve the route.3 Further, under Annex 3 either party may authorize an 

airline to serve a transborder route by displaying its code on flights of an 

airline designated to operate service on that route. The Mexican Direccion 

General de Aeronautica Civil is expected to authorize Aerolitoral and 

Aeromexico to engage in code-share operations over the route and to confirm 

this authorization in writing to the U.S. government. For all these reasons, 

the proposed Aerolitoral-Aeromexico code-share service is consistent with the 

agreement and, therefore, the public interest.

3. Delta also is fit, willing, and able to engage in these services on a 

code-share basis, as it operates numerous U.S.-Mexico transborder services 

under various exemptions and pursuant to Delta’s certificate authority for 

Route 901. See Order 2010-3-12. Delta also requests that the Department 

take official notice, pursuant to Rule 24 of the Department’s Rules of 

Practice, of all data on file with the Department necessary to establish its 

fitness.

4. Approval of the requested code-sharing authority as to Delta also is 

in the public interest. Delta’s proposed code-share service will further 

3/ Designation of a carrier by its homeland government is the most significant factor in 

determining whether grant of an application is in the public interest. See, e.g., 

Bluebird Cargo Ltd., Order 2004-8-24 at 3-4; Fast Air Carrier Ltda., Permit 

Amendment, Order 82-2-66 at 3-4.