UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Application of

NORWEGIAN AIR INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

for a foreign air carrier permit pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 41301

Docket DOT-OST-2013-0204

NOTICE

Pursuant to a request made by the European Union, delegations representing the United States 

and the European Union (EU) and its Member States, held a special meeting of the U.S.-EU 

Joint Committee on November 25, 2014, in Washington, DC. The delegations briefly discussed 

the application of Norwegian Air International (NAI) pending before the U.S. Department of 

Transportation (DOT) for U.S. operating authority. The European delegation recited a history of 

the handling of the application by the DOT, and stated its belief that the handling of the 

application was inconsistent with the “minimum procedural delay requirement in Article 4” of 

the U.S.-EU Air Transport Agreement (ATA).

The U.S. delegation noted that the application continues to be the subject of active consideration 

by the DOT, that the application presents novel and complex issues, and that a range of different 

parties have participated in the proceeding raising substantive legal and regulatory points both in 

favor of and opposed to NAI’s application. In response to a question from the European 

delegation regarding the timing of the DOT review process, the U.S. delegation did not provide 

any deadline or estimated date for further DOT action on the application, noting that it would be 

inappropriate to speculate on a pending regulatory matter.

The European delegation stated its view that these circumstances represent a breach of the ATA, 

noted that a dispute between the parties arises and that the EU and its Member States reserve the 

right “to take all possible measures permissible under the ATA.”

Delegations

United States Government

1. Susan L. Kurland, Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs, DOT

2. Tom Engle, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Affairs, State Department

3. Brandon Belford, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs, DOT

4. Paul Gretch, Director, Office of International Aviation, DOT

5. Stephen Cristina, Director, Office of Aviation Negotiations, State Department
6. Brian Hedberg, Assistant Director of Office of International Aviation, DOT

7. Jennifer Thibodeau, Attorney Advisor, Office of the General Counsel, DOT

8. Christopher “Kip” Tourtellot, Attorney Advisor, Office of the General Counsel, DOT

9. Robert Newsome, Office of Aviation Negotiations, State Department

10. Alina Eldred, Office of the Legal Adviser, State Department

11. Robert Finamore, Chief, Foreign Air Carrier Licensing Division, DOT

12. Eugene Alford, International Trade Administration, Commerce Department 

European Union 

European Commission

1. Mr Margus Rahuoja, DG MOVE, Director E- International Transport Affairs

2. Ms Deniz Bayraktutar, DG MOVE, Policy Officer, International Transport Affairs

3. Mr Knut Simonsson, Legal Service

European External Action Service

4. Mr Fabrice Vareille, Head of Transport, Energy and Environment Section, EU Delegation to 

the US

5. Mr David Batchelor, Transport Counsellor, EU Delegation to the US

6. Mr Thomas Mickler, EASA Representative, EU Delegation to the US

EU Member States 

7. Mr Sigurd Pacher, Deputy Chief of Mission, Austrian Embassy in Washington, DC

8. Mr Francois Theoleyre, Deputy Director, French Civil Aviation Authority

9. Mr Bruno Fulda, Ecology, Sustainable Development, Energy and Transport, French Embassy 

to the US

10. Ms Danye Aboki, Deputy Counselor for Transportation and Sustainable, French Embassy to 

the US

11. Mr Janke Sytske De Vries, Counselor for Infrastructure and the Environment, Royal 

Netherlands Embassy to the US

12. Ms Päivi Tuulikki Jämsä, Special Adviser, Transport Law and International Relations,

Finnish Transport Safety Agency

13. Mr Thorkild Saxe, Senior Adviser, Danish Transport Authority

14. Mr Tomas Hart, First Secretary, Embassy of the Czech Republic to the US 

15. Ms Jennifer Danner Riccardi, Senior Advisor, Embassy of Luxembourg to the US

16. Mr Gareth Alston, First Secretary, Transport Policy, the British Embassy to the US 

17. Ms Judith Ritchie, Head of International Aviation Relations and Strategy, United Kingdom 

Department of Transport

18. Ms Maria Teresa Lioi, Expert in EU External Relations and Eir transport regulation, Italian 

Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC) 

19. Ms Ethna Brogan, Principal Officer, Irish Aviation Services Division, Department Of 

Transport, Tourism and Sport
20. Ms Paola García Llamas, Air Transport Technical Advisor, SENASA (Servicios y Estudios 

para la Navegación Aérea y la Seguridad Aeronáutica) 

21. Mr. Leif Trana, Minister Counsellor for Economic Affairs, Embassy of Norway to the U.S.

22. Mr. Ivar Engan , Counselor (Trade and Industrial Affairs), Embassy of Norway to the U.S.

We will serve this Notice on all persons on the service list for this docket. 

By: 

PAUL L. GRETCH

Director, Office of International Aviation

Date: December 15, 2014

(SEAL) 

An electronic version of this document is available at http://www.regulations.gov