THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION 

WASHINGTON, DC 20590 

His Excellency Ketil Solvik-Olsen 

Minister 

Royal Norwegian Ministry 

of Transport and Communications 

PO Box 8010 Dep, N-0030 

Oslo, NORWAY 

Dear Minister Solvik-Olsen: 

April 03, 2014 

Thank you for your letter regarding the application ofNorwegian Air International Limited 

(NAI) for authority to conduct U.S. services. 

Given that a number of interested parties have filed responsive pleadings to NAI's application 

and this matter is currently pending before the Department, I am sure you understand that I 

cannot comment on the merits ofNAI's application. I assure you, however, that we will give full 

and careful consideration to all of the pleadings filed on the record before we reach a 

determination in this matter. 

As is our standard practice, I am placing a copy of your letter and my response in Docket 

DOT -OST -2013-0204, as a contact outside the record of this case. You may track the progress 

of this case and view the publicly available documents filed in the docket by accessing the 

Federal Docket Management System at www.regulations.gov and searching for Docket 

DOT -OST -2013-0204. 

I hope this information is helpful. 

Sincerely, 

Anthony R. Foxx 
ROYAL NORWEGIAN MINISTRY 

OF TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS 

The Honourable Anthony R. Foxx 

Secretary 

U.S. Department ofTransport 

1200 New Jersey Avenue S.E. 

Washington. DC 20590 

Your ref 

Docket No OST -2013-0204 

The Minister 

Our ref Date 

12/697 03.02.2014 

Application by Norwegian Air Intemational Limited in accordance with the Air 

Transport Agreement between The United States of America and The European 

Community and its Member States and Norway and Iceland 

Dear Secretary Foxx, 

As responsible Minister for Civil Aviation I would like to draw your attention to the pending 

application by Norwegian Air International Limited (NAI) for a foreign air carrier pern1it in 

accordance with the Air Transport Agreement between The United States of America and The 

European Union. Through the Agreement on the European Economic Area, Norway is fully 

integrated into the Common European Market for civil aviation, and has as such acceded to 

the EU-USA Agreement, together with Iceland. 

NAI is a company substantially owned and controlled by the Norwegian company Norwegian 

Air Shuttle ASA. NAI is headquartered in Ireland, and Irish authotities are currently 

considering its application for Air Operator Certificate (AOC) and operating licence in 

accordance with common European legislation. 

Provided that NAI receives the necessary approvals from Irish authorities, it is my intention to 

emphasize the close harmony between the foreseen effects of Norwegian's establishment of 

new air connections between the USA and EU, and the purpose of the USA-EU Agreement: 

a) The Parties entered into the Agreement in order to stimulate competition an1ong 

airlines without unnecessary government interference. It is hardly any doubt that 

Norwegian will stimulate competition across the Atlantic. 

s 10-140211-018 

Office address: Akersg. 59 Telephone: +47 22 24 90 90 

Postal address: PO Box 80 I 0 Dep, N-0030 Oslo, Norway 

Org. no.: 972 4 17 904 
b) The Parties intended to extend the oppmtunities for the passengers by stimulating the 

products. Norwegian will establish direct connections between points which require 

transfer flights today, and thus provide clear benefits to consumers. 

c) The Parties wanted to contribute to reduction of prices on international flights. One of 

the main purposes of Norwegian is to extend the low price concept to also include the 

long haul market. 

European legislation on safety is ham10nised and among the leading standards globally. There 

is no doubt that European airlines, and the personnel they utilize, are governed by the strict 

standards of this legislation wherever they operate in the world. 

To my knowledge, US Authorities have so far not expressed their considerations on the 

proper interpretation and application of Article 17 bis of the USA-EU Agreement - on the 

"Social Dimension". But I believe we both are interested in striking a precise balance between 

truly innovative activities, benefiting the economy at large, and activities which are not 

consistent with a sound and legitimate maintenance ofUS and European aviation. 

It is challenging to collect and corroborate data on employment conditions in the global 

aviation industry, and the various practices will be in continuous motion. Practices which are 

acceptable today may be amended in a negative direction tomonow, and vice versa. 

I believe we should not hinder the establishment of new business models just because we 

cannot know for sure how they will develop. Instead, it is our responsibility to uphold and 

enforce a robust national and international legislation, making it possible to put an end to 

unacceptable developments. In a letter of 15 January 2014 to Mr. Siim Kallas, vice president 

of the European Commission and responsible for civil aviation policy, I have tried to indicate 

how innovation and legitimate protection can be balanced in a precise way. 

I hope I have been able to convey that we will follow the development attentively. 

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