UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, DC

Issued by the Department of Transportation on October 11, 2011

 NOTICE OF ACTION TAKEN -- DOCKETS DOT-OST-1997-2653 DOT-OST-1999-5031

DOT-OST-2001-9314 DOT-OST-2001-10172 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This serves as notice to the public of the action described below, taken by the Department official 

indicated (no additional confirming order will be issued in this matter).

Joint Application of DELTA AIR LINES, INC. (Delta), SKYWEST AIRLINES, INC. (SkyWest), 

and CHINA SOUTHERN AIRLINES COMPANY LIMITED (China Southern) filed 9/7/11 for:

XX Amended exemption for China Southern for one year under 49 U.S.C. 40109 to provide the 

following services: 

Scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property and mail between points in China and points 

in the United States (including authority to coterminalize U.S. points) via intermediate points, and 

beyond, on a code-share basis with any authorized U.S. air carrier.1

XX Statement of authorization in order to engage in the following code-share services:

SkyWest requests a blanket statement of authorization under 14 CFR Part 212 to display the “CZ” 

designator code of China Southern on Delta Connection flights operated by SkyWest: (a) within the 

United States (in conjunction with China Southern’s services in foreign air transportation), and (b) 

between the United States and third countries.2

XX Waiver of the 45-day advance filing requirement under 14 CFR Part 212

Applicant reps: Alexander Van der Bellen (202) 842-4184 (Delta), 

Gerald F. Murphy (202) 624-2500 (SkyWest), and 

George U. Carneal (202) 637-6546 (China Southern)

DOT Analyst: Brett D. Kruger (202) 366-8025

DISPOSITION

 1 China Southern’s current exemption authority provides for scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, 

property, and mail between points in China and points in the United States (including authority to coterminalize U.S. 

points) via intermediate points, and beyond, on a code-share basis under separate agreements with Continental 

Airlines, Inc. (Continental) and Delta (see Notice of Action Taken dated December 5, 2008, in Dockets DOT-OST1999-5031 and DOT-OST-2007-28732). China Southern seeks to amend that authority to permit it to also place its 

designator code on flights operated by SkyWest and any other authorized U.S. carrier. The joint applicants note that 

China Southern’s code-share service with Continental has been discontinued. 2 The joint applicants also request that the code-share authority granted here be administered jointly with the existing 

Delta/China Southern statement of authorization in these dockets and that any beyond U.S. gateway point notice 

given by Delta or SkyWest be deemed as notice given by either carrier. The joint applicants also state that they will 

continue to rely on established practice whereby any notice for a beyond U.S. gateway point is deemed notice for 

that point via all authorized U.S. gateways. In this regard, the joint applicants incorporate by reference all previous 

code-share notices provided in the Delta/China Southern code-share dockets.
XX Approved request of China Southern for amended exemption authority (subject to conditions, 

specifically including the condition concerning coterminalization, see Remarks below).

XX Approved request of SkyWest for a blanket statement of authorization (subject to conditions, 

see below).

XX Approved waiver of 45-day advance filing requirement under 14 CFR Part 212.

The above action granting exemption authority to China Southern is effective when taken: 

October 11, 2011, through October 11, 2012. 

The above action granting a statement of authorization to SkyWest is effective: October 11, 2011, and 

will remain in effect indefinitely, subject to conditions.

The above action granting a waiver of the advance filing requirement under 14 CFR Part 212 is effective: 

October 11, 2011.

Action taken by: Paul L. Gretch, Director

 Office of International Aviation

XX The authority granted is consistent with the Air Transport Agreement, as amended, between 

the United States and the People’s Republic of China.

Except to the extent exempted or waived, this authority is subject to the terms, conditions, and limitations 

indicated: 

 XX SkyWest’s certificates of public convenience and necessity

 XX Standard foreign carrier exemption conditions (attached as Appendix A) 

 XX Conditions for Statement of Authorization (attached as Appendix B)

 XX Statements of authorization approving Delta/China Southern code-share operations and 

 applicable conditions

___________________________________________________________________________________

Remarks: The exemption authority granted to China Southern is limited to operations conducted only 

through its code-share arrangements with U.S. carriers holding statements of authorization, on flights 

operated by those U.S. carriers.

By Notice of Action Taken dated April 15, 2010, in Docket DOT-OST-2010-0047, we specifically 

limited new coterminalization of U.S. points by China Southern for all-cargo services. For the reasons 

explained there, we are continuing to impose the same condition here for all-cargo services.3 4

__________________________________________________________________________________

On the basis of data officially noticeable under Rule 24(g) of the Department's regulations, we found the 

applicants qualified to provide the exemption services authorized. Under authority assigned by the 

Department in its regulations, 14 CFR Part 385, we found that (1) our action in this notice was consistent 

 3 We have taken similar action limiting new coterminalization of U.S. points for all-cargo services by other carriers 

of the People’s Republic of China. See e.g., Notice of Action Taken dated September 27, 2010, in Docket DOTOST-2007-28655 (Great Wall); Notices of Action Taken dated January 7, 2011, and September 21, 2010, in Docket 

DOT-OST-2010-0205 (Jade Cargo); and Notices of Action Taken dated January 21, 2011, and October 20, 2010, in 

Dockets DOT-OST-2006-24629 and DOT-OST-2006-24630 (Yangtze). 4 To the extent China Southern is currently exercising coterminalized authority, nothing in the instant Notice of 

Action Taken is intended to restrict those operations. Furthermore, our action here does not preclude China 

Southern from exercising the Alaska coterminalization authority granted by Notice of Action Taken dated August 

19, 2010, in Dockets DOT-OST-2010-0200, DOT-OST-1999-5035, and DOT-OST-1996-1600.
with Department policy; (2) grant of the authority was consistent with the public interest; and (3) grant of 

the authority would not constitute a major federal action under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 

1975. 

To the extent not granted, we denied all requests in the referenced Dockets. We may amend, modify, or 

revoke the authority granted in this Notice at any time without hearing at our discretion.

Persons entitled to petition the Department for review of the action set forth in this Notice under the 

Department’s regulations, 14 CFR §385.30, may file their petitions within seven (7) days after the date of 

issuance of this Notice. This action was effective when taken, and the filing of a petition for review will 

not alter such effectiveness.

An electronic version of this document is available on the World Wide Web at:

http://www.regulations.gov
Appendix A

Foreign Carrier Exemption Conditions

In the conduct of the operations authorized, the foreign carrier applicant(s) shall:

(1) Not conduct any operations unless it holds a currently effective authorization from its homeland for 

such operations, and it has filed a copy of such authorization with the Department;

(2) Comply with all applicable requirements of the Federal Aviation Administration, the Transportation 

Security Administration, and with all applicable U.S. Government requirements concerning security, 

including, but not limited to, 14 CFR Parts 129, 91, and 36 and 49 CFR Part 1546 or 1550, as applicable. 

To assure compliance with all applicable U.S. Government requirements concerning security, the holder 

shall, before commencing any new service (including charter flights) from a foreign airport that would be 

the holder’s last point of departure for the United States, contact its International Industry Representative 

(IIR) (formerly referred to as International Principal Security Inspector) to advise the IIR of its plans and 

to find out whether the Transportation Security Administration has determined that security is adequate to 

allow such airport(s) to be served;

(3) Comply with the requirements for minimum insurance coverage contained in 14 CFR Part 205, and, 

prior to the commencement of any operations under this authority, file evidence of such coverage, in the 

form of a completed OST Form 6411, with the Federal Aviation Administration’s Program Management 

Branch (AFS-260), Flight Standards Service (any changes to, or termination of, insurance also shall be 

filed with that office);

(4) Not operate aircraft under this authority unless it complies with operational safety requirements at 

least equivalent to Annex 6 of the Chicago Convention;

(5) Conform to the airworthiness and airman competency requirements of its Government for 

international air services;

(6) Except as specifically exempted or otherwise provided for in a Department Order, comply with the 

requirements of 14 CFR Part 203, concerning waiver of Warsaw Convention liability limits and defenses;

(7) Agree that operations under this authority constitute a waiver of sovereign immunity, for the purposes 

of 28 U.S.C. 1605(a), but only with respect to those actions or proceedings instituted against it in any 

court or other tribunal in the United States that are: (a) based on its operations in international air 

transportation that, according to the contract of carriage, include a point in the United States as a point of 

origin, point of destination, or agreed stopping place, or for which the contract of carriage was purchased 

in the United States; or (b) based on a claim under any international agreement or treaty cognizable in 

any court or other tribunal of the United States. In this condition, the term "international air 

transportation" means "international transportation" as defined by the Warsaw Convention, except that all 

States shall be considered to be High Contracting Parties for the purpose of this definition;

(8) Except as specifically authorized by the Department, originate or terminate all flights to/from the 

United States in its homeland;

(9) Comply with the requirements of 14 CFR Part 217, concerning the reporting of scheduled, 

nonscheduled, and charter data;

(10) If charter operations are authorized, except as otherwise provided in the applicable aviation 

agreement, comply with the Department's rules governing charters (including 14 CFR Parts 212 and 380); 

and

(11) Comply with such other reasonable terms, conditions, and limitations required by the public interest 

as may be prescribed by the Department, with all applicable orders or regulations of other U.S. agencies 

and courts, and with all applicable laws of the United States.

This authority shall not be effective during any period when the holder is not in compliance with the

conditions imposed above. Moreover, this authority cannot be sold or otherwise transferred without 

explicit Department approval under Title 49 of the U.S. Code.

12/2007
Appendix B

The code-share operations authorized here are subject to the following conditions:

(a) The statement of authorization granted will remain in effect only as long as (i) Delta, SkyWest, and 

China Southern continue to hold the necessary underlying authority to operate the code-share services at 

issue, and (ii) the code-share agreement providing for the code-share operations remains in effect.

(b) Delta, SkyWest, and/or China Southern, as appropriate, must notify the Department no later than 30 

days before they begin any new code-share service under the code-share services authorized here. Such 

notice shall identify the market(s) to be served, which carrier will be operating the aircraft in the codeshare market added, and the date on which the service will begin. Such notice should be filed in Dockets

DOT-OST-1997-2653, DOT-OST-1999-5031, DOT-OST-2001-9314, and DOT-OST-2001-10172.

1

(c) Delta, SkyWest, and/or China Southern, as appropriate, must promptly notify the Department if the 

code-share agreement providing for the code-share operations is no longer effective or if the carriers 

decide to cease operating all or a portion of the approved code-share services. Such notice should be filed 

in Dockets DOT-OST-1997-2653, DOT-OST-1999-5031, DOT-OST-2001-9314, and DOT-OST-2001-

10172.

2

(d) The code-sharing operations conducted under this authority must comply with 14 CFR 257 and with 

any amendments to the Department’s regulations concerning code-share arrangements that may be 

adopted. Notwithstanding any provisions in the contract between the carriers, our approval here is 

expressly conditioned upon the requirements that the subject foreign air transportation be sold in the name 

of the carrier holding out such service in the computer reservation systems and elsewhere; that the carrier 

selling such transportation (i.e., the carrier shown on the ticket) accept responsibility for the entirety of 

the code-share journey for all obligations established in its contract of carriage with the passenger; and 

that the passenger liability of the operating carrier be unaffected.

(e) The authority to operate to third countries is subject to the condition that any service provided under 

this statement of authorization shall be consistent with all applicable agreements between the United 

States and the foreign countries involved. Furthermore, (i) nothing in the award of this statement of 

authorization should be construed as conferring upon SkyWest rights (including code-share, fifth freedom 

intermediate and/or beyond rights) to serve markets where U.S. carrier entry is limited unless 

SkyWest notifies the Department of its intent to serve such a market and unless and until the Department 

has completed any necessary carrier selection procedures to determine which carrier(s) should be 

authorized to exercise such rights; and (ii) should there be a request by any carrier to use the limited-entry 

route rights that are included in the authority of SkyWest by virtue of the statement of authorization 

granted here, but that are not then being used by SkyWest, the holding of such authority will not be

considered as providing any preference for SkyWest in a competitive carrier selection proceeding to 

determine which carrier(s) should be entitled to use the authority at issue.3

(f) The authority granted here is specifically conditioned so that neither Delta, SkyWest, nor China 

Southern shall give any force or effect to any contractual provisions between themselves that are contrary 

to these conditions.

We may amend, modify, or revoke the authority granted at any time without hearing at our discretion.

 1 See Appendix C for list of initial code-share points. We grant the requests that notice given by Delta or SkyWest 

be deemed as notice given by either carrier, that notice given for a beyond U.S. gateway point be deemed notice for 

that point via all authorized U.S. gateways, and the incorporation by reference of all previous code-share notices 

filed in the Delta/China Southern code-share dockets. 2 We expect this notification to be received within ten (10) days after such non-effectiveness or of such decision. 3 The notice in paragraph (c) above can be used for this notification. 
Appendix C

INITIAL LIST OF CODE-SHARE POINTS

China Southern code on SkyWest flights

LAX to/from:

SLC Salt Lake City, Utah

SAN San Diego, California

LAS Las Vegas, Nevada

SFO San Francisco, California