U.S. Department of 

Transportation 

Office of the Secretary 

of Transportation 

March 11,2014 

Mr. John Mietus 

Law Offices of John Mietus LLC 

6701 Democracy Blvd Suite 300 

Bethesda, MD 20817 

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r. 'C ". :"1 ; I --, I,. i , .,!J ·• ,,\ , 0 ~- -r· -~ I 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE 

Washington DC 20590 

RE: Dockets DOT-OST-2014-0012/13, Application of Eastern Air Lines Group, Inc. for a 

Certificate Of Public Convenience and Necessity 

Dear Mr. Mietus: 

We are currently reviewing the certificate application of Eastern Air Lines Group, Inc. 

("Eastern"), in Dockets DOT-OST-2014-0012/13 requesting authority to engage in interstate and 

foreign charter air transportation of persons, property, and mail. 

The purpose of this letter is to notify you of our intended ruling on your request for confidential 

treatment of documents filed in support of the referenced application. Eastern filed motions on 

January 24, July 18, and October 27, 2014, and January 21, 2015, requesting that the following 

material be considered for confidential treatment under 14 CFR § 302.12 (Rule 12) of our rules 

to withhold from public disclosure: 

January 24, 2014 

1. Exhibit A: FAA License Numbers 

2. Exhibit B: Private Placement Memorandum 

3. Exhibit C: Forecast pre-operating costs and revenues 

July 18, 2014 

4. Exhibit D: VV-DC Eastern Investments LLC Agreement 

5. Exhibit E: Preferred Stock Subscription Agreement between VV -DC and Eastern 

6. Exhibit F: Senior Secured Note/Line of Credit Agreement between VV -DC and 

Eastern 

7. Exhibit G: Goldman Sachs letter confirming availability of funds 

8. Exhibit H: Amended Subscription Agreement and Private Placement Memorandum 

9. Exhibit I: FAA License Numbers 

October 27, 2014 

10. Exhibit J: Investor List 

January 21,2015 

11. Exhibit K: Aircraft Lease agreement 
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12. Exhibit L: Second Amended Warrant Agreement between Eastern and New Eastern 

Air Lines, Inc. 

13. Exhibit M: Warrant Agreement letters from Credit Agricole and Raymond James & 

Associates, Inc. · 

14. Exhibit N: Board Resolution and proposed Employee Stock Incentive Plan 

15. Exhibit 0: Updated First Year Revenue forecast 

In support of its request Eastern states that the information at issue meets the requirements for 

exemption .from public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. Section 

552(b)(4), and provided examples of Department precedent regarding confidential treatment of 

similar documents. 

Rule 12 instructs us to evaluate requests for confidential treatment by the standards of disclosure 

found in the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. section 552). Information may be withheld 

from disclosure under 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4) if it is (1) commercial or financial, (2) obtained from a 

person outside of government, and (3) privileged or confidential (Gulf and Western Industries, 

Inc. v. United States:615F.2d 527,529 (D.C. Cir. 1979)). 

There is no question that the information for which Eastern seeks confidential treatment is 

financial or commercial in nature and that it was obtained from a person outside the government. 

The remaining question is whether .the information is privileged or confidential--whether 

"disclosure of the information is likely to have either of the following effects: (1) impair the 

Government's ability to obtain necessary information; or (2) cause substantial harm to the 

competitive position from whom the information was obtained" (National Parks and 

Conservation Association v. Morton, 498 F.2d 765,770 (D.C. Cir.l974)). Further, to be 

privileged or confidential, the information must not be of the type that is usually released to the 

public (Gulf and Western Industries, Inc. v. United States, 615F.2d 527,530 (D.C. Cir. 1979)). 

We have reviewed the material submitted and have decided to grant confidential treatment for 

some, but not all, of the information for which such treatment is sought. 

Absent extenuating circumstances, it is not the Department's practice to withhold from public 

disclosure information regarding an applicant's historical or projected financial statements; preoperating and first-year operating expense forecasts; proposed operating plans and related 

statistics. Moreover, Eastern provided a non-confidential version of its start-up forecast on both 

July 18 and October 27, 2014. Therefore, we have decided to partially deny Eastern's request to 

withhold Exhibits C and 0 from public disclosure. More specifically, confidential treatment is 

being denied to the following portions of Exhibits C and 0:. 

1. Start up Costs spreadsheet 

2. Balance Sheet forecast 

3. Key Assumptions Page 

a. Cockpit Crew including Expenses 

b. Cabin Crew including Expenses 

However, the Department will generally grant confidential treatment to information pertaining to 

contractual agreements and negotiations, as well as detailed bus~ness plans that disclose an 

applicant's competitive strategy, proposed fares, or projected revenues for planned routes. 

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Therefore, we will grant Eastern's request to withhold from public disclosure the following 

portions of Exhibit C and 0: 

4. Income Statement 

a. Revenue per Block Hour 

b. Total Revenue 

c. Pre-Interest Profit and Loss 

d. Net Profit and Loss 

5. Key Assumptions Page 

a. ACMI Block Hour charge rate 

Additionally, we will grant confidential treatment to Exhibits B, D, E, F, H, K and L. The 

Department has, in the past, granted confidential treatment to this type of information. 

Regarding Exhibits A and I, FAA license numbers, we grant confidential treatment. The 

Department has, in the past, granted confidential treatment to this type of information. 

Regarding Exhibit J, the list of private investors, it is not the Department's practice to 

withhold from public disclosure information regarding an applicant's ultimate ownership. In .this 

case, Eastern has identified those individuals with ownership interests of more than 10 percent 

and we note that our rules do not require the reporting of ownership information of those 

interests with less than 10 percent. Therefore we will grant confidential treatment to Exhibit J to 

the identity of the owners listed who individually own less than 10 percent of Eastern interests. 

Concerning Exhibit G, upon request of the Department, Eastern filed an unredacted copy in the 

public docket on October 27, 2014. The applicant's request for confidential treatment of these 

exhibits, therefore, is moot. 

Under Rule 12; the information identified above for which confidential treatment is not granted, 

will be released to any person requesting it unless, within 5 (business) days from the date of the 

receipt of this letter, the applicant files with this office a petition for reconsideration or a written 

statement in good faith of its intent to seek judicial review of this decision. Please inform us if 

Eastern wishes to pursue either option. If reconsideration or judicial review of this decision is 

not sought, Eastern should immediately resubmit to the appropriate docket in this proceeding, the 

exhibit for placement on the public record. 

In the meantime, as is the Department's practice, further processing of your application will be 

deferred pending receipt of this material. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. If you 

have any questions regarding this letter or the requested information, please feel free to contact 

Katy O'Toole ofmy staff at (202) 366-9998 or via email at Catherine.O'Toole@dot.gov. 

Sincerely, 

Lauraly J. o 

Chief, · Carrier Fitness Division 

Office of Aviation Analysis 
cc: Docket DOT-OST-2014-0112/13 

Mr. Edward J. Wegel 

President and CEO 

Eastern Air Lines Group, Inc. 

Miami International Airport 

Miami FL 33142 

Mr. Pat McLaughlin 

Mr. Brian Karns 

Federal Aviation Administration 

South Florida CMO 

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