UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY 

WASHINGTON, DC

 Issued by the Department of Transportation on October 24, 2014

 NOTICE OF ACTION TAKEN -- DOCKET DOT-OST-2014-0179

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).

Application of MESA AIRLINES, INC. (Mesa), filed 10/14/14 for:

XX Exemption for two years under 49 U.S.C. § 40109 to provide the following service:

Scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail between (1) Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas, and

Leon/Guanajuato, Mexico; and (2) Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas, and Queretaro, Mexico.1 2 3

Applicant Representatives: Robert E. Cohn and Patrick R. Rizzi (202) 637-4999/5659

DOT Analyst: Darren Jaffe (202) 366-2512

D I S P O S I T I O N

XX Granted, subject to conditions (see below)

The above action granting exemption authority was effective when taken: October 24, 2014, through October 24, 2016.

Action taken by: Paul L. Gretch, Director

 Office of International Aviation

XX The authority granted is consistent with the aviation agreement between the United States and

Mexico.

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

indicated:

XX The holder’s certificates of public convenience and necessity

XX Standard Exemption Conditions (attached)

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Remarks: We acted on this application without awaiting expiration of the 15-day answer period with the consent of all 

parties served. 

Under the U.S.-Mexico aviation agreement, two U.S. carriers may be designated to provide own-aircraft scheduled 

foreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail in the Dallas/Ft. Worth-Leon/Guanajuato and Dallas/Ft. WorthQueretaro markets. Currently, American Airlines, Inc. (American) and Envoy Air Inc. (Envoy) are designated to provide 

Dallas/Ft. Worth-Leon/Guanajuato service and Envoy is designated to provide Dallas/Ft. Worth-Queretaro service. The 

applicant states that it intends to replace the “American Eagle” brand service provided by Envoy in the Dallas/Ft. WorthLeon/Guanajuato market with “American Eagle” brand service provided by Mesa beginning on or about November 6, 

2014. The applicant requests that Envoy’s designation for Dallas/Ft. Worth-Leon/Guanajuato be re-designated to Mesa 

 1 Mesa states that it will operate under the “American Eagle” brand and display the “AA” designator code of American Airlines, Inc. 

in the subject markets beginning on or about November 6, 2014. 2 American holds certificate authority to provide scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail in the Dallas/Ft. 

Worth-Leon/Guanajuato market using its own aircraft and by placing its code on services provided by Envoy Air, Inc. (Envoy). See 

Orders 2011-6-11 and 2014-4-13. Mesa states that it intends to replace the American Eagle service currently provided by Envoy in 

the Dallas/Ft. Worth-Leon/Guanajuato market. 3 On October 16, 2014, American filed an application in Docket DOT-OST-2014-0180 to provide scheduled foreign air transportation 

of persons, property and mail in the Dallas/Ft. Worth-Queretaro market by placing its code on Mesa flights. We are acting on that 

application concurrently.
without an interruption in service.

Effective Date for Start-up/Designation: American may begin marketing and selling the subject Mesa services

authorized here, but Mesa cannot commence Dallas/Ft. Worth-Leon/Guanajuato services until November 6, 2014.

The applicant states that the “American Eagle” brand service operated by Envoy in the Dallas/Ft. WorthLeon/Guanajuato market will be replaced with “American Eagle” brand service operated by Mesa commencing on or 

about November 6, 2014. Under the circumstances presented in this case, including the fact that no party opposed the 

application, we have decided that it is in the public interest to grant Mesa the requested exemption authority. In this

regard, we will withdraw the designation of Envoy effective upon the departure of its last scheduled flight in the

Dallas/Ft. Worth-Leon/Guanajuato market, but in no case effective later than 11:59 PM on November 5, 2014, and 

designate Mesa for Dallas/Ft. Worth-Leon/Guanajuato services effective November 6, 2014.

4

Conditions: The U.S.-Mexico exemption authority granted is subject to the dormancy notice requirements set forth 

in condition 7 of Appendix A of Order 88-10-2. Consistent with our standard policy, the dormancy notice period will

begin on November 6, 2014, Mesa’s proposed start-up date for the subject services.

The code-share operations conducted under this authorization are subject to the following conditions:

(a) The code-share operations conducted under this authority must comply with 14 CFR 257 and with any 

amendment 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 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.

(b) The authority granted here is specifically conditioned so that neither American nor Mesa shall give any force 

and effect to any contractual provisions between themselves that are contrary to these conditions.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

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

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 was

consistent 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 regulatory action under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975. To the

extent not granted, we denied all requests in the referenced Docket. 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:

www.regulations.gov

 4 We note that there is currently one available designation for own-aircraft Dallas/Ft. Worth-Queretaro service, and we will designate

Mesa for its proposed service. We will also provide the necessary notification to the Government of Mexico confirming American’s 

authority to provide the proposed code-share services in both of the subject markets.
ATTACHMENT

U.S. Carrier Exemption Conditions

In the conduct of the operations authorized, the U.S. carrier applicant(s) shall:

(1) Hold at all times effective operating authority from the government of each country served;

(2) Comply with applicable requirements concerning oversales contained in 14 CFR 250 (for scheduled 

operations, if authorized);

(3) Comply with the requirements for reporting data contained in 14 CFR 241;

(4) Comply with requirements for minimum insurance coverage, and for certifying that coverage to the

Department, contained in 14 CFR 205;

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

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

(6) 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, 49 CFR Part 1544. To assure compliance with all applicable U.S. 

Government requirements concerning security, the holder shall, before commencing any new service

(including charter flights) to or from a foreign airport, contact its Principal Security Inspector

(PSI) to advise the PSI 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;

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

as may be prescribed by the Department of Transportation, with all applicable orders and regulations of 

other U.S. agencies and courts, and with all applicable laws of the United States.

The authority granted shall be effective only during the period when the holder is in compliance with the 

conditions imposed above.

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