Order 2010-1-2

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation on the October 29, 2009

Served: January 4, 2010

In the Matter of Consolidated International Route Authority for:

Pinnacle Airlines, Inc.

under a certificate of public convenience and necessity pursuant to 49 USC 41101 Docket DOT-OST-2005-22228

ORDER ISSUING CERTIFICATES

Summary

By this order we grant Pinnacle Airlines, Inc. (ref erred to as Pinnacle or the captioned air carrier) consolidated certificate authority to provide co mbination service in: (1) markets which are not limited as to entry or frequency but which do not i nvolve open-skies partners of the United States, for which Pinnacle holds economic authority by ex emption or certificate; and (2) U.S.-Mexico city-pair markets for which Pinnacle holds econo mic authority by exemption or certificate.

Background and Consolidation Request

In furtherance of the Department’s regulatory str eamlining initiative for licensing U.S. air carriers, we announced by Notice on February 13, 2009 (Febru ary Notice) our inten tion to realign the existing non-open-skies economic authority held by carriers already holding a blanket open-skies

certificate into new consolidated certifi cates of public convenience and necessity. 1 We stated that we would realign economic author ity involving markets, other th an Mexico, that are not openskies partners of the United States into two cer tificates -- an indefinite duration certificate for markets that are not entry- or frequency-limite d and a five-year certifi cate for limited-entry and

1 February 13, 2009 Notice in Docket DOT-OST-2005-22228.limited-frequency markets so that all authority in limited-entry or limited-frequency markets will have a common expiration date. We stated that we would cover a carrier’s U.S.-Mexico authority in a third, separate certificate, as a carrier must obtain new economic author ity on a city-pair basis each time it proposes to add a new city-pair market to its U.S.-Mexico services.

We invited carriers to request re alignment of their economic author ity by submitting a letter to the streamlining docket, Docket DOT-OST-2005-22228, identi fying the authority to be included in the new certificates. Specifically, the carrier must identify the aut hority it holds for a particular market, whether it is limited to code-share serv ices only, whether the ma rket is entry- or frequency-limited, the number of the order in wh ich the authority was granted (for previouslyissued certificate authority) and the docket in which it was granted (for exemption authority). We stated that if no issues arise making it impractic al to consolidate currently-held authority as requested by the carrier, we w ould draft a self-executing final order designed to issue the nonopen-skies market certificates upon completion of the 49 USC 41307 Presidenti al review process.

Pinnacle submitted a request by letter dated Ma y 1, 2009, listing the markets for which it seeks

consolidated certificates. 2

Decision

Under assigned authority and consistent with our streamlining and c onsolidated certificate initiative, we have decided to grant Pinnacle’s consolidation request and to reissue Pinnacle’s existing economic authority to serve markets that are not open-skies pa rtners of the United States.

Pinnacle is eligible to receive consolidated certifi cates, as described in the February Notice, as it holds a blanket open-skies certificate. 3

Our action here establishes for the carrier two new route certificates, attached at Appendices A and B. The authority to serve a particular market is included in the certificate as a route segment. We find that grant of the certificates is consis tent with the public convenience and necessity. 4 We find further that the pending consolid ated certificate requests are not controversial and that it is appropriate to grant the authorit y at issue here under simplified procedures, as explained in the February Notice. 5

The authority in the atta ched certificates is eith er consistent with aviation agreements that are currently being applied and that authorize the use of rights for which the United States has exchanged valuable operating rights, or with the overall state of aviation relations between the

2 The markets for which Pinnacle seeks consolidat ed certificates are listed in Appendix C.

3 By Order 2008-10-8, issued August 8, 2008, Pinnacle was issued a Certificate of Pub lic Convenience and Necessity for Route 887, authorizing the carrier to serve the open-skies partners of the United States.

4 Based on officially noticeable data, the Department has foun d the carrier fit, willing, and able to engage in foreign scheduled air transportation of persons, property, and mail using large aircraft, subject to the restriction that Pinnacle’s operations are performed under an agreement with a major U. S. carrier and that Pinnacle operates no more than 16 large aircraft. See Order 2008-1-1, issued October 24, 2007. The restriction is retained in this consolidation action.

5 In accordance with 14 CFR § 302.207, et seq ., we may, in our discre tion, omit a tentative decision in proceedings and proceed directly to a final decision.United States and the relevant foreign country or countries. All of the au thority conferred here contributes to the variety of price and service options availa ble to travelers and shippers.

We therefore find, under assigned au thority, that the public intere st warrants granting Pinnacle consolidated certificate authority attached at Appendices A and B, and subject to the conditions

attached.

The attached certificates of public convenience and necessity are subject to the standard terms, conditions, and limitations we consistently impose in the public interest. The certificate holder may request amendment of the certificates to include newly obtained authority, through the addition of a new route segment, as de scribed in the February Notice.

Upon effectiveness, the authority gr anted by this order supersedes a ny orders previously issued or actions taken by the Department granting the car rier operating rights in the listed markets. For those services currently operated under an ex emption, the exemption will terminate upon the

effectiveness of the attached certificat e of public convenience and necessity.

Findings and Conclusions

In view of the foregoing a nd all the facts of record, we find and conclude that:

1. It is consistent with the public convenie nce and necessity to is sue the captioned air

carrier the certificates attached as Appendices A and B, to this order;

2. On the basis of data officially noticea ble under 14 CFR 302.24 of the Department’s regulations, the captioned air carr ier is a citizen of the United States and is fit, willing, and able to perform properly the foreign ai r transportation described in the attached certificates and to conform to the provisions of Subtitle VII of Title 49, United States Code (Transportation), and to the Department’s rules, re gulations, and requirements;

3. The public interest requires that the exercise of the privile ges granted by the attached certificates be subject to the terms, conditi ons and limitations contained in the attached certificates and to such others required by the public interest as the Department may prescribe;

4. The issuance of the attached cer tificates to the captioned air carrier does not constitute a major regulatory action under the Energy Policy and Conservati on Act of 1975, as defined by section 313.4(a)( 1) of the Department’s regulations; 6 and

5. The public interest does not require an or al evidentiary hearing or a show-cause proceeding on the applications and the acti ons taken here. There are no material, determinative issues of fact requiring such procedures for their resolution.

In view of the above, and acting under authority assigned by the Department in its regulations,

6 Our finding is based on the fact that the grant of this portion of the application would not result in a near-term increase in annual fuel consumption in excess of 10 million gallons.14 CFR Part 385, we find that our action here is consistent with Department policy.

ACCORDINGLY,

1. We issue, as attached in Appendix A, a cer tificate of public convenience and necessity to Pinnacle Airlines, Inc., for markets that are not limited as to entry or frequency but which involve non-open-skies aviation partners of the United States and for which Pinnacle Airlines, Inc. otherwise holds economic authority by exemption or certificate;

2. We issue, as attached in Appendix B, a certificate of public convenience and necessity to Pinnacle Airlines, Inc., covering U.S.-Mexico c ity-pair markets the carrier is authorized to serve by exemption;

3. This order supersedes any orders previously issued or actions taken by the Department to the extent such order or action grants th e carrier operating rights, by certificate or exemption, in markets covered by the attached certificates;

4. The certificates issued to Pinnacle Airlines , Inc. will be effective upon the service date of this order; 7

5. Unless disapproved by the President of th e United States under 49 U.S.C. § 41307, this

order shall become effective upon the 61st day after its submission for § 41307 review, or upon the date of receipt of advice from th e President or his designee under Executive Order 12597 and implementing regulations that he or she does not intend to disapprove the Department’s order under that section, whichever occurs earlier; 8 and

7 Pinnacle’s operations using large aircra ft are restricted to oper ations performed under an agreement with a major

U.S. carrier and the number of aircraft that the carrier may operate is also limited ( see footnote 4).

8 This order was submitted for section 41307 review on October 29, 2009. The 61 st day is December 29, 2009. Since the President or his designee did not disa pprove this order before that date, it became effective on December 29, 2009.7. We will serve this order on Pinnacle Airlin es, Inc., the Ambassador in Washington, D.C. of each foreign aviation partner that the appl icant holds authority to serve, the U.S. Department of State (Office of Aviati on Negotiations), and the Federal Aviation

Administration.

By:

PAUL L. GRETCH

Director

Office of International Aviation

(SEAL)

An electronic version of this document is available on the World Wide Web at: http://www.regulations.govAppendix A



# Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity

for

ROUTE 896

This Certifies That



# Pinnacle Airlines, Inc.

is authorized, subject to the provisions of Subtitle VII of Title 49 of United States Code, the orders, rules, and reg ulations issued thereunder, and the attached Terms, Conditions, and Limi tations, to engage in foreign air transportation of persons, property and mail.

This certificate is not transferable without the approval of the Department of the Transportation.

By Direction of the Secretary

Issued by Order 2010-1-2 Paul L. Gretch On October 29, 2009 Director, Office of Effective on December 29, 20 09 International AviationOrder 2010-1-2

Route 896 Page 1 of 2

Terms, Conditions, and Limitations

Pinnacle Airlines, Inc.

for Route 896

is authorized to engage in sc heduled foreign air transportation of persons, property and mail:

Between the United States and Turks & Caicos Islands.

Between the United States and Belize.

This authority is subject to the following conditions:

(1) The holder shall at all times conduct its operations in accordance with the regulations prescribed by the Department of Transportation fo r the services authorized by this certificate, and with such other reasonable terms, condi tions, and limitations as the Department of Transportation may prescribe in the public interest.

(2) The holder shall at all times conduct its operations in accordance with all treaties and agreements between the United States and other countries, and the exercise of the privileges granted by this certificate is subj ect to compliance with such tr eaties and agreements and with any orders of the Department of Transportation i ssued under them. To the extent that the holder has authority to serve more than one country or points in more than one country on the same route segment, that authority does not confer upon the holder any addi tional rights (including fifth-freedom intermediate and/or beyond rights) in limited-entry markets unless the Department has completed any necessary carrie r selection procedures to dete rmine which carrier(s) should be authorized to exercise such rights. In such cas es, the fact that the carr ier may hold authority to serve the countries (points) at issue on the same segment will not be considered as providing any preference to the holder in a carrier selection proceeding.

(3) The exercise of the authority grante d here is subject to the holder’s first obtaining from the appropriate foreign governments such operating rights as may be necessary.

(4) The holder’s authority under this certificate is effective only to the extent that such operations comply with all applicable requirements of the Federal Aviation Administration and with all applicable U.S. Government requireme nts concerning securit y, including, but not limited to, 40 CFR Part 1544. To assure compliance with all applicable U.S. Government requirements concerning security, the holder sh all, before commencing any new service to or from a foreign airport, contact its Principal Secu rity Inspector (PSI) to advise th e PSI of its plans and to find out whether the Transportation Security Administration has determined th at security is adequate to allow such airport(s) to be served.Order 2010-1-2

Route 896 Page 2 of 2

(5) The holder shall at all times remain a “Citi zen of the United States,” as required by 49 U.S.C. 40102(a)(15).

(6) The holder shall maintain in effect liabil ity insurance coverage as required under 14 CFR

Part 205. Failure to maintain such insurance cove rage will render a cert ificate ineffective, and this or other failure to comply with the pr ovisions of Subtitle VII of 49 U.S.C. or the Department’s regulations shall be suffici ent grounds to revoke this certificate.

(7) Should the holder propose any substantia l changes in its ownership, management, or operations (as that term is defined in 14 CF R 204.2(l)), it must first comply with the requirements of 14 CFR 204.5.

(8) In the event the holder c eases all operations for which it was found “fit, willing, and able,” its authority under this certificate shall be suspe nded under the terms of 14 CFR 204.7 and the holder may neither commence nor advertise such operations unle ss its fitness to do so has been redetermined by the Department. Moreover, if the holder does not resume operations within one year of its cessation, its authority sha ll be revoked for dormancy.

(9) The holder may combine services authori zed by this certificate with all services authorized by other Department of Tran sportation certificates and exemptions; provided that such operations are in compliance with the pr ovisions of all applicable bilateral aviation agreements, and provided further that (a) nothin g in the award of rout e integration authority should be construed as conferring upon the hol der additional rights (i ncluding fifth-freedom intermediate and/or beyond rights) to serve markets where U.S. carrier entry is limited unless the holder first notifies the Department of its intent to serve such a market and unless and until the Department has completed any necessary carrie r selection procedures to determine which carrier(s) should be authorized to exercise such right s; and (b) should ther e be a request by any carrier to use the limited-entry r oute rights that are included in th is certificate by virtue of the route integration authority grante d here, but that are not then being used by the holder, the holding of such authority by route integration will not be construe d as providing any preference for the holder in a competitive carrier selection proceeding to determine which carrier(s) should be entitled to use the authority at issue.Appendix B



# Experimental Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity

for

ROUTE 897

This Certifies That



# Pinnacle Airlines, Inc.

is authorized, subject to the provisions of Subtitle VII of Title 49 of United States Code, the orders, rules, and reg ulations issued thereunder, and the attached Terms, Conditions, and Limi tations, to engage in foreign air transportation of persons, property and mail.

This certificate is not transferable without the approval of the Department of the Transportation.

By Direction of the Secretary

Issued by Order 2010-1-2 Paul L. Gretch On October 29, 2009 Director, Office of Effective on December 29, 2009 International AviationOrder 2010-1-2

Route 897 Page 1 of 3

Terms, Conditions, and Limitations

Pinnacle Airlines, Inc.

for Route 897

is authorized to engage in sc heduled foreign air transportati on of persons, property and mail over the following U.S.-Mexico city-pair route segments:

Atlanta-Cozumel Atlanta-Guadalajara Atlanta-Monterrey

This authority is subject to the following terms, conditions, and limitations:

(1) The holder shall at all times conduct its operations in accordance with the regulations prescribed by the Department of Tran sportation for the services authorized by this certificate, and with such other reasonable terms, condi tions, and limitations as the Department of Transportation may prescribe in the public interest.

(2) The holder shall at all times conduct its operations in accordance with all treaties and agreements between the United States and other countries, and the exercise of the privileges granted by this certificate is subj ect to compliance with such tr eaties and agreements and with any orders of the Department of Transportation i ssued under them. To the extent that the holder has authority to serve more than one country or points in more than one country on the same route segment, that authority does not confer upon the holder any addi tional rights (including fifth-freedom intermediate and/or beyond rights), in limited-entry markets unless the Department has completed any necessary carrie r selection procedures to dete rmine which carrier(s) should be authorized to exercise such rights and has notif ied the foreign country(ies) involved that any such selected carrier(s) has the required authority. In such cases , the fact that the carrier may hold authority to serve the countries (points) at issue on the same segment will not be considered as providing any preference to the holder in a carrier selection proceeding.

(3) The exercise of the authority granted here is subject to the holder’s first obtaining from the appropriate foreign governments such operating rights as may be necessary.

(4) The holder’s authority is effective only to th e extent that such operations comply with all applicable requirements of the Federal Aviati on Administration, the Tr ansportation Security Administration, and with all ap plicable U.S. Government re quirements concerning security, including, but not limited to, 49 CFR Part 1544. To as sure 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 forei gn airport, contact its Principal Security Inspector (PSI) to advise the PSI of its plans a nd to find out whether the Transportation Security

Administration has determined that security is adequate to allow such airport(s) to be served.Order 2010-1-2

Route 897 Page 2 of 3

(5) The holder shall at all times remain a “C itizen of the United Stat es” as required by 49 U.S.C. 40102(a)(15).

(6) The holder shall maintain in effect liabil ity insurance coverage as required under 14 CFR

Part 205. Failure to maintain such insurance cove rage will render a cert ificate ineffective, and this or other failure to comply with the pr ovisions of Subtitle VII of 49 U.S.C. or the Department’s regulations shall be suffici ent grounds to revoke this certificate.

(7) The holder acknowledges that this certificate is granted to determine if the holder’s projected services, efficiencies, me thods, rates, fares, charges, and other projected results will, in fact, materialize and remain for a sustained peri od of time, and to determine whether the holder will provide the innovative and low- priced air transportation it propos ed in its application for this authority.

(8a) The holder may combine services on all city-pair route segments of this certificate and

combine services on this certificate with U.S.-M exico combination services authorized by other Department of Transportation certificates or exemptions, subject to the condition below.

(8b) The provisions in paragraph 8(a), above shall not authorize services which would constitute multiple designations on city-pair rout e segments where such multiple designations are not agreed to by the United States and Mexico.

(9) The holder may combine services authori zed by this certificate with all services authorized by other Department of Tran sportation certificates and exemptions; provided that such operations are in compliance with the pr ovisions of all applicable bilateral aviation agreements, and provided further that (a) nothin g in the award of rout e integration authority should be construed as conferring upon the hol der additional rights (i ncluding fifth-freedom intermediate and/or beyond rights) to serve markets where U.S. carrier entry is limited unless the holder first notifies the Department of its intent to serve such a market and unless and until the Department has completed any necessary carrie r selection procedures to determine which carrier(s) should be authorized to exercise such right s; and (b) should ther e be a request by any carrier to use the limited-entry r oute rights that are included in th is certificate by virtue of the route integration authority grante d here, but that are not then being used by the holder, the holding of such authority by route integration will not be construe d as providing any preferenceOrder 2010-1-2

Route 897 Page 3 of 3

for the holder in a competitive carrier selection proceeding to determine which carrier(s) should be entitled to use the authority at issue.

(10) The holder shall file a notice with the Department if it discontinues services on a citypair route segment for 90 days or longer. This notice shall be given as soon as the decision to discontinue service (other than seasonal/intermitte nt service) is made, but in no case later than the 91st day of dormancy. Notices shall be filed in the form of a letter addressed to the U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. Air Ca rrier Licensing Division, X-44, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20590, and shall identify the dormant city-pair route segment, the certificate route number, and the date the 90th day of dormancy will or did occur.

(11) Should the holder propose any substan tial changes in its ownership, management, or operations (as that term is define d in 14 CFR 204 of the Department ’s regulations), it must first comply with the requirements of 14 CFR 204.

(12) In the event that the hol der ceases all operations for whic h it was found “fit, willing, and able,” its authority under this certificate shall be suspende d under the terms of 14 CFR 204 of the Department’s regulations and the holder may neither recommence nor advertise such operations

unless its fitness to do so has been redetermin ed by the Department. Moreover, if the holder does not resume operations within one year of its cessation, its authorit y shall be revoked for dormancy.

The authority to serve each city-pair route segment in this certificate shall continue in effect until December 29, 2014 ; notwithstanding the above

, however , the authority to serve any city-pair route segment shall expire automatically and reve rt to the Department (a) the 90th day after the holder discontinues service on that segment, or (b ) when the holder notifies the Department (as provided in this certificate) that the segment is dormant, whichever o ccurs earlier; unless the Department earlier suspends, modifi es, or deletes the authority.Appendix C

List of Currently-Held Ec onomic Authority Submitted fo r Consolidation by Pinnacle*

1. Non-limited-entry Mark ets (Non-Open-Skies)

U.S.-Belize, Docket DOT-OST-2008-0086.

U.S.-Turks & Caicos Isla nds, Docket DOT-OST-2008-0376.

2. U.S.-Mexico City-Pair Markets

Atlanta-Cozumel, Docket DOT-OST-2008-0005. Atlanta-Guadalajara, Docket DOT-OST-2009-0045. Atlanta-Monterrey, Docket DOT-OST-2009-0045.

* Pinnacle operates each of the listed services under the “DL* ” code of Delta Air Lines, Inc., pursuant to an agreement with the carrier.