UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY 

WASHINGTON, DC

Issued by the Department of Transportation on January 26, 2010 

 NOTICE OF ACTION TAKEN -- DOCKETS DOT-OST-2005-20122 and DOT-OST-2009-0340 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

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). 

1. Docket DOT-OST-2005-20122

Application of CONTINENTAL AIRLINES, INC. (Continental), filed 12/11/2009 for: 

XX Amendment of exemption under 49 U.S.C. 40109 to the extent necessary to permit Continental to 

display its designator code on flights operated by its foreign code-share partners on the following 

services: 

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

States and points worldwide on a third-country code-share basis pursuant to blanket code-sharing 

statements of authorization previously approved by the Department. 1 2

2. Docket DOT-OST-2009-0340

Joint Application of CONTINENTAL, CONTINENTAL MICRONESIA, INC. (Continental 

Micronesia), and AIR NEW ZEALAND LIMITED (Air New Zealand), filed 12/11/2009 for:

Blanket statements of authorization to permit Continental to display the (NZ*) designator code of 

Air New Zealand on Continental flights and Air New Zealand to display the (CO*) designator code 

of Continental on Air New Zealand flights in conjunction with foreign air transportation of 

persons, property, and mail: 1) between any point or points in the United States and any point or 

points in New Zealand (on a nonstop basis and on routings via intermediate Open Skies points); 2) 

between U.S. points; 3 ) between points in New Zealand; 4) beyond New Zealand to any point or 

points; and 5) beyond the United States to any point or points.3

 

1

 The authorized foreign carriers are: Compania Panamena de Aviacion, S.A. (COPA); Air Canada; Jazz Air LP 

d/b/a Air Canada Jazz (Air Canada Jazz); British Midland Airways Limited d/b/a bmi (bmi); British Midland 

Regional Limited d/b/a bmi Regional (bmi Regional); Deutsche Lufthansa AG (Lufthansa); Lufthansa Cityline 

GmbH (Lufthansa Cityline); Air Dolomiti S.p.A. LARE (Air Dolomiti); Augsburg Airways GmbH (Augsburg); 

PrivatAir GmbH; PrivatAir S.A.; Contact Air Flugdienst GmbH & Co. (Contact Air); Eurowings Luftverkehrs AG 

(Eurowings); Cirrus Airlines Luftfahrtgesellschaft mbH (Cirrus Airlines); and Asiana Airlines, Inc. (Asiana). See

Notices of Action Taken on October 21, 2009, in Dockets 2005-20122, DOT-OST-2009-0173, DOT-OST-2009-

0174, and DOT-OST-2009-0175; and November 20, 2009, in Dockets 2005-20122 and DOT-OST-2009-0277. We 

note that, subsequent to our October 21, 2009 action noted above, in addition to the Continental code-share safety 

audit reports that had been accepted by the FAA for Lufthansa, Air Canada, bmi, Lufthansa Cityline, Air Dolomiti, 

Contact Air, Cirrus Airlines, Air Canada Jazz, and bmi Regional, the FAA has advised the Department that it has 

reviewed and found acceptable the code-share safety audit report submitted by Continental for Eurowings. 2

 Continental requests that its blanket code-share exemption authority be amended to the extent necessary to permit it to 

also place its designator code on flights operated by Air New Zealand Limited through March 5, 2011, coextensive with 

its existing exemption authority in Docket DOT-OST-2005-20122. 

3

 The joint applicants state that unless the context of their application requires otherwise, the term “Continental” 

includes Continental Micronesia. The joint applicants note that Continental Micronesia will not place its code on 
Applicant reps: R. Bruce Keiner, Jr. (202) 624-2615 (Continental and Continental Micronesia) and 

 Susan Gotbetter (212) 318-3121 (Air New Zealand)

DOT Analyst: Robert J. Finamore (202) 366-2405

D I S P O S I T I O N 

XX Granted (subject to conditions, see below) 

The above action granting amended exemption authority is effective when taken: January 26, 2010, 

through March 5, 2011. The above action granting blanket statements of authorization to the referenced 

carriers is effective: January 26, 2010, and will remain in effect indefinitely, subject to conditions. 

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 

New Zealand. 

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

indicated: 

 XX Continental’s certificates of public convenience and necessity 

 XX Standard U.S. exemption conditions (attached as Appendix A) 

 XX Conditions for statements of authorization granted here (attached as Appendix B) 

 XX Conditions attached to previously granted blanket statements of authorization4

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Remarks/Conditions: We note that Continental has conducted a safety audit of Air New Zealand under 

the Department’s Code-Share Safety Audit Program, and the FAA has advised us that it has reviewed the 

relevant audit report and found it to be acceptable. 

The exemption authority granted here is for operations with the foreign code-share partners and affiliates 

named above, to include Air New Zealand. Should Continental and any additional code-share partner be 

granted statements of authorization, Continental will need to apply for exemption authority to the extent 

necessary to permit Continental to display its code on flights operated by the new code-share partner and 

will need to have conducted code-share safety audits of its foreign partners prior to receipt of authority for 

such code-share services. 

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

Continental 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. 

 flights operated by Air New Zealand, but Air New Zealand will place its code on flights operated by Continental 

Micronesia. 

4

 See Notices of Action Taken dated July 9, 1998 (98-65, undocketed, Continental-COPA); October 21, 2009 

(Dockets DOT-OST-2005-20122, DOT-OST-2009-0173, DOT-OST-2009-0174, and DOT-OST-2009-0175, 

Continental.-Air Canada and Air Canada Jazz, Continental-bmi and bmi Regional, and Continental-Lufthansa, 

Lufthansa Cityline, Air Dolomiti, Augsburg, PrivatAir GmbH, PrivatAir S.A., Contact Air, Eurowings, and Cirrus 

Airlines); and November 20, 2009 (Dockets DOT-OST-2005-20122 and DOT-OST-2009-0277, ContinentalAsiana). 
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 

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. 

 

 

 1/2008
 Appendix B 

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

(a) The statements of authorization will remain in effect only as long as (i) Continental, Continental Micronesia, and 

Air New Zealand 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) Continental, Continental Micronesia, and/or Air New Zealand, 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 code-share market added, 

and the date on which the service will begin.1

 Such notice should be filed in Docket DOT-OST-2005-20122. 

(c) Continental, Continental Micronesia, and/or Air New Zealand, 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 Docket DOT-OST2005-20122.2

(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; that the passenger liability of the operating carrier be unaffected; and that the operating 

carrier shall not permit the code of its U.S. code-sharing partner to be carried on any flight that enters, departs, or 

transits the airspace of any area for whose airspace the Federal Aviation Administration has issued a flight prohibition. 

(e) The authority to operate to third countries is subject to the condition that any service provided under the 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 blanket statement of authorization should be construed as 

conferring upon Continental or Continental Micronesia rights (including code-share, fifth freedom intermediate and/or 

beyond rights) to serve markets where U.S. carrier entry is limited unless Continental or Continental Micronesia 

notifies the Department of their 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 

Continental or Continental Micronesia by virtue of the blanket statement of authorization granted here, but that are not 

then being used by Continental or Continental Micronesia, the holding of such authority will not be considered as 

providing any preference for Continental or Continental Micronesia 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 Continental, Continental Micronesia, nor Air 

New Zealand 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

 Pursuant to the Department’s Notice In the Matter of Blanket Notification of Code-Share Service to Open Skies Partners and 

Points dated February 9, 2009, the joint applicants have provided blanket notification of their intent to engage in reciprocal 

code-share services between the Open Skies points as outlined in their application. The joint applicants also provided notice that, 

on or about March 1, 2010, the CO* code of Continental will be displayed on Air New Zealand flights in the following markets: 

1) Los Angeles-Rarotonga; 2) Rarotonga-Auckland (excluding traffic originating or terminating at Auckland and Rarotonga); 3) 

Auckland-Hong Kong (excluding traffic originating or terminating at Hong Kong and Auckland or other South Pacific and Asian 

points); and 4) Auckland-Nadi, Fiji (excluding traffic originating or terminating at Auckland and Fiji). 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 (b) above can be used for this notification.