### T H E SECRE TARY OF TRANSPORTAT I ON WASHINGTON , D

. C

. 20590



### Th e H o norabl e Joe Co urtn ey U.S. House of R epresentative s Was hington , DC 20515 Dear C ongres s man C ourtn ey: .Junc9,201..t



### Thank you for your letter regarding th e app li cation of No rwe gian Ai r Intern ational Limited (NA I ) for auth orit y to c o nduct U
. S
. serv ices. Gi ve n th at a numb er of inte r es t ed parti es have fil ed r es p on s ive pl e adings to NAI 's applic ati o n and thi s matter is c urrentl y p e nding b e f o r e th e Dep artme nt , 1 am s ure you under s tand that I c annot comment on the m erit s ofNA I 's appli c ation. I as sure you , however , that we will g iv e fu ll and c are ful c o ns id erati o n to all o f th e pl eadin gs fil ed o n th e r ec ord be f o re we r eac h a de t e rmin ati o n in thi s matte r. A s is our stand ard practi ce . 1 a m placin g a co py o f yo ur lett e r and my respon se in Docket DOT -OST -2013-0 2 04 , as a c o nt act out s id e th e r ecord o f thi s cas e . Y o u may track the pro gr ess o f thi s cas e and vi e w th e publi c ly avail abl e doc um e nt s fil ed in th e doc ket by access ing the Fe de r al Doc ket Ma nag eme nt Sys tem at www. r eg ul ati o ns . gov and sea r c hin g f o r Doc ket DOT -OST -2013-0204. I ho pe thi s inf o rmation is helpful.



# .• '.\._ 7 / Anthon y R
. Fox xCOMMITTEES: ARMED SERV I CES

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### 2nb J hstrict, 111:onnccticut SUBCOMMITTEE : LIVESTOCK, RuRAL DEVELOPMENT, AND CREDIT April 28,2014 The Honorable Anthony Foxx Secretary , U.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey A venue SE Washington , D
. C. 20590 Dear Secretary Foxx , WASH I NGTON OFF I CE· 2348 R AYBURN HOUSE OFFICE BUILD I NG WASHINGTON, DC 20515 p (202 ) 225-2076 F (202 ) 225-4977
QISIR!CT OFFICE S· 55 MAIN STREET, SUITE 250 NORWI CH, CT 06360 p (860 ) 886-0139 F (860) 886-2974 77 HAZARD AV E NUE, UN I T J ENF I ELD, CT 06082 p (860)741-60 1 1 F (860) 74 1 -6036



### It has recently come to my attention that the Department ofTransportation (DOT) is evaluating an application by Norwegian Air International Limited (NAI) to operate in the United States as a foreign air carrier. I have serious reservations over such an application and believe that it would not be in the public interest to grant NAI a foreign air carTier permit. The international operations that NAI seeks to conduct would put U
. S. airlines and their employees at a significant competitive disadvantage. Norwegian Air International ' s proposed business model is structured much like the " flag of convenience " practice that has decimated the U.S. maritime industry. NAI ' s framework aims to obtain an Irish Air Operator ' s Certificate rather than operating under Norwegian standards. Additionally, the entity plans to hire pilots and crews using a Singaporean company that is based in Thailand. Such a model is expressly de s igned to undermine fair wages and working conditions by picking and choosing components most advantageous to the company and detrimental to workers , U.S carriers , and the flying public. · NAI ' s proposed framework appears to be inconsistent with congressionally-established aviation statues as well as the current EU-U.S. Air Transport Agreement. The Agreement expressly calls for high labor standards. More specifically , article 17 of this Agreement recognizes that it is not intended to undermine the labor standards or the labor-related rights and principles contained in the respective countries laws. However , NAI is seeking to establish itself in Ireland in order to avoid Norwegian labor and social laws. Additionally , while DOT has the authority to exempt foreign air carriers from federal statues , it may only do so if the exemption is in the public interest. NAI's proposed arrangement stand s to undermine DOT' s public interest standard which aims to " strengthen the competitive position of [U.S.] air carriers to at least ensure equality with foreign air carriers (49 U.S.C. 

### § 40101 (a)(15) and (e)(l)). The commercial aviation sector is a crucial component of our nation's economy. We all have a significant interest in maintaining a level playing field in which U.S. carriers can compete in. NAI's re quest for a foreign air carrier permit appear s to undermine the well-established playing

COUATNEY
. HOUSE.GOV I FACE BO O K .C OMI JOECOUATNEY I TWITT E R. C OM I REPJOECOURTNEY I YOUTUB E. COM/REPC OUATNEY 

# s 10-140505-036 PRI NTE D ON RE CY CLED PA PE Rfield in which international carriers operate. For this reason , I urge you to reject this misguided application in the absence of significant revisions by NAI.



# s 1 0 - 140505 - 036 Sincerely ,

Joe Courtney Member of Congress