UNITED STATES OF AMERICA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON, DC


### Issued by the Department of Transportation on October 23 , 201 3

NOTICE OF ACTION TAKEN

-- DOCKET DOT

- OST

- 201 3

- 0180

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 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 Southwest Airlines Co. (Southwest) and A irTran Airways, Inc. (AirTran) , filed 9/24/13 , for:

XX Renewal and reissuance of e xemption for Southwest and/or AirTran 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) Atlanta, Georgia, and Cancun, Mexico; (2) Baltimore, Maryland, and Cancun, Mexico; (3) Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Cancun, Mexico; (4) San Antonio , Texas, and Mexico City, Mexico; (5) San Antonio, Texas, and Cancun, Mexico; (6) Orange County, California (SNA), 1 and Mexico City, Mexico; ( 7 ) Orange County, California (SNA), and San Jose del Cabo, Mexico; (8 ) Chicago, Illinois, and Cancun, Mexico; ( 9 ) Austin , Texas, and Cancun , Mexico ; ( 10 ) Denver, Colorado , and Cancun, Mexico ; (1 1 ) Denver, Colorado, and San Jose del Cabo, Mexico; and (1 2 ) Austin, Texas, and San Jose del Cabo, Mexico.

To facilitate the merger of Southwest and AirTran, and consistent wi th Order 2011

- 11

- 17, t he applicants request that the exemption authority originally issued to AirTran for certain services between the United States and Mexico , be renewed and reissued in the name Southwest and/or AirTran. 2 The applicants state that this renewal and reissuance will allow AirTran to continue serving the subject markets and will facilitate a smooth transition to Southwest

- operated service, which it plans to begin in 2014.

Applicant rep: Robert W. Kneisley (2 02) 263

- 6284 DOT Analyst: Brett D. Kruger (202) 366

- 8025

D I S P O S I T I O N

XX Granted (subject to conditions, see below)

The above action was effective when taken: October 23 , 201 3 , through October 23 , 2015

.

1 SNA is the airport code for the John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California. As stated in our Notice of Action Taken dated November 29, 2011, in Docket DOT

- OST

- 2011

- 0205, we have designated AirTran to provide service to and from Santa Ana, Californ ia, consistent with the carrier’s application and the U.S.

- Mexico aviation agreement.
2 See Notice of Action Taken dated June 26, 2012, in Docket DOT

- OST

- 2005

- 21134 (Atlanta

- Cancun, and Baltimore

- Cancun); Notice of Action Taken dated May 8, 2012, in Docket DOT

- OST

- 2010

- 0146 (Milwaukee

Cancun); Notice of Action Taken dated November 29, 2011, in Docket DOT

- OST

- 2011

- 0205 (San Antonio

Cancun, San Antonio

- Mexico City, Orange County (SNA)

- Mexi co City, and Orange County (SNA)

- San Jose del Cabo); Order 2012

- 4

- 5, in Docket DOT

- OST

- 2012

- 0001 (Chicago

- Cancun); Notice of Action Taken dated January 27, 2012, in Docket DOT

- OST

- 2012

- 0007 (Austin

- Cancun, and Denver

- Cancun); Notice of Action Taken dated D ecember 4, 2012, in Docket DOT

- OST

- 2012

- 0190 (Denver

- San Jose del Cabo); and Notice of Action Taken dated February 1, 2013, in Docket DOT

- OST

- 2013

- 0012 (Austin

- San Jose del Cabo seasonal services). The applicants request that this authority be consolidate d into a single docket. We will grant this request, and in doing so, we will place a copy of this Notice of Action Taken in the original dockets where the authority is held. Subsequent requests and comments pertaining to this authority shall be filed in Docket DOT

- OST

- 2013

- 0180.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 holders ’ certificates of public convenience and necessity XX Standard exemption conditions (attached)

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 , and, as to the Austin

- San Jose del Cabo services, the notice requirements for seasonal/intermittent servi ces as set forth in Order 96

- 11

- 24, at 5.

Under the U.S.

- Mexico aviation agreement, either two or three U.S. carriers may be designated to provide scheduled air transportation service in each of the city

- pair markets at issue in this application. 3 Give n the circumstances presented here, we will notify the Government of Mexico of the impending designations of Southwest to serve the subject markets, but will not formally designate Southwest in these markets until such time as Southwest provides us with a date certain for the conversion from AirTran

operated services to Southwest

- operated services in a given city

- pair market

. On that date, we will withdraw the designation of AirTran for the specified market(s), and formally designate Southwest in its place

. The dormancy notice requirements, described above, will begin for Southwest in the specified market(s) on the date of conversion from AirTran to Southwest.

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

3 Two U.S. carriers may be designated for combination air transportation services at Mexico City, and three may be designated in the remaining Mexico cities at issue here.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 al l 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 suc h airport(s) to be served; and

(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. age ncies 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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