THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20590 

The Honorable Madeleine Z. Bordallo 

U.S. House of Representatives 

Washington, DC 20515 

Dear Congresswoman Bordallo: 

June 20, 2014 

Thank you for your letter regarding the application ofNorwegian Air International Limited 

(NAI) for authority to conduct U.S. services. 

Given that a number of interested parties have fi led responsive pleadings to NAI's application 

and this matter is currently pending before the Department, I am sure you understand that I 

cannot comment on the merits ofNAI's application. I assure you, however, that we will give full 

and careful consideration to all of the pleadings filed on the record before we reach a 

determination in this matter. 

As is our standard practice, I am placing a copy of yo ur letter and my response in Docket 

DOT-OST -20 13-0204, as a contact outside the record of this case. You may track the progress 

of this case and view the publicly available documents filed in the docket by accessing the 

Federal Docket Management System at www.regulations.gov and searching for Docket 

DOT-OST-2013-0204. 

I hope this infonnation is helpful. 
MADELEINE Z. BORDALLO GUAM 

ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE 

RANKING MEMBER, SUBCOMMITTEE ON 

READINESS 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON MIUTARY Pl!RSONN'I!L 

NATURAL RESOURCES COMMmEE 

SuBCOMMITTll£ ON FISHEJUES, WILOUFE, 

OcEANs. AND INSULAR AFFAIRS 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON Puauc LANDS AND 

ENVIRONMENTAL REGULA'nON 

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i\ODSf Of 1RqJrtsmtatiUfS 

The Honorable Anthony Foxx 

Secretary of Transportation 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Washington DC 20590 

Dear Secretary Foxx, 

June 3, 2014 

WASHINGTON, D.C. OFFICE: 

2441 RAYBURN HOUSE 0FRCE BUILDING 

WASHINGTON, DC 20516 

(202) 226-1188 

FAX: (202) 226-0341 

DISTRICT OFFICE: 

120 FATHER DUENAS AVENUE 

Sum: 107 

HAGA11i~A. GUAM 96910 

(671)477-4272 

FAX: (671) 477-2587 

http://www.house.gov/bordallo 

I write to you today to express concern regarding the application of Norwegian Air 

International Limited (NAI) for a foreign air carrier permit. NAI holds an Air Ottrier Certificate 

(AOQ from Ireland. The company, however, is owned by Norwegian Air Shuttles (NAS), a 

Norwegian airline. NAS established NAI in Ireland, a destination which is not seiVed by NAI, likely 

to avoid the application of Norwegian employment law to NAI's flight crew. These crew members 

are not covered by European employment laws, but by Asian laws. For example, NAI's pilots are 

employed by a Singapore company on individual contracts covered by Singapore law. The pilots are 

then contracted to operate NAI's aircraft. Their compensation is substantially below their 

counterparts who fly the aircraft of NAS. 

As a Norwegian company, NAS could not establish an Irish subsidiary and have it operate 

commercial services to the U.S. but for the U.S.-EU Air Transport Agreement. That Agreement has 

a provision (Article 17 his) that says "the opponunities created by the Agreement are not intended 

to undermine labor standards or the labor-related rights and principles contained in the Parties' 

respective laws." 

The NAS/NAI business model appears to be designated expressly in a manner that 

undennines U.S. and Norwegian labor standards. Moreover, NAI's filings at DOT seem to be 

misleading on a number of points, such as why NAI was established in Ireland and NAI's flight 

crew. In addition, NAI's business model would put U.S. airlines at an unfair competitive advantage. 

Accordingly; approval of NAI's application for authority would be inconsistent with the 

Congressionally-established public interest as set forth in the aviation statues and is counter to our 

current ElJ. U.S. Air Transport Agreement. I hope you will reject this application. Thank you for 

your attention to this matter and I look forward to working with you. 

Sincerely, 

s 1 0-140604-026 
Boston, Brandon (OST) 

From: Swann, Joeann (OSn 

Sent: 

To: 

Wednesday, June 04, 2014 4:13 PM 

Boston, Brandon (OSn 

Cc: Battle, Tootie (osn 

Subject: 

Attachments: 

FW: Letter from Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo to the Honorable Anthony Foxx 

CW Bordallo Letter to Secretary Foxx.pdf 

Importance: High 

Please control this to "X" as significant. Thank you. 

Joe Ann Swann 

Correspondence Manager 

Office of the Secretary, Executive Secretariat 

U.S. Department of Transportation (Room W93-414) 

(202) 366-6425 (office) 

From: Harrison, Maria (OST) 

Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 2014 3:38PM 

To: DOTExecSec (OST) 

Subject: Letter from Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo to the Honorable Anthony Foxx 

1 

s 10-140604-026