UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation on January 20, 2015

NOTICE OF ACTION TAKEN – DOCKET DOT-OST-2014-0202 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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).

Joint Applicants: AEROVÍAS DE MÉXICO, S.A. DE C.V. (Aeromexico) and SOCIÉTÉ AIR FRANCE (Air 

France)

Date Filed: November 21, 2014 

Relief requested: 

1. Exemption under 49 USC §40109 to permit Aeromexico to engage in scheduled foreign air transportation of property 

and mail between Mexico City, Mexico, and Atlanta, Georgia, by placing its AM* designator code on all-cargo flights 

operated by Air France.

2. A statement of authorization under 14 CFR Part 212 for an indefinite duration to permit Air France to display the AM* 

designator code of Aeromexico on Air France-operated all-cargo flights between Mexico City, Mexico, and Atlanta, 

Georgia.

The Joint Applicants further request a waiver of the 45-day advance filing requirement under 14 CFR Part 212.

Applicant representatives: John R. Mietus, Jr., 202-747-5212 (Aeromexico), & Robert E. Cohn and Patrick R. Rizzi, 202-

637-4999/5659 (Air France)

DOT analyst: David R. Christofano, 202-366-0584

Responsive pleadings: None

DISPOSITION

Action: Approved, subject to conditions Action date: January 20, 2015

Effective dates of authority granted: Aeromexico’s exemption authority is effective from January 20, 2015, through

January 20, 2016. 

The statement of authorization granted to Air France is effective January 20, 2015, and will remain in effect for an 

indefinite duration, subject to conditions. 

Our action granting the joint applicants’ request for waiver of the 45-day advance filing requirement under 14 CFR Part 

212 is effective January 20, 2015.

Basis for approval (bilateral agreement/reciprocity): United States-Mexico Air Transport Services Agreement and U.S.-

EU Air Transport Agreement.

Except to the extent exempted/waived, this authority is subject to the terms, conditions, and limitations of our standard 

foreign air carrier exemption conditions attached as Appendix A and code-share conditions attached as Appendix B.

Action taken by: Paul L. Gretch, Director Office of International Aviation

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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) the applicants were qualified to perform their proposed operations; (3) grant of the authority was consistent 

with the public interest; and (4) 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.

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

Foreign Air Carrier Exemption Conditions

In the conduct of the operations authorized, the foreign carrier applicant(s) shall:

(1) Not conduct any operations unless it holds a currently effective authorization from its homeland for such 

operations, and it has filed a copy of such authorization with the Department;

(2) 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, 

14 CFR Parts 129, 91, and 36 and 49 CFR Part 1546 or 1550, as applicable. To assure compliance with all applicable 

U.S. Government requirements concerning security, the holder shall, before commencing any new service (including 

charter flights) from a foreign airport that would be the holder’s last point of departure for the United States, contact its 

International Industry Representative (IIR) (formerly referred to as International Principal Security Inspector) to advise 

the IIR 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;

(3) Comply with the requirements for minimum insurance coverage contained in 14 CFR Part 205, and, prior to the 

commencement of any operations under this authority, file evidence of such coverage, in the form of a completed 

OST Form 6411, with the Federal Aviation Administration’s Program Management Branch (AFS-260), Flight 

Standards Service (any changes to, or termination of, insurance also shall be filed with that office);

(4) Not operate aircraft under this authority unless it complies with operational safety requirements at least 

equivalent to Annex 6 of the Chicago Convention;

(5) Conform to the airworthiness and airman competency requirements of its Government for international air services;

(6) Except as specifically exempted or otherwise provided for in a Department Order, comply with the requirements 

of 14 CFR Part 203, concerning waiver of Warsaw Convention liability limits and defenses;

(7) Agree that operations under this authority constitute a waiver of sovereign immunity, for the purposes of 28 U.S.C. 

1605(a), but only with respect to those actions or proceedings instituted against it in any court or other tribunal in the 

United States that are: (a) based on its operations in international air transportation that, according to the contract of 

carriage, include a point in the United States as a point of origin, point of destination, or agreed stopping place, or for 

which the contract of carriage was purchased in the United States; or (b) based on a claim under any international 

agreement or treaty cognizable in any court or other tribunal of the United States. In this condition, the term 

"international air transportation" means "international transportation" as defined by the Warsaw Convention, except that 

all States shall be considered to be High Contracting Parties for the purpose of this definition;

(8) Except as specifically authorized by the Department, originate or terminate all flights to/from the United States in its 

homeland;

(9) Comply with the requirements of 14 CFR Part 217, concerning the reporting of scheduled, nonscheduled, and charter 

data;

(10) If charter operations are authorized, except as otherwise provided in the applicable aviation agreement, comply with 

the Department's rules governing charters (including 14 CFR Parts 212 and 380); and

(11) Comply with such other reasonable terms, conditions, and limitations required by the public interest as may be 

prescribed by the Department, with all applicable orders or regulations of other U.S. agencies and courts, and with all 

applicable laws of the United States.

This authority shall not be effective during any period when the holder is not in compliance with the conditions imposed 

above. Moreover, this authority cannot be sold or otherwise transferred without explicit Department approval under Title 

49 of the U.S. Code.

12/2007
Appendix B

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

(a) The statement of authorization will remain in effect only as long as (i) Aeromexico and Air France 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) Aeromexico and/or Air France 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 notices should be filed in Docket DOT-OST-2014-0202.

1

(c) 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 waybill) 

accept responsibility for the entirety of the code-share journey for all obligations established in its contract of carriage 

with the shipper; and that the cargo liability of the operating carrier be unaffected.

(d) The authority granted here is specifically conditioned so that neither Aeromexico nor Air France 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 We expect this notification to be received within 10 days of such non-effectiveness or of such decision.