U.S. Department of 

Transportation 

Office of the Secretary 

of Transportation 

April 16, 2015 

Mr. John Mietus 

Law Offices of John Mietus LLC 

6701 Democracy Blvd Suite 300 

Bethesda, MD 20817 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE 

Washington DC 20590 

RE: Dockets DOT-OST-2014-0012113, Application of Eastern Air Lines Group, Inc. for a 

Certificate ofPublic Convenience and Necessity 

Dear Mr. Mietus: 

The purpose of this letter is to notify you of our ruling on your request for confidential treatment 

filed in support of the certificate application of Eastern Air Lines Group, Inc. ("Eastern"), in 

Dockets DOT-OST-2014-0012/13 requesting authority to engage in interstate and foreign charter 

air transportation of persons, property, and mail. 

Eastern filed a motion in the above-referenced dockets on April 15,2015, requesting that Exhibit 

P, the FAA license numbers of Eastern's key personnel, be considered for confidential treatment 

under 14 CFR § 302.12 (Rule 12) of our rules. 

In support of its request, Eastern states that the information at issue meets the requirements for 

exemption from public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. Section 

5 52(b )( 4), and notes that the Department had previously found that confidential treatment for this 

information was appropriate. 

Rule 12 instructs us to evaluate requests for confidential treatment by the standards of disclosure 

found in the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. section 552). Information may be withheld 

from disclosure under 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4) if it is (1) commercial or financial, (2) obtained from a 

person outside of government, and (3) privileged or confidential (Gulf and Western Industries, 

Inc. v. United States, 615F.2d 527, 529 (D.C. Cir. 1979)). 

There is no question that the information for which Eastern seeks confidential treatment is 

financial or commerci1:1:l in nature and that it was obtained from a person outside the government. 

The remaining question is whether the information is privileged or confidential--whether 

"disclosure of the information is likely to have either of the following effects: ( 1) impair the 

Government's ability to obtain necessary information; or (2) cause substantial harm to the 

competitive position from whom the information was obtained" (National Parks and 

Conservation Association v. Morton, 498 F.2d 765,770 (D.C. Cir.1974)). Further, to be 

privileged or confidential, the information must not be of the type that is usually released to the 

public (Gulf and Western Industries, Inc. v. United States, 615F.2d 527,530 (D.C. Cir. 1979)). 
2 

We have reviewed the material submitted and have decided to grant confidential treatment for 

the information for which such treatment is sought. 

Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. If you have any questions regarding this letter, 

please feel free to contact Katy O'Toole of my staff at (202) 366-9998 or via email at 

Catherine. 0 'Toole@dot.gov. 

Sincerely, 

. emo 

Chief, Air Carrier Fitness Division 

Office of Aviation Analysis 

cc: Dockets DOT-OST-2014-0112113 

Mr. Edward J. Wegel 

President and CEO 

Eastern Air Lines Group, Inc. 

Miami International Airport 

Miami FL 33142 

Mr. Pat McLaughlin 

Mr. Brian Karns 

Federal Aviation Administration 

South Florida CMO