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F-Grenoble: Operation of scheduled air services

Invitation to tender issued by France pursuant to Article 4(1)(d) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92 for the operation of scheduled air services between Grenoble (Saint Geoirs) and Paris (Orly)

(2005/C 151/09)

(Text with EEA relevance)

1.   Introduction: Pursuant to Article 4(1)(a) of Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92 of 23 July 1992 on access for Community air carriers to intra-Community air routes, France has decided to impose a public service obligation on scheduled air services between Grenoble (Saint Geoirs) and Paris (Orly). The terms of this public service obligation were published in the Official Journal of the European Union C 149 of 21 June 2005.

If on 2 December 2005 no air carrier has begun or is about to begin operating scheduled air services between Grenoble (Saint Geoirs) and Paris (Orly) in accordance with the public service obligation imposed and without requesting financial compensation, France has decided, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 4(1)(d) of the abovementioned Regulation, to limit access to a single carrier and to offer the right to operate such services from 2 January 2006 by public tender.

2.   Subject of the invitation to tender: Operation from 2 January 2006 of scheduled air services between Grenoble (Saint Geoirs) and Paris (Orly) in accordance with the public service obligation imposed on this route, as published in the Official Journal of the European Union C 149 of 21 June 2005.

3.   Participation in the invitation to tender: Participation is open to all carriers who hold a valid operating licence issued by a Member State in accordance with Council Regulation (EEC) No 2407/92 of 23 July 1992 on licensing of air carriers.

4.   Tender procedure: This invitation to tender is subject to the provisions of Article 4(1)(d), (e), (f), (g), (h) and (i) of Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92.

5.   Tender dossier: The complete tender dossier, comprising the specific rules governing the invitation to tender and the public service delegation agreement together with its technical annex (text of the public service obligations published in the Official Journal of the European Union) may be obtained free of charge from:

Conseil Général de l'Isère, Direction des Transports, 7 rue Fantin Latour, BP 1096, F-38022 Grenoble Cedex 1.

6.   Financial compensation: Tenders must explicitly state the amount of compensation required for operating the route for 3 years from the scheduled starting date (with an annual breakdown). The exact amount of compensation finally granted will be determined each year ex-post on the basis of the costs and revenue actually generated by the service, within the limits of the amount given in the tender. This maximum limit may be revised only in the event of unforeseen changes in the operating conditions.

The annual payments will be made in the form of instalments and a balance. The balance will be paid only after approval of the carrier's accounts for the route in question and verification that the service has been operated in accordance with the conditions laid down in paragraph 8 below.

In the event of termination of the contract before its normal expiry date, paragraph 8 will be applied as soon as possible to allow payment to the carrier of the balance due, the maximum amount referred to in the first sub-paragraph being reduced, where appropriate, in proportion to the actual duration of the service.

7.   Duration of the contract: The duration of the contract (public service delegation agreement) is 3 years from the date scheduled for the commencement of the air services mentioned in paragraph 2 of this invitation to tender.

8.   Verification of the operation of the service and of the carrier's accounts: The operation of the service and the carrier's cost accounting for the route in question will be the subject of at least 1 annual examination in cooperation with the carrier.

9.   Termination of contract and notice: The contract may be cancelled by either contracting party before the end of the normal period of validity by giving 6 months' notice. Should the carrier fail to comply with the public service obligation, it will be deemed to have terminated the contract without notice if it fails to resume the service in accordance with the public service obligation within 1 month of the serving of formal notice.

10.   Reductions in financial compensation: Failure by the carrier to observe the period of notice stipulated in paragraph 9 will lead to the imposition either of an administrative fine, pursuant to Article R.330-20 of the Civil Aviation Code, or a reduction in financial compensation calculated on the basis of the number of months of default and the real operating loss of the service during the year in question, not exceeding the maximum financial compensation provided for in paragraph 6.

In the event of serious breaches of the public service obligation, the carrier may be deemed to have terminated the contract without notice.

In the event of minor breaches of the public service obligation, the maximum financial compensation provided for in paragraph 6 shall be reduced, without prejudice to the application of the provisions of Article R.330-20 of the Civil Aviation Code. Such reductions shall take account, as appropriate, of the number of flights cancelled for reasons directly attributable to the carrier, the number of flights made with less than the required capacity, the number of flights not complying with the public service obligation regarding stopovers, and the number of days of non-compliance with the public service obligation regarding time at destination, fares charged or the use of computerised reservation services.

11.   Submission of tenders: Tenders must be sent by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, date as post-marked, or delivered by hand with receipt, at the latest 6 weeks after the date of publication of this invitation to tender in the Official Journal of the European Union before 16.00 (local time) to the following address:

Conseil général de l'Isère, direction des transports, service grands projets, BP 1096, F-38022 Grenoble Cedex. Tel. (33) 476 00 60 30, fax (33) 476 00 30 36.

12.   Validity of the invitation to tender: In accordance with Article 4(1)(d) of Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92, the validity of this invitation to tender is subject to the condition that, by 2 December 2005, no Community carrier presents a programme for operating the route in question from 2 January 2006 in accordance with the public service obligation imposed without receiving any compensation.

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