### THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION WA SH ING T ON , DC 20590

The H onorab le B etty McCollum U.S. Hou se of Re pre sentativ es Washington , D C 205 15 Dear Co n gresswoman McCollum: April 04, 2014

Thank yo u for yo ur letter regardin g the application ofNorwegian Air Internationa l L imited (NA I) for authority to conduc t U.S. services. Given that a numb e r of interested parti es have filed responsive pleadings to NAI's application and thi s matter i s currently pending before th e Department, I am sure you understand that I cannot comment o n the merits ofNA I 's application. I assure yo u , h owever, that we will g ive full and carefu l cons id eration to a ll of the pleadings filed o n the record before we reach a determination in this matter. As is our standard practice , I am pl ac in g a copy of your letter and my r espon s e in Docket DOT-O ST -2013- 0204 , as a contact o ut s ide the record of this case. You may track the progre ss of this case and view the publicly avai lab le document s filed in the docket by accessing the Federal Do cket Management System at www.regulat ion s.gov and searc hing for D ocket DOT-OST-20 13-0204. I hop e thi s informati o n is h e lpful. S in ce rely,

Anthony R
. FoxxBETTY McCO LLU M 4TH D ISTRICT, MI N NE S OT A
1714 LONGWORTH HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING WASH I NGTO N, DC 20515 (202) 225-6631 FAX: (202) 225-1968
165 W ES TERN A V ENUE N O RTH SUITE 17 Sr. PAUL, MN 55102

(651) 224- 9191 FAX: (651} 224- 3056
www.hou s e . gov / mccollum 

### February 28 , 2014 

### UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRES ENTATIVES

The Honorable Anthony Foxx Secretary U.S
. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Ave, SE Washington, DC 20590 Dear Mr. Secretary, COMMITIEE ON APPROPRIAT I O N S S uaco MM IITEE ON D EFE N SE S UBC O MM I' M"EE ON I N T ERIOR, EN VIR O N M E N T, A ND A tlATE D A G EN C IES SENIOR DEMOCRATIC WHIP CONGRESSIONAL GLOBAL HEALTH CAUCUS , CO-FOUNDER CONGRESSIONAL NATIVE AMERICAN CAUCUS , CO-CHAIR



### I write to express my concerns over Norwegian Air International Limited ' s (NAI) application to operate into the United States as a foreign air carrier. NAI's business model could put U.S. carriers at a competitive disadvantage and undermine fair wages and working conditions for pilots. Despite its name, NAI stated on its application that it is "a foreign carrier of Ireland." NAI is in the process of applying for an Irish Air 

### Operator ' s Certificate. While NAI is seeking to operate flights from Thailand and the European Union to the United States, Ireland does not appear to be one of their planned destinations. This raises important questions about the Irish government's ability to conduct proper oversight ofNAI's operations
. Another concern is that it appears NAI will be hiring pilots under individual employment contracts through a company in Singapore. The pilots themselves are actually based in Thailand. This avoids the many wage and working conditions protections from which Norwegian pilots benefit , and results in lower labor costs for NAI. This model for lowering labor costs and shopping around for air operator's certificate creates unfair competition for U.S. carriers and distorts the market. I urge you to reject NAI ' s application. Thank you for taking the time to consider my concerns.



### 510-140311-009 PRINTED O N RECYClED P A PE R