BEFORE THE 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 

__________________________________________ 

 ) 

Application of ) 

 ) 

INSEL AIR INTERNATIONAL B.V. ) 

 ) Docket No. OST-2007-27718 

For renewal of exemption under 49 U.S.C. § 40109 ) 

 ) 

(Netherlands Antilles – US) ) 

__________________________________________) 

APPLICATION OF INSEL AIR INTERNATIONAL B.V. 

FOR RENEWAL OF EXEMPTION AUTHORITY

Communications with respect to this document should be addressed to: 

December 2, 2011 

Josh Romanow 

Justin Bintrim 

PILLSBURY WINTHROP 

 SHAW PITTMAN LLP 

2300 N Street, N.W. 

Washington, D.C. 20037 

Tel: (202) 663-8000 

Fax: (202) 663-8007 

E-mail: romanow@pillsburylaw.com 

 justin.bintrim@pillsburylaw.com 

 

Counsel for Insel Air International B.V. 

NOTE: Any person who wishes to support or oppose this application may file an answer, and 

serve that answer on counsel identified above and all persons served with a copy of this 

application. Answers to this application are due on December 17, 2011. 
BEFORE THE 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 

__________________________________________ 

 ) 

Application of ) 

 ) 

INSEL AIR INTERNATIONAL B.V. ) 

 ) Docket No. OST-2007-27718 

For renewal of exemption under 49 U.S.C. § 40109 ) 

 ) 

(Netherlands Antilles – US) ) 

__________________________________________) 

APPLICATION OF INSEL AIR INTERNATIONAL B.V. 

FOR RENEWAL OF EXEMPTION AUTHORITY

 Insel Air International B.V. (“Insel Air”), an air carrier of Curaçao, hereby applies under 

the provisions of 49 U.S.C. §40109 and the Department’s Rules of Practice in Proceedings (14 

C.F.R. §§ 302.201 and 302.301, et seq.) for renewal of its existing exemption authority to engage 

in scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail from points behind 

Curaçao, Sint Maarten and the BES Islands of Bonaire/Saba/Sint Eustatius (the former 

Netherlands Antilles)1 via Curaçao, Sint Maarten and the BES Islands of Bonaire/Saba/Sint 

Eustatius and intermediate points, to points in the United States and beyond, to the full extent 

permitted by the open skies U.S. – Netherlands Antilles Air Transport Agreement, which is still 

being recognized by Curaçao.2

 

 Insel Air requests that this renewal remain in effect for a period of two years, or until the 

Department issues Insel Air an amended foreign air carrier permit for this authority.

 

1

 Curaçao, Sint Maarten and the BES Islands (Bonaire, Saba, Sint Eustatius) are legal successors to the U.S.- 

Netherlands Antilles Air Transport Agreement. 2

 The Air Transport Agreement between the United States of America and the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 

respect of the Netherlands Antilles relating to Air Transport between the Netherlands Antilles and the United 

States of America (the “U.S. – Netherlands Antilles Air Transport Agreement”) was signed on July 14, 1998. 
In support of this application, Insel Air states as follows: 

1. By Order 2007-12-1 (served December 3, 2007)3, the Department issued a foreign 

air carrier permit to Insel Air permitting it to engage in scheduled foreign air 

transportation of persons, property and mail between a point or points in the 

Netherlands Antilles, on the one hand, and a point or points in the United States 

on the other hand, via intermediate points. The permit also authorizes Insel Air to 

engage in other charter trips in foreign air transportation subject to the terms, 

conditions and limitations of the Department’s regulations governing charters. 

2. By Notice of Action taken in this docket dated December 2, 2009 the Department 

granted Insel exemption authority to engage in scheduled foreign air 

transportation of persons, property and mail from points behind the Netherlands 

Antilles, via the Netherland Antilles and intermediate points, to points in the 

United States and beyond to the full extent permitted by the U.S.-Netherlands 

Antilles Air Transport Agreement. 

3. Authority Requested: Insel Air seeks a renewal of this exemption authority to 

engage in scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail from 

points behind Curaçao, Sint Maarten and the BES Islands of Bonaire/Saba/Sint 

Eustatius (collectively, the former Netherlands Antilles), via Curaçao, Sint 

Maarten and the BES Islands of Bonaire/Saba/Sint Eustatius and intermediate 

points, to points in the United States and beyond, to the full extent permitted by 

the U.S. – Netherlands Antilles Air Transport Agreement. 

4. Insel is not requesting any new authority, simply renewal of its existing authority 

previously granted by the Department in this docket. Insel understands that 

 

3

 As reissued by the Department on December 10, 2008. 
discussions with respect to a formal successor agreement to the U.S. – 

Netherlands Antilles Open Skies Agreement are already underway, with meetings 

in Washington scheduled for early December 2011. Given the current ongoing 

and positive discussions on this issue, granting Insel’s renewal application would 

be entirely appropriate, and a reflection of the good state of aviation relations and 

comity and reciprocity between the U.S., the Netherlands, Curaçao, and the 

former Netherlands Antilles and would also be consistent with prior decisions by 

the Department. 

5. The U.S. – Netherlands Antilles Air Transport Agreement, a liberal, open-skies 

bilateral, specifically grants the following rights in Annex 1 of the agreement: 

 Airlines of each Implementing Entity designated under this Annex shall, in 

accordance with the terms of their designation, be entitled to perform scheduled 

international air transportation between points on the following routes: 

A. Routes for the airline or airlines designated by the Government of The 

Netherlands Antilles: 

1. From points behind the Netherlands Antilles via The Netherlands 

Antilles and intermediate points to a point or points in the United 

States and beyond. 

6. Insel Air is fully qualified to operate the services for which renewal authority is 

herein requested. Grant of this application will serve the public interest and allow 

Insel to provide services in markets that have historically been underserved and 

would benefit from approval of this renewal application. 

7. Grant of the authority sought herein will not result in a near term increase in fuel 

consumption of ten million gallons or more, and therefore will not comprise a 

“major regulatory action” under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975, 

as defined at 14 C.F.R. § 313(a)(1). 
8. Insel Air invokes and relies upon the automatic renewal provisions of Section 

558(c) of the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 558(c)), as implemented by 

Part 377 of the Department’s Special Regulations, to continue in effect its existing 

exemption authority pending final Department action on this renewal application. 

WHEREFORE, based upon the foregoing information, Insel Air respectfully requests that 

the Department renew its exemption authority to engage in scheduled foreign air transportation 

of persons, property and mail as more fully described above. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Josh Romanow 

Justin Bintrim 

PILLSBURY WINTHROP 

 SHAW PITTMAN LLP 

2300 N Street, NW 

Washington, DC 20037 

Phone: (202) 663-8000 

Fax: (202) 663-8007 

Email: romanow@pillsburylaw.com 

 justin.bintrim@pillsburylaw.com 

December 2, 2011 Counsel for Insel Air International B.V. 
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 

I hereby certify that a copy of the foregoing renewal of exemption authority of Insel Air 

International B.V. has been served this 2nd day of December 2011, upon each of the parties 

below by electronic mail: 

Brian Hedberg 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

brian.hedberg@dot.gov 

Hans de Jong 

Netherlands Ministry of Transport 

Hans.deJong@minienm.nl 

James J. Ballough 

Federal Aviation Administration, AFS-1 

800 Independence Avenue, S.W., Rm. 821 

Washington, D.C. 20591 

jim.ballough@faa.gov 

James Jelinski 

Aviation Safety Inspector Supervisor 

Federal Aviation Administration 

8600 NW 36th Street, Suite 600 

Miami, FL 33166 

jamesr.jelinski@faa.gov 

Sascha Vanderbellen 

Jeff Morgan 

Delta Airlines 

1275 K Street, N.W. 

Washington, D.C. 20005

sascha.vanderbellen@delta.com 

jeff.morgan@delta.com 

Howard Kass 

U.S. Airways 

1401 H Street, NW Ste. 1075 

Washington, D.C. 20005 

howard.kass@usairways.com 

Carl B. Nelson, Jr. 

American Airlines, Inc. 

1101 Seventeenth St, N.W., Suite 600 

Washington, D.C. 20036 

Carl.nelson@aa.com 

Malcolm L. Benge 

Counsel for North American Airlines/World 

Airways 

Zuckert Scoutt & Rasenberger, L.L.P. 

888 17th Street, N.W., Suite 700 

Washington, D.C., 2006-3309 

mlbenge@zsrlaw.com 

Dan Weiss 

Continental Airlines 

1600 Smith Street, Ste. HQSGV 

Houston, TX 77002 

dan.weiss@coair.com 

Steve Morrissey 

United Air Lines 

steve.morrissey@united.com 

Jonathan Hill 

JetBlue 

jhill@dowlohnes.com 

David Kirstein 

Spirit Air 

dkirstein@yklaw.com 

/s/ Melinda A. Hernandez

Melinda A. Hernandez