THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION 

WASHINGTON, DC 20590 

The Honorable Betty McCollum 

U.S. House of Representatives 

Washington, DC 205 15 

Dear Congresswoman McCollum: 

April 04, 2014 

Thank you for your letter regarding the application ofNorwegian Air International Limited 

(NAI) for authority to conduct U.S. services. 

Given that a number of interested parties have filed responsive pleadings to NAI's application 

and this matter is currently pending before the Department, I am sure you understand that I 

cannot comment on the merits ofNAI's application. I assure you, however, that we will give full 

and careful consideration to all of the pleadings filed on the record before we reach a 

determination in this matter. 

As is our standard practice, I am placing a copy of your letter and my response in Docket 

DOT -OST -2013-0204, as a contact outside the record of this case. You may track the progress 

of this case and view the publicly available documents filed in the docket by accessing the 

Federal Docket Management System at www.regulations.gov and searching for Docket 

DOT-OST-20 13-0204. 

I hope this information is helpful. 

Sincerely, 

Anthony R. Foxx 
BETTY McCOLLUM 4TH DISTRICT, MIN NESOTA 

1714 LONGWORTH HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING 

WASHINGTON, DC 20515 

(202) 225-6631 

FAX: (202) 225-1968 

165 W ESTERN A VENUE N ORTH 

SUITE 17 

Sr. PAUL, MN 55102 

(651) 224- 9191 

FAX: (651} 224- 3056 

www.house.gov/mccollum 

February 28, 2014 

UNITED STATES 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

The Honorable Anthony Foxx 

Secretary 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Ave, SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

Dear Mr. Secretary, 

COMMITIEE ON APPROPRIATIONS 

S uacoMMIITEE ON DEFENSE 

SUBCOMMI'M"EE ON INTERIOR, 

ENVIRONM ENT, A ND AtlATED A GENCIES 

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 ON RECYClED PA PER