THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20590 

The Honorable Dan Coats 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

Dear Senator Coats: 

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 

detennination 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 ofthis 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-2013-0204. 

I hope this information is helpful. 

Sincerely, 

Anthony R. Foxx 
DAN COATS IN DIAN A 

The Honorable Anthony Foxx 

Secretary ofTransportation 

CJ.anitcd ~tatcs ~rnatc WASHINGTON, DC 20510 

March 6, 2014 

United States Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

Dear Secretary Foxx: 

COMMITIEES: 

APPROPRIATIONS 

COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND 

TRANSPORTATION 

SELECT INTELLIGENCE 

JOINT ECONOMIC, RANKING 

I am writing regarding Norwegian Air International Limited's (NAI) pending application for an 

exemption and foreign air carrier permit. Specifically, I encourage the Department of 

Transportation (DOT) to ensure the application is in compliance with the United States-European 

Union (U.S.-EU) Open Skies Agreement, is in the American public's interest, and leaves no 

ambiguity with regards to oversight of safe airline operations. 

The landmark U.S.-EU Open Skies Agreement sought to increase international competition and 

expand aviation market access by opening the market between the United States and Europe. By 

and large it has led to substantial benefits through increased access to foreign markets, expanded 

growth opportunities for U.S. carriers and U.S. jobs, and boosted tourism and business travel to 

the United States. Europe has seen similar benefits, and market liberalization has created both 

greater service options for consumers and increased fare competition. 

Many of the benefits to U.S. and European competitiveness and job growth were a result of 

negotiations leading to the inclusion of strong employment protections in the U.S.-EU Open 

Skies Agreement. For example, the negotiators included Article 17 bis in the agreement, 

recognizing the importance of high labor standards. Specifically, Article 17 bis states, "The 

opportunities created by the Agreement are not intended to undermine labour standards or the 

labour-related rights and principles contained in the Parties' respective laws." Article 17 his is 

consistent with U.S. law requiring the DOT to apply, among other factors, a public interest 

standard when reviewing and approving applications from foreign air carriers to provide new air 

service. Specifically, the DOT is required to ensure that U.S. air carriers are on at least an equal 

footing with foreign carriers. 

NAI, a subsidiary ofNorwegian Air Shuttle, is seeking to establish new service between the 

United States and the European Union (EU) through the new opportunities provided under the 

U.S.-EU Open Skies Agreement. I am concerned, however, with certain aspects ofNAI's 

pending application for an exemption and foreign air carrier permit. For example, NAI's parent 

company is based in Norway, and NAI is owned and controlled by Norwegian citizens. NAI, 

however, has established a "flag of convenience" in Ireland, will operate as an Irish air carrier 

with no intention of serving Ireland, and will hire a portion of its workforce from Singapore. 

NAI seeks to replace operations currently being conducted by Norwegian Air Shuttle, which is 

currently flying to the United States. 

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This structure raises a number of questions about NAI's application that should be clearly 

answered as part of the application's docket, questions that are precisely the type of issues that 

Article 17 bis was intended to address. For example, NAT should clarify its reasons for moving 

operations from Norwegian Air Shuttle toNAl. Specifically it should address whether this 

arrangement was created to allow the airline to avoid Norwegian or other EU member labor and 

employment laws. As the DOT reviews NAI's application for an exemption and air carrier 

permit, I urge the Department to examine this arrangement to ensure its full compliance with the 

U.S.-E.U. Open Skies Agreement labor provisions and consistency with U.S. law. I also urge the 

Department to compel NAIto address these issues clearly as part ofthe docket. 

Additionally, I urge the DOT to ensure the safety ofNAI's operations and its compliance with 

accepted aviation standards. As noted above, although NAT seeks to become an Irish airline it 

remains a Norwegian owned carrier that does not plan to ofier any air transportation services 

from Ireland. This unique arrangement raises questions in regards to the responsibilities of both 

the Civil Aviation Authority of Norway and the Irish Aviation Authority to provide safety and 

regulatory oversight ofNAI, including its maintenance, training, and operations. Specifically, it 

is unclear which agency will be conducting oversight ofNAJ. While both the Norwegian and 

Irish aviation authorities are extremely capable, this ambiguous bureaucratic arrangement should 

also be clearly addressed in the docket before any decision is made on NAI's pending 

application. 

I support the competition and increased consumer choice that the U.S.-EU Open Skies 

Agreement has given consumers in the United States and Europe. Benefits through the U.S.-EU 

Open Skies Agreement have come because DOT has made sure applications for permits comply 

with Article 17 bis, are fair to both U.S. and European carriers and employees, and have clear 

safety oversight. For these reasons 1 urge the DOT to compel NAIto clearly address these issues 

as part of the application's docket, and ensure that NAI's application is in full compliance with 

the U.S-E.U. Open Skies Agreement and in the public interest. Thank you for your 

consideration of my views, and should you or your staff have any questions please do not 

hesitate to contact me or Michael Quiello on my staff. 

s 1 0-140307-002 

Dan Coats 

U.S. Senator 
From: Quiello, Michael (Coats) 

Sent: Thursday, March 06, 2014 3:58 PM

To: 'Patricia.Readinger@dot.gov'

Subject: Letter from Senator Coats

Hi Patty: Senator Coats sent the attached letter to Secretary Foxx today regarding Norwegian Air 

International’s pending application at DOT. 

Hope you’re well, 

Mike Quiello

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MICHAEL A. QUIELLO

Senior Policy Advisor

OFFICE OF UNITED STATES SENATOR DAN COATS

493 Russell Senate Office Building | Washington, DC 20510 

phone: 202.224.5623 | fax: 202.228.1820