UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, DC

Issued by the Department of Transportation on June 13, 2014

 NOTICE OF ACTION TAKEN -- DOCKETS DOT-OST-2004-19148 and DOT-OST-2014-0082 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This serves as notice to the public of the action described below, taken by the Department official 

indicated (no additional confirming order will be issued in this matter).

1. Docket DOT-OST-2004-19148

Application of UNITED AIR LINES, INC. (United), filed 5/23/2014 for:

XX Amendment of exemption under 49 U.S.C. 40109 to provide the following service:

Scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property and mail between points in the United 

States and points worldwide on a third-country code-share basis pursuant to blanket code-sharing 

statements of authorization previously approved by the Department, under which United’s “UA” 

designator code is displayed on flights operated by its foreign code-share partners, as well as on 

flights operated by foreign carriers that are currently authorized, or that in the future become 

authorized, to operate flights on behalf of United’s blanket code-share foreign partners.

1 2

2. Docket DOT-OST-2014-0082

Joint Application of UNITED and ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES ENTERPRISE (Ethiopian) (the “Joint 

Applicants”), filed 5/23/2014 for:

XX Statements of authorization in order to engage in the following code-share services:

The Joint Applicants request blanket statements of authorization permitting United to display the 

“ET*” designator code of Ethiopian on United flights and Ethiopian to display the “UA*” 

designator code of United on Ethiopian flights in conjunction with foreign air transportation of 

persons, property and mail (1) between any point(s) in the United States and any point(s) in 

Ethiopia (on a nonstop basis and on routings via intermediate points); (2) between U.S. points; (3) 

between Ethiopian points; (4) beyond Ethiopia to any point(s); and (5) beyond the United States to 

any point(s).3 4

 1 The authorized foreign carriers are: Deutsche Lufthansa AG (Lufthansa), and other carriers that operate flights on 

Lufthansa’s behalf (Lufthansa CityLine, Air Dolomiti, Condor Flugdienst, and PrivatAir GmbH); Aegean Airlines 

Societe Anonyme d/b/a Aegean Airlines S.A. (Aegean); Aer Lingus Limited (Aer Lingus); Air Canada and other 

carriers operating on its behalf (Air Canada Jazz); All Nippon Airways Co. Ltd. (ANA); Air New Zealand Limited 

(ANZ); Asiana Airlines, Inc. (Asiana); Austrian Airlines, Osterreichische Luftverkehrs AG (Austrian); Avianca del 

Continente Americano S.A. Avianca (Avianca); Blue1 Ltd. (Blue1); Brussels Airlines N.V./S.A. (Brussels Airlines); 

Compania Panamena de Aviacion, S.A. (COPA); Croatia Airlines d.d. (Croatia); Eurowings Luftverkehrs AG 

(Eurowings); EVA Airways Corporation (EVA); Jet Airways; Lauda Air Luftfahrt GmbH (Lauda); Polskie Linie 

Lotnicze LOT S.A. (LOT); Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS); Singapore Airlines Limited (Singapore); Swiss Air 

International Air Lines Ltd. d/b/a Swiss (Swiss); TAP Air Portugal (TAP); Turkish Airlines (Turkish); Tyrolean 

Airways, Tiroler Luftfahrt GmbH d/b/a Austrian Arrows (Tyrolean). 2 United requests that its exemption authority be amended to the extent necessary to permit it to also place its

designator code on flights operated by Ethiopian Airlines Enterprise (Ethiopian). 3 The Joint Applicants plan to begin codeshare service on or about August 1, 2014.

4 See initial codeshare points in Appendix C.
Applicant reps: Gerald F. Murphy and Steven J. Seiden (United) (202) 624-2500;

and Michael F. Goldman (Ethiopian) (202) 944-3305

DOT Analyst: Darren Jaffe (202) 366-2512

DISPOSITION

XX Granted amendment of United’s exemption authority (subject to conditions, see below).

XX Granted blanket statements of authorization to United and Ethiopian (subject to conditions, 

see below).

The above action granting exemption authority to United is effective when taken: June 13, 2014, through

June 13, 2016. 

The above action granting blanket statements of authorization to United and Ethiopian is effective: June 

13, 2014, and will remain in effect indefinitely, subject to conditions. 

Action taken by: Paul L. Gretch, Director

 Office of International Aviation

XX The authority is encompassed in the Air Transport Agreement between the Government of the 

United States of America and the Government of Ethiopia dated May 17, 2005.

Except to the extent exempted or waived, this authority is subject to the terms, conditions, and limitations 

indicated:

XX United’s certificates of public convenience and necessity

XX Standard U.S. carrier exemption conditions (attached as Appendix A)

XX Conditions for Statements of Authorization granted here (attached as Appendix B)

XX Conditions attached to previously granted statements of authorization5

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Special conditions/Remarks: We note that United has conducted a safety audit of Ethiopian under the 

Department’s Code-Share Safety Audit Program, and the FAA has advised us that it has reviewed the 

relevant audit report and found it to be acceptable. 

United’s exemption authority to support code-share operations, whereby United would display its “UA” 

designator code on flights operated by current and future foreign carriers that operate flights on behalf of 

 5 See Order 98-4-8, issued April 9, 1998 (Undocketed, United-Lufthansa) and Department actions dated February 

23, 2012 and June 23, 2010 (Docket DOT-OST-2010-0132, United-Aegean); July 25, 2008 (Docket DOT-OST2008-0176, United-Aer Lingus); May 6, 2009 (Docket DOT-OST-2009-0095, United-Air Canada); August 7, 1998 

(Undocketed, United-ANA); August 6, 1999 (Docket DOT-OST-1999-6013, United-ANZ); December 19, 2002 

(Docket DOT-OST-2002-13320, United-Asiana); March 13, 2000 (Docket DOT-OT-OST-2000-6803, UnitedAustrian); October 28, 2011 (Docket DOT-OST-2011-0163, United-Avianca); February 10, 2012 (Docket DOTOST-2010-0171, United – Blue1); March 2, 2010 (Docket DOT-OST-2010-0024, United-Brussels); July 9, 1998 

and June 15, 2012 (undocketed, United-COPA); November 4, 2013 (Docket DOT-OST-2007-28897, UnitedCroatia; June 8, 2009 (Docket DOT-OST-2009-0106, United-Eurowings); June 11, 2012 (Docket DOT-OST-2012-

0088, United-EVA); November 10, 2009 (Docket DOT-OST-2008-0164, United-Jet Airways); March 22, 2001 

(Docket DOT-OST-2000-7751, United-Lauda and United-Tyrolean); April 19, 2004 (Docket DOT-OST-2004-

17468, United-LOT); May 24, 1999 (Docket DOT-OST-1999-5251, United-SAS); October 17, 2000 (Docket DOTOST-2000-7696, United-Singapore); October 19, 2005 (Docket DOT-OST-2005-22464, United-Swiss); August 11, 

2005 (Docket DOT-OST-2005-21686, United-TAP); April 17, 2008 (Docket DOT-OST-2008-0102, UnitedTurkish).
United’s authorized foreign blanket code-share partners, remains subject to the following conditions: 1) 

the foreign carriers must have the requisite permit or exemption authority and statement of authorization 

from the Department to perform the proposed services; and 2) United must conduct and keep current an 

FAA-approved safety audit of the applicable foreign carriers under the Department’s Code-Share Safety 

Audit Program.

On the basis of data officially noticeable under Rule 24(g) of the Department's regulations, we found the 

applicant qualified to provide the exemption services authorized. Under authority assigned by the 

Department in its regulations, 14 CFR Part 385, we found that (1) our action was consistent with 

Department policy; (2) grant of the authority was consistent with the public interest; and (3) grant of the 

authority would not constitute a major regulatory action under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 

1975. To the extent not granted, we denied all requests in the referenced Docket. We may amend, 

modify, or revoke the authority granted in this Notice at any time without hearing at our discretion.

Persons entitled to petition the Department for review of the action set forth in this Notice under the 

Department’s regulations, 14 CFR §385.30, may file their petitions within seven (7) days after the date of 

issuance of this Notice. This action was effective when taken, and the filing of a petition for review will 

not alter such effectiveness.

An electronic version of this document is available on the World Wide Web at:

http://www.regulations.gov
Appendix A

U.S. Carrier Exemption Conditions

In the conduct of the operations authorized, the U.S. carrier applicant(s) shall:

(1) Hold at all times effective operating authority from the government of each country served;

(2) Comply with applicable requirements concerning oversales contained in 14 CFR 250 (for scheduled 

operations, if authorized);

(3) Comply with the requirements for reporting data contained in 14 CFR 241;

(4) Comply with requirements for minimum insurance coverage, and for certifying that coverage to the 

Department, contained in 14 CFR 205;

(5) Except as specifically exempted or otherwise provided for in a Department Order, comply with the 

requirements of 14 CFR 203, concerning waiver of Warsaw Convention liability limits and defenses;

(6) Comply with all applicable requirements of the Federal Aviation Administration, the Transportation 

Security Administration, and with all applicable U.S. Government requirements concerning security, 

including, but not limited to, 49 CFR Part 1544. To assure compliance with all applicable U.S. Government 

requirements concerning security, the holder shall, before commencing any new service (including charter 

flights) to or from a foreign airport, contact its Principal Security Inspector (PSI) to advise the PSI of its 

plans and to find out whether the Transportation Security Administration has determined that security is 

adequate to allow such airport(s) to be served;

(7) Comply with such other reasonable terms, conditions, and limitations required by the public interest as 

may be prescribed by the Department of Transportation, with all applicable orders and regulations of other 

U.S. agencies and courts, and with all applicable laws of the United States.

The authority granted shall be effective only during the period when the holder is in compliance with the 

conditions imposed above.

 

1/2008
Appendix B

The statements of authorization granted are subject to the following conditions:

(a) The statements of authorization will remain in effect only as long as (i) United and Ethiopian continue to hold the 

necessary underlying authority to operate the code-share services at issue, and (ii) the code-share agreement 

providing for the code-share operations remains in effect.

(b) United and Ethiopian must promptly notify the Department (Office of International Aviation) if the code-share 

agreement providing for the code-share operations is no longer effective or if the carriers decide to cease operating 

all or a portion of the approved code-share services. Such notices should be filed in Docket OST-2014-0082.

1

(c) United and/or Ethiopian must notify the Department no later than 30 days before they begin any new code-share 

service under the code-share services authorized here. Such notice shall identify the market(s) to be served, which 

carrier will be operating the aircraft in the code-share market added, and the date on which the service will begin.2

Such notices should be filed in Docket OST-2014-0082.

(d) The code-sharing operations conducted under this authority must comply with 14 CFR 257 and with any 

amendments to the Department’s regulations concerning code-share arrangements that may be adopted. 

Notwithstanding any provisions in the contract between the carriers, our approval here is expressly conditioned 

upon the requirements that the subject foreign air transportation be sold in the name of the carrier holding out such 

service in the computer reservation systems and elsewhere; that the carrier selling such transportation (i.e., the 

carrier shown on the ticket) accept responsibility for the entirety of the code-share journey for all obligations 

established in its contract of carriage with the passenger; that the passenger liability of the operating carrier be 

unaffected; and that the operating carrier shall not permit the code of its U.S. code-sharing partner to be carried on 

any flight that enters, departs, or transits the airspace of any area for whose airspace the Federal Aviation 

Administration has issued a flight prohibition.

(e) Any service provided shall be consistent with all applicable agreements between the United States and the foreign 

countries involved. Furthermore, (i) nothing in the award of this blanket statement of authorization should be 

construed as conferring upon United rights (including code-share, fifth-freedom intermediate and/or beyond rights) 

to serve markets where U.S. carrier rights are limited unless United notifies us of its intent to serve such market and 

unless and until the Department has completed any necessary carrier selection procedures to determine which 

carrier(s) should be authorized to exercise such rights;3 and (ii) should there be a request by any carrier to use the 

limited-entry route rights that are included in United’s authority by virtue of the blanket statement of authorization 

granted here, but that are not being used by United, the holding of such authority will not be considered as 

providing any preference for United in a carrier selection proceeding to determine which carrier(s) should be 

entitled to use the authority at issue.

(f) The authority granted here is specifically conditioned so that neither United nor Ethiopian shall give any force or 

effect to any contractual provisions between themselves that are contrary to these conditions.

(g) We may amend, modify, or revoke the authority granted at any time without hearing at our discretion. 

 1 We expect this notification to be received within 10 days of such non-effectiveness or of such decision. 2 Pursuant to the Department’s Notice In the Matter of Blanket Notification of Code-Share Service to Open Skies Partners and 

Points dated February 9, 2009, the Joint Applicants have provided notification of their intent to engage in reciprocal code-share 

services between any point(s) in the U.S. and any point(s) in Ethiopia, on a nonstop basis and intermediate routings via open-skies 

points; between points in the U.S.; between points in Ethiopia; beyond Ethiopia to any open-skies point(s); and beyond the U.S. to 

any open-skies point(s). The Joint Applicants will provide the Department with 30-day notice for code-share services to and from 

non-open-skies points or on routes for which they do not otherwise hold authority. See Appendix C. 3 The notice referenced in condition (c) above may be used for this notification.
APPENDIX C

INITIAL CODESHARE NOTICE (NON-OPEN SKIES)

INITIAL CODESHARE NOTICE (OPEN-SKIES)

The Joint Applicants provide blanket notice to engage in reciprocal open-skies codeshare services 

as follows beginning on or about August 1, 2014, provided all necessary approvals have been secured:

• Between any point(s) in the United States and any point(s) in Ethiopia, on a nonstop basis and 

intermediate routings via open-skies points;

• Between points in the United States;

• Between points in Ethiopia;

• Beyond Ethiopia to any open-skies point(s); and

• Beyond the United States to any open-skies point(s)

Route Segments Marketing/Operating 

Carrier

Addis Ababa-N’Djamena, Chad UA* on ET

Addis Ababa- Mombasa, Kenya UA* on ET

Addis Ababa- Victoria, Seychelles UA* on ET

Addis Ababa- Dar es Salaam, 

Kilimanjaro, and Zanzibar, 

Tanzania

UA* on ET

Addis Ababa-Ndola, Zambia UA* on ET

Addis Ababa-Brazzaville, Congo UA* on ET

Addis Ababa-Lubumbashi, Congo UA* on ET

Addis Ababa-Point Noire, Congo UA* on ET

Addis Ababa-Djibouti, Djibouti UA* on ET

Addis Ababa-Blantyre, Malawi UA* on ET

Addis Ababa-Lilongwe, Malawi UA* on ET