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 ORDER 2010-01-14

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

 OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY 

 WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

on the 21st day of January, 2010

________________________________________________

:

ALASKA AIRLINES, INC., ET AL. , :

: DOCKET NO. 

v. : OST-2007-27331

:

LOS ANGELES WORLD AIRPORTS, ET AL. :

:

ORDER GRANTING AN INTERIM STAY OF PROCEEDINGS AND EXTENDING 

DEADLINE TO FILE PROCEDURAL COMMENTS

On November 24, 2009 the United States Department of Transportation 

(Department) issued its Initial Request for Status and Comments (Order 2009-11-24) to

initiate further proceedings in this case following the mandate issued on September 25, 

2009 by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in Alaska 

Airlines, Inc., et al. v. U.S. Department of Transportation, 575 F.3d 750 (D.C. Cir. 2009). 

That case arose out of the Department’s Final Decision (Order 2007-6-8, June 15, 2007) 

issued under 49 U.S.C. § 47129 on the reasonableness of new terminal fees and new fee 

methodologies imposed on the Los Angeles International Airport, following complaint 

filed by certain air carriers in Terminals 1 and 31

 1 Southwest Airlines and US Airways operate out of Terminal 1. Alaska Airlines, AirTran Airways, ATA 

Airlines, Frontier Airlines, and Midwest Express operate out of Terminal 3.

(T1/T3 Carriers) against the airport 

operator, Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA). The Airports Council International –
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NA (ACI-NA) intervened on behalf of LAWA and the Air Transport Association (ATA) 

intervened on behalf of the T1/T3 Carriers.2

On December 22, 2009, following a telephone conference with the parties 

regarding procedural issues held on December 16, 2009, the Department issued its Order 

Amending Time to File Procedural Comments (Order 2009-12-17) inviting the parties to 

file, no later than January 18, written submissions on the five remanded issues. All 

parties were invited to file replies to the submissions on January 28, 2010. See Order

2009-12-17, ¶¶ 2 and 3.

 As explained in Order 2009-11-24, the 

D.C. Circuit remanded five issues to the Department for it to address.

As explained in Orders 2009-11-24 and 2009-12-17, subsequent to the court’s 

issuance of the September 25, 2009 mandate, the Department requested the parties to 

report on the status of any settlement discussions. On January 7, the Department held a 

status conference call with LAWA and the T1/T3 Carriers at which the parties advised 

the Department of their agreement on one of the five remanded issues (that is, the 

timeliness of the T1 Airlines’ objection to fair market valuation), of their intention to

devote additional time attempting to reach agreement on the four remaining remanded 

issues, and of their intention to request an extension of the January 18 filing date of their 

submissions to October 18 in order to provide additional time to engage in further 

settlement discussions. The Department informed the parties that it would consider their 

request favorably, upon submission of an appropriate motion. 

On January 11, the parties filed their Joint Motion to Extend the Current Deadline 

in this Proceeding from January 18 to October 18 (Joint Motion). The Joint Motion 

 2 In response to Order 2009-11-24, LAWA, the T1/T3 Carriers, and ATA have submitted their initial

information and comments on the status of settlement discussions regarding the remanded issues, and ACI 

has indicated its intent to submit comments as well
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detailed the settlement agreement to date involving certain claims by the T1 Carriers and

noted that the parties needed an adequate amount of time to “finally and completely” 

resolve the remaining remanded issues. The Joint Motion requested a stay of proceedings 

in the case until October 18 and requested that if LAWA and any or all of the T1/T3 

Airlines are unable to resolve the remaining issues, the proceeding would continue and 

they would make their filings by October 18. The parties informed the Department that 

counsel for ACI-NA and for ATA, respectively, do not oppose the Joint Motion. 

The Department is willing to grant the relief requested in the motion and wishes 

to encourage a local settlement of the remaining remanded issues. Therefore, the 

Department will require the parties provide status reports of settlement discussions every 

60 days beginning March 18 through September 18 in order to keep the Department 

apprised of the progress of the settlement negotiations.

Accordingly, 

1. We grant the Joint Motion;

2. We hereby stay the proceeding on remand until October 18, during which the Los 

Angeles World Airport, on the one hand, and any or all of the T1/T3 Airlines, on 

the other hand, will attempt to resolve the remaining remanded issues described in 

Order 2009-11-24 at 2-3, namely Paragraphs No. 1 (Airfield vs. non-airfield 

space), 2 (Other aeronautical uses of terminal space), 4 (Burden of persuasion on 

rentable space) and 5 (Monopoly power);

3. We order the T1/T3 Carriers and LAWA to file written status reports as to the 

progress of their settlement discussions by March 18, May 17, July 16 and 
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September 14, or until such earlier time as the Department may order as 

appropriate; and

4. We hereby amend Ordering paragraphs 2 and 3 of Order 2009-12-17 as follows:

2. We invite the T1/T3 Carriers, the Los Angeles World Airports, the 

Airports Council International – NA, and the Air Transport Association, to 

file written submissions on the following: 1) whether the current record 

evidence on the remanded issues described in Paragraphs No. 1 (Airfield 

vs. non-airfield space), 2 (Other aeronautical uses of terminal space) , 4 

(Burden of persuasion on rentable space) and 5 (Monopoly power) of 

Order 2009-11-24 at 2-3, is sufficient or requires supplementation; 2) 

what, if any, additional fact finding or evidence is contemplated and for 

which of the remanded issues described above; 3) the justification for such 

additional fact finding or evidence; 4) whether an oral evidentiary hearing 

is necessary to hear the new evidence, if any; and 5) any other procedural 

or evidentiary issues the parties wish to note, no later than October 18, if a 

settlement agreement of all the issues is not achieved by that date; and

3. We invite the T1/T3 Carriers, the Los Angeles World Airport, the 
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Airports Council International – NA, and the Air Transport Association to 

file replies to the submissions described in Ordering paragraph 2, no later 

than October 28, if a settlement agreement is not achieved by October 18. 

SO ORDERED.

By:

 

CHRISTA FORNAROTTO

 Deputy Assistant Secretary for Aviation

 and International Affairs

(SEAL)

Dated: January 21, 2010

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

http://dms.dot.gov//reports/reports_ aviation.asp