Holland & Knight 

800 17th Street, NW, Suite 11 00 I Washington, DC 20006 I T 202.955.3000 1 F 202.955.5564 

Holland & Knight LLP I www.hklaw.com 

Anita M. Mosner 

202.419.2604 . 

anita.mosner@hklaw.com 

March 3, 2015 

BY ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

Docket Operations 

West Building Ground Floor 

Room W12-140 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. 

Washington, DC 20590 

Re: Renewal of Petition for Exemption; Docket No. FAA-2010-0101 

Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 44701(f) and 14 C.F.R. Part 11, Air Canada hereby 

petitions the Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA") for renewal of the exemption 

granted in the above-captioned docket. This exemption provides relief from 

14 C.F.R. § 93.123 to the extent necessary to permit Air Canada to continue its flight 

operations at Washington Reagan National Airport ("DCA"), in order to preserve certain 

valuable, longstanding Air Canada flights between DCA and Canada. 

On May 10, 2010, FAA granted Air Canada an exemption from 14 C.F.R. § 93.123 to 

allow Air Canada to continue operating scheduled service to DCA using six daily 

commuter slots it had previously leased from Midway Airlines.

1 In its Grant of 

Exemption, FAA found that granting the exemption to Air Canada has no adverse effect 

on safety and is in the public interest. 2 That exemption is set to expire on June 18, 2015. 

All of the public interest justifications favoring the grant of this exemption continue to 

apply,

3 and consistent with Administration precedent, the FAA should renew this 

exemption authority.

4 Renewal of the existing exemption would enable Air Canada to 

1 FAA Grant of Exemption, Exemption No. 10063, Docket No. FAA-201 0-0101 (May 10, 201 0). 2 FAA Grant of Exemption at 3. 

3 FAA's previous determination that granting the exemption would not adversely affect safety 

because continuation of existing service would have no operational impact on DCA also 

continues to apply. 4 See, e.g., Renewal of Exemption No. 7370, Docket No. FAA-2002-13734 (Jul. 9, 2012) (FAA 

granted six previous renewals); Renewal of Exemption No. 8112, Docket No. FAA-2003-14563 

(Aug. 28, 2012) (FAA granted five previous renewals). In granting these renewals, FAA found 

that the original justifications for granting the exemption remained valid and renewal was in the 

public interest. 
Air Canada 

Petition for Renewal of Exemption 

March 3, 2015 

continue its long-standing DCA-Canada services, which is both consistent with the public 

interest and beneficial to the public as a whole. Because approval of this application 

would merely continue the status quo, approval of this renewal request will have no 

impact on airport operations. 

As the FAA is aware, Air Canada has served the DCA market since 1995, when 

Canada and the US reached their first-stage open skies agreement. Unlike other foreign 

air carriers, which traditionally have obtained slots as a matter of bilateral right, the USCanada open skies agreement expressly provided that Canadian carriers would be 

treated in the same manner as US carriers for the purpose of accessing DCA. 5 To gain 

such access, Air Canada made a considerable investment in a long-term lease of 15 

commuter slots from Midway Airlines. Although Air Canada eventually purchased 

seven of these slots, it was forced to seek the existing exemption due to an 

unprecedented situation in which Midway renounced title and interest in six of the slots, 

making it impossible for Air Canada to purchase the slots or extend its lease.

6 Before 

filing for an exemption, Air Canada made exhaustive efforts to secure replacement slots 

through either purchase or lease. Its efforts to purchase or lease replacement slots were 

unsuccessful, necessitating administrative relief to prevent the severe disruption or 

cessation of several of its long-standing DCA services. 

Although Air Canada has long desired to expand its presence at DCA beyond the 

scope of its current operation, it has been unable to do so. Since the grant of the 

exemption, Air Canada pursued a range of commercial options, including the possibility 

of bidding on the DCA slots divested pursuant to the US Airways-American Airlines 

merger. Air Canada was told by DOJ that it could not bid for those assets, on the 

grounds that those slot assets were being divested specifically to remedy harm in the US 

domestic market. Air Canada also has monitored the availability of exemption slots and 

has attempted to apply for such slots when it has been eligible to do so. Unfortunately, 

Air Canada has been viewed as ineligible to participate in the process of applying for 

within perimeter slots, and was unsuccessful in the one effort to secure outsideperimeter exemption slots that it was permitted to make. 7 

Failure to renew this exemption would be strongly contrary to the public interest. 

Loss of these six slots would force Air Canada to terminate service and/or reduce 

frequency between DCA and one or more of the Canadian cities it serves with these 

slots (Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto). This would remove an important competitive 

option not only for nonstop travelers, but also for passengers who travel on connecting 

flights beyond these Canadian cities. Preserving the travel options of passengers 

utilizing these services is will preserve Air Canada's longstanding presence in the DCA 

market, prevent service disruptions, and offer important competitive benefits·. 

5 1995 US-Canada Open Skies Agreement, Annex II , Section 2. 6 Midway took this step so that it could become eligible to apply for and hold certain jet slot 

exemptions at DCA created under the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for 

the 21st Century (Public Law 106-181) as a "limited incumbent." 7 Indeed, Air Canada historically has been denied access to many newly-created slots due to 

statutory criteria for access. When the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 allowed for 

Air Canada to compete for beyond-perimeter slots, Air Canada vigorously pursued the 

opportunity. Ultimately, though, its bid to obtain two slots for service to Vancouver was denied. 

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Air Canada 

Petition for Renewal of Exemption 

March 3, 2015 

For the reasons set forth in this petition, Air Canada respectfully requests that the FAA 

renew Air Canada's existing exemption for a period of at least five years. 

lly submitted, 

Anita M. Mesner 

Jennifer M. Nowak 

Attorneys for Air Canada 

cc: Reggie Govan, FAA 

Lorelei Peter, FAA 

Brian Meehan, FAA 

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