### WCKERT SCOUTT & 

### RASENBERGER, L.L.P.

ATTORNEYS AT LAW

888 SeventeenthStreet, NW,Washington, DC 20006-3309 Telephone [202] 298-8660 Fax [202] 342-0683 www.zsrlaw.com

August 15, 2013 Submitted via www.regulations.gov

Robert Finamore Chief, Foreign Air Carrier Licensing Division U.S. Department ofTransportation 1200 NewJersey Avenue, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20590



### Re: Avianca and the TACA Group; Docket OST-2012-0136

Dear Mr. Finamore:
Avianca and the TACA Group 1 (collectively, the "Joint Applicants") hold: (1) an exemptionunder 49 U.S.C. 

### § 40109 permitting them to register under 14 C.F.R. Part 215 for their collective use ofthe trade name "Avianca" and use ofthe designator code "AV"for their services in foreign air transportation to and from the United States; and (2) (for the TACA Group) blanket statements ofauthorization pursuantto 14 C.F.R. Part 212 in order to display the "AV*" designator code. Notice ofAction Taken, Docket OST-2012-0136 (December 13, 2012). OnMarch 27, 2013 the Department approved through August 31, 2013, the Joint Applicants' request to extend the use ofthe TACAtrade name and "TA" code for the TACA Group carriers pending resolution ofcertaintechnological issues in connection withthe Joint Applicant's transition to a single Aviancabrand andtheir shared usage ofthe "AV" code.

The Joint Applicants respectfullyrequest a further extension oftime to use the TACA trade name and "TA" code through March 31, 2014, as they continue their migrationtoward the shared usage ofa common brand and designator code. Although Avianca andthe TACA Group had fully anticipated that all outstanding issues would be resolved priorto August 31, 2013, this extension oftime is necessary to address several significantremaining challenges, including, but
not limitedto, an expansion oftheir information technology infrastructure and dataprocessing capabilities, communication automationbetweentheir respective databases to facilitate seamless passenger check-in, testing ofshared computerreservation systems, platforms and connectivity, quality assurance audits, and, ultimately, itinerary validation andre-issuance, all ofwhich must be accomplishedpriorto full "cutover."

These challenges remain particularly acute withrespect to the finalization ofthe Joint Applicants' combined Web presence, whichthey must ensure remains functional and stable

Aerovias Del Continente Americana S.A. Avianca and TACA International Airlines, S.A., Trans American Airlines, S.A. d/b/a TACA, Lineas Aereas Costarricenses S.A., and Aviateca S.A., respectively.ZUCKERT SCOUIT & RASENBERGER,L.LP.

Robert Finamore August 15,2013 Page2

during and after migration. Inthis regard, significanthardware and software upgrades are necessary to fully support the Joint Applicants' Web site changes. Thereafter, new content and web-based functionality will need to be tested and validated, with itineraries re-issued to reflect travel under the common code-aprocess that, independent ofthe other challenges described herein, is expected to take as long as eightweeks. Ensuring these steps are completed smoothly is ofcritical importance to the customers ofnot only Avianca and the T ACA Group, but those of their numerous codeshare and interline partners, both in the U.S. and around the world. Additionally, given the large percentage ofthe Joint Applicants' ticket sales conducted viatheir Web sites, as well as the number ofpassengers who utilize Web check-in for flights, the Joint Applicants must be able to ensure that Web-based transactions and requests function efficiently throughout the transitional period without disruption.

The Joint Applicants continue to devote significant resources to the successful completion ofa common brand and code, including a dedicated team of 100 full-time employees specificallytasked with overseeing common brand and code implementation. The Joint Applicants estimate that, thus far, approximately 420,000 employee hours have been expended

onthe project, with commercial coreprocesses in functional areas such as inventory management, reservations and passenger airport services now largely aligned. Indeed, nearly 4,000 employees have received training in connection with unified carrier policies and technologyplatforms. Notwithstanding these significant achievements, the Joint Applicants require additional time to address the remaining challenges. While the Joint Applicants are optimistic that they will have addressed most ofthe remaining issues bythe end ofthis year, the additional time requested will permitthe Joint Applicants to ensure that full migration can be accomplished in a manner that will minimize potential disruption to customers, particularly during the busy upcoming peaktravel season. It should be noted thatthe Joint Applicants, using existing ITinfrastructure, have already begun displaying Avianca's code on a limited number of former "TA" flights to and from the U.S., and anticipate a steady but measured expansion inthe number ofsuch flights inthe coming months, culminating in full migration bythe first quarter of 2014.

Like the initial extension granted to the Joint Applicants, grant ofthis request will serve the public interest. In its December 13, 2012 approval ofthe commonbranding arrangement, the Department citedthe "aviation agreements betweenthe U.S. andthe homelands ofeach ofthe joint applicants" as the basis for the approval. Notice ofAction Taken at 2. Collectively, these agreements represent the view ofthe U.S. and the homeland ofeach carrier here that liberalized air services and cooperative marketing agreements best serve the public interest, and provide for greater access to a variety ofair service offerings. The additional time requested will permit Avianca and the TACA Group to smoothlytransition to a common trade name and designator code, will notprejudice any party, and will permit Avianca, the TACA Group, and travelers to fully realize the efficiencies and benefits ofcommon branding in a wide variety ofgeographic markets.ZUCKERI' SCOUIT & RASENBERGER,L.LP.

Robert Finamore August 15,2013 Page 3

Avianca and the TACA Group will poll all parties set forth onthe attached certificate of service and advise the Department ofthe results as soon as possible.

cc: service list Respectfully submitted,

Richard D. Mathias DavidM. Endersbee Jonathon H. Foglia Counsel for Avianca and the TACA GroupCERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on this 15th day ofAugust 2013, a copy ofthe foregoing was served by email onthe parties namedbelow:

Lorraine B. Halloway Gerald F. Murphy Counsel for Continental/United Airlines Crowell & Moring LLP 1001 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20004-2595 lhalloway@crowell.com gmurphy@crowell.com

DanWeiss Managing Director

- International & Regulatory Affairs United AirLines 77 West Wacker Drive-HDQIZ Chicago, IL 60601 dan.weiss@united.com

Stephen J. Morrissey Managing Director, Regulatory and Policy United AirLines, Inc. 1225 New York Avenue, NW

- DCAIZ Suite 1100 Washington, DC 20005 steve.morrissey@united.com

Alexander Van Der Bellen Sametta C. Barnett DeltaAir Lines 1212 New York Avenue, NW Suite 200 Washington, D.C. 20005 sascha.vanderbellen@delta.com sametta.c.barnett@delta.comRobert Wirick American Airlines, Inc. 1101 Seventeenth Street, N.W. Suite 600 Washington, D.C. 20036 robert.wirick@aa.com

John L. Richardson Joan Canny Counsel for Amerijet International John L. Richardson, P.L.L.C. 555 13 1 h Street, N.W. Suite 420 West Washington, D.C. 20004 jrichardson@johnlrichardson.com jcanny@amerijet.com

Kelli Bryan Ranjit Seth Robert Foster Charter Sales Evergreen International Airlines, Inc. 3850 Three Mile Lane McMinnville, OR 97128 charters@evergreenairlines.com ranjit.seth@evergreenairlines.com chris.schuldt@evergreenhelicopters.com robert.foster@evergreenairlines.com

Sandra

### L. Lunsford Courtney Felts Legal and Regulatory Affairs Federal Express Corporation 3620 Hacks Cross Road Building B, 3rd Floor Memphis, TN 38125 sllunsford@fedex.com cefelts@fedex.com

Timothy Erickson Safety and Regulatory Affairs Air Transport International LLC 2800 Cantrell Road Little Rock, AR 72202 timothy.erickson@airtransport.ccMalcolm L. Benge Counsel for World Airways Zuckert, Scoutt & Rasenberger LLP 888 1

## ih Street, N,W. Suite 700 Washington, DC 20006 mlbenge@zsrlaw.com

HowardKass Managing Director & Associate General Counsel US Airways 1401 H Street, N.W., Suite 1075 Washington, D.C. 20006 howard.kass@usairways.com

John M. Allen Director Flight Standards Seryice Federal Aviation Administration 800 Independence Avenue, S.W. Room 821 Washington, D.C. 20591 john.allen@faa.gov

Aaron Goerlich Counsel for Allegiant Air, Ryan International Airlines and Southern Air Garofalo Goerlich Hainbach PC 1200 NewHampshire Avenue NW Suite 800 Washington, D.C. 20036-6802 agoerlich@ggh-airlaw.com

Robert P. Silverberg Jeffrey Johnson Counsel for ABXAir Silverberg, Goldman & Bikoff, L.L.P. 1101 30th Street, N.W. Suite 120 Washington, D.C. 20007 rsilverberg@sgbdc.com jjohnson@sgbdc.comMarshallS. Sinick Counsel for Alaska Airlines and Florida West International Airways Squire, Sanders & Dempsey 1201 PennsylvaniaAvenue, N.W. Suite 500 Washington, D.C. 20004 msinick@ssd.com

Russell E. Pommer Associate General Counsel and Director ofRegulatory Affairs Atlas Air, Inc. 1747 PennsylvaniaAvenue, N.W. Suite 875 Washington, D.C 20006 rpommer@atlasair.com

MarkW. Atwood Counsel for Kalitta Air andXtraAirways Cozen O'Connor ArmyNavy Building 1627 I Street, NW Suite 1100 Washington, D.C. 20006 matwood@cozen.com ldunn@xtraairways.com

Jonathan B. Hill Counsel for Hawaiian Airlines and JetBlue DowLohnes 1200 NewHampshire Avenue, N.W. Suite 800 Washington, DC 20036-6802 jhill@dowlohnes.com

Thomas Ting MNAirlines, LLC dba Sun Country Airlines 1300 Mendota Heights Road Mendota Heights, MN 55120 thomas.ting@suncountry.comJoanne W. Young Counsel for Spirit Airlines Kirstein & Young PLLC 1001 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. Suite 600 South Washington, DC 20004 jyoung@yklaw.com

John R. Mietus, Jr. Counsel for Centurion Air Cargo and Trade Winds Airlines Law Office ofJohnMietus, LLC 6701 Democracy Boulevard Suite 300 Bethesda, MD 20817 john@mietuslaw.com

KevinMontgomery Peter Beckett Polar Air Cargo, Inc. 1747 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Suite 875 Washington, D.C 20006 kevin.montgomery@ polaraircargo.com peter.beckett@aawholdings.com