UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON, DC

Issued by the Department of Transportation on October 28 , 201 1

NOTICE OF ACTION TAKEN

-- DOCKET S DOT

- OST

- 20 04

- 19148

, DOT

- OST

- 201 1

- 0163

and DOT

- OST

- 20 11

- 0164

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________ __ 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

- 20 04

- 19148

Appl ication of UNITED AIR LINES, INC. ( United )

, filed 8/29/2011 for:

XX E xemption for United and/or Continental Airlines, Inc. (Continental) under 4 9 U.S.C. 40109 to provide the following service:

F oreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail on a code

- share basis with Avianca del Continente Americano S.A. Avianca (Avianca) or other authorized carrier between a point or points in the Unit ed States and a point or points in Colombia, via intermediate and beyond points

.

2. Docket DOT

- OST

- 20 11

- 0164

Application of AVIANCA

, filed 8/29 /201 1 for:

XX E xemption under 49 U.S.C. 40109 to provide the following services:

Scheduled foreign air trans portation of persons, property, and mail between points in Colombia and points in the United States , via intermediate and beyond points, pursuant to its code

- share agreement with Continental and United. The applicant requests that this authority be grante d for a period of two years.

3

. Docket DOT

- OST

- 201 1

- 0163

Joint Application of CON TINENTAL

, UNITED, and AVIANCA

, filed 8/29/2011 for:

XX Statements of authorization in order to engage in the following code

- share services:

(A) Continental and United request blanket s tatement s of authorization permitting them to display

the Avianca ( AV ) designator code in conjunction with foreign air transportation of persons,
property and mail on flights operated by United and/or Continental (1) between points in the

United States ; (2) between points in the United States and points in Colombia (either nonstop or

via intermed iate points in third countries); and (3) beyond the United States or Colombia to any point or points; and

(B) Avianca requests a blanket statement of authori zation permitting it to display the United ( UA ) designator code in conjunction with foreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail

on Avianca

- operated flights (1) between points in Colombia; (2) points in the United States and points in Colombia (either nonstop or via intermediate points in third countries) ; and (3) beyond Colombia or the United States to any point or points

.Applicant rep s : Lorraine B. Halloway (202) 624

- 2500 (Continental and United ) and Richard D.

Mathias (2 0 2) 298

- 8660 ( Avian ca )

DOT Analyst: Brett D. Kruger (202) 366

- 8025

DISPOSITION

XX Approved United and/or Continental’ s exemption authority (subject to conditions, see below)

.

XX Approved in part

, Avianca ’s exemption authority ; remainder (request for longer term

au thority) dismissed. 1 (subject to conditions, see below)

XX Approved blanket statements of authorization to Continental, United, and Avianca (subject to conditions, see below).

The above action granting exemption authority to United/Continental is eff ective when taken : October

28 , 2011 , through October 28 , 2013

. The above action granting exemption authority to Avianca is

effective when taken: October 28 , 2011 , through October 28 , 2012

. The above action granting blanket

statements of authorization to th e referenced carriers is effective: October 28 , 2011 , and will remain in effect indefinitely, subject to conditions.

Action taken by: Paul L. Gretch, Director

Office of International Aviation

XX The authority granted is consist ent with the a viation agreement between the United States and

Colombia

.

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

indicated:

XX United and Continental ’s certificates of public convenience and necessi ty
XX Standard U.S. carrier exemption conditions (attached as Appendix A )

XX Standard foreign carrier exemption conditions (attached as Appendix B)

XX Conditions for Statements of Authorization (attached as Appendix C)

_______________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Conditions : Under the aviation agreement between the United States and Colombia

, there are limitations on the points that may be served. With respect t o carriers designated by the United States , the currently

authorized Colombian points are: Barranquilla, Bogota, Cali, Cartagena de Indias, and Medellin. T he U.S. Government may also name 6 additional points for U.S. carriers to serve exclusively via co d e

- share

service as a non

- operating carrier . At this time, the United States has selected the following 4 code

- share points: Bucaramanga, Cucuta, Mani z ales , and Pereira. With respect to carriers designated by Colombia, the currently authorized U.S. point s are: Boston, Charlotte

, Chicago

, Cleveland

, Columbus

, Detroit,
Houston, Los Angeles, Miami

, New York, San Juan, Orlando, and Washington . The Colombian Government may also name twelve additional points for Colombian carriers to serve exclusively via

code

- share service as a non

- operating carrier. At this time, Colombia has selected the following points:

Cincinnati

, Dallas

, Denver

, Kansas City, New Orleans

, Philadelphia

, Phoenix

, Pittsburg h

, Raleigh

Durham

, San Antonio

, San Francisco , and Tampa

. 2 Effecti ve January 1, 2012 , there are no limitations on the U.S. and Colombian points that may be served on a code

- share

- only basis as a non

- operating carrier.

1 The one

- year duration of the authority we granted to Avianca is consistent with our usual policy of granting exemption authority in the circums tances presented. We therefore, dismissed the application to the extent that it sought authority for a longer period.

2 See Appendix D for a list of initial code

- share points proposed by the applicants

.The authority granted here permits the applicants to serve the code

- share only points currently selec te d and those that may be selec ted in the future under the U.S.

- Colombia agreement. This authority shall not be construed as to grant the applicants authority to serve any point that is not properly selected while the point limitations are in effect

. 3

Rema rks : We note that United has conducted a safety audit of Avianca 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.

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

of the applicants 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 g ranted, 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 ef fectiveness.

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

http://www.regulations.gov

3 We note that the application and initial code

- shar e notice included the following points which have not been selected by the Government of Colombia: Ft. Lauderdale, Indianapolis, Richmond, and Seattle.

### 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 au thorized);

(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 specifical ly 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 Administrat ion, 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 se curity, 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 Administ ration 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 Foreign Carrier Exemption Conditions

In the conduct of the operations authorized, the foreign carrier applicant(s) shall:

(1) Not conduct any operations unless it holds a currently effective authorization from i ts homeland for such operations, and it has filed a copy of such authorization with the Department;

(2) 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, 14 CFR Parts 129, 91, and 36 and 49 CFR Part 1546 or 1550, as applicable. To assure compliance with all applicable U.S. Government requirements concerning security, the holder shall, before commencing any new service (including charter flights) from a foreign airport that would be the holder’s last point of departure for the United States, contact its International Industry Representative (IIR) (formerly referred to as Internati onal Principal Security Inspector) to advise the IIR 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;

(3) Comply with the requirements for mini mum insurance coverage contained in 14 CFR Part 205, and, prior to the commencement of any operations under this authority, file evidence of such coverage, in the form of a completed OST Form 6411, with the Federal Aviation Administration’s Program Managem ent Branch (AFS

- 260), Flight Standards Service (any changes to, or termination of, insurance also shall be filed with that office);

(4) Not operate aircraft under this authority unless it complies with operational safety requirements at least equivalent to Annex 6 of the Chicago Convention;

(5) Conform to the airworthiness and airman competency requirements of its Government for international air services;

(6) Except as specifically exempted or otherwise provided for in a Department Order, comply with the requirements of 14 CFR Part 203, concerning waiver of Warsaw Convention liability limits and defenses;

(7) Agree that operations under this authority constitute a waiver of sovereign immunity, for the purposes of 28 U.S.C. 1605(a), but only with res pect to those actions or proceedings instituted against it in any court or other tribunal in the United States that are: (a) based on its operations in international air transportation that, according to the contract of carriage, include a point in the Un ited States as a point of origin, point of destination, or agreed stopping place, or for which the contract of carriage was purchased in the United States; or (b) based on a claim under any international agreement or treaty cognizable in any court or othe r tribunal of the United States. In this condition, the term "international air transportation" means "international transportation" as defined by the Warsaw Convention, except that all States shall be considered to be High Contracting Parties for the pur pose of this definition;

(8) Except as specifically authorized by the Department, originate or terminate all flights to/from the United States in its homeland;

(9) Comply with the requirements of 14 CFR Part 217, concerning the reporting of scheduled, nonscheduled, and charter data;

(10) If charter operations are authorized, except as otherwise provided in the applicable aviation agreement, comply with the Department's rules governing charters (including 14 CFR Parts 212 and 380);

and

(11) Comply with such other reasonable terms, conditions, and limitations required by the public interest as may be prescribed by the Department, with all applicable orders or regulations of other U.S. agencies and courts, and with all applicable laws of the United States

.

This authority shall not be effective during any period when the holder is not in compliance with the conditions imposed above. Moreover, this authority cannot be sold or otherwise transferred without explicit Department approval under Title 49 of the U.S. Code.

12/2007

### Appendix C

The code

- share operations authorized here are subject to the following conditions:

(a) The statements of authorization will remain in effect only as long as (i) Continental, United, and Avianca continue

to ho ld 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) Continental, United, and/or Avianca

, as appropriate, must notify the Depart ment 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. Such notice should be filed in Docket DOT

- OST

- 201 1

- 0163

.

(c) Continental, United, and/or Avianca , as appropriate, must promptly notify the Department if the code

- share agreement providing for the code

- share opera tions is no longer effective or if the carriers decide to cease operating all or a portion of the approved code

- share services. Such notice should be filed in Docket DOT

- OST

- 20 1 1

- 0163

. 1

(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

th e 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) a ccept 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 pe rmit 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) The authority to operate to t hird countries is subject to the condition that any service provided under the statement of authorization shall be consistent with all applicable agreements between the United States and the foreign countries involved. Furthermore, (i) nothing in the awar d of these blanket statement s of authorization should be construed as conferring upon Continental or United rights (including code

- share , fifth freedom intermediate and/or beyond rights) to serve markets where U.S. carrier entry is limited unless Continent al or United notifies the Department of their intent to serve such a 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; and (ii) sh ould there be a request by any

carrier to use the limited

- entry route rights that are included in the authority of Continental or United by virtue of the

blanket statement s of authorization granted here, but that are not then being used by Continental or U nited , the holding of such authority will not be considered as providing any preference for Continental or United in a competitive carrier selection proceeding to determine which carrier(s) should be entitled to use the authority at issue. 2

(f) The author ity granted here is specifically co nditioned so that neither Continental, United, nor Avianca shall give any force or effect to any contractual provisions between themselves that are contrary to these conditions.

We may amend, modify, or revoke the author ity granted at any time without hearing at our discretion.

1 We expect this notification to be received within ten (10) days after such non

- effectiveness or of su ch decision.

2 The notice in paragraph (b) above can be used for this notification.

### Appendix D

INITIAL LIST OF CODE

- SHARE POINTS