THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION WASHINGTON , D

.C

. 20590

The Honorable Daniel Lipinski U.S. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 Dear Congressman Lipinski: April 04, 2014

Thank you for your letter regarding the application ofNorwegian Air International Limited (NAI) for authority to conduct U.S. services. Given that a number of interested parties have filed responsive pleadings to NAI's application and this matter is currently pending before the Department, I am sure you understand that I cannot comment on the merits ofNAI's applica ti on. I assure you, however, that we will give full and careful consideration to all ofthe pleadings filed on the record before we reach a determination in this matter. As is our standard practice, I am placing a copy of your letter and my response in Docket DOT-OST

-20 13-0204, as a contact outside the record ofthis case. You may track the progress ofthis case and view the publicly avai lable documents filed in the docket by accessing the Federal Docket Management System at www.regulations.gov and searchi ng for Docket DOT-OST-20 13-0204. I hope this information is helpful. Sincerely ,

Anthony R

. FoxxDANIEL LIPINS KI 3RO DISTRICT, ILLINOIS www.lipinski.house.gov

1717 LONGWORTH H OUSE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON, DC 20515- 1 303 (202) 225-5701 (202) 225-1012 FAX TOLL FREE FROM IL (8661 822-5701 

# <!ongress of tbe Wniteb**~tates** 

## 1!}ouse of .1\epresentatibes mmtasbington, iH! 20515-1303

The Honorable Anthony Foxx Secretary U.S. Department ofTransportation 1200 New Jersey Ave SE Washington, DC 20590 Dear Secretary Foxx: February 27 , 2014 COMMITIEE ON TRANS PORTATION AND I NFRASTRUCTU RE COMMI TIEE ON SC IE NCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY



### I write to express concern about the application by Norwegian Air International Limited (NAI) to operate in the U.S. as a foreign air carrier. Approval could undermine U.S. airlines and protections for our airline workers and is not consistent with the intent of the US-EU Bilateral Agreement. The US-EU Bilateral Agreement, Article 17 bis, 

### prohibits the establishment of flags of convenience to evade labor protections. It 

### is apparent, however, that NAI seeks to establish itself in Ireland to avoid Norwegian labor standards. Further, NAI intends to employ pilots and flight crew members working under Singaporean employment contracts for the same reason. When and ifthe Department reviews NAI's air carrier permit application, this arrangement deserves intense scrutiny to determine whether it is contrary to the provisions ofthe US-EU Bilateral Agreement. NAI's business model would give the air carrier an unfair cost advantage over U.S. companies by undercutting fair wages and workplace protections. Under the Department ofTransportation' s public interest standard, a key objective is "strengthening the competitive position of [U.S.] air carriers to at least ensure equality with foreign air carriers. " Approval ofNAI's foreign air carrier certificate would undermine this goal and negatively impact American airlines that are held to higher labor standards. As your staff reviews NAI's application, I request that the Department of Transportation carefully consider the proposal's compliance with the US-EU Bilateral agreement and whether it is truly in the public interest. The precedent this application could set would allow other foreign air carriers to utilize a similar business model , resulting in serious consequences for the American airline industry. Thank you for your consideration ofthis request.

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### Sincerely,

# j)~~- 

# . . Daniel Lipinski

# ~ Member ofCongress

222 EAST 9TH STREET # 1 09

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