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 application. I assure you, however, that we will give full 

and careful consideration to all of the 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 

of this case and view the publicly available documents filed in the docket by accessing the 

Federal Docket Management System at www.regulations.gov and searching for Docket 

DOT-OST-20 13-0204. 

I hope this information is helpful. 

Sincerely, 

Anthony R. Foxx 
DANIEL LIPINSKI 

3RO DISTRICT, ILLINOIS 

www.lipinski.house.gov 

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<!ongress of tbe Wniteb ~tates 

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The Honorable Anthony Foxx 

Secretary 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Ave SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

Dear Secretary Foxx: 

February 27, 2014 

COMMITIEE ON TRANSPORTATION 

AND INFRASTRUCTURE 

COMMITIEE ON SCIENCE, 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 

if the Department reviews NAI's air carrier permit application, this arrangement deserves intense 

scrutiny to determine whether it is contrary to the provisions of the 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 of Transportation'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 of this request. 

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Sincerely, 

j)~~- . . Daniel 

Member 

Lipinski 

of Congress 

~ 

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