BEFORE THE

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Joint Application of :

 : 

UNITED AIRLINES, INC. and : Docket DOT-OST-2014-____

SKYWEST AIRLINES, INC. : and

 : Docket DOT-OST-2014-____

for exemption pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 40109 and :

designations (Houston-Puerto Vallarta/San Jose del Cabo) :

------------------------------------------------------------------------

JOINT APPLICATION OF

UNITED AIRLINES, INC. AND SKYWEST AIRLINES, INC. 

FOR EXEMPTION AND DESIGNATIONS

Communications with respect to this document should be sent to:

Hershel I. Kamen

Senior Vice President-Alliances,

 Regulatory and Policy

Daniel A. Weiss

Managing Director-International

 Affairs and Regulatory

UNITED AIRLINES, INC.

233 South Wacker Drive

10th Floor – HDQIZ

Chicago, IL 60606

(872) 825-6828

hershel.kamen@united.com

dan.weiss@united.com

Steve Morrissey

Managing Director-Regulatory Affairs 

 and Policy

Karine R. Faden

Managing Counsel-Regulatory, Antitrust &

 Competition

UNITED AIRLINES, INC.

1225 New York Avenue, NW

Suite 1100 – DCAIZ/DCALD

Washington, DC 20005

(202) 521-4373

(202) 521-4363

steve.morrissey@united.com

karine.faden@united.com

June 9, 2014

Thomas Newton Bolling

Vice President and Deputy General Counsel

Abby L. Bried

Associate General Counsel-Regulatory, 

 Alliances & International

UNITED AIRLINES, INC.

233 South Wacker Drive

11th Floor – HDQLD

Chicago, IL 60606

(872) 825-8068

(872) 825-7415

thomas.bolling@united.com

abby.bried@united.com

Todd Emerson

General Counsel

SKYWEST AIRLINES, INC.

444 South River Road

St. George, UT 84790

(435) 634-3530

temerson@skywest.com

Gerald F. Murphy

Steven J. Seiden

CROWELL & MORING LLP

1001 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20004

(202) 624-2500

gmurphy@crowell.com

sseiden@crowell.com

Counsel for

United Airlines, Inc. 

and SkyWest Airlines, Inc.

NOTICE: The Joint Applicants have requested expedited treatment of this application. They will poll 

U.S. carrier representatives and inform the Department of the results. 
BEFORE THE

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Joint Application of :

: 

UNITED AIRLINES, INC. and : Docket DOT-OST-2014-____

SKYWEST AIRLINES, INC. : and

: Docket DOT-OST-2014-____

for exemption pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 40109 and :

designations (Houston-Puerto Vallarta/San Jose del Cabo) :

------------------------------------------------------------------------

JOINT APPLICATION OF 

UNITED AIRLINES, INC. AND SKYWEST AIRLINES, INC. 

FOR EXEMPTION AND DESIGNATIONS

United1and SkyWest (d/b/a United Express) (the “Joint Applicants”) apply, pursuant to 

49 U.S.C. § 40109 and Subpart C of the Department's Rules of Practice, for an exemption from 

49 U.S.C. § 41101 authorizing SkyWest to provide scheduled foreign air transportation of

persons, property and mail on a seasonal basis between Houston, on the one hand, and Puerto 

Vallarta and San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, on the other hand, beginning on or about November 1,

2014. In addition, the Joint Applicants request U.S.-Mexico operating carrier designations for

SkyWest on these routes and marketing carrier designations for United to permit United to 

display its “UA*” designator code on SkyWest’s flights. The Joint Applicants ask that the 

requested exemption authority become effective as soon as possible2and that the authority be 

effective for a period of at least two years, subject to the Department’s standard conditions. The 

Joint Applicants also ask the Department to issue the necessary notices to Mexican authorities 

confirming the carriers’ authority to serve the Houston-Puerto Vallarta/San Jose del Cabo routes. 

 

1 Common names are used for airlines. 

2

 The Joint Applicants will conduct a poll of all carrier representatives listed on the 

service list and advise the Department of the results.
Joint Application of United and SkyWest

Page 2

The Joint Applicants state as follows in support of this application:

1. Awarding the requested exemption authority to SkyWest will permit the Joint 

Applicants to tailor capacity to demand for Houston-Puerto Vallarta/San Jose del Cabo service 

by using SkyWest’s CRJ-700 aircraft. The Joint Applicants urge the Department to act promptly 

on this application so that they can secure foreign authority, make final operating plans and begin 

marketing the Houston-Puerto Vallarta/San Jose del Cabo flights well in advance of operations, 

which they plan to commence on or about November 1, 2014, provided all necessary approvals 

have been secured. 

2. SkyWest will operate these Houston-Puerto Vallarta/San Jose del Cabo flights

pursuant to a capacity purchase agreement with United. SkyWest’s United Express service will 

be substituted for the service that ExpressJet currently provides on these routes, subject to the 

Joint Applicants’ receipt of all necessary approvals.3 

3. The Joint Applicants’ service on the Houston-Puerto Vallarta/San Jose del Cabo

routes will continue to provide substantial consumer benefits by enhancing the service options 

available to the U.S. traveling public, including the online connections between points on 

United’s network served via its Houston hub. The SkyWest aircraft to be used on these routes

will also offer a two class cabin configuration, catering to business travelers that desire a first 

class product offering. The Joint Applicants will comply with the Department’s rules on 

codesharing as set forth in Part 257 of the Department’s Regulations. 

 

3 United already holds certificate authority to provide service on these routes. See

Order 2000-5-31 (reissuing Continental’s certificate authority for Route 561, including HoustonPuerto Vallarta/San Jose del Cabo). By Order 2011-3-14, the Department reissued authorities 

previously issued only to United or Continental, including the Route 561 certificate authority, in 

the name of “Continental Airlines, Inc. and/or United Air Lines, Inc.” By Order 2013-4-11, the 

Department reissued the United/Continental authorities on a blanket basis to reflect the 

completion of the United/Continental merger and integration process and United’s new corporate 

name “United Airlines, Inc.” effective as of March 31, 2013. 
Joint Application of United and SkyWest

Page 3

4. The authority sought by the Joint Applicants complies fully with the terms of the 

U.S.-Mexico Air Transport Services Agreement (“U.S.-Mexico Agreement”), as amended. 

Route 1(a) of the U.S.-Mexico Agreement authorizes carriers designated by the United States to 

operate from “a point or points in the United States to a point or points in Mexico.” U.S.-Mexico 

Agreement, Annex I, A(1)(a). Further, the U.S.-Mexico Agreement permits the United States to 

designate three airlines to provide scheduled combination services between any point or points in 

the United States and Puerto Vallarta and San Jose del Cabo (see U.S.-Mexico Agreement, 

Annex I, B(5)) and permits such designated airlines to enter into cooperative marketing 

arrangements with other airlines provided they both hold appropriate authority and meet the 

requirements applied to such arrangements. See id., Annex III(1). Lastly, the United States is 

authorized to allocate up to 10 codeshare designations for each nonstop city pair segment. See 

id., Annex III(3). Sufficient designations are available for SkyWest to operate on the HoustonPuerto Vallarta/San Jose del Cabo routes and for United to codeshare on the SkyWest-operated 

services. Inasmuch as SkyWest’s United Express service on these routes will replace 

ExpressJet’s existing service, no additional designations will be required.

4

 

5. The Joint Applicants hold various certificates of public convenience and necessity 

and exemptions authorizing them to engage in scheduled air transportation of persons, property 

and mail between the U.S. and foreign countries, and the Joint Applicants are fit, willing and 

able to provide the service for which they seek authority. See, e.g., United: Order 2013-4-11 

(reissuing United/Continental authorities to United), Order 2010-5-17 (U.S.-Mexico), and 

 

4

To ensure that United Express service on this route is not disrupted, ExpressJet

will retain its operating designations until the Department has taken action on the Joint 

Application, the Joint Applicants have begun providing the service requested herein, and 

ExpressJet has given notice to the Department that its operating designations are no longer 

required.