THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTAT I ON WASHINGTON , D

. C

. 20590

The Honorable Michael G. Gr imm U

. S. Hou se of Representatives Washington, D C 205 1 5 Dea r Co ngress man Grimm: April 03, 20 14

Thank yo u for yo ur le tter regarding the ap pli cati on of Norweg ian A ir Internation al Limited (NAI) for authority to conduct U.S. services. Given that a number of int eres te d parties have fil ed respon s ive pleadings to NA I 's application and this matter i s currently pending before the Department , I am s ure you understand that I cannot comment on the merits ofNAl 's application. I ass ure yo u , however, that we will give full and careful consideration to all of the pleadin gs filed on the record before we reac h a determination in thi s matter. As i s o ur s tandard practice , I am placing a copy of your letter and my response in Docket DOT-OS T -2013-0204 , as a contact outside the record of this case. You may track the progress of this case and view the publicly avai lable documents filed in the d oc ket by accessing the Federal Docket Management System at www.regulation s.gov and sea rchin g for Docket DOT-OST-2013-0204. I hope this information is he lpful. Sincerely ,

Anth ony R

. FoxxMICHAEL H

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The Honorable Anthony Foxx Secretary U.S. Department ofTransportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE Washington, DC 20590 Dear Secretary Foxx: February 6, 2014 P uBLIC B urLO:·.us Atm E MERGENCY**EtNIRON\'E ~T** 

I write to express concerns with Norwegian Air International Limited's (NAI) application for a foreign air carrier permit. As you know , approval of the permit would allow NAI to provide commercial air service to and from the United States. The Department of Transportation (DOT) is tasked with evaluating the airline's competitive position to ensure equality with U.S. air carriers and determining whether such service would be in the public interest. I am concerned that NAI's application seeks to undercut employment laws and gain an unfair advantage over U.S. carriers. It is my understanding that, despite lacking operations in Ireland, NAI intends to operate as an Irish airline in order to circumvent Norway's labor laws. Doing so will allow the airline to outsource pilots and flight crews tlu·ough a Southeast Asia-based company governed by Singapore law. This aiTangement would allow Singapore ' s inferior wage requirements and working condition standards to apply to NAI's flight crews. Not only would NAI's operating model put U.S. carriers, and their employees, at a competitive disadvantage, it could also jeopardize safety. Without operations through Ireland, it is unclear how the Irish Aviation Authority will provide adequate safety oversight to NAI. It appears as though NAI's intention is to exploit intemationallegal and regulatory loopholes in order to gain an unfair competitive advantage over U.S. airlines. Approval ofNAI's application would jeopardize American jobs, safety, and I do not believe it is in the public interest. I respectfully request that DOT fully consider these factors as it reviews NAI's foreign air carrier permit application. Thank you for your attention to this request and I look forward to working with you on this important matter.

BANGOR ; 6 S TATE ST REET

. S U IT E 1 01 B A

NGO R, M E 04 4 0 1 P Ho ,. E: (207) 942
- 6935

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# s 10-140206-009 7) 942
- 5907 Sincerely,

Michael H. Michaud Member of Congress

LEWISTON : 1 79 L ISOO ll ST REET , G RO UN D FL OO R**~STO N,**  M E 0 4 240 P HON E: (207) 782-3704

FAX: (207) 782-5 3 30**~·** PRE S QUE I S LE: 4 4 5 M M I S T R EE T P Resaur I sLE, M E 04 7 69**HON~:** (207) 764-1036

F AX: (207) 7 6 4 -1060