UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, DC

Issued by the Department of Transportation on February 15, 2012

 NOTICE OF ACTION TAKEN – DOCKET DOT-OST-2011-0228 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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).

Joint Application of AMERICAN AIRLINES, INC. (American) and HAINAN AIRLINES CO., LIMITED (Hainan)

filed 12/8/11 for: 1

XX Exemption for American under 49 U.S.C. 40109 to provide the following services: 

Scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property and mail between Seattle and Beijing and to any point in 

China on a code-share basis with Hainan, as authorized by the U.S.-China Air Transport Agreement, as amended by 

Article 5 of the U.S.-China Protocol signed on July 23, 2004.

XX Exemption for Hainan under 49 U.S.C. 40109 to provide the following services: 

Scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property and mail between points in China and points in the United 

States on a codeshare basis with American, as authorized by the U.S.-China Air Transport Agreement, as amended by 

Article 5 of the U.S.-China Protocol signed on July 23, 2004.

XX Blanket statement of authorization under 14 CFR Part 212 to permit American to engage in the following code-share 

services:

Display the (HU*) designator code of Hainan in conjunction with foreign air transportation of persons, property, and 

mail on flights operated by American between the U.S. and China and on flights operated by American within the U.S. 

beyond Hainan’s Seattle gateway. 

XX Blanket statement of authorization under 14 CFR Part 212 to permit Hainan to engage in the following code-share services:

Display the (AA*) designator code of American in conjunction with foreign air transportation of persons, property, and 

mail of flights operated by Hainan between the U.S. and China and on flights operated by Hainan within China beyond 

American’s Beijing and Shanghai gateways. 

Joint Motion of American and Hainan filed 12/13/11 to shorten the answer date to their December 8, 2011 application. 

Applicant reps: Carl B. Nelson (202) 496-5647 (American)

Josh Romanow (202) 663-8000 (Hainan)

DOT Analyst: Darren Jaffe (202) 366-2512

DISPOSITION

XX Granted (requests for exemption authority and statements of authorization, subject to conditions, see below)

XX Dismissed (motion for shortened answer date) 2

The above action granting exemption authority to American is effective when taken: February 15, 2012, through

February 15, 2014, subject to conditions. The above action granting exemption authority to Hainan is effective when 

taken: February 15, 2012, through February 15, 2013, subject to conditions. The above action granting blanket 

statements of authorization to American and Hainan is effective: February 15, 2012, and will remain in effect 

 1 The joint applicants note that American is also applying on behalf of its affiliated carriers American Eagle Airlines, Inc. and 

Executive Airlines, Inc. d/b/a American Eagle. 2 The answer period to the joint application has expired, so we are dismissing the motion as moot.
indefinitely, subject to conditions. The above action dismissing the motion for a shortened answer date is effective 

February 15, 2012.

Action taken by: Paul L. Gretch, Director

 Office of International Aviation

XX The authority granted is consistent with the Air Transport Agreement, as amended, between the United States 

and the People’s Republic of China.

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

 XX Holder’s certificates of public convenience and necessity

 XX Hainan’s foreign air carrier permit (Order 2009-12-10) 

 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) 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Special Conditions/Remarks: We note that American has conducted a safety audit of Hainan 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.

The exemption authority granted to Hainan is limited to operations conducted only through its code-share arrangement

with American on flights operated by American.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

On the basis of data officially noticeable under Rule 24(g) of the Department's regulations, we found 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 in this notice 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 federal action under the 

Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975. 

To the extent not granted or dismissed, 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 effectiveness.

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

http://www.regulations.gov
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 authorized);

(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 specifically 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 Administration, 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 security, 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 Administration 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 its 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 International 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 minimum 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 Management 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 respect 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 United 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 other 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 purpose 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 granted will remain in effect only as long as (i) American and Hainan continue to 

hold 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) American, and/or Hainan, as appropriate, must notify the Department 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-2011-0228.1

(c) American and/or Hainan, as appropriate, must promptly notify the Department if the code-share agreement 

providing for the code-share operations 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-2011-0228.

2

(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 

the 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) accept 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 permit 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 granted here is specifically conditioned so that neither American, nor Hainan 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 authority granted at any time without hearing at our discretion.

 1 See Appendix D for initial code-share points. 2 We expect this notification to be received within ten (10) days after such non-effectiveness or of such decision.
Appendix D

INITIAL LIST OF CODE-SHARE POINTS