BEFORE THE 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 

Joint Application of 

BRITISH AIRWAYS PLC 

 and 

FINNAIR OYJ 

for blanket Statements of Authorization under 14 C.F.R. Part 

212 (Reciprocal Codesharing) 

DOT-OST-2014-______ 

JOINT APPLICATION OF BRITISH AIRWAYS PLC AND FINNAIR OYJ FOR 

STATEMENTS OF AUTHORIZATION 

Richard Mendles 

General Counsel, Americas 

James B. Blaney 

Senior Counsel, Americas 

2 Park Avenue, Suite 1100 

New York, New York 10016 

richard.mendles@ba.com 

jim.blaney@ba.com 

Don H. Hainbach 

Jason E. Maddux 

Garofalo Goerlich Hainbach PC 

1200 New Hampshire Ave, NW, Suite 590 

Washington, DC 20036 

(202) 776-3970 

dhainbach@ggh-airlaw.com 

jmaddux@ggh-airlaw.com 

Counsel for British Airways Plc 

Anita M. Mosner 

Jennifer M. Nowak 

Holland & Knight, LLP 

800 17th Street, NW, Suite 1100 

Washington, DC 20006 

(202) 419-2604 

anita.mosner@hklaw.com 

Counsel for Finnair OYJ 

 

April 10, 2014 

NOTICE: Any person who wishes to support or oppose this application may file an answer 

on or before April 21, 2014. However, the Joint Applicants request expedited 

treatment of this application. The Joint Applicants will poll the U.S. carrier 

representatives served with this application and notify the Department promptly of the 

results of the poll. 
BEFORE THE 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 

Joint Application of 

BRITISH AIRWAYS PLC 

 and 

FINNAIR OYJ 

for blanket Statements of Authorization under 14 C.F.R. Part 

212 (Reciprocal Codesharing) 

DOT-OST-2014-______ 

JOINT APPLICATION OF BRITISH AIRWAYS PLC AND FINNAIR OYJ FOR 

STATEMENTS OF AUTHORIZATION 

 British Airways Plc (“British Airways”) and Finnair OYJ (“Finnair”) (collectively, the 

“Carriers”) jointly apply for issuance of blanket statements of authorization under 14 C.F.R. Part 

212 to the extent necessary to implement codesharing arrangements provided for in the Code 

Share Agreement between British Airways and Finnair. British Airways and Finnair request 

authority to codeshare between points in the United States and points in the European Union 

(EU), both non-stop and via intermediate points, and behind and beyond to third country points. 

The Carriers request expedited treatment for this Joint Application and that the requested 

statements of authorization be granted for an indefinite period. 

 In support of this Joint Application, the Carriers submit the following: 

1. British Airways requests a statement of authorization for blanket codeshare 

authority to display the Finnair AY* designator code on any segment or segments operated by 

British Airways on the following routing: (i) from any point or points behind any Member State 

of the European Union, via any point or points in any Member State and via intermediate points, 
 

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to any point or points in the United States and beyond and (ii) between any point or points in the 

United States and any point or points in any member of the European Common Aviation Area. 

The specific routes that are initially covered by the above codesharing arrangement are described 

in Appendix A.1 

2. Finnair requests a statement of authorization for blanket codeshare authority to 

display the British Airways BA* designator code on any segment or segments operated by 

Finnair on the following routing: (i) from any point or points behind any Member State of the 

European Union, via any point or points in any Member State and via intermediate points, to any 

point or points in the United States and beyond and (ii) between any point or points in the United 

States and any point or points in any member of the European Common Aviation Area. The 

specific routes that are initially covered by the above codesharing arrangement are described in 

Appendix B. 

3. British Airways currently holds all underlying authority necessary to operate these 

flights. British Airways, a carrier of the United Kingdom, currently operates service to the 

United States pursuant to its foreign air carrier permit issued by the Department by Order 2007-

10-1, in Docket DOT-OST-2007-28149. That foreign air carrier permit authorizes British 

Airways to operate, inter alia: 

Foreign scheduled and charter air transportation of persons, property and mail 

from any point or points behind any Member State of the European Union, via 

any point or points in any Member State and via intermediate points, to any point 

or points in the United States and beyond; and 

 

1

 To the extent necessary, British Airways also requests a statement of authorization for blanket codeshare 

authority to display the Finnair AY* designator code on flights operated by British Airways (BA) Limited, an 

affiliate of British Airways, pursuant to a wet lease with British Airways. See Notice of Action Taken in Docket 

DOT-OST-2012-0081 (Jun. 11, 2012). 
 

3 

Foreign scheduled and charter air transportation of persons, property and mail 

between any point or points in the United States and any point or points in any 

member of the European Common Aviation Area. 

4. Finnair also currently holds all underlying authority necessary to operate these 

flights. Finnair, a carrier of Finland, currently operates service to the United States pursuant to 

its foreign air carrier permit issued by the Department by Order 2008-9-30, in Docket DOTOST-1997-3006. That foreign air carrier permit authorizes Finnair to operate, inter alia: 

Foreign scheduled and charter air transportation of persons, property, and mail 

from any point or points behind any Member State of the European Union, via 

any point or points in any Member State and via intermediate points to any point 

or points in the United States and beyond; and 

Foreign scheduled and charter air transportation of persons, property and mail 

between any point or points in the United States and any point or points in any 

member of the European Common Aviation Area. 

5. Aviation relations between the United States and the United Kingdom and 

Finland are governed by the Air Transport Agreement between the United States of America and 

the European Community and Its Member States (“U.S.-EU Agreement”). The U.S.-EU 

Agreement expressly permits designated airlines of one Party to “enter into cooperative 

marketing arrangements, such as blocked-space or code-sharing arrangements, with: a) any 

airline or airlines of the Parties....” (U.S.-EU Agreement, Article 10(7)) 

6. The blanket codeshare authorizations requested herein are consistent with the 

U.S.-EU agreement and, therefore, with the public interest. Blanket authorizations are in the 

public interest because they enable codeshare partners to develop the full range of services 

permitted under applicable air services agreements. The services contemplated by British 

Airways and Finnair will provide a more efficient use of capacity in the marketplace and will 

help maximize the service options available to the traveling and shipping public. 
 

4 

7. The requested authorities also are consistent with the Department’s policy of 

granting blanket rights to other European codeshare partnerships. See, e.g., Department Action, 

DOT-OST-2002-13958, January 9, 2009 (Air France/Alitalia); Department Action, DOT-OST2010-0175, July 30, 2010 (Austrian/Lufthansa); and Notice of Action Taken, DOT-OST-2010-

0199, August 24, 2010 (Aer Lingus/Spanair). 

8. The Carriers hereby provide blanket notification of their intent to engage in 

codeshare services to open skies points as described above. The Carriers agree to notify the 

Department thirty (30) days in advance of any new codeshare operation to non-open skies points 

and to notify the Department of any codeshare operation the carriers have agreed to discontinue. 

9. The Carriers agree to accept the conditions normally applicable to blanket 

codeshare authority such as requested herein. The carriers also will comply with all other 

applicable Department regulations and policies, including the codeshare disclosure regulations of 

Part 257. The Carriers request that the statements of authorization be issued for an indefinite 

period. 

10. The Carriers request that the Department act upon this application as 

expeditiously as possible and, to the extent necessary, request a waiver of the 45-day advance 

filing requirement specified in Part 212. 

WHEREFORE, British Airways and Finnair submit that grant of the authority requested 

here would be consistent with the public interest and respectfully request that the Department 

grant them statements of authorization to enable them to engage in reciprocal blanket open skies 

codesharing to the full extent authorized by the U.S.-EU Agreement in conjunction with foreign 

air transportation of persons, property, and mail, and such other additional relief as the 

Appendix A

Finnair Codeshare on British Airways Operated Flights 

ROUTING

London (LCY) – New York (JFK) 

London (LGW) – Las Vegas 

London (LGW) – Orlando 

London (LGW) – Tampa 

London (LHR) – Austin 

London (LHR) – Atlanta 

London (LHR) – Boston 

London (LHR) – Baltimore/Washington 

London (LHR) – Denver 

London (LHR) – Dallas-Fort Worth 

London (LHR) – Newark 

London (LHR) – Washington-Dulles 

London (LHR) – Houston 

London (LHR) – New York (JFK) 

London (LHR) – Las Vegas 

London (LHR) – Los Angeles 

London (LHR) – Miami 

London (LHR) – Chicago (ORD) 

London (LHR) – Philadelphia 

London (LHR) – Phoenix 

London (LHR) – San Diego 

London (LHR) – Seattle 

London (LHR) – San Francisco 

 
Appendix B

British Airways Codeshare on Finnair Operated Flights 

ROUTING 

Helsinki – New York (JFK) 

Helsinki – Miami