D 

S 10-] 00311-011 


U.S. Department 

of Transportation 

Assistant Secretary 

~ .. 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Washlng'on. DC 20590 

Office of the Secretory 

of Transportation 

The Honorable Linda Lingle 

Governor of Hawaii 

Honolnlu, HI 96813 

Dear Governor Lingle: 

LI 

Thank you for your letter supporting the application for antitrust immunity filed by American 

Airlines and Japan Airlines. I am responding on behalf of,the Secretary. 

As you may know, the applicants-members of the oneworld Alliance-are seeking antitrust 

immunity to closely coordinate flights between the United States and Asia. According to the 

application, the alliance partners plan to launch ajoint venture for transpacific traffic. 

The application is administered in a public docket, which ensures that interested parties have the 

opportunity to comment. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) will evaluate the 

application according to rigorous statutory standards, beginning with a review of the record to 

determine if it is substantially complete. Decisions on the appl ication are made in consultation 

with the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division following a thorough analysis of 

competitive factors. As this matter is now pending, I hope YOll understand that I cannot 

commenton the merits ofthe application. I can assure you, however, that DOT will give full 

and fair consideration to the application as well as any comments filed in the docket. 

As is our nonnaI practice, I am placing a copy of yourletter and this response in Docket 

DOT-OST-2010-0059 as a contact outside the record in this matter. I appreciate your interest in 

this proceeding. 

Susan L. Kurian 

ssistant Secretary for 

AVIation and International Affairs 
S 1 0-1 00311-011 


EXECUTIVE CHAMBERS 

l\'1arch I, 201 0 

The Honorable Raymolld H. LaHood 

Secretary 

United States Department ofTransportation 

1200 New Jersey A venue, S.E. 

Washington, DC 20590 

RE: Docket DOT -OS1'-20 I 0-_ 

Dear Secretary LaHood: 

I am writing to express our state's strong support for the antitrust immunity (AT!) 

application and proposed joint business agreement tiled by American Airlines (AA) and Japan 

Airlines (JAL). The proposed alliance between these two airlines is vital for the oneworld 

alliance to compete effectively with the Star and SkyTeam alliances. DOT approval for this 

alliance will have a positive impact on airtravcl by offering more service, scheduling and pricing 

options and will help to ensure that consumers continue to benefit from the competition afforded 

by three competitive air alliances. 

I encourage the DOT to approve this application as it would enable these oneworld 

alliance airlines to work closely together to deliver highly competitive air transportation services. 

This increased alliance competition will in turn enhttneethc benefits of the DOT's Open Skies 

policy-first by solidifying U.S. - Japan Open Skies, then by serving as a foundation tor further 

liberalization across Asia. 

Granting the requested immunity is consistent with prior DOT approvals that have 

SUpi')011ed airline alliances, enhancing consumer welfare through increased airline competition. 

It has nUowed for changes that have brought expanded travel networks and increased travel 

efficiency, which would otherwise not have been attainable. 

I look fOl'\varrl,t9 yom' favorable I;onsideration ofthc pending application. 

Sincerely. 

~~. LINDA LlNG®­