# Greater Atlanta Malaya lee Association
May 1, 2015 P.O . BOX 490332, Lawrenceville, GA 30043 www.gamaonline.org



### Aviation Consumer Protection Division 1200 New Jersey Ave, SE Washington, DC 20590 Federal Aviation Administration 800 Independence Ave, SW Washington, DC 20591 Dear Sir/Madam, Subject: Petition against possible unfair practices at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport. 

### Greater Atlanta Malayalee Association (GAMA) a South Indian community organization based in Atlanta Georgia wants to petition about possible unfair monopoly of Delta Airlines at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport in Atlanta
. While airports across USA is benefiting from the Open Air policy and seeing newer international carriers and routes, we believe the dominant airline based out of Atlanta airport is hindering the growth of this airport by unfair deceptive practices. As per the Atlanta Journal constitution dated April12 2015 (attached), while Hartsfield Jackson International Airport is negotiating the deal with airlines, the "majority-in-interest (Mil) clause, with Delta dominating the Airport, is going to adversely affect the competition. AJC further states that even though Federal Aviation Administration raised concerns over the Mil provision, Delta is trying to thwart any competition in Atlanta with its current monopoly. A new deal in favor of Delta is going to be not customer friendly and we the community here want to raise our protest against this unethical practice. According to Southwest CEO Gary Kelly Southwest Airlines had to acquire AirTran to get into the Atlanta market. This is only because of the difficulty of other airlines to get some space due to the clout Delta
. Frontier airlines president Barry Biffle commented that the success of Frontier in Atlanta depends on how much gate Frontier can get in Atlanta. With Delta holding 84% of the space, it is thoroughly difficult for newer Airlines to begin service from Atlanta and we all want to express our concerns regarding this. While new international routes would have been a great help for lot of international travelers from Georgia and neighboring states, lack of these routes force us to travel costly domestic flights to other international Airports, to continue our travel to a foreign country. This is costing us lot of money and time, along with the painful inconveniences we have to undergo. As a community organization we have been contacting the Gulf carriers inviting them to Atlanta and the common response we got from them is about the hostile nature of Delta
. The recent news about the fight on Open Skies between Delta and the Gulf carriers underlines the opposition they are facing to operate from Atlanta, the Hub of Delta
.
Page 1 of 3

# Greater Atlanta Malaya lee Association P.O
. BOX 490332, Lawrenceville, GA 30043 www.gamaonline.org



### Certain facts we discovered solidifies why we are not seeing the end of this tunnel even after a long campaign . • Delta literally owns Atlanta having its monopoly holding 84% of gates in Atlanta airport which constitutes one of the biggest hubs for any airline . • Atlanta is solely a Delta hub , and in order for Emirates, Etihad, Qatar or other airlines from India to begin direct service from Atlanta, they will need to have a cooperation with hub airline. • Even though Federal Aviation Administration raised concerns over the Mil provision , Delta is trying to thwart any competition in Atlanta with its current monopoly • With the Hub airlines facing off with competitors, only 'Sky Team' members are the only ones operating from ATL. Lufthansa and British airways being the exception. • New carriers are not welcomed due to incumbent air carrier, Delta, limiting the gate space for other airlines and by not giving connection to feed their passengers beyond ATL (Etihad airways example below) • The hub airline's hostile business practice makes it difficult for new entrant air carriers to begin serving from Atlanta airport • A 1.4 billion new international terminal was opened in 2012 but most of the gates are vacant. No new international airline has started since 2009, except Virgin Atlantic , a Delta partner? • The monopoly position of Delta especially in international travel, creates a situation where international fares to/from Atlanta are substantially expensive than what they are from other cities like Dallas, Chicago, Houston , Miami, New York. • As the situation stands now, travelers are being forced to take costly and time consuming transit through Chicago, Dallas , Houston , New York, Washington , Miami or Philadelphia during their trips to India • Federal law requires airport operators to provide access to all qualified air carriers on reasonable terms and without unju st discrimination, and prohibits them for granting an exclusive right to operate at their airports

Page 2 of 3.;:r'"'f:))"'''',

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# Greater Atlanta Malaya lee Association P.O
. BOX 490332, Lawrenceville , GA 30043 www . gamaonline.org



### • There is a DL daily flight to Dubai in full capacity . So DL may not like to bring Emirates to ATL to avoid further completion • ATL airport is the international airport for neighboring states (Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina etc . ) • For those cities that had new carrier routes, it generated substantial economic benefits not only for the city but also for the entire region. An excerpt from Etihad President James Hogan :

"The fast-growing airline could fly to five or six U.S. cities within five years . He has his sights on California and possibly Atlanta, if an agreement is reached with Delta Air Lines . " http : I 

### l www.usatoday.com l story l todayinthesky l 2012/11 I 

### 14 1 etihad-expands l 1 704353 1 We certainly hopes that you will do proper investigation and act accordingly for the betterment of the travelling needs of us, those depending on Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Sincerely,

Jerish Augustine President, Greater Atlanta Malayalee Association (GAMA), 404
-425-9974 president @ gamaonline. org Copies 

### to: Susan Kurland, Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs Brandon Belford , Deputy Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs Susan McDermott, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs Paul Gretch, Director, Office of International Aviation Brian Hedberg, Assistant Director for Negotiations, Office of International Aviation Rob Woodall, Hon. Congressman of GA Felicia Moore, Atlanta City Council Chair Hon . Rep . Earl Ehrhart of GA Enclosures : 1. Delta wields clout in new airport lease talks! 2 . Etihad plans more U.S. flights, despite competition! Page 3 of 3;rhe Atlantajoumal-Constltution Sunday, April 1,2, 2015 News: businessnews@ajc.com

I Delivery: ajc.com/customercare

o r 404-522-4

. 1 4 1 HARTSFIELD

- JACKSON

S t iff \Vllisi < ev · .: **l~nv** stifles

· tfnvn

' s hoozy **rt:. v~**  val, 03

· Delta wields clout in new lease tall{s Airport GM hopes to reach 20-year deal. Issues affect competition by other airlines and the fares consumers wiJJ pay. By Kelly Yamanouchl kyam a nouchi@ajc.com A tlanta's economy
is inex

- tricably tied to Delta Air Lines

' ma s s i ve hub at **lla~:tsfield ]ack-**  '"

son International Airport

- which puts the city in a tricky position when it comes time to negotiate the airline's lease. That time is now, a s Hartsfield-jackson and airline exec utiv es meet to hash out a · new lease for carriers at the world's busiest airport. Airport general manager Miguel Southwell said he expects to negotiate

a 20-year lease with an option for a toyear extension, meaning the negotiations going on now would influen ce the airport's future through at least 2035. Such lease negotiation

s in - clude basic financial terms such as gate rental rate s, but they al- so can influence how easy it i s for other airlines to enter the market and expand

- and thus shape fare competition an d the c ost of flying out of Atlanta. "For the consumer, they would like to see :variety, they would like to see carriers com- ing in and providing compe- tition," sa id Anming
Z hang,
a profe ssor at the Sau d e r Schoo

l of Business at the University of British Columbia. Yet the dom- inant carrier may want to ne- gotiate terms that limit compe

- tition, while the airport wants assurance that its facilities will be occupied. Talks on a new deal start

- ed in earnest in February. The ctirrent lease, an extension negotiated in 2009

, expires in 2017. Neither Southwell nor Delta spokesmen gave co m - ments on spe cific financial terms they are seeking. For Hartsfield-Jackson,
the lease **negotiation~** are tied to Atlan ta's dependence

' oh Del - ta 's massive hub and its corpo- rate headquarters for econom- ic vitality and jobs. "Delta is what's making At - lanta what it is," said Co l o r ado
- based

· aviation consultant Mike Boyd. "The care and feeding of Delta will b e the ca re a nd feed
- ing of Atlanta's future.

" Hart
s field -Jac k so n ha s hi s- tbrically charged rate s to air- line s tl1at are low er than man y other large airports. Delta continued on 0404 CP.FlliBL F . C( lMr!'t ii N(; , COMPLETE

.. .. . . . .... . . . .. . 

# BUSINESS Delta cont in ued fron 1 Ul

**.The.A~l<HH;.t** airport' lease wJI h airlm<>s also includes 

### I

**~vhat's** known as "majority-in
- / mt e rest ,·· nr MU, pro vis. ions 

# I th at essentially require the

**~Iir** pon to get approval from the majori t'y for major a irp o rt proj- ji eels and

**expan~io .**  Votes are we ighted to give larger teJJants 

# I more clout , w hi c h c (mld enab le 1 1 a 

### big player li ke Delta to

**bloc! ~** 



### ~1rojects t}J;H co uld add capaci- 

## I f. y a nd all ow more co mpetition. 

### i



## Th~ **r~ oiJ**  **ale** for we ighting is 

# i that < urhn es ··· iu thi s case 

### Del
- 1 I a ..- . evemuaJly pay for airport 

### j pro.rects lbro u g lllea se payments a nd landing f ees. · "There 's trade -o ffs, " sai d .Jonathan Wi lliams. ass is t am professo r o f economics at th e Uniwrsity of Georgia's Terr _v Coll ege o(Ot ls ine ss. "Atlau
t_a wants to r e m a in a Delta hub for a long time. JJ e l ta wants to ens u re that it CHI ctmtinHe to m ake m o n ey • > ut of At lanta for a

**Ion.~** time. 

### Aut! so in

**th<~t** re - spet:t, 1 think th e A tl a nt a a ir
port actua ll y h<1s 

### an inc en tiv e to maybe uot d o the mo st c u s tomer -fri endly thing . " But th e Fe de r al Av i a tion Ad
minis! raliou 

### has raised cun-

**~e ru**  **s** a bout Mil clauses. s ay **J~l g**  they co uld be an ti
-rompeti .. 1 

### I'JVe . Th e 1"./\A in l etters 

### after the 

# I
: ·c:u t e n

**ti<.lll ,**  **200~ J**  lease negoti- · ctlwns sa1d our b est practices 1 have found M U restrictions ca u 1



## v~rsely impact w rn pe titi on 

# ! al

**a1~·po ts**  by limitin g th e abili
-

**~') ~**  of th e airpDrt 

# to expa nd fadJ
t Ues to lllCCI' demand from n ew en tr auts or exp a nding inc um ben t carriers."



### - ---- - .--- --· - - - -- - - - .....1 

# I I I 

# I Ot lu

: r :ti rpor(s a lso l1a ve Mll clauses, !Jut some have limite d t_hem by exe mpting certain PW.Jects 

### or have corumi tt e d to elin tin al'ing thelll, accordin g to 

### a n FA/\ 

### r epo r l.

**Tl1~ .t\.L**  **:~ma** cily council

**~me nd**  **ed** il s approval of th e

**200~** de al In dire ct the cily to consHle r tile FJ\.1\'s recommendation and e liminal e i . he MU provisi o n iu the n ext contract. So uth weU, installed last year, plan s to keep 1 h e provision. "It makes sense , " Southwell said . Th e r e ·sa "balan ce that you have to strike .... You have a major hub carrier that 

### not only serves I hi s airport, but i s he a d- 

# I c1uartered h ere wit·h te n s of

**ll'IOU ~c**  **\i~\i~** or filip ioyees. _ ii is 

### itt 

### I

**~he nt~·**  s mtere s t _t o contmue to 

# I andtot th e c onum tment with rh;Jt

**c::~ rh'r**  **"** Felici<1 Moore, th e couucil 

# I memb er wh o c ha1llpionecl tlle amendm e_nt s uggestl ng 

### the Mlf 

### j

**~e eco**  **lS Jd**  **ered,** S8 i1 I la st

**we1~k ,**  / 

### l do t.bml<

**th ey_s**  **ul~l** 

### t ake 1

**he d**  to s ome (If t: IJ e s ucking pomts I hat we had last· time," adding th a t to keep Harts11eld· Jac kso n at I he top of the industry "we've go t lo be able to gi ve th e consun)er what they 

### want." Sou th well sai d even with the M

il clause, th e air p ort ca n s till accommodate o t ·ll er ai rlin es by making g<Hes available. ·

· "It's worked o ut that we've / n ever had a prob lem,'' So uth
we ll said. 

### "Th at critic is m



## as **'~** panned out."

- 

### - - ---- 

### Space 

## issues But it's not always easy for new or grow. ing carriers to get space at the airport. Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly lias said that Southwest could not have entered Atlanta

**i~h** the scale that 

### it

**~lanned** without acquiring A irTran and its gates 

### at Hartsfield • Jaekson . 

### When Frontier 

### At r-Iines recently announcecl its expansion at

**Hart sfi**  **eld ~**  Jackson, Frontlet president .Barry Biffle

**~aid** h ow much Frontier can 

### gJOw 

## "will bt! entirely dependent 

### on how 

### much gat e acGess 

### we can .get." Delta controls about 84 

### percent ofthe market at Hartsfield
Jackson. Fortr ess hubs like Delta's in Atlanta are 'known for having higher fares, in part beca use of limited c ompetition. Ha rtsfield
- Jacks on has ben
efited from having a large low
cos t carrier to compete against Delta, with A irTran and n ow · Southwest. " With hubs you ·do tend to get higher fa res ... the c ompany is in more of a monopolistic posi ti on

**~o** be able to charge those higher fares," said Brian Campbell, chairman ofAlexandria, Va. · based cons ultin g 

### t1rm Campbell
-

### Hill Aviat ion Group. "Delta l thi nk has b een p r etty successfu l in p ers u ading the powers that be that they are 

### a huge emp loye r, they are e ssentiaiw the l oca l economy. And I don ' t think there's mu c h doubt abou t that," Campbell s aid. "The question is , we ll. if Delta didn't get its.way, is it goi n g to take d own that hub," as the airlin e threatened to do in the last round ofnegotiations. "J d on't ever see that happen in g. I think Delta is invested and co mmitted to At lan ta for life." \: , . '

**1'-': ;r...,~r.r.-**  ...

**-.-~~**



## - ----- -- --- - -

### Etihad plans more U.S. flights , despite competition Page 1 of3 

# Etihad plans more U.S. flights, despite competition

TODAY!NTHESKY Bart Jansen , USA TODAY ] :08p.m. ESTNovember 14, 2012 WASHINGTON-

**~~~~ ~~~?.Y.~**  p l ans further expans ion in the USA , but f lyi ng its own p lanes and through code-share agreements rather than through all i ances , Pres ident James Hoga n tells Today in th e Sky
.

(Ph oto: Etihad Airway s ) emirates - airli nes/1700609/l Hogan says the fast-growing airline could fly to five or s ix U .S. cities wi thin five ye ars . He has h is sigh ts on Cal ifornia and possibly Atl anta , if an agreeme nt is re ached w ith

**'?!'l l!**  **~ ~!~~**  **i~!'l ~·** 

"The

**~f!l ~~i~~** 

**·** as a source market fo r bu sin ess , i s key for us as we develop ou r global pla n," s ays Hogan , who says the a i rline ' s U . S. flights are 81 % full this year. ALSO ONLINE : Gu lf ai rl in es lure fli ers w ith new pl anes . top service (lstorv/ travel/fligh ts /2012/ 11 / 12/qatarEt ihad w ill beg in non-stop

**~i!?.l!~ ~~**  **~Q :~9**  **q** fl ights between

**~~~~!~9!**

**_ P-~!**  **~~** and

**~~ '?~**  **~~ !**  on Ma r ch 31 . Hogan is in Washington to meet d ip l omats , t ravel executives and co rpo r ate offic ia l s . He i s speakin g at lun c h today to the

**U.S.- I:J!l..i!~~**  **~!~ ~~~~** 

**-t !'l**  **~** Bus in ess Council. The a i rl i ne has flown 1 . 5 million passengers to or from the USA since starting i n New York in 20 06 a nd Ch i cago in 2 00 9 . Rather than join an a lli ance, as Qatar joined oneworld, Hogan says Etih ad will pursue code-share agreeme nts and part i a l owners hip of oth e r ai rlin es . Eti had has 42 code-share agree men ts , includ ing

**~~ !~~~!1**  **~i~~~!'l-~** and a recen t one with anno unced with A i r Franc e a nd K LM. Etihad a lso has p art ia l ownership in sev eral airlines , including 29 % of airberlin , 47 % of

**~l~ ~~Y**  **~~~!I!'l_~**

**.** 10% of

**Y.i~ !J!**  **~ ~~**  **~t!?) ~**  a nd 3% of Ireland ' s

**~~**
**. ~!~9~**  **~** airline
.
" I'd rather work with everybody, " Hogan says. Questioned whether t h ree Gu lf a irlines- Qatar, Em i rates and Etih ad -can survi ve , Hogan says th e reg i on has its own trave lers a nd i s an im po rtant crossroads between Asia and North America
. Abu Dhab i is more conven ient for trave lers with multilingual staff ers than passing through t raditi onal European airports, he says.

"That si lk road is d ifferent from the traditional trans-Atlantic," Hogan says . 'With in three hours flying time are the Gulf States , the Mid dle East , th e

**!~? _i**  **§l!!**

**~~?~ C:~!i!l**  **~~!** have got a market as large as China
." ADVERT ISilMilNT

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