BEFOR E THE 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

WASHINGTON, DC 

Application of 

NORWEGIAN AIR INTERNATIONAL 

LIMITE D 

for an exemption under 49 U.S.C. § 40109 

and a foreign air carrier permit pursuant to 

49 U.S.C. § 41301 (US-EU Open Skies) 

Docket No. OST-2013-0204 

ANSWER OF THE TRANSPORTATION TRADES DEPARTMENT, AFL-CIO 

TO APPLICATION OF NORWEGIAN AIR INTERNATIONAL LIMITED 

F OR AN EXEMPTION AND FOREIGN AIR CARRIE R PERMIT 

On behalf o f the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD) I write to oppose 

the application o f Norwegian Air International Limited (NAI) for an exemption and a foreign air 

carrier permit. By way o f background, TTD consists of 32 affiliated unions including those that 

represent workers at U.S. airlines that would be in direct competition with NA I for international 

routes. 

TTD supports comments filed by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALFA), and we refer 

you to the analysis o f the NA I business model and legal implications detailed in ALPA's filing. 

As those comments discuss, NA I is an affiliate o f Norway-based Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS), 

and was incorporated in Ireland with the express intent of evading Norway's social laws. As a 

controlled affiliate o f a Norway-based company, NA I would not have the opportunity to apply 
for a foreign air carrier permit i f not for the U.S.-European/Norway/Iceland Air Transport 

Agreement (ATA), which liberalized air traffie rights between the EU and the U.S'. NAEs 

business model, which is based on undermining labor standards and driving down labor costs, 

runs contrary to the provision in the ATA that states that the opportunities created by the 

Agreement are not intended to undermine labor standards or the labor-related rights and 

principles eontained in the laws of the signatories to that agreement. Furthermore, granting the 

N A I application would violate the statutory requirement that regulatory decisions made by the 

U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), including the granting o f air carrier certificates, must 

promote the public interest and encourage fair wages and working conditions^. 

Throughout the negotiations leading to the ATA, TTD raised concerns^ about proposed 

changes in regulatory structure that allowed any EU airline to operate from any point in the EU 

to any point in the U.S. This right essentially allows the national airlines of individual European 

countries to operate as "European" airlines, at least for the purpose of the ATA. Our concerns 

during negotiations were that airlines would not be subject to a single European labor law, rather 

the labor-management relations of these airlines would continue to be subject to the national 

labor laws o f particular European countries. We believed that this framework would raise the 

possibility that EU airlines would seek to compete with one another on the basis o f differences in 

those national labor laws and, in the process, secure an unfair advantage with the U.S. carriers 

providing transatlantic service. 

^ The U.S. - European Union Air Transport Agreement was amended in June 2011 to apply to Norway and Iceland 

as if they were Member States of the European Union. 

'4 9 U.S.C §40101(a)(5) 

^ Attached is a January 11, 2010 letter to Mr. John Byerly and Mr. Paul Gretch 

2 
For this reason, we supported the inclusion in the AT A o f a labor article such as the 

previously referenced language stating that the opportunities provided by the ATA are not 

intended to undermine labor standards or the labor-related rights. With the emergence of the 

N AS business model that is designed to exploit European aviation and labor laws in order to 

undermine collective bargaining by the NAS pilots and flight attendants, our concerns during the 

negotiations in 2010 and our insistence on language protecting labor standards have proved 

prescient. 

NAS is incorporated in and holds and air operators eertificate in Norway. However 

rather than register its 787 aircraft in its home country, NAS has registered them in Ireland and is 

seeking to obtain an Ireland-issued AOC. For its long haul operations the airline is using pilots 

who are based in Thailand and employed on individual employment contracts that are governed 

by the laws of Singapore. The pilot crews are not employed directly by NAS but by a pilot 

recruitment company that contract, or more accurately "rents," them to NAS. We believe that 

NAS intends to use the same or similar model for NA I long haul. 

In addition, the airline apparently takes the position that because its aircraft are registered 

in Ireland it does not need to obtain Norwegian work permits for its Asian-based crew. While 

the union that represents the non-787 crew is challenging this assertion, the Norway government 

has indicated that registration of the aircraft in Ireland will postpone the need for Norwegian 

work permits for the Asia-based pilots and has indicated that obtaining an Irish AOC may take 

those pilots completely out from under coverage by Norwegian social laws. It is also unclear 

whether Irish social laws will cover these airline workers, or i f they will be required to obtain 

3 
Irish work permits. TTD sent a letter to the Irish Minister for Social Protection on October 18, 

2013 inquiring whether the Government of Ireland is applying, or intends to apply its social laws 

to the flight crew members on NAS aircraft. At this time we have yet to receive a response. 

It is clear that NAS is using the unique nature o f EU aviation laws to effeetively shop 

around for the labor laws and regulations that best suit its bottom line. The airline is using a 

"Flag of Convenience" strategy at the expense of decent labor standards. In addition to 

subjecting its own workforce to substandard wages and conditions, the NAS model threatens the 

U.S. aviation workforce. NAS now serves routes from Scandinavia to New York City and Fort 

Lauderdale, with plans to serve Los Angeles, Oakland and Orlando in the near future. It also 

plans to start services to the U.S. from London this summer. By using a Flag o f Convenience to 

dramatically lower labor costs, NAS is undercutting U.S. carriers and their employees that serve 

those same markets by as much as 50 percent. 

In addition to being counter to the labor article included in the ATA, the application is 

also contrary to the public interest criteria in U.S. law. DOT may issue a permit authorizing a 

person or entity to engage in foreign air transportation i f it finds, among other things, that the 

transportation provided "will be in the public interest^" When determining i f the proposed 

service is in the public interest, one criterion is the encouragement of "fair wages and working 

conditions^." Another criterion is "strengthening the competitive position of [U.S.] air carriers to 

at least ensure equality with foreign air carriers^" The NAS/NAI business model as discussed 

" Attached is an October 18, 2013 letter to Joan Burton, the Irish Minister for Social Protection. 

'4 9 U.S.C §40132 

'4 9 U.S.C §40101(a)(5) 

' 49 U.S.C §40101 (a)( 15) and (e)(I) 

4 
above clearly fails on both criteria. It would discourage, rather than encourage, fair wages and 

working conditions, and would clearly put U.S. carriers at a competitive disadvantage. 

We have watched as another once-great U.S. industry fell victim to the Flag of 

Convenience strategy that NAS is now seeking to perform. The U.S. maritime industry was not 

long ago a significant force in the global maritime marketplace with U.S.-flag vessels carrying 

commercial cargo to ports throughout the world. Now, however, the U.S.-flag fleet is a shell of 

its former self, with fewer than 100 vessels in operation. Those only sail under a U.S. flag 

because o f government programs that keep them commercially viable due to their strategic 

importance to our military and national security. The reason is that international shipping 

corporations are able to register their vessels in the country with the labors laws that best suit 

their bottom line. By using a Flag o f Convenience strategy and choosing the lowest common 

denominator for wages and labor standards, foreign-flagged vessels are able operate at a much 

lower cost, and the U.S. maritime industry has been left on life support after sending thousands 

of good-paying maritime jobs overseas. Currently, 98 percent of the commercial vessels 

entering and leaving U.S. ports and harbors are foreign flagged. 

We cannot allow a similar fate to befall our aviation industry and its workforce. The 

NAS/NAI business model is precisely designed to achieve what international shipping 

corporations achieved with great success over the past several decades. Members of Congress 

who witnessed the decline of the maritime industry in their own districts have also raised 

concerns over the NAS/NAI strategy and its vast implications for the U.S. airline industry. At a 

House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation hearing on December 12, 

2013, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) expressed his considerable concern about foreign airlines 

using a Flag of Convenience strategy to DOT Deputy Secretary for Aviation and International 

5 
Affairs Susan Kurland, and asked that the government do whatever it can to prevent this from 

harming U.S. aviation. 

DOT should reject NIA's application on the grounds that its business model violates the 

labor article in the ATA. It is further in the public interest and consistent with the DOT's 

statutory requirement to encourage fair wages and working conditions to reject this application. 

Respectfully Submitted, 

Edward Wytkind 

President 

Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO 

815 16"^ Street, NW 

Washington, DC 20006 

202-628-9262 

edw(a),ttd.org 

December 17,2013 

6 
Attachment 1 

A bold voice for transportation workers 

January 11,2010 

Mr. John Byerly 

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State 

for Transportation Affairs 

U.S. Department of State 

EEB/TRA, Room 3425 

2201 C Street, NW 

Washington, DC 20520 

Mr. Paul Gretch 

Director, International Aviation 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

Re: Report by Claude Chene on social issues raised by transatlantic airline companies 

(submitted November 9, 2009) 

Dear Mssrs. Byerly and Gretch: 

On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD) I wanted to express 

concerns with the conclusions reached and the recommendations offered by Mr. Claude Chene in 

his report on the labor issues presented by the creation of transatlantic airline companies. In a 

letter dated December 10, 2009, the Air Line Pilots Association and the European Cockpit 

Association expressed their specific disappointment with the report. TTD fully concurs with the 

concerns and issues raised in that letter and wishes to emphasize several specific points. 

As the TTD and its member labor organizations have pointed out on several occasions, including 

at the two EU-U.S. labor forums, the changes in regulatory structure made by the 2008 U.S. -

EU air services agreement (ASA) and those proposed by the EU in the ongoing negotiations, 

raise a number of serious concerns for U.S. airline employees. The ASA allows any EU airline 

to operate from any point in the EU to any point in the U.S. This right essentially allows the 

national airlines of individual European countries to operate as "European" airlines, at least for 

the purpose of the ASA. Rather than be subject to a single European labor law, however, the 

labor-management relations of these airlines continue to be subject to the national labor laws of 

particular European countries. This framework thus raises the possibility that EU airlines may 

seek to compete with one another on the basis of differences in those national labor laws and in 

the process secure an unfair advantage with the U.S. carriers providing transatlantic service. 

Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO 

815 16th Street NW /4t h Floor /Washington DC 2000 6 

Tel:202.628.9262 / Fax:202.628.0391 /www.ttd.or g 

Edward Wytkind, President /Larr y I. Willis, Secretary-Treasurer 
Mr. John Byerly 

Mr. Paul Gretch 

January 11,2010 

Page 2 

In the ongoing round of negotiations, the EU is proposing to eliminate limitations on ownership 

of U.S. and EU airlines by investors on the two sides. Our opposition to this proposal is wellknown and 1 will not reiterate our many objections to this approach. 1 would add that such a 

proposal, i f adopted, would open the door to the creation of holding companies that could own 

airlines on both sides of Atlantic and use the lack of a common labor law to play the workers o f 

the airlines against one another. 

Mr. Chene acknowledges the concerns that arise out o f the ASA but finds that meaningful 

solutions would be too politically difficult to accomplish. With respect to the challenges posed 

by the creation of holding companies he does offer a proposed solution: the creation of "labor 

chambers" that would provide employees an opportunity to be represented at the holding 

company as well as at the national level. For the ample reasons set out in the AEPA/ECA letter, 

however, this proposal falls far short of providing an acceptable solution to the myriad labormanagement problems that would be spurred by the elimination of the ownership and control 

rules. Rather, because the labor chambers would apparently be set up under national laws, Mr. 

Chene's recommendations could actually exacerbate the problem created by the ASA, i.e., 

airlines might be able to realize competitive advantages by exploiting differences between those 

various laws. 

We appreciate that Mr. Chene took the time to meet with TTD and to discuss our concerns about 

the possible effects o f the U.S.-EU air services negotiations on labor-management relations. We 

recognize that the issues he was asked to examine are complex and might require solutions that 

would be both novel and politically difficult. Mr. Chene is to be commended for the 

considerable efforts he made to identify and attempt to understand many o f our key concerns. 

Unfortunately, we believe his recommendations fall well short of offering solutions that would 

sufficiently address either the labor issues posed by the ASA or by the proposals being made in 

the ongoing negotiations. 

We urge you to encourage the EU to address the labor concerns that are presented by the ASA. 

In addition, we urge that you continue to reject the EU proposal to eliminate restrictions on the 

ownership of U.S. and EU carriers by each other's investors. 

Sincerely, 

Edward Wytkind 

President 

cc: Susan Kurland, Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs 

Christa Fomarotto, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs 
TTD MEMBER UNIONS 

The following labor organizations are members of and represented by the TTD: 

Air Line Pilots Association (ALFA) 

Amalgamated Transit Union (ATI!) 

American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) 

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) 

American Federation of Teachers (ALT) 

Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) 

American Train Dispatchers Association (ATDA) 

Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS) 

Communications Workers of America (CWA) 

International Association of Fire Fighters (lAFF) 

International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) 

International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, 

Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers (IBB) 

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) 

International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) 

International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots, ILA (MM&P) 

International Union of Operating Engineers (lUOE) 

Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA) 

Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association (MEBA) 

National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) 

National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) 

National Conference of Firemen and Oilers, SEIU (NCFO, SEIU) 

National Federation of Public and Private Employees (N FOP APE) 

Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) 

Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS) 

Sailors' Union of the Pacific (SUP) 

Sheet Metal, Air. Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART) 

Transportation Communications Union/ lAM (TCU) 

Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) 

UNITE HERE! 

United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) 

United Steel, Paper and Forestry. Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service 

Workers International Union (USW) 

United Transportation Union (SMART) 

October 2013 
Attachment 2 

October 18, 2013 

Tro 

A bold voice for transportation worker

Joan Burton T.D. 

Minister for Social Protection 

Dail Eireann 

Dublin 2 

Dear Ms. Burton: 

This is to ask for information on whether the Government of Ireland is applying, or intends to 

apply, its social laws to the pilots and flight attendants who work on board the Irish-registered 

aircraft that are being used by Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) in the international air 

transportation services described below. 

NAS is an airline that is incorporated in Norway and holds an air operators certificate (AOC) in 

that country. Through its subsidiary - Norwegian Long Haul, which also holds a Norwegian 

AOC - it operates a fleet of Boeing 787 aircraft. NAS already serves New York City and Fort 

Lauderdale in the United States with these aircraft and has announced plans to serve Los 

Angeles, Oakland and Orlando in the near future. 

NAS has registered its 787 aircraft in Ireland. There are also news reports that NAS may seek to 

obtain an Ireland-issued AOC. We also understand that the airline is using pilots who will be 

based in Thailand and employed on individual employment contracts that are governed by the 

law of Singapore to crew the 787s. They will not be employed directly by NAS but by a 

recruitment company that will then contract (•"rent") them to NAS. We understand that a similar 

arrangement will apply to the flight attendants who will work on the 787s. 

The NAS business model is unique and seems designed to undermine effective collective 

bargaining by the NAS pilots and flight attendants. Indeed, it appears that the express purpose of 

the model is to evade the application of Norway' labor laws. For example, the airline has said 

that because its aircraft are registered in Ireland that it does not need to obtain Norwegian work 

permits for its Asian-based crew. 

We understand that the union that represents the non-787 pilots is challenging NAS's contention 

that Norway labor laws do not apply to 787 flight crew. We understand, however, that the 

Norway government has indicated that registration of the aireraft in Ireland will postpone the 

need for Norwegian work permits for the Asian-based pilots and that obtaining an Irish AOC 

would take those pilots completely out from under coverage by Norwegian social laws. 

Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO 

815 16th Street NW /4t h Floor /Washington DC 2000 6 

Tel:202.628.9262 / Fax:202.628.0391 /www.ttd.or g 

Edward Wytkind, President /Larr y I. Willis, Secretary-Treasurer 
The Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), is concerned about the operation of 

the NAS business model into the United States and about the fragmented nature of the labor laws 

that apply to the flight crews of EU airlines. 

The possibility that EU airlines might make decisions on where to register their aircraft and/or to 

seek their AOCs based on a perception that one country's laws might provide an advantage to the 

company in terms o f labor relations has significant implications that, at a minimum, must be 

understood. Accordingly, we would like to know the extent to which Ireland will apply its social 

laws to the pilots and flight attendants who operate NAS's Irish-registered 787s and, in 

particular, whether the Irish government will require NAS to obtain Irish work permits for those 

flight crew, and i f so, whether NAS has applied for those permits. 

We appreciate your consideration of this request. We also would be pleased to discuss our 

concerns about the NAS 787 operation in more detail i f you believe that would be useful. 

cc: Alan Shatter 

Leo Varadkar 

David Begg 

Russell Bailey 

' TT D is a trade department of the AFL-CI O and represents 32 affiliated unions that in turn represent workers in all 

modes of transportation. Specifically, TT D represents the following aviation unions: the Air Line Pilots Association 

(ALPA), the Association of Flight Attendants, CWA (AFA-CWA), the International Association of Machinist and 

Aerospace Workers (lAM), and the Transport Workers Union (TWU). A complete list of our affiliates is attached. 

Sincerely, 

Edward Wytkind 

President 

2 
CERTIFICATE OF SERVIC E 

The undersigned certifies that on December 17, 2013, the Answer of the Transportation 

Trades Department, AFL-CIO to Application of Norwegian Air International Limited for an 

Exemption and Foreign Air Carrier Permit was served by electronic mail on the individuals 

identified below: 

Steve Morrissey Robert Wirick 

United Airlines Francis Heil 

steve.morrissey@united.com American Airlines, Inc. 

robert.wirick@aa.com 

Dan Weiss francis.heil@aa.com 

Continental Airlines 

dan.weiss@eoair.com Nick Tsokris 

Jesse Elliot 

Sascha Vanderbellen John Chen 

Delta Airlines F AA New York IFU 

sascha.vanderbellen@delta.com nicholas.tsokris@faa.gov 

jesse.elliot@faa.gov 

Howard Kass douglas.schwab@faa.gov 

U.S. Airways 

howard.kass@usairways.com John M . Allen 

Director, Flight Standards 

Malcolm L. Benge Federal Aviation Administration 

Counsel for North American/World john.allen@faa.gov 

Airways 

Zuckert Scoutt & Rasenberger, L.L.P. Anita Mosner 

mlbenge@zsrlaw.com Jennifer Nowak 

Counsel for UPS 

Russell E. Pommer Holland & Knight 

Associate General Counsel & Sr. Director anita.mosner@hklaw.com 

Regulatory Affairs jennifer.nowak@hklaw.com 

Atlas Air Inc. 

rpommer@atlasair.com Nancy S. Sparks 

Bailey Leopard 

Russell Bailey Federal Express Corporation 

Air Line Pilots Association, IntT nssparks@fedex.com 

russell.bailey@alpa.org gbleopard@fedex.com 

Isl Larrv I. Willis 

Larry 1. Willis