O rder 201 3

- 6

- 1 6

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON, D.C.
Issued by the Department of Transportation on the 2 0 th day of J une , 201 3

Served: J une 20 , 201 3

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE

SUMMARY

By this o rder, we tentatively allocate (1) the 14 weekly combination frequencies that may be used to serve any point in Brazil, which become available October 1, 2013; and (2) the 14 weekly combination frequencies that may be used to serve any point in Brazil , which become available October 1, 2014; as set forth in the Memorandum of Consultations between the United States and Brazil dated March 19, 2011 (MOC). These frequencies are referred to as “unrestricted” in this order ; however, all of the proposals under consideration in this proceeding

a re for Sao Paulo service from a variety of U

. S

. gateway cities.

We tentatively award the 14 unrestricted weekly combination frequencies that become available October 1, 2013 as follows: seven weekly frequencies to American Airlines, Inc. (American)

, for its proposed Los Angeles

- Sao Paulo service; and seven weekly frequencies to Delta Air Lines, Inc. (Delta) for its proposed Atlanta

- Sao Paulo service. We tentatively award the 14 unrestricted weekly combination frequencies that become available October 1, 2014 as follows: seven weekly frequencies to Delta for its proposed Detroit

- Sao Paulo service; and seven weekly frequencies to US Airways, Inc. (US Airways) for its proposed Charlotte

- Sao Paulo service.

BACKGROUND

On March 19, 2011, the United States and Brazil signed an agreement (the Agreement) that will establish Open Skies between the United States and Brazil by October 2015. Pending the exchange of diplomatic notes bringing the Agreement into force, the terms of the MOC are being applied on a comity and reciproci ty basis. The four

- stage increase in frequencies available for scheduled combination and all

- cargo services provided for by the MOC will apply until In the Matter of the

2013/2014 U.S.

- BRAZIL COMBINATION FREQUENCY PROCEEDING Docket DOT

- OST

- 2013

- 00722 October 1, 2015. On that date, provided that the Agreement has entered into force, all numerical and dest ination limitations on frequencies will be removed.

On February 15, 2013 we issued a Notice Inviting Applications for the combination and all

cargo frequencies that become available October 1, 2013 and October 1, 2014, as set out in the MOC. In response , we received applications from three U.S. carriers for the unrestricted frequencies in order to provide combination service from various points in the United States to Sao Paulo. The applicants seek more frequencies to serve Sao Paulo than become availab le under the MOC. Thus, we must engage in carrier selection.

By Order 2013

- 4

- 9, issued April 12, 2013, the Department instituted this proceeding to allocate (1) the 14 unrestricted frequencies that become available October 1, 2013; and (2) the 14
unrestr icted frequencies that become available October 1, 2014. The Order set forth a procedural schedule and evidentiary requirements for the establishment of a record for the Department to make a decision in this case. Pursuant to that procedural schedule, application amendments and/or supplements were d ue April 24, 2013 , a nswers were d ue May 3, 2013 , and replies were due May 14, 2013

.

SUMMARY OF APPLICATIONS AND RESPONSIVE PLEADINGS

Three carriers

– American, Delta, and US Airways

– filed applications for the frequencies under consideration

, to provide daily combination services in the U.S.

- Sao Paulo market.

Proposals for the 14 weekly frequencies that become available October 1, 2013:

Applicant Proposed Routing U.S.

- Sao Paulo Depart/Arrive Times ( Winter ) Sao Paulo

- U.S. Depart/Arrive Times ( Winter ) Type Aircraft Capacity

Depart Arrive Elapsed Depart Arrive Elapsed

American Los Angeles

– Sao Paulo 19:15 12:55 +1 11:40 00:05 06:35 12:30 B777 247 Seats

– 16 First / 37 Business / 194 Economy

Delta Atlanta

– Sao Paulo 21:50 10:35 +1 9:45 01:55 09:00 10:05 B767 210 Seats

– 35 Business Elite / 32 Economy Comfort / 143 Economy Delta New York (JFK)

– Sao Paulo 22:00 11:05 +1 10:05 00:20 07:40 10:20 B767 210 Seats

– 35 Business Elite / 32 Economy Comfort / 143 Economy

Proposals for the 14 weekly unrestricted frequencies that become available October 1, 2013 are as follows: American proposes daily service between Los Angeles and Sao Paulo using B

- 777 aircraft beginning November 21, 2013 ; Delta proposes to add a second daily service between Atlanta and Sao Paulo using B

- 767 aircraft beginning December 15, 2013; and Delta also proposes to add a second daily service between New York (JFK) and Sao Paulo using B

- 767 aircraft beginning December 15, 20 13

.3 Proposals for the 14 weekly frequencies that become available October 1, 201 4 :

Applicant Proposed Routing U.S.

- Sao Paulo Depart/Arrive Times ( Winter ) Sao Paulo

- U.S. Depart/Arrive Times ( Winter ) Type Aircraft Capacity

Depart Arrive Elapsed Depart Arrive Elapsed

American Chicago

– Sao Paulo 21:30 11:55 +1 10:25 22:10 05:00 +1 10:50 B777 247 Seats

– 16 First / 37 Business / 194 Economy

Delta Detroit

– Sao Paulo 19:55 09:45 +1 10:50 22:55 07:05 +1 11:10 B767 210 Seats

– 35 Business Elite / 32 Economy Comfort / 143 Economy US Airways Charlotte

- Sao Paulo 20:30 09:00 +1 9:30 00:45 07:45 10:00 A330 253 Seats

– 19 First / 234 Economy

US Airways Philadelphia

– Sao Paulo 21:00 09:45 +1 9:45 00:20 07:40 10:20 A330 253 Seats

– 19 First / 234 Economy

Proposals for the 14 weekly unrestricted frequencies that become available October 1, 2014 are as follows: American proposes daily service between Chicago and Sao Paulo using B

- 777 aircraft beginning November 20, 2014

. Delta proposes to use seven frequencies to continue its existing daily Detroit

- Sao Paulo nonstop service after it transfers seven of its currently

- held unrestricted U.S.

- Brazil frequencies to US Airways in March 2015 , under an arrangement between the tw o carriers

. 1 US Airways proposes to use seven frequencies to continue without interruption its Charlotte

- Sao Paulo service . US Airways institute d its new Charlotte

- Sao Paulo service on June 8, 2013, using seven frequencies temporarily leased from United Airlines, Inc. (United). 2 US Airways also proposes to institute daily services between Philadelphia and Sao Paulo, beginning October 1, 2014.

Answers and replies were filed by each of the applicant carriers. In addition, a number of civic parties filed formal pleadings in support of the various applicant carriers. Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) filed in support of American ’s Los Angeles

- Sao Paulo proposal

. The Delta Master Executive Council of the Air Line P ilots Association, International ( Delta MEC ) filed in support of Delta ’s request for 21 weekly unrestricted frequencies. The Atlanta Parties (including Hartsfield

- Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau, and Metro Atlan ta Chamber) filed in support of Delta’s Atlanta

- Sao Paulo proposal ; the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey filed in support of Delta’s New York (JFK)

- Sao Paulo proposal; and the Wayne County Airport Authority filed in support of Delta’s Detroit

- Sao Paulo proposal. The City of Charlotte filed in support of US Airways’ Charlotte

- Sao Paulo proposal; and the City of Philadelphia filed in support of US Airways’ Philadelphia

- Sao Paulo proposal.

1 Delta and US Airways exchanged operating authorizations (slots) at Washington National Airport and New York LaGuardia Airport (the “DCA/LGA slot swap”). Pursuant to that arrangement, Delta agreed to transfer seven weekly unrestricted U.S.

- Brazil frequenc ies to US Airways in March 2015. See Docket FAA

- 2010

- 0109.
2 See Docket DOT

- OST

- 2010

- 0183. US Airways states that the use of its leased frequencies must end by October 2014.4 POSITION OF THE PARTIES

American states that its first p riority is to introduce new nonstop service between Los Angeles and Sao Paulo. 3 American asserts that Los Angeles is the largest U.S.

- Sao Paulo Origin & Destination (O&D) market without U.S. carrier nonstop service , and that , based on its strength at Los Angeles and in the overall U.S.

- Brazil market, it is well positioned to introduce new nonstop service

. 4 American states that it and American Eagle operate 143 daily departures at Los Angeles to a total of 43 cities, which would provide for numerous convenient on

- line connections to and from Sao Paulo. 5 American argues that its proposal would establish a new U.S. gateway to Sao Paulo, while the competing proposals for the 2013 frequencies would add duplicative service at existing Sao Paulo gateways.

American’s second priority is for seven frequencies to begin Chicago

- Sao Paulo nonstop service in November 2014

. (I f it were only awarded seven frequencies in this proceeding, American would defer Chicago

- Sao Paulo service until open skies ente rs into force on October 1, 2015

. ) The carrier states that Chicago is a major hub for American and American Eagle, where together they operate 394 daily departures to 121 cities. American notes that United is the only carrier currently serving the Chicago

- Sao Paulo market, and that an American 2014 Chicago

- Sao Paulo service would provide head

- to

- head competition with United in local and connecting markets. 6

Delta asserts that American is already the dominant carrier in the U.S.

- Brazil market

, hold ing 47 of the 105 total unrestricted frequencies

, and that American should be ruled out for an award in this proceeding

. Delta argues that American currently operates quadruple

- daily Miami

- Sao Paulo and double

- daily New York

- Sao Paulo service, and could use frequencies from these existing services to support either its Los Angeles or Chicago service proposals while maintaining service at all of its existing gateways. 7 Delta further asserts that the merg er of American and US Airways will lead to an even greater concentration of U.S.

- Brazil service provided by a single carrier , which Delta argues further supports the full grant of Delta’s request

. 8 9

Delta questions the viability of American’s Los Angeles proposal, pointing out that two prior attempts to serve the Los Angeles

- Sao Paulo market failed after fewer than eight months (Delta in August 2009

- February 2010, and United in October 1992

- April 1993 ). 10 American responds that it is in a better position to succeed on the route, given American ’s strong presence at Los Angeles and in Brazil. 11

3 American Supplement , at 3.
4 American Answer , at 11.
5 Id

. 6 American Suppleme nt , at 4.
7 Delta Answer , at 4.
8 American and US Airways have reached an agreement for a merger of the two carriers, and filed an application for transfer of the carriers’ international route authorities. See Docket DOT

- OST

- 2013

- 0082. That case is currently pending.
9 Delta Answer , at 2.
10 Delta Answer , at 11; and Delta Exhibit DL

- A

- 402

. 11 American Answer , at 11.5 Delta asserts that approval of its request for 21 unrestricted frequencies will provide important service benef its for the traveling public

, while improving the U.S.

- Brazil competitive market structure. Delta places substantial emphasis on the proposed merger of American and US Airways and asserts that

, when those two carriers’ U.S.

- Brazil frequencies are combined , the combined carrier would continue to be dominant in the Brazil market even with a full grant of Delta’s application in this proceeding

. 12 Delta further argues that American and US Airways should not be considered separate applicants in light of their pending route transfer application. 13

In terms of its individual service proposals, Delta states that Atlanta is its first priority for 2013 service

. Delta states that Atlanta is the world’s largest airline hub and its location provides convenient, competitive, and non

- circuitous Sao Paulo connections from more than 150 U.S. points. 14 Delta further states that its Atlanta hub is currently underutilized with a single daily flight to Sao Paulo.

Delta’s second priority for 2013 is an awa rd of seven unrestricted frequencies to provide a second daily New York (JFK)

- Sao Paulo flight. Delta asserts that New York

- Sao Paulo is the largest U.S.

- Brazil O&D market , and that an additional Delta service w ould help close a competitive gap with Ameri can , which provides t wice

- daily New York (JFK)

- Sao Paulo service ; and TAM

- Linhas Aereas S.A. (TAM)

, which provides once

- daily New York (JFK)

- Sao Paulo service. 15

American argues that Atlanta and New York do not need additional Sao Paulo services and that Delta could already provide additional service between Atlanta and Sao Paulo, or New York (JFK) and Sao Paulo, using authority that it already holds. American states that Delta currently holds 23 frequencies that can be used at Sao Paulo, but uses only 21 of them for service to Sao Paulo. American further states that Delta has not taken advantage of extra sections that have been allowed by Brazil and which would have enabled Delta to operate double

- daily Atlanta

- Sao Paulo and New York

- Sao Paulo service during peak seasons

. 16

For the 2014 frequencies

, Delta states that the continuation of its daily Detroit

- Sao Paulo service is its only priority. Delta states that it is contractually required to transfer seven of its currently

held frequencies to US Airw ays in March 2015 , pursuant to the DCA/LGA slot swap. Delta asserts that its Detroit

- Sao Paulo service is successful in linking the Midwest with Brazil, and that it provides the only intergateway competition to Chicago in the Midwest region. 17

The competi ng carriers argue that Delta voluntarily agreed to sell seven unrestricted frequencies to US Airways, and that Delta is now asking the Department to fund a portion of Delta’s costs in the DCA/LGA slot swap transaction. 18 Delta argues that circumstances hav e changed since

12 Delta Supplement , at 3.
13 Delta Answer , at 1

- 3.
14 Delta Supplement , at 5.
15 Id , at 7.
16 American Supplement , at 5 ; and American Answer , at 2.
17 Delta Supplement , at 8.
18 American Supplement , at 5 ; and US Airways Reply , at 16

- 18

.6 Delta agreed to transfer frequencies to US Airways, and that US Airways is no longer a stand

alone carrier given its pending merger with American. 19

US Airways ’ first priority in this proceeding is to obtain seven unrestricted frequencies t hat become available October 2014 to continue

, without interruption

, its daily Charlotte

- Sao Paulo service. 20 US Airways has recently instituted first

- ever Charlotte

- Sao Paulo service using seven frequencies it leases from United. US Airways states that the lease agreement expires on October 25, 2014, and that further extension of the lease is not pos s ible

. 21 US Airways asserts that it has worked since Augu st 2010 to obtain the necessary Brazilian regulatory and airport approvals and that

, without an award in this proceeding, the benefits of those efforts could be lost

. 22 US Airways further asserts that Charlotte is a successful and growing international gat eway, demonstrated by the increase in passengers on US Airways’ Charlotte

- Rio de Janeiro nonstop service that began in December 2009. 23

US Airways’ second priority is for seven unrestricted frequencies to begin Philadelphia

- Sao Paulo service. US Airways s tates that Philadelphia is its second largest hub, where it operates to 117 destinations, and that Philadelphia is the largest U.S. hub city without any nonstop service to Sao Paulo. 24 US Airways asserts that its proposal would provide an attractive altern ative to the Sao Paulo services provided at Newark and Washington

- Dulles, thereby enhancing intergateway competition in the Northeast United States.

Delta argues that the combined post

- merger American and US Airways entity will have ample frequencies to c ontinue Charlotte

- Sao Paulo service and to institute Philadelphia

- Sao Paulo service. Delta further argues that US Airways can use the seven frequencies it will receive from Delta in March 2015 for its Philadelphia

- Sao Paulo proposal. 25 US Airways states that it has other plans for the frequencies it will receive from Delta, and that an award for Delta’s Detroit

Sao Paulo service in place of US Airways’ Philadelphia

- Sao Paulo proposed service would result in Delta warehousing seven freq uencies from October 2014 until March 2015. 26

TENTATIVE DECISION

W e have tentatively decided to award the 14 unrestricted frequencies that become available October 1, 2013 as follows: seven to American for its proposed Los Angeles

- Sao Paulo services, and seven to Delta for its proposed Atlanta

- Sao Paulo services. We have also tentatively decided to award the 14 unrestricted frequencies that become available October 1, 2014 as follows:

19 Delta Reply , at 10

- 11.
20 US Airways Supplement , at 33.
21 Id. , at 3 ; and US Airways Reply , at 7.
22 US Airways Supplement , at 5.
23 Id , at 8

- 9.
24 Id , at 12.
25 Delta Answer , at 9.
26 US Airways Reply , at 12.7 seven to Delta for its proposed Detroit

- Sao Paulo services, and seven to US Airways for its proposed Charlotte

- Sao Paulo services. 27

October 2013 Frequencies: Los Angeles is the largest U.S.

- Sao Paulo local O&D market that currently lacks U.S. carrier nonstop service. American has a strong presence at Los Angeles, where Am erican and American Eagle together provide service to 43 cities. We tentatively find that American’s strength at Los Angeles

, combined with its ability to provide convenient connections at Los Angeles

, offer a firm basis to expect that it would provide meaningful public benefits in a major market currently devoid of U.S.

- flag service

.
Furthermore, we tentatively find that by selecting American’s Los Angeles

- Sao Paulo proposal,

we can facilitate establish ment of the only U.S. carrier nonstop service to Sao Paulo from a west coast location

. Current U.S. carrier gateways to Sao Paulo are concentrated in the Eastern, Midwest, and Southern U nited States , with the only West Coast

- Sao Paulo nonstop service provided by Korean Air Lines Co., Ltd. (Korean) three times week ly from Los Angeles

. . Opening a new U.S. carrier gateway at Los Angeles will partially offset the disparity of access to Sao Paulo from Western U.S

. points , and we tentatively find that the traveling public originating in or transiting the West Coast will benefit from the addition of new daily U.S. carrier nonstop service to Sao Paulo from a major international gateway.

Having t entatively select ed American ’s proposal for 2013

, we must next choose between two proposals from Delta : one to provide a second

- daily service to Sao Paulo from Atlanta

, and the other to provide a second

- daily service to Sao Paulo from New York (JFK)

. We have tentatively selected Atlanta

- Sao Paulo, consistent with Delta’s stated priority for 2013 frequencies.

Atlanta i s a well

- established international hub for Delta, connecting Sao Paulo with 150 U.S. points

, and stands to benefit from an additional time channel for Sao Paulo services

, allow ing more passengers to take advantage of the Atlanta gateway. 28 Atlanta’s geogra phic location also provides for connections from a broad catchment area with minimal circuity.

We tentatively find that the benefits that will be achieved by selecting American at Los Angeles, and Delta at Atlanta, outweigh the benefits that might be ac hieved by the one remaining proposal

, i.e., Delta’s proposal for additional Sao Paulo service from the New York gateway. While we recognize that New York

- Sao Paulo is the largest O& D market proposed in this proceeding, we also note that the route is currently served with five daily nonstop flights operated by a number of carriers, including Delta

. 29 Against this background, and taking into
account Delta’s stated priority of second

- da ily Atlanta

- Sao Paulo service over second

- daily New York

- Sao Paulo service, we tentatively find that Los Angeles and Atlanta are the better choices in this proceeding

.

27 O ur tentative findings and conclusions are based on the merits of the individual service proposals, and have not been considered in conjunction with, nor have w e pre

- judged the outcome of, the application of American and US Airways for transfer of their international route authorities.
28 Delta Supplement , at 5.
29 The New York

- Sao Paulo market is currently served by American, which provides twice

- daily New York (J FK)

- Sao Paulo service; Delta, which provides once

- daily New York (JFK)

- Sao Paulo service; TAM, which provides

once

- daily New York (JFK)

- Sao Paulo service; and United, which provides once

- daily New York (Newark)

- Sao Paulo service.8 We have also considered Delta’s position that

, without a pproval of Delta’s full request for 21 frequencies ( 14 frequencies in 2013

, and 7 frequencies in 2014 ) , it will be at a competitive disadvantage to other carriers holding a larger share of unrestricted frequencies. W hile competitive factors are certainly elements we consider as part of carrier selection, we also consider other factors , particularly the objective of promoting public benefits through new service options for the traveling and shipping public

. Here, where the substantial Los Angeles gateway currently has no U.S. carrier no nstop service to Sao Paulo, and where American is proposing to provide that service, we tentatively find that

, from a public interest standpoint, the benefits of an award to American at Los Angeles

, outweigh those that would derive from granting Delta its full request

. 30

October 2014 Frequencies: We tentatively find that the public interest is best served by allocating the frequencies that become available in October 2014 in a manner that preserves existing Sao Paulo nonstop service at Charlotte and Detroi t , both of which stand to lose service for the reasons stated on the record by the carriers . Although frequency limitations are scheduled for elimination in October 2015, these two important gateway hub cities , absent an award in this proceeding, stand to lose all nonstop Sao Paulo service for at leas t an interim period

. Under these circumstances, w e tentatively find tha t the benefits of preserving service in these significant markets outweigh the benefits of the competing proposals.

While we note that Charlotte

- Sao Paulo service provided by US Airways is already underway, we also recognize that US Airways just inaugurated this service on June 8, 2013. The record shows that US Airways has invested considerable time and effort into securing authority to inaugurate its Charlotte

- Sao Paulo nonstop service, 31 and w e tentatively find that it is in the public interest to provide certainty that US Airways may continue that service beyond the expiration of its lease with United, when the frequencies revert to Un ited.

W e tentatively find that Delta’s Detroit

- Sao Paulo service provides certain service and competition benefits of its own that merit continuation . Detroit is an established gateway for international services, where Delta and its regional partners op erate to 114 U.S. points. 32 Delta’s strong hub at Detroit provides an important Sao Paulo travel option for consumers in the Midwest

, while also providing inter

- gateway competition with United’s Chicago

- Sao Paulo service.

We tentatively find that the bene fits of maintaining service at Charlotte and Detroit outweigh the potential benefits of the other proposals before us . American’s second priority for an award in this proceeding is to begin nons top Chicago

- Sao Paulo service. We recognize that American ha s a strong hub in Chicago, and that its proposed service would provide intra

- gateway competition with United’s nonstop Chicago

- Sao Paulo service. We tentatively find, however, that the

30 Delta cites the 1999 U.S

. - Argentina Combination Service Case (Order 2001

- 1

- 14 in Docket DOT

- OST

- 1999

- 6210) as an instance where the Department favored the promotion of competition over the award of new gateway service. But our decision in that case was driven essentially by the particular history of the U.S.

- Argentina market. We therefore tentatively find the case inapposite to the matter before us.
31 US Airways Supplement , at 10

- 11.
32 Delta Supplement , at 8.9 benefits of adding additional service at Chicago do not outweigh the b enefits of maintaining service at the existing gateway cit ies that would otherwise lose it.

We also acknowledge the potential benefits of US Airways’ second priority, to establish a new gateway at Philadelphia

. Given US Airways’ significant connecting hub at Philadelphia, US Airways’ proposal would provide inter

- gateway competition with New York and Washington, DC. However, w e tentatively do not view the se service and competition benefits to be as compelling as the need to prevent a service disruption to communities that already benefit from nonstop Sao Paulo service.

American and US Airways have argued that Delta “sold” to US Airways the frequencies currently used for Detroit

- Sao Paulo service, and that an awar d in this proceeding would fund Delta’s portion of the DCA/LGA slot swap with opportunities that would otherwise go to American or US Airways. 33 Our focus in this proceeding, however, must be on achieving a result that best promotes the public interest

. W e tentatively find that such a result in this case means preventing the disruption of U.S.

- flag Sao Paulo service from two important U.S. gateways.

In the circumstances presented, we tentatively find that the public interest is best served by allocating the October 2014 frequencies to US Airways to continue its Charlotte

- Sao Paulo services, and to Delta to continue its Detroit

- Sao Paulo services. 34 35

TERMS, CONDITIONS, AND LIMITATIONS

We have tentatively decided to impose a startup condition for each award. If our tentative decision is made final, w e will require the selected carriers to institute their pro posed services within 90 days of their proposed startup dates

.

In addition

, consistent with our standard practice, we propose that the frequencies allocated in this proceeding will be subject to our standard 90

- day dorma ncy condition, wherein any frequencies not utilized for a period of 90 days (once inaugurated) would be deemed dormant and the allocation with respect to each such frequen cy would expire automatically and the frequency would revert to the Department for reallocation.

ACCORDINGLY,

1. We tentatively allocate to American Airlines, Inc. seven weekly combination frequencies to engage in scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail between Los Angeles, California, and Sao Paulo, Brazil, effective October 1, 2013 ;

33 American Supplement , at 5, and US Airways Reply , at 16

- 18

. 34 US Airways holds the requisite economic authority for its Charlotte

- Sao Pa u lo service

, but has requested broad exemption authority for all U.S. and Brazil points. We tentatively grant that request.
35 We further find that our awards in this proceeding will result in a near term increase of annual fuel consumption in excess of ten million gallons. As a result, our action constitutes a “major regulatory action” under the Energy Policy and Conservation A ct of 1975, as defined by section 313.4(a)(1) of the Department’s regulations. We find, however, that the service provided under the authority granted and resulting public benefits outweigh any adverse effects that may be caused by the increased fuel cons umption.10 2. We tentatively allocate to Delta Air Lines, Inc. seven weekly combination frequencies to engage in scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail between Atlanta, Georgia, and Sao Paulo, Brazil, effective October 1, 2013 ;

3. We tentatively allocate to US Airways, Inc. seven weekly combination frequencies to engage in scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, p roperty, and mail between Charlotte, North Carolina, and Sao Paulo, Brazil, effective October 1, 2014;

4. We tentatively allocate to Delta Air Lines, Inc. seven weekly combination frequencies to engage in scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail between Detroit, Michigan, and Sao Paulo, Brazil, effective October 1, 2014;

5. We tentatively grant US Airway s, Inc. exemption authority to engage in scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail between any poin t or points in the United States via intermediate points to any point or points in Brazil;

6. W e tentatively deny the remaining requests in this proceeding;

7 . We direct any interested parties having objections to our tentative findings and conclusions set forth in this order and in ordering paragraphs 1 through 6 above, to file their objections, in the above

- captioned docket, with the Department’s Docket Section, U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, M

- 30, West Building Ground Floor, Ro om W12

- 140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E., Washington, D.C., 20590, no later than ten (10) calendar days from the date of service of this order; answers thereto shall be filed no later than seven (7) calendar days thereafter; 36

8 . If timely and properly su pported objections are filed, we will afford full consideration to the matters or issues raised by the objections before we take further action; 37 if no objections are filed, we will deem all further procedural steps to be waived and will proceed to enter a final order awarding the authority proposed in this order; and

36 The original filing should be on 81⁄2" x 11" white paper using dark ink and be unbound without tabs, which will expedite use of our docket imaging system. In the alternative, filers are encouraged to use the electronic filing submission capability available through the Dockets/FDMS Internet site ( http://www.regulations.gov ) by following the instructions at the web site.
37 As we are providing for the filing of objections to this tentative decision, we will not entertain petitions for reconsideration of this order.11 9 . We will serve this order on the parties to the captioned docket, the Brazilian Ambassador to the United States in Washington, DC, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the U.S. Department of State (Office of Aviation Negotiations).

By:

Susan L. Kurland Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs

(SEAL) An electronic version of this document is available on the World Wide Web at: http://www.regulations.gov