U.S. Department of 

Transportation 

Office of the Secretary 

of Transportation 

Ms. Fran McClarnon 

Executive Director 

lnterpublic Group 

622 Third A venue 

New York, NY 10017 

Dear Ms. McClarnon: 

Assistant Secretary 

MAY 01 2013 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

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Thank you for your letter of January 25, 2013, supporting the application for antitrust immunity 

filed by Air France, Alitalia, Delta, KLM, and Virgin Atlantic. The Secretary has asked that I 

respond to your letter directly. 

As you may know, Delta and Virgin Atlantic are seeking antitrust immunity primarily to launch 

a joint venture covering all of their flights between North America and the United Kingdom. 

Delta and Virgin Atlantic are proposing to cooperate with Air France, Alitalia, and KLM as part 

of the new joint venture. 

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. Decisions on the application 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 you understand that I 

cannot comment on the merits of the application. I can assure you, however, that DOT will give 

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

As is our normal practice, I am placing a copy of your letter and this response in Docket 

DOT-OST-2013-0068 as a contact outside the record in this matter. I appreciate your interest in 

this proceeding. 

. Since~ly yo~ /) 

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Susan L. Kurland 

Assistant Secretary for 

Aviation and International Affairs 
I 

irnerpublic Group 

(} 2 Third lwt:-nue 

· ~J~V\· York, NY f Ol) l 7 

The Honorable Ray LaHood 

Secretary 

United States Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

W'-t\'V.', Jnte.rpub1 ~c.c. nrn 

Re: Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic 

Dear Secretary LaHood: 

The lnterpublic Group Corporate offices are located in New York, New York. We are writing in 

support of the application by Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic for antitrust immunity for the 

two carriers to form a joint venture for the North America- U.K. service. 

london is the most important transatlantic destination for our U.S. passengers, and New YorkLondon is the most important international business route for our company. The proposed joint 

venture will allow Delta and Virgin Atlantic to offer a more comprehensive and competitive 

alternative at New York which will benefit business travelers who desire hlgher service levels 

and schedule flexibility. 

The Delta -Virgin Atlantic partnership will allow both carriers to offer a greatly expanded 

network at Lcindon,s Heathrow airport which is the preferred airport for our corporate business 

travelers. The joint venture will also benefit our company by providing access to a broader 

network, improved connectivity and convenient booking options. 

For these reasons, we urge you to approve the application for antitrust immunity between Delta 

and Virgin Atlantic. The new joint venture will be a great benefit to our company, and will be a 

positive development in providing improved service and competitive alternatives in the New 

York- London travel market. 

Sincerely, 

~(/_j_uftf/)1(' tftLi•,-- Fran McClarnon/ ,. 

Executive Director, Global Travel and Corporate Credit Card Services 

tnterpublic Group 

622 Thir:d Avenue 

New York, New York 10017 

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