BEFORE THE

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

----------------------------------------------------------------------- -

: Joint Application of :

: UNITED AIRLINES, INC. : and : Docket DOT

- OST

- 2014

-

______ ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES ENTERPRISE :

: for statement s of authorization pursuant to Part 212 : (U .S.

- Ethiopia ) :

:

----------------------------------- -------------------------- --- --- -----

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: Application of :

: UNITED AIRLINES, INC. :

: Docket DOT

- OST

- 2004

- 19148 for an exemptio n pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 40109 : (blanket codeshare authority) :

:

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JOINT APPLICATION OF UNITED AIRLINES, INC. AND ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES ENTERPRISE

FOR BLANKET STATEMENTS OF AUTHORIZATION

AND AMENDED EXEMPTION

Communications with respect to this document should be sent to:Hershel I. Kamen

Senior Vice President

- Alliances, Regulatory and Policy

Daniel A. Weiss Managing Director

- International Affairs and Regulatory
UNITED AIRLINES, INC.

233 South Wacker Drive

10th Floor

– HDQIZ Chicago, IL 60606 (872) 825

- 6828

hershel.kamen@united.com

dan.weiss@united.com

Steve Morrissey Managing Director

- Regulatory Affairs and Policy

Karine R. Faden Managing Co unsel

- Regulatory, Antitrust & Competition
UNITED AIRLINES, INC. 1225 New York Avenue, NW

Suite 1100

– DCAIZ/DCALD Washington, DC 20005 (202) 521

- 4373 (202) 521

- 4363 steve.morrissey@united.com

karine.faden@united.com

May 23 , 2014 Thomas Newton Bolling Vice President and Deputy General Counsel Abby L. Bried

Associate General Counsel

- Regulatory,

Alliances & International
UNITED AIRLINES, INC.

233 South Wacker Drive

11th Floor

– HDQLD Chicago, IL 60606 (872) 825

- 8068 (872) 825

- 7415 thomas.bolling@united.com abby.bried@united.com

Gerald F. Murphy

Steven J. Seiden

CROWELL & MORING LLP 1001 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20004 (202) 624

- 2500 gmurphy@crowell.com

sseiden@crowell.com

Counsel for

United Airlines, Inc.

Michael F. Goldman
SILVERBERG, GOLDMAN & BIKOFF, L.L.P. 1101 30th Street, NW, Suite 120 Washington, DC 20007 (202) 944

- 3305 mgoldman@sgbdc.com

Counsel for Ethiopian Airlines Enterprise

NOTICE: The Joint Applicants requ est expedited treatment of this application . They will

poll U.S. carrier representatives and inform the Department of the results.BEFORE THE

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

------------------ -----------------------------------------------------

: Joint Application of :

: UNITED AIRLINES, INC. : and : Docket DOT

- OST

- 201 4

-

______ ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES ENTERPRISE :

: for statements of authorization pursuant to Part 212 : (U .S.

- Ethiopia ) :

:

------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------

: Application of :

: UNITED AIRLINES, INC. : : Docket DOT

- OST

- 2004

- 19148 for an exemption pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 40109 : (blanket codeshare authority) :

:

------------------------------------------------------------------------

JOINT APPLICATION OF UNITED AIRLINES, INC. AND ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES ENTERPRISE

FOR BLANKET STATEMENTS OF AUTHORIZATION

AND AMENDED EXEMPTION

United 1 and Ethiopian Airlines (the “ Joint Applicants”) apply pursuant to Part 212 o f

the Department’s regulations for blanket statement s of authorization to provide reciprocal

U nited / Ethiopian Airlines codeshare services in foreign air transportation pursuant to the United

1 Common names are used for airlines.Joint Application of United a nd Ethiopian Airlines

Page 2

States

- Ethiopia open

- skies agreement. 2 United also applies, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 40109 and

Rule 302 of the Department’s Rules of Practice, for amendment of its blanket exemption from

49 U.S.C. § 41101 to authorize United to provide codeshare services on flights operated by

Ethiopian Airlines to points neither in open

- skies countries nor listed in United ’s certificate or

exemption authority upon 30 d ays’ n otification to the Department, as United has been allowed to

do with its other codeshare partners. See Notice of Action Taken dated May 12, 2014 in Docket

DOT

- OST

- 2004

- 19148, at n. 1.

The Joint Applicants request that the codeshare statements of authoriz ation be granted

for an indefinite period

, and United requests that its e xemption authority be granted for a period

of at least two years

. The Joint A pplicants urge the Department to act promptly on this

application 3 so that they can secure foreign author ity, make final operating plans and begin

marketing the proposed codeshar e services

, which they plan to commence on or about August 1

,

201 4

, provided all necessary approvals have been secured

. 4

The Joint Applicants state as follows i n support of their application :

1. The Joint A pplicants request authority to pro v ide valuable U.S.

- Ethiopia and

third

- country codeshare services which will serve the public interest. United and Ethiopian

Airlines codeshare service will enhance airline competition on international routes to benefit

passengers and shippers and expand the United and Ethiopian Airlines networks. Moreover, the

blanket codeshare statements of authorization requested will “give the applicants flexibility to

2 See Air Transport Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (signed May 17, 2005).

3 The Joint Applicants will conduct a poll of all carrier representatives listed on the service list and advise the Department of the results.

4 The Joint Applicants are submitting a redacted copy of their Codeshare Agreement in these dockets under separate cover

.Joint Application of United a nd Ethiopian Airlines

Page 3

meet mark etplace demands and

. . . enable them to maximize the rights available under

. . . open

skies agreement[s],” as the Department has concluded in approving other blanket codeshare

applications. Order 1998

- 4

- 8 at 3.

2. The Joint Applicants request blanket statements of authorization to implement

their proposed codeshare service s and notify the Department that, upon grant of this application,

they intend to provide open

- skies codeshare services in accordance with the Department’s Notice

In the Matter of Bla nket Notification of Code

- Share Service to Open

- Skies Partners and Points

dated February 9, 2009. Specifically, the Joint Applicants seek statements of authorization

permitting United to display the “ET * ” designator code on United flights and Ethiopian Airlines

to display the “ UA * ” designator code on Ethiopian Airlines flights in conjunction with foreign

air transportation of persons, property and mail: (i) between any point (s) in the United States

and any point ( s ) in Ethiopia (on a nonstop basis and o n routings via intermed iate points); (ii)

between U.S. points; (i ii ) between Ethiopian points ; ( i v) beyond Ethiopia to any point ( s ) ; and (v)

beyond the U.S. to any point ( s )

. The Joint Applicants’ initial codeshare notices appear in

Appendices A and B, 5 and they will notify the Department no later than 30 days before

commencing any codeshare services covered by this application to/from non

- open

- skies points

or on routes for which they do not otherwise hold authority. 6

5 Initially, United’s UA* des ignator code will be placed on Ethiopian Airlines’ flights between Ethiopian Airlines’ North American gateways and Addis Ababa and beyond to, N’Djamena, Chad; Mombasa, Kenya; Victoria, Seychelles ; Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar, Tanzania ; Ndola, Z ambia ; Brazzaville, Lumumbashi and Pointe Noire, Congo; Djibouti, Djibouti; and Blantyre and Lilongwe, Malawi, and Ethiopian Airlines’ ET* designator code will be placed on United’s flights between Washington (Dulles) and Chicago; Tampa;
Orlando; Boston; S an Francisco; Las Vegas; San Diego; Denver; Los Angeles; Seattle; Atlanta; Charlotte; Indianapolis; Cleveland; Knoxville; New York; Columbus; Raleigh/Durham; Newark; Pittsburgh; Philadelphia; and Honolulu.

6 The Joint Applicants accept the Department’s s tandard conditions on limited

entry third

- country codeshare servicesJoint Application of United a nd Ethiopian Airlines

Page 4

3. Similar blanket codeshare author ity has been granted to numerous U.S. and

foreign airline codeshare partners

. See, e.g. , Notice s of Action Taken dated June 11, 2012 in

Dockets DOT

- OST

- 2012

- 0088 and DOT

- OST

- 2004

- 19148 (United/EVA) and March 2, 2010 in

Dockets DOT

- OST

- 2010

- 0024 and DOT

- OS T

- 2004

- 19148 (United/Brussels Airlines). The

Joint Applicants are fit, willing and able to provide the proposed codeshare services and already

hold underlying route authority to offer such service s on open

- skies routes as well as on r outes

for which they hold specific authority

. See, e.g.

, United: Order 2013

- 4

- 11 (reissuing

United/Continental authorities to United), Order 2007

- 4

- 19 (blanket open skies), and Notice of

Action Taken dated May 12, 2014 in Docket DOT

- OST

- 2004

- 19148 (blanket worldwide

codeshar ing); and Ethiopian Airlines: Order 2007

- 5

- 3 (foreign air carrier permit)

. 7 Accordingly,

the Joint Applicants only require statements of authorization to institute most of th e proposed

codeshare services.

4. United , however, also requires supplemental exemption authority to fully

implement the proposed codeshare agreement and maximize its flexibility to provide global

codeshare service s by placing its code on Ethiopian Airlines flights serving points for which

United does not otherwise hold authority. United has worldwide blanket exemption authority to

codeshare on a third

- country basis with other foreign carriers

. S ee Notice of Action Taken dated

May 12, 2014 in Docket DOT

- OST

- 2004

- 19148, at n. 1. United asks the Department to amend

this exemption au thority to permit similar United codeshare service s on flights operated by

Ethiopian Airlines

.

7 Pursuant to Rule 24 of the Department’s Rules of Practice, the Joint Applicants request that the Department take official notice of all information and data that have been filed to

establish their fitness.Joint Application of United and Ethiopian Airlines

Page 5

5. The proposed United and Ethiopian Airlines codesharing is consistent with the

U.S.-Ethiopia open-skies agreement, which authorizes liberal codesharing between airlines from

the U.S. and Ethiopia. Granting this application is in the public interest because it will provide

substantial consumer benefits by enhancing the service options available to the U.S. traveling

public for travel between the U.S. and Ethiopia, including the online connections via United's

extensive North American route network and Ethiopian Airlines' hub at Addis Ababa.

6. The Joint Applicants will conduct their codesharing activities in compliance with

Part 257 of the Department's regulations and any other applicable conditions, rules and

regulations. The codesharing authority requested here will have no impact on United's Civil

Reserve Air Fleet commitments. Ethiopian Airlines is IOSA-certified, and United will

coordinate with the Federal Aviation Administration on the safety audit process.

WHEREFORE, the Joint Applicants urge the Department to grant immediately the

requested statements of authorization and amended exemption authority and any other relief the

Department may deem necessary or appropriate.

Respectfully submitted,

SILVERBERG, GOLDMAN CROWELL & MORING LLP
& BIKOFF, L.L.P. 

# „be-e

-s24

Michael F. Goldman imIzoldm.an.(4)sgbdc.com

. Steven J. Seiden gmurphva,crowell.com sseiden(a),crowell.com Counsel for Ethiopian Airlines Enterprise

Counsel for
United Airlines, Inc.

May 23, 2014APPENDIX A

INITIAL CODESHARE NOTICE (OPEN

- SKIES)

The Joint Applicants provide blanket noti ce to engage in reciprocal open

- skies codeshare

services a s follows beginning on or a bout August 1 , 2014 , provided all necessary approvals have

been secured :

 Between a ny point (s) in the United States and a ny point (s) in Ethiopia , on a non stop basis and intermediate routings via open

- skies points;

 Between points in the United States;

 Between points in Ethiopia ;

 Beyond Ethiopia to any open

- skies point(s); and

 Beyond the United States to any open

- skies point(s)APPENDIX B

INI TIAL CODESHARE NOTICE (NON

- OPEN

- SKIES)

The Joint Applicants plan to begin codeshare se rvice on the following non

- open

- skie s route segments on or about August 1 , 2014 , provided all necessary approvals have been secured

.

Route Segments Marketing/Operating Carrier

Addis Ababa

- Brazzaville, Congo UA* on ET

Addis Ababa

- Lumumbashi, Congo UA* on ET

Addis Ababa

- Pointe Noire, Congo UA* on ET

Addis Ababa

- Djibouti, Djibou t i UA* on ET

Addis Ababa

- Blantyre, Malawi UA* on ET

Addis Ababa

- Lilongwe, Malawi UA* on ETCERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that I have this date served the foregoing document on the following persons in

accordance with the Department's Rules of Practice:

msinick@ssd.com

howard.kass@aa.com

robert.wirick@aa.com

sascha.vanderbellen@delta.com

sametta.c.barnett@delta.com

chris.walker@delta.com jrichardson@johnlrichardson.com jcanny@amerijet.com jhill@cooley.com perkmann@cooley.com nssparks@fedex.com sllunsford@fedex.com gbleopard@fedex.corn mlbenge@zsrlaw.com jhfoglia@zsrlaw.com jyoung@yklaw.com dkirstein@yklaw.com

anita.mosner@hklaw.com jennifer.nowak@hklaw.com john.s.duncan@faa.gov dwight.moore@ustranscom.mil urskr@state.gov

May 23, 2014