UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

 DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

 OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY 

 WASHINGTON, D.C. 

Issued by the Department of Transportation on May 10, 2010

 NOTICE OF ACTION TAKEN -- DOCKET DOT-OST-2010-0095 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

This serves as notice to the public of the action described below, taken by the Department official 

indicated (no additional confirming order will be issued in this matter). 

Joint Application of DELTA AIR LINES, INC. (Delta) and VGR LINHAS AEREAS S.A., d/b/a 

GOL (Gol) filed 4/13/10 for: 

XX Exemption for Delta under 49 U.S.C. 40109 to provide the following services: 

Scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail between the United States, via 

intermediate points, and (a) the Brazil points named in the U.S.-Brazil Air Transport Agreement 

for which Delta does not hold economic authority,1

 (b) the additional points in Brazil selected by the 

United States for code-share only service, 2 and (c) beyond Brazil to any point or points, pursuant to 

Delta’s code-share arrangement with Gol.3

XX Statement of authorization for blanket code-share authority for Gol under 14 CFR Part 212 to: 

Display Delta’s “DL” designator code in conjunction with foreign air transportation on flights 

operated by Gol (a) between Delta’s Brazil gateways and all Brazil points named in the U.S.-Brazil 

Air Transport Agreement, (b) between Delta’s Brazil gateways and additional points in Brazil 

designated by the United States for code-share only service, and (c) beyond Brazil to any point or 

points.4

 

Applicant reps: Alexander Van der Bellen (202) 842-4184 (Delta) 

 Charles F. Donley, II (202) 626-6840 (Gol)

DOT Analyst: Thuy H. Cooper (202) 366-5423

 

1 The Brazil points named in the agreement are Manaus, Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Recife, Porto Alegre, 

Belem, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, Fortaleza, and Salvador. Delta states that it does not currently hold economic 

authority to serve Porto Alegre, Belem, Curitiba, and Salvador. 

2

 The joint applicants state that Delta’s “DL*” designator code will be displayed on Gol-operated flights within 

Brazil selected by the United States for code-share-only service beyond Delta’s Brazil gateways. See AppendixA 

for list of initial code-share routes. Delta holds certificate authority to serve between Atlanta and Sao Paulo/Rio de 

Janeiro (see Order 2002-7-31, renewal application pending in DOT-OST-1996-2016). Delta provides nonstop 

service to Brazil from New York JFK (see Notice of Action Taken dated December 23, 2005, in Docket DOT-OST1997-2338 and Order 2006-1-1). Delta also holds exemption authority to serve between Los Angeles and Sao Paulo 

(see Order 2008-11-21, renewal application pending in DOT-OST-2008-0307), and exemption authority to serve 

between U.S. points and Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Fortaleza, Manaus, and Recife (see Notices of Action Taken 

dated August 8, 2009, and March 4, 2009, in Docket DOT-OST-2008-0227). 

3

 Delta states that the beyond Brazil points that it intends to serve as part of its code-sharing arrangement with Gol 

are Asuncion, Paraguay; Montevideo, Uruguay; Cordoba, Argentina; and Rosario, Argentina. 

4 See Appendix A for list of initial code-share routes. 
D I S P O S I T I O N 

XX Granted request of Delta for exemption authority (subject to conditions, see below) 

XX Granted request of Gol for blanket statement of authorization (subject to conditions, see below)

The above action granting exemption authority to Delta was effective when taken: May 10, 2010, through 

May 10, 2012. 

The above action granting a statement of authorization to Gol was effective when taken: May 10, 2010, 

and will remain in effect indefinitely, subject to the conditions below. 

Action taken by: Paul L. Gretch, Director 

 Office of International Aviation 

XX The authority granted is consistent with the aviation agreement between the United States and 

Brazil. 

Except to the extent exempted or waived, this authority is subject to the terms, conditions, and limitations 

indicated: XX Delta’s certificates of public convenience and necessity 

 XX Standard U.S. Exemption Conditions (attached as Appendix B) 

 XX Conditions for Statement of Authorization (see below) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Conditions: The statement of authorization granted to Gol is subject to the following conditions: 

(a) The statement of authorization will remain in effect only as long as (i) Delta and Gol continue to 

hold the necessary underlying authority to operate the code-share services at issue, and (ii) the 

code-share agreement providing for the code-share operations remains in effect. 

(b) Delta and/or Gol must promptly notify the Department (Office of International Aviation) if the 

code-share agreement providing for the code-share operations is no longer effective or if the 

carriers decide to cease operating all or a portion of the approved code-share services. Such 

notices should be filed in Docket DOT-OST-2010-0095.5

(c) Delta and/or Gol must notify the Department no later than 30 days before they begin any new 

code-share service under the code-share services authorized here. Such notice shall identify the 

market(s) to be served, which carrier will be operating the aircraft in the code-share market 

added, and the date on which the service will begin. Such notices should be filed in Docket 

DOT-OST-2010-0095. 

(d) The code-sharing operations conducted under this authority must comply with 14 CFR 257 and 

with any amendments to the Department’s regulations concerning code-share arrangements that 

may be adopted. Notwithstanding any provisions in the contract between the carriers, our 

approval here is expressly conditioned upon the requirements that the subject foreign air 

transportation be sold in the name of the carrier holding out such service in the computer 

reservation systems and elsewhere; that the carrier selling such transportation (i.e., the carrier 

shown on the ticket) accept responsibility for the entirety of the code-share journey for all 

obligations established in its contract of carriage with the passenger; that the passenger liability of 

the operating carrier be unaffected; and that the operating carrier shall not permit the code of its 

U.S. code-sharing partner to be carried on any flight that enters, departs, or transits the airspace of 

any area for whose airspace the Federal Aviation Administration has issued a flight prohibition. 

 

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 We expect this notification to be received within 10 days of such non-effectiveness or of such decision. 
(e) Any service provided shall be consistent with all applicable agreements between the United States 

and Brazil, and all applicable agreements with other foreign countries involved. Furthermore, 

(i) nothing in the award of this blanket statement of authorization should be construed as 

conferring upon Delta rights (including code-share, fifth-freedom intermediate and/or beyond 

rights) to serve markets where U.S. carrier rights are limited unless Delta notifies us of its intent 

to serve such market and unless and until the Department has completed any necessary carrier 

selection procedures to determine which carrier(s) should be authorized to exercise such rights;6

and (ii) should there be a request by any carrier to use the limited-entry route rights that are 

included in Delta’s authority by virtue of the blanket statement of authorization granted here, but 

that are not being used by Delta, the holding of such authority will not be considered as providing 

any preference for Delta in a carrier selection proceeding to determine which carrier(s) should be 

entitled to use the authority at issue. 

(f) The authority granted here is specifically conditioned so that neither Delta nor Gol shall give any 

force or effect to any contractual provisions between themselves that are contrary to these 

conditions. 

Remarks: We note that Delta has conducted a safety audit of Gol under the Department’s Code-Share 

Safety Audit Program, and the FAA has advised that it has reviewed the relevant audit report and found it 

to be acceptable. 

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

On the basis of data officially noticeable under Rule 24(g) of the Department’s regulations, we found the 

applicants qualified to provide the services authorized. 

Under authority assigned by the Department in its regulations, 14 CFR Part 385, we found that (1) our 

action was consistent with Department policy; (2) grant of the authority was consistent with the public 

interest; and (3) grant of the authority would not constitute a major regulatory action under the Energy 

Policy and Conservation Act of 1975. To the extent not granted, we denied all requests in the referenced 

Docket. We may amend, modify, or revoke the authority granted in this Notice at any time without 

hearing at our discretion. 

Persons entitled to petition the Department for review of the action set forth in this Notice under the 

Department’s regulations, 14 CFR §385.30, may file their petitions within seven (7) days after the date of 

issuance of this Notice. This action was effective when taken, and the filing of a petition for review will 

not alter such effectiveness. 

An electronic version of this document is available on the World Wide Web at: 

http://www.regulations.gov

 

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 The notice referenced in condition (c) above may be used for this notification. 
Appendix A 

INITIAL CODE-SHARE ROUTES 
Appendix B 

U.S. Carrier Exemption Conditions 

In the conduct of the operations authorized, the U.S. carrier applicant(s) shall: 

(1) Hold at all times effective operating authority from the government of each country served; 

(2) Comply with applicable requirements concerning oversales contained in 14 CFR 250 (for scheduled 

operations, if authorized); 

(3) Comply with the requirements for reporting data contained in 14 CFR 241; 

(4) Comply with requirements for minimum insurance coverage, and for certifying that coverage to the 

Department, contained in 14 CFR 205; 

(5) Except as specifically exempted or otherwise provided for in a Department Order, comply with the 

requirements of 14 CFR 203, concerning waiver of Warsaw Convention liability limits and defenses; 

(6) Comply with all applicable requirements of the Federal Aviation Administration, the Transportation 

Security Administration, and with all applicable U.S. Government requirements concerning security, including, 

but not limited to, 49 CFR Part 1544. To assure compliance with all applicable U.S. Government requirements 

concerning security, the holder shall, before commencing any new service (including charter flights) to or from 

a foreign airport, contact its Principal Security Inspector (PSI) to advise the PSI of its plans and to find out 

whether the Transportation Security Administration has determined that security is adequate to allow such 

airport(s) to be served; 

(7) Comply with such other reasonable terms, conditions, and limitations required by the public interest as may 

be prescribed by the Department of Transportation, with all applicable orders and regulations of other U.S. 

agencies and courts, and with all applicable laws of the United States. 

The authority granted shall be effective only during the period when the holder is in compliance with the 

conditions imposed above. 

 

 

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