CORRECTED COPY

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON, DC

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### ALASKA CENTRAL EXPRESS, INC.

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### NOTICE OF REGISTRATION OF TRADE NAME

On January 12

, 2012

, Alaska Central Express, Inc. (“ Alaska Central ”)

, a U.S. certificated air carrier, 1 request ed that the Department regist e r the trade name s “ ACE Air ” and “ACE Air Cargo” for use in certain of its air transportation operations

. Alaska Central states that it is in its final stages of preparation prior to commencing interstate scheduled passenger operations and is planning to hold out its schedule under the trade name “ACE Air

. ” In addition, Alaska Central currently uses the trade name “ACE Air Cargo” for its existing cargo service. The air carrier also notes that p ursuant to Part 215 (14 CFR Part 215), it is able to use variations of the name that are identifiable with its authorized name.

Part 215 of the Department’s regulations provides that any air carrier wishing to use an alternative trade name must first re gister that name with the Department. The rule further states

, among other things, that the Department may register such name after the air carrier gives notification to similarly named air carriers of the proposed use of the name. In this case, Alaska C entral notified A

. C

. E

. Flyers , Inc. d/b/a Jayhawk Air (“A.C.E Flyers”), a helicopter charter company based in Anchorage, A laska

, of its intent to register the trade name s “ACE Air ” and “ACE Air Cargo .”

On January 26, 2012, A.C.E. F lyers objected to these proposed trade names , arguing that it has been registered in the S tate of Alaska as A.C.E

. Flyers, Inc

. since 1990

, four years prior to Alaska Central operating under its corporate name. A.C.E. Flyers anticipates that consumer confusion, which the c ompany claims already exists, will increase should the Department grant Alaska Central’s request

. On February 29, 2012 , Alaska Central responded to A.C.E

. Flyer’s objections

, arguing that A.C.E. Flyer’s assertion that consumer confusion exits is unfounded. In support of its position, Alaska Central first notes that A.C.E. Flyers holds out its transportation services and promotes its services under the trade name “ Jayhawk Air

. ” Secondly, Alaska Central states that A.C.E

. Flyers only operates short

- range, small payload helicopter s , while Alaska Central only operates long

- range, fixed

- wing aircraft

. Third, Alaska Central argues that when it change d its name in 1994 to Alaska Cen tral Express from Yutana Airlines, Inc., no action was taken by A.C.E. Flyers

1 See Order 2011

- 9

- 14 , issued on September 19, 2011.CORRECTED COPY

until now. Lastly, Alaska Central reiterates its earlier position that the Department’s regulations allow air carriers to use minor variations of the name in which its operations authority is issued.

S ection 215.2 of our rules (14 CFR 215.2) states that the responsibility for resolving private disputes about the use of similar names lies with the air carriers involved thro ugh recourse to the trade names statutes and the courts. In our rule, we further state that an air carrier using a name that is identical to another air carrier, which is not the case here, may be subject to enforcement action for unfair or deceptive practice s, as well as potential private law suits. U pon review, we believe that the actual trade names of the two airlines, “Jayhawk Air” and the proposed “ACE Air” and “ACE Air Cargo” that are held out to the public, are sufficiently distinct so that their use i s unlikely to lead to public confusion. In this regard, s ince Alaska Central has complied with the requirements of Part 215, we acknowledge the registration of the trade name s “ ACE Air ” and “ACE Air Cargo” for its use.

Dated at Washington, D.C.

, March 5 , 2012

TODD M. HOMAN Director Office of Aviation Analysis

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

.