UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY 

WASHINGTON, D.C.

 Issued by the Department of Transportation on November 9, 2012

 NOTICE OF ACTION TAKEN -- DOCKET DOT-OST-2012-0172 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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).

Applicant: Flybe Limited (Flybe) Date Filed: October 12, 2012, 

as supplemented November 7, 2012

Relief requested: Exemption under 49 USC §40109 to engage in foreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail 

to the extent necessary to permit the applicant to display the “US” designator code of US Airways, Inc. (US Airways) and

the “UA” designator code of United Airlines, Inc. (United) on flights operated by Flybe within European Union (EU) and 

European Union Common Aviation Area (ECAA) countries, and between points in EU and ECAA countries and points in 

third countries, on flights operated by Flybe on behalf of Brussels Airlines NV/SA (Brussels Airlines).

The applicant further requests statements of authorization under 14 CFR Part 212 to permit it to display “US” designator 

code of US Airways and the “UA” designator code of United on Flybe flights operated on a wet lease basis for Brussels 

Airlines, pursuant to existing code-share arrangements between: 1) Brussels Airlines and US Airways; and 2)Brussels 

Airlines and United.

Flybe requests that its exemption authority be granted for a two-year period and its statements of authorization be granted 

for an indefinite duration. 

Applicant representatives: Evelyn D. Sahr and James G. Ehrig, 202-659-6600

DOT analyst: Darren Jaffe, 202-366-2512

Responsive pleadings: None.

DISPOSITION

Action: Approved. Action date: November 9, 2012

Effective dates of authority granted: The exemption authority granted to Flybe is effective November 9, 2012, through

November 9, 2014.

The statements of authorization granted to Flybe are effective November 9, 2012, and will remain in effect for an 

indefinite period.1

Basis for approval (bilateral agreement/reciprocity): U.S.-EU Air Transport Agreement.

Except to the extent exempted/waived, this authority is subject to the terms, conditions, and limitations of our standard 

exemption conditions attached as Appendix A and to the code-share conditions attached as Appendix B.

Special conditions/Remarks: Based on the record in this case, we found that Flybe is operationally and financially

qualified to conduct the proposed services, and that it is substantially owned and effectively controlled in a manner

consistent with the provisions of the U.S.-EU Agreement.2

 We note that the applicant is properly licensed by its

homeland to perform the proposed services.

 1 We will grant, sua sponte, Flybe a waiver of the advance filing requirement under 14 CFR 212.10(d)(2),as no party opposed the 

request.

2 We make this finding based on Article 2 (Reciprocal Recognition of Regulatory Determinations with Regard to Airline Fitness and

Citizenship) of the Protocol to amend the U.S.-EU Air Transport Agreement, signed June 24, 2010.
We also note that US Airways and United have conducted safety audits of Flybe under the Department’s Code-Share

Safety Audit Program, and the FAA has advised us that it has reviewed the relevant audit reports and found them to be 

acceptable.3

Action taken by: Paul L. Gretch, Director, Office of International Aviation

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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) the applicant was qualified to perform the proposed operations; (3) grant of the authority was consistent with 

the public interest; and (4) 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/deferred/dismissed, 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

 3 In its November 7, 2012 supplement, Flybe requested that the Department defer action on the United code-share portion of its 

request until United conducted a safety audit of Flybe and the FAA found the audit report to be acceptable. As noted above, we were 

subsequently advised by the FAA the United-Flybe safety audit has been conducted and found acceptable by the FAA. Therefore, we 

are granting the Flybe request in its entirety.
Foreign Air Carrier Exemption Conditions

Appendix A

In the conduct of the operations authorized, the foreign carrier applicant shall:

(1) Not conduct any operations unless it holds a currently effective authorization from its homeland for such operations, 

and it has filed a copy of such authorization with the Department;

(2) 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, 14 CFR Parts 129, 91, and 36 and 49 CFR Part 1546 or 1550, as applicable. To assure compliance with 

all applicable U.S. Government requirements concerning security, the holder shall, before commencing any new 

service (including charter flights) from a foreign airport that would be the holder’s last point of departure for the 

United States, contact its International Industry Representative (IIR) (formerly referred to as International

Principal Security Inspector) to advise the IIR 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;

(3) Comply with the requirements for minimum insurance coverage contained in 14 CFR Part 205, and, prior to the 

commencement of any operations under this authority, file evidence of such coverage, in the form of a completed OST 

Form 6411, with the Federal Aviation Administration’s Program Management Branch (AFS-260), Flight Standards 

Service (any changes to, or termination of, insurance also shall be filed with that office);

(4) Not operate aircraft under this authority unless it complies with operational safety requirements at least equivalent to

Annex 6 of the Chicago Convention;

(5) Conform to the airworthiness and airman competency requirements of its Government for international air

services;

(6) Except as specifically exempted or otherwise provided for in a Department Order, comply with the requirements of 14

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

(7) Agree that operations under this authority constitute a waiver of sovereign immunity, for the purposes of 28 U.S.C.

1605(a), but only with respect to those actions or proceedings instituted against it in any court or other tribunal in 

the United States that are: (a) based on its operations in international air transportation that, according to the

contract of carriage, include a point in the United States as a point of origin, point of destination, or agreed

stopping place, or for which the contract of carriage was purchased in the United States; or (b) based on a claim 

under any international agreement or treaty cognizable in any court or other tribunal of the United States. In this

condition, the term "international air transportation" means "international transportation" as defined by the Warsaw

Convention, except that all States shall be considered to be High Contracting Parties for the purpose of this 

definition;

(8) Except as specifically authorized by the Department, originate or terminate all flights to/from the United States in 

a Member State of the European Union;

(9) Comply with the requirements of 14 CFR Part 217, concerning the reporting of scheduled, nonscheduled, and 

charter data;

(10) If charter operations are authorized, except as otherwise provided in the applicable aviation agreement, comply 

with the Department's rules governing charters (including 14 CFR Parts 212 and 380); and

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

prescribed by the Department, with all applicable orders or regulations of other U.S. agencies and courts, and with 

all applicable laws of the United States.

This authority shall not be effective during any period when the holder is not in compliance with the conditions 

imposed above. Moreover, this authority cannot be sold or otherwise transferred without explicit Department approval 

under Title 49 of the U.S. Code.

EU carrier 01/2008
Appendix B

The code-share operations authorized here are subject to the following conditions:

(a) The statement of authorization will remain in effect only as long as (i) US Airways, United, Brussels Airlines and

Flybe 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) US Airways, United, Brussels Airlines and/or Flybe, as appropriate, 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 and the date on which the service will begin. Such notice should be filed in Docket

DOT-OST-2012-0172.

(c) US Airways, United, Brussels Airlines and/or Flybe, as appropriate, must promptly notify the Department 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 notice should be filed in Docket DOT-OST-2012-

0172.

4

(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.

(e) The authority granted here is specifically conditioned so that US Airways, United, Brussels Airlines nor Flybe

shall give any force or effect to any contractual provisions between themselves that are contrary to these conditions.

We may amend, modify, or revoke the authority granted at any time without hearing at our discretion.

 4 We expect this notification to be received within ten (10) days after such non-effectiveness or of such decision.