U.S. Department of Transportation Office ofthe Secretary OfTransportation

February 4, 2014 Mr. JE MurdockIII Counsel for Pentastar Aviation Charter, Inc. 5034NebraskaAve., NW Washington, DC 20008 Re: DocketDOT-OST-2014-0004 ·-- L; 1200 New JerseyAve., S.E. Washington, DC 20590

Motion ofPentastarAviation Charter, Inc., for Confidential Treatment ofDocuments Dear 

### Mr. Murdock: We are currently reviewing the application of Pentastar Aviation Charter, Inc. ("PACI"), in Docket DOT-OST-2014-0004 for commuter authority. The purpose ofthis letter is to notify you of our intended ruling onyour request for confidential treatment ofdocuments filed in support ofthis application. On January 14, 2014, PACI filed a motion requesting that Attachment K, page 20 which shows the income statement for the first two quarters of 2013, be afforded confidential treatment under 14 CFR §302.12 ("Rule 12"). In support ofyour request for confidential treatment, you state that the documents PACI requests to withhold from public disclosure are commercial, financial data which competitors could use to bid against PACI for otherpublic charters and/or possible scheduled service markets. Further, you state that disclosure would harm PACI's ability to compete effectively. Lastly, you contend that the information inthis exhibit is highly detailed and would not otherwise be made accessible to persons outside the company. Rule 12 instructs us to evaluate requests for confidential treatment in accordance withthe standards of disclosure found in the Freedom ofInformation Act (5 U.S.C. section 552). By this standard, information may be withheld from disclosure ifit is "(1) commercial or financial, (2) obtained from a person outside the government, and (3) privileged or confidential." [Gulf& Western Industries, Inc. v. US., 615 F.2d 527, 529 (D.C. Cir. 1979).] The information sought to be withheld from disclosure clearly meets the first two requirements. The only question, therefore, is whether the information is privileged or confidential--whether "disclosure ofthe information is likely tp have either ofthe following effects: (1) to impair the government's ability to obtain necessary information in the future; or (2) to cause substantial harm2

to the competitive position ofthe person from whom the information was obtained." [National Parks and ConservationAssociation v. Morton, 498 F.2d 765, 770 (D.C. Cir. 1974).] Furthermore, to be privileged or confidential, the information must not be ofthe type that is usually released to the public. [Gulf& Western Industries, Inc. v. US., supra, 615 F.2d at 530.] It is not the Department's practice to withhold from public disclosure information regarding an applicant's current and/or historical financial statements. The Department uses the financial information contained in these statements to determine the financial viability ofan applicant andto calculate any negative working capital, which is included in our financial fitness test. Moreover, we note that PACI's financial statements neither contain detailed expense categories, such as aircraft lease, fuel, hangar expenses, nor any explanatory footnotes that describe the basis for the amounts shown. Therefore, we denythe company'srequest. Under Rule 12, a Department ruling on motions for confidential treatment will not take effect if, within five (5) business days after issuance, the person requesting confidential treatment files a petition for reconsideration ofthat decision, or files a statementthat he or she in good faith intends to seek judicial review of the decision. If PACI elects to petition the Department as to this confidentiality determination, we expect that it will provide a statement explaining how the item falls withinthe exceptions underthe Freedom ofInformationAct and is not otherwiserequiredto be filed publicly by all applicants for commuter authority. Responses shall be due within five calendar days ofthe filing ofsuch apetition. IfPACI elects not to file a petition, we direct that it file the information noted above in the public docket in this proceeding within five business days ofthe date ofthis letter. Inthe meantime, as is the Department's practice, further processing ofyour applicationwill be deferred pending receipt of this material. In addition, once this matter is satisfactorily resolved, PACI can expect to receive a request for additional and/or clarifying informationneeded in connectionwithits application. Ifyou have any questions regarding this letter, please feel free to contact me or Shabu Thomas of my staffat (202)-366-9721.

. ynJ. Remo Chief, Air CarrierFitnessDivision Office ofAviationAnalysis

cc: DocketDOT-OST-2014-0004 Mr. BartholomewM. Angle POIfor PentastarAviation Charter, Inc.