### UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation on July 25, 2012



## NOTICE OF ACTION TAKEN

-- DOCKET DOT

- OST

- 20 0 3

- 14630

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___ 

### 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 

### : Privat A ir G mb H (PTG)

Date Filed : March 29, 2010 , as amended July 19, 2012

Relief requested: Renew and a mend existing exemption from 49 USC § 41301 to the extent necessary to p ermit the applicant to engage in charter foreign air transportation of persons, property and mail (i) from any point or points behind any Member State of the European Union via any point or points in any EU Member State and via intermediate points to

any p oint or points in the United States and beyond; (ii) between any point or points in the United States and any point or points in any member of the European Common Aviation Area ; and (iii) other charters pursuant to Part 212 of the Department’s regulations. 1



### D ate and citation of last action s : April 8, 2008, and October 21, 2009

, in this docket

Applicant representative: Malcolm L. Benge (202) 298

- 8660

DOT Analyst: Shelita A. Johnson (202) 366

- 1226

Resp onsive pleadings: None filed

DISPOSITION

Action: Approved Action date : July 25, 2012 2



### Effective dates of authority granted: July 23, 2012

– July 23, 2014

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 indicated:

X Standard exemption conditions (attached) Foreign air carrier permit ( Order )

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) the applicant is qualified to perform the proposed operations; (2) our action was consistent with Department policy; (3) grant of the authority was consistent with the public interest; and (4) grant of the authority woul d not constitute a major regulatory action under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975. To the extent not granted/deferred/dismissed, we denied

1 P TG ’s current exempt ion authority permits it to conduct charter operations between Germany and the United States, either directly or via intermediate points in third countries, with or without stopovers, and beyond, conducting these operations only by wet leasing its

aircraft with crews to Lufthansa German Airlines (Lufthansa), to include authority to display the designator codes of United Air Lines, Inc. (United) and Continental Airlines, Inc. (Continental) in markets were Lufthansa and United /Continental hold authority to

co deshare. ( See Notices of Action Taken dated April 8, 2008 and October 21, 2009, in this docket.) We note that these actions also granted PTG statements of authorization under 14 CFR P art 212 to conduct its wet lease operations with Lufthansa and its code

- share operations with United

. In its July 19, 2012 amendment, PTG states that it no longer co n ducts wet lease services for Lufthansa in the Germany

- U.S. market or code

- share services with United/Continental , and it also informally clarified that it seeks only the amended exemption authority outlined above and no longer wishes to retain its statements of authorization

. 2 The Department is acting on PTG’s request for amended exemption authority prior to the expiration of the 15

- day answer period with

the consent of all parties served.

### 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

### Foreign Carrier Exemption Conditions

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

(1) Not conduct any operations unless it holds a currently effective authorization from its homeland for such operations, and it has fi led 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, inc luding, 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 chang es 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 airworth iness 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 Conven tion 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 ot her 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 pl ace, 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 a ir 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 requir ed 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