THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20590 

The Honorable Dave Loebsack 

U.S. House of Representatives 

Washington, DC 205 15 

Dear Congressman Loebsack: 

April 04, 2014 

Thank you for your letter regarding the application ofNorwegian Air International Limited 

(NAI) for authority to conduct U.S. services. 

Given that a number of interested parties have filed responsive pleadings to NAI's application 

and this matter is currently pending before the Department, I am sure you understand that I 

cannot comment on the merits ofNAI's application. I assure you, however, that we will give full 

and careful consideration to all of the pleadings filed on the record before we reach a 

determination in this matter. 

As is our standard practice, I am placing a copy of your letter and my response in Docket 

DOT-OST-20 13-0204, as a contact outside the record ofthis case. You may track the progress 

of this case and view the publicly available documents filed in the docket by accessing the 

Federal Docket Management System at www.regulations.gov and searching for Docket 

DOT-OST -2013-0204. 

I hope this information is helpful. 

Sincerely, 

Anthony R. Foxx 
DAVID LOEBSACK 

2ND DISTRICT, IOWA 

COMMITTEES: 

ARMED SERVICES 

SUBCOMMITTEES: 

MILITARY PERSONNEL 

READINESS 

EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE 

SUBCOMMITTEES: 

<trnngr.ess nf tltt 1ltnit.eb ~tat.es 

]lfnus.e nf ll.epr.es.entatiu.es 

lllas~ingtnn. f!l(!t 20515- 1502 HEALTH, EMPLOYMENT, lABOR, 

AND f'ENSJONS 

HIGHER EDUCATJON AND 

WORt<FORCf TRA~ING 

The Honorable Anthony Fox 

Secretary 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Ave. SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

Dear Secretary Foxx, 

February 25, 2014 

WASHINGTON OffiCE; 

1527 LONGWORTH House OfFICE BUilDING 

WASHINGTON, DC 20515 

(202) 225-6576 

DISTRICT OFFICES: 

125 SOUTH DuauouE STREET 

IOWA CITY, lA 52240 

1319)351-0789 

209 WEST 4TH STREET, #104 

DAVENPORT, lA 52801 

(563) 323-5988 

1 (866)914-IOWA 

I write to share my strong concerns over the application for a Foreign Air Carrier Pennit 

by Norwegian Air International Limited (NAI). Approval of this application would set a 

potentially dangerous precedent concerning wages and working conditions and hurt the U.S. 

airline industry. 

The NAI application proposes a global outsourcing business that will put U.S. airlines 

and their employees at competitive disadvantage. This airline bearing the name "Norwegian" 

describes itself in the application as "a foreign carrier oflreland." NAI's application provides 

little information about itself or its plans, but it appears to be in the same corporate family with 

another carrier, a rapidly-growing low-cost airline, Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS). It's 

concerning that the CEO ofNAI, named in the application as Asgeir Nyseth, is the Chief 

Operating Officer ofNAS. Additionally, NAI is seeking an operating license from Irish aviation 

authorities, a step that NAS previously signaled it would take. 

NAS has stated that to conduct its new long-haul operations it will seek to register its 

aircraft and receive an air operator's certificate from a European Union country whose labor laws 

will allow outsourcing of aircrew beyond the EU. NAS/NAI has chosen Ireland and stated that it 

plans to operate this Irish subsidiary-registered aircraft to fly from Norway and other EU points 

to the United States. These flights will be operated by outsourced, lower-wage aircrew, based in 

Southeast Asia, under individual employment contracts governed by Singapore law. It is clear 

that NAS intends to use NAI as its Irish affiliate to bring its plan to fruition. 

This business model is designed expressly to undermine fair wages and working 

conditions. It would also put U.S. carriers who have to compete against it at a competitive 

disadvantage. Finally, approval ofNAI's application for authority would be inconsistent with the 

congressionally-established public interest as set forth in the aviation statuses and runs afoul of 

the current EU-U.S. Air Transport Agreement. 

510-140226-011 PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER 
I ask that you please give these concerns serious attention as you consider the pending 

application for NAI before you. Thank you for your time and consideration of this important 

ISSUe. 

Iowa's Second District 

s 10-140226-011