### THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20590

The Honorab le Dave Loebsack U.S. Hou se of Represe nta ti ves Washington, D C 205 15 Dear Co n gressman Loebsack: April 04, 2014

Thank you for yo ur lette r regarding the ap pli ca tion ofNorwegian Air Inte rnati o na l Limited (NA I) for authority to conduct U.S
. services
. Given that a numb er of intereste d parties have filed respo n s ive pleadings to NA I ' s appli cati on and thi s m atter i s currently pending before the D epartm e nt , I am sure you und erstand th at I cannot comment on the m erits ofNAI's app licati o n . I ass ure yo u , h oweve r , th at we wi ll g ive full and carefu l cons ideration to a ll of the pleadings filed on the record before we reach a determination in this matte r. As i s our s tand ard practice , I am placing a copy of your letter and my response in Docket DOT- OST-20 13-0 204, as a co ntact outs id e the reco rd of thi s case. You m ay track the progress of this case and v iew the publicly avai lab le documents filed in the docket by accessing the Federal Docket Management System at www. regul atio n s.gov and searchin g for Docket DOT-OST-2013-0204. I hop e thi s inform ation i s h e lpful. Sincere ly ,

A nth o ny R. FoxxDAVID LOEBSACK 2ND DISTRICT, IOWA

COMMITTEES: ARMED SERVICES

SUBCOMMITTEES: MILITARY PERSONNEL READINESS EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE SUBCOMMITTEES: 

# <tr nngr.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 ofthis 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 ofthis important ISSUe.



### Iowa's Second District



# s 10-140226-011