BEFORE THE

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

__________________________________________

)

Joint Application of )

)

AEROLITORAL, S.A. DE C.V. ) DOCKET OST-2013-____

 D/B/A AEROMEXICO CONNECT, )

AEROVIAS DE MEXICO, S.A. DE C.V., and )

DELTA AIR LINES, INC. ) DOCKET OST-2013-0115

)

for exemptions and a code-share )

statement of authorization )

(Atlanta-Leon/Guanajuato) )

__________________________________________)

EXPEDITED ACTION REQUESTED

JOINT APPLICATION OF AEROLITORAL, S.A. DE C.V., AEROVIAS DE 

MEXICO, S.A. DE C.V., AND DELTA AIR LINES, INC. FOR AN 

EXEMPTION, AMENDED CODE-SHARE EXEMPTIONS, AND A 

STATEMENT OF AUTHORIZATION

Communications with respect to this document should be sent to:

John R. Mietus, Jr.

LAW OFFICE OF JOHN MIETUS, LLC

6701 Democracy Boulevard Ste 300

Bethesda, Maryland 20817

(202) 747-5212

john@mietuslaw.com

Counsel for AEROLITORAL

 and AEROMEXICO

Alexander Van der Bellen

Managing Director – Government 

Affairs & Associate General Counsel

Christopher Walker

Regional Director – Government Affairs

DELTA AIR LINES, INC.

1212 New York Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20005

(202) 842-4184

sascha.vanderbellen@delta.com

chris.walker@delta.com

NOTICE: Any person may support or oppose this application by filing an answer and 

serving a copy of the answer on counsel for the Joint Applicants and upon 

persons served with this application no later than July 16, 2013. THE JOINT 

APPLICANTS INTEND TO POLL.

July 1, 2013
BEFORE THE

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

__________________________________________

)

Joint Application of )

)

AEROLITORAL, S.A. DE C.V. ) DOCKET OST-2013-____

 D/B/A AEROMEXICO CONNECT, ) 

AEROVIAS DE MEXICO, S.A. DE C.V., and ) 

DELTA AIR LINES, INC. ) DOCKET OST-2013-0115

)

for exemptions and a code-share ) July 1, 2013

statement of authorization )

(Atlanta-Leon/Guanajuato) )

__________________________________________)

EXPEDITED ACTION REQUESTED

JOINT APPLICATION OF AEROLITORAL, S.A. DE C.V., AEROVIAS DE 

MEXICO, S.A. DE C.V., AND DELTA AIR LINES, INC. FOR AN 

EXEMPTION, AMENDED CODE-SHARE EXEMPTIONS, AND A 

STATEMENT OF AUTHORIZATION

Aerolitoral, S.A. de C.V. d/b/a Aeromexico Connect, Aerovias de 

Mexico, S.A. de C.V. ("Aeromexico"), and Delta Air Lines, Inc. (“Delta”)

(together, the “Joint Applicants”) respectfully apply for the following 

authority to engage in scheduled, foreign air transportation of persons, 

property, and mail between Leon/Guanajuato, Mexico and Atlanta, Georgia: 

(1) an exemption, for an initial one-year period and pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 

40109, authorizing Aerolitoral to operate such service;

(2) a statement of authorization, of indefinite duration and pursuant to 14 C.F.R. 

Part 212, permitting Aerolitoral to display the AM* and DL* designator codes 

of Aeromexico and Delta, respectively, on Aerolitoral-operated flights on this 

route;
Aerolitoral

Application

Page 2

(3) an amendment to the code-share exemption granted to Delta in Docket OST2013-0115 to authorize Delta to engage in such transportation by placing its 

code on Aerolitoral1; and

(4) an amendment to an Aeromexico code-share exemption request, pending in 

Docket OST-2013-0115, so as to authorize Aeromexico, for an initial, one-year 

period, to engage in such transportation by placing its AM* designator code 

on flights operated by Aerolitoral.2

Aerolitoral proposes to operate the service as early as August 5, 2013, and the 

Joint Applicants therefore request expedited consideration of this application. 

After polling U.S. carriers served with this application, they will report the 

poll results to the Department. In support of this Joint Application, the Joint 

Applicants state as follows:

1. Aerolitoral and Aeromexico are flag carriers of the United Mexican 

States that hold a range of Department permit and exemption authority to 

provide service between Mexico and numerous U.S. points. They provide 

extensive transborder service pursuant to this authority, generally under 

Aeromexico’s “AM” code. Aerolitoral proposes to operate daily 

Leon/Guanajuato-Atlanta service with Embraer ERJ-190 aircraft.

2. Annex 1 to the 1960 Air Transport Agreement, as amended, between 

the United Mexican States and the United States provides that a carrier 

 

1/ Delta requests the authority for an initial, two-year period and further requests the 

Department transmit the necessary code-share designation to the Government of 

Mexico to facilitate Mexican licensing of Delta’s proposed services on Aerolitoral 

under the U.S.-Mexico Air Transport Agreement.

2/ Aeromexico recently requested authority in Docket OST-2013-0115 to place its code 

on Expressjet-operated, Delta Connection service in this market. It therefore 

requests the Department amend and grant that pending application so as to 

authorize service operated either by Aerolitoral or Expressjet.
Aerolitoral

Application

Page 3

designated by the Government of Mexico is entitled to operate "[f]rom a point 

or points in Mexico to a point or points in the United States." The Joint 

Applicants understand that Aerolitoral will be designated to serve the route.3 

Further, under Annex 3 either party may authorize an airline to serve a 

transborder route by displaying its code on flights of an airline designated to 

operate service on that route. The Mexican Direccion General de Aeronautica 

Civil is expected to authorize Aerolitoral and Aeromexico to engage in codeshare operations over the route and to confirm this authorization in writing 

to the U.S. government. For all these reasons, the proposed AerolitoralAeromexico code-share service is consistent with the agreement and, 

therefore, the public interest.

3. Delta also is fit, willing, and able to engage in these services on a 

code-share basis, as it operates numerous U.S.-Mexico transborder services 

under various exemptions and pursuant to Delta’s certificate authority for 

Route 901. See Order 2010-3-12. Delta also requests that the Department 

take official notice, pursuant to Rule 24 of the Department’s Rules of 

Practice, of all data on file with the Department necessary to establish its 

fitness.

4. Approval of the requested code-sharing authority as to Delta also is 

in the public interest. By Notice of Action dated June 19, 2013 in Docket 

 

3/ Designation of a carrier by its homeland government is the most significant factor in 

determining whether grant of an application is in the public interest. See, e.g., 

Bluebird Cargo Ltd., Order 2004-8-24 at 3-4; Fast Air Carrier Ltda., Permit 

Amendment, Order 82-2-66 at 3-4.