BEFORE THE 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 

In the matter of 

NORWEGIAN AIR INTERNATIONAL 

LIMITED 

for an exemption under 49 U.S.C. § 40109 

and a foreign air carrier permit pursuant to 

49 U.S.C. § 41301 (US-EU Open Skies) 

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) _______________________________ ) 

Docket OST-2013-0204 

RESPONSE OF AIR FRANCE TO AUGUST 4 NOTICE 

Communications with respect to this document should be sent to: 

Laurent Timsit 

SVP International & Regulatory Affairs 

AIR FRANCE 

45 rue de Paris 

95747 Roissy CDG 

Paris, France 

Email: latimsit@airfrance.tr 

August 18,2014 
BEFORE THE 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 

In the matter of 

NORWEGIAN AIR INTERNATIONAL 

LIMITED 

for an exemption under 49 U.S.C. § 40109 

and a foreign air carrier permit pursuant to 

49 U.S.C. § 41301 (US-EU Open Skies) 

) 

) 

) 

) 

) 

) 

) 

) 

) ____________________________ ) 

Docket OST-2013-0204 

RESPONSE OF AIR FRANCE TO AUGUST 4 NOTICE 

Air France files this response to the Department's August 4, 2014 Notice that seeks the 

views of interested parties on the Department's summary of the July 14, 2014 meeting with DGMOVE regarding the interpretation of Article 17bis of the U.S.-EU Open Skies Agreement. As 

explained below, Air France's position is that (a) the position of the European Party to the 

Agreement has not been determined yet; (b) Article 17bis should guide the Parties in their 

implementation of the Agreement; (c) accordingly it should not bar the Department from 

denying Norwegian International Airlines (NAI)'s application for U.S.-EU scheduled authority 

under U.S. aviation law if it reaches the conclusion the application is not in the public interest. 

Air France filed comments in opposition to NAI's application in this Docket on February 

21, 2014 based on their view that NAI's labor practices appeared questionable in light of the 

"high labor standards" referred to in A1iicle 17bis of the EU-US Agreement as well as the U.S. 
Air France Response 

August 18,2014 

Page 2 

statutory policy goals under Sec, 40101(a) of Title 49, Use of Thai-based cabin crews and 

European pilots employed by Singapore-based subsidiaries raise important issues in terms of 

labor protections. Such employment practices also seem to Air France not to be coherent with 

the European objectives of developing growth and jobs. In addition, Air France believes that EU 

Authorities should in particulrn· take time to investigate thoroughly the potential consequences of 

schemes of operations in which there is a loose contractual link between crews and the operating 

airline. 

The Department now seeks cormnents on DG-MOVE's view that Article l7bis cmmot be 

invoked by the Department or m1y other Party to the Open Skies Agreement alone to deny the 

application of a cmTier of the other Party for a license under Article 4, 

Air France frrst wishes to highlight that Department otiicials at this stage only heard the 

views of officials ofDG-MOVE. The Parties to the Agreement on the European side are the 

Commission and its Member States. If the Department seeks the views of the European Union on 

Article 17bis, it should seek that in an official statement of the EC a11d the Member States as 

welL 

Secondly, Air France strongly believes that the provisions of Article 17bis should guide 

the Parties in their implementation of the Agreement The fact that Article 4 makes no reference 

to Article 17bis is not compelling at all as there is no language in Article 4 stating that Article 

17bis does not apply. In our view, Article 17bis does formulate legal principles that ought to be 

taken into account in a11 Article 4( c) application; accordingly we believe that the implementation 

of the Agreement's provisions including Article 4 should not "undermine labor standal'ds or the 

labor-related rights and principles in the Parties' respective laws." 
Air France Response 

August 18, 2014 

Page 3 

Thirdly, Air France reads Article 4(c) of the Agreement as imposing on the Department 

an obligation to grant appropriate authorization to an applicant if "the airline is qualified to meet 

the conditions prescribed under the laws and regulations normally applied ... " Those "laws and 

regulations" should include in our view the protection of the "high labor standards" secured by 

Article 17bis as well as the policy objectives provided for by U.S. statutory law (49U.S.C. §§ 

4010l(a)(5), 40101(a)(l5) and (e)(!)). 

Atiicle 6bis on reciprocal recognition of citizenship and fitness determinations does not 

seem to prevent the Department from applying "public interest" considerations in deciding 

whether to grant or deny NAI's exemption application. 

Thus, to the extent that the Department needs to act on NAI' s exemption application to 

meet a statutory deadline (e.g., 49 U.S.C. Sec. 41710), the Depmiment is entitled to examine the 

exemption application based on the applicable "public interest" standard that governs actions 

under 49 U.S.C. Section 40109. 

Consideration of the "public interest" including the fact that the position of the European 

Pmy has not been determined yet would require, in our view, that the Department denies NAI's 

exemption application at this stage. To the extent Ariicle 6bis applies, the Depaliment may then 

notify the European Party that it has questions whether the requirements of Aliicle 4( c) have 

been met by NAI' s application. 

The Department will remain in a position to continue to consider NAI's application for 

permanent authority. In that context, the Department will be able to determine, on the record, 
Air France Response 

August 18,2014 

Page 4 

after consultations with the EC and its Member States which position to take on NAI' s foreign 

air carrier application. 

Respectfully submitted, 

/s/ Laurent Timsit 

SVP Intemational & Regulatory Affairs 

AIR FRANCE 

45 rue de Paris 

95747 Roissy CDG 

Paris, France 

August 18, 2014 
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 

I hereby certify that the foregoing reply of Air France has been served this 18'11 day of 

August 2014 upon the following persons: 

/s/ Joan Gabel 

Joan Gabel 

Date: August 18,2014