BEFORE THE 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 

Application of 

 DELTA AIR LINES, INC. 

 

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

(Minneapolis/St. Paul-Mexico City) 

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Docket DOT-OST-2010- 

APPLICATION OF DELTA AIR LINES, INC. 

Communications with respect to this document should be addressed to: 

 

Alexander Van der Bellen 

Managing Director – Government Affairs 

 & Associate General Counsel 

Jeff Morgan 

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

May 17, 2010 

 

Notice: Delta intends to poll the U.S. carrier representatives on the attached service list 

regarding this Application and will notify the Department of the results as soon as 

possible. 
BEFORE THE 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 

Application of 

 DELTA AIR LINES, INC. 

 

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

(Minneapolis/St. Paul-Mexico City) 

) 

) 

) 

) 

) 

) 

) 

) 

) 

) 

Docket DOT-OST-2010- 

APPLICATION OF DELTA AIR LINES, INC. 

Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 40109 and Subpart C of the Department’s Rules of 

Practice, Delta Air Lines, Inc. (“Delta”) hereby applies for an exemption from 49 U.S.C. § 

41101 authorizing Delta to engage in scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, 

property, and mail between Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota and Mexico City, Mexico. 

Delta’s proposed service will establish a new Midwestern gateway for service to Mexico 

City from Delta’s hub at Minneapolis/St. Paul. Delta plans to offer daily, year-round 

service between Minneapolis/St. Paul and Mexico City, beginning on or about December 

1, 2010. Delta plans to utilize 124-seat Airbus A319 aircraft, equipped with 16 first class 

and 108 economy class seats. Delta requests that its exemption authority be granted as 

soon as possible for a period of at least two years. 

In support of this application, Delta states the following: 

 1. Delta seeks exemption authority so it can provide scheduled 

foreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail on the Minneapolis/St. PaulMexico City route. 
Application of Delta 

Page 2 

 2. The proposed service will provide significant benefits to travelers 

and shippers and is clearly in the public interest. The requested exemption authority is 

fully consistent with the terms of the U.S.-Mexico Air Transport Agreement 

(“Agreement”) as amended by the agreement signed by the two governments on 

December 12, 2005. Route 1(a) of the Agreement authorizes carriers designated by the 

U.S. to operate “[f]rom a point or points in the United States to a point or points in 

Mexico.” Annex I(A)(1)(a). Two U.S. carrier designations are authorized for the 

Minneapolis/St. Paul-Mexico City route. Agreement Annex I(B)(4-5). Both U.S. carrier 

designations are available. Delta requests that the Department promptly notify the 

Government of Mexico of Delta’s designation on this route. 

 3. Delta holds various certificates of public convenience and 

necessity and exemptions authorizing it to engage in scheduled foreign air transportation 

of persons, property and mail, including between the United States and Mexico. See, 

e.g., Delta’s Certificate for Route 901, issued by Order 2010-3-12. Pursuant to Rule 24 

of the Department’s Rules of Practice, Delta asks the Department to take official notice 

of all data on file with the Department necessary to establish Delta’s fitness. 

 6. Delta affirms that its operation of this route will have no impact on 

Delta’s Civil Reserve Air Fleet (“CRAF”) commitment. 

 7. The environmental impacts of Delta’s proposed services are de 

minimis, and Delta does not anticipate that the proposed services will cause a near-term 

net annual change in aircraft fuel consumption of 10 million gallons or more. 
Application of Delta 

Page 3 

WHEREFORE, Delta requests issuance of exemption authority to engage in 

scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail on the 

Minneapolis/St. Paul-Mexico City route. 

Respectfully submitted,

_________________________________ 

Alexander Van der Bellen 

Managing Director, Government Affairs 

 & Associate General Counsel 

DELTA AIR LINES, INC. 
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 

 A copy of the foregoing Application has been served this 17th day of May, 2010, 

upon the following persons via email: 

Carrier Name Email Address 

AirTran Edward Faberman efaberman@wileyrein.com 

Alaska Marshall Sinick msinick@ssd.com 

American Carl Nelson carl.nelson@aa.com 

Continental Dan Weiss dan.weiss@coair.com 

Continental Hershel Kamen hkamen@coair.com 

Frontier Edward Faberman efaberman@wileyrein.com 

JetBlue Jonathan Hill jhill@dowlohnes.com 

JetBlue Robert Land robert.land@jetblue.com 

Spirit Airlines David Kirstein dkirstein@yklaw.com 

Spirit Airlines Joanne Young jyoung@yklaw.com 

Sun Country John Fredericksen John.Fredericksen@suncountry.com 

United Jeffrey Manley jeffrey.manley@united.com 

United Julie Oettinger julie.oettinger@united.com 

US Airways Benjamin Slocum benjamin.slocum@usairways.com 

US Airways Howard Kass howard_kass@usairways.com 

USA 3000 Pierre Murphy pmurphy@lopmurphy.com 

byerlyjr@state.gov 

esta.rosenberg@dot.gov 

brian.hedberg@dot.gov 

john.allen@faa.gov 

mike.orr@airlineinfo.com