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.
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 17 th 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