THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20590 

The Honorable Diana DeGette 

U.S. House ofRepresentatives 

Washington, DC 20515 

Dear Congresswoman DeGette: 

May 21,2014 

Thank you for your letter regarding the application ofNorwegian Air International Limited 

(NAI) for authority to conduct U.S. services. 

Given that a number of interested parties have filed responsive pleadings to NAI's application 

and this matter is currently pending before the Department, I am sure you understand that I 

cannot comment on the merits ofNAI's application. I assure you, however, that we will give full 

and careful consideration to all of the pleadings filed on the record before we reach a 

determination in this matter. 

As is our standard practice, I am placing a copy of your letter and my response in Docket 

DOT -OST -2013-0204, as a contact outside the record of this case. You may track the progress 

of this case and view the publicly available documents filed in the docket by accessing the 

Federal Docket Management System at www.regulations.gov and searching for Docket 

DOT -OST -2013-0204. 

I hope this information is helpful. 

Anthony R. Foxx 
DI ANA DeGETTE 

1ST DISTRICT, COLORADO 

2368 RAYBURN HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING 

WASHINGTON, DC 20515 

12021 225-4431 

FAX (2021 225-5657 atnngr£ss nf tq£ lnit£~ itat£s DISTRICT OFFICE: 

600 GRANT STREET, Sum 202 

DENVER, CO 80203 

(303) 844-4988 

FAX 13031844-4996 

rh;nunc nf 1Rcprcncntatiucn 

l\Dasl1ittgton, ilQt 20515-0601 

http://degette .h ouse .gov 

The Honorable Anthony Foxx 

Secretary 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue S.E. 

Washington, DC 20590 

Dear Secretary Foxx: 

April 22, 2014 

CHIEF DEPUTY WHIP 

COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND 

COMMERCE 

RANKING MEMBER 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND 

INVESTIGATIONS 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON 

ENVIRONMENT AND THE ECONOMY 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON COMMUNICATIONS 

AND TECHNOLOGY 

I write today regarding the pending exemption and foreign carrier air permit 

application filed by Norwegian Air International Limited (NAI). I urge you to ensure 

the application is in the public interest and complies with the U.S-EU Open Skies 

Agreement. 

When negotiating air transport agreements, the DOT has a legal obligation to 

consider the public interest, ensuring U.S. air carriers are not treated differently from 

foreign carriers providing new air service. The U.S-EU Open Skies Agreement 

created an international framework for air travel that is beneficial for both U.S. and 

foreign carriers. Consumers now have a wider breadth of options with more 

competitive fares, facilitating more business travel domestically and internationally. 

In tum, this grows our economy while creating jobs based here in the U.S. 

Given these benefits, we want to ensure that NAI's application is consistent 

with the U.S-EU Open Skies Agreement. In 2007, an amendment to the U.S-EU 

Open Skies Agreement was signed, underlining all parties' commitment to high 

labor standards and robust employment protections. New language contained in 

Article 17 bis states "The opportunities created by the Agreement are not intended to 

undermine labour standards or the labour-related rights and principles contained in 

the Parties' respective laws." This iterates a U.S. commitment to maintain high 

standards of labor laws across the aviation industry, and is in compliance with the 

DOT's public interest obligations. 

Specifically, NAI is currently seeking to provide new trans-Atlantic service 

between the U.S. and EU operating as an Irish air carrier. However, NAI's parent 

company is based in Norway, which is not an EU member nation, NAI itself is 

owned by Norwegian citizens, and the airline is not currently planning to operate any 

flights using Irish airports. In addition, we understand that NAI will contract part of 

its workforce through a recruitment company based in Singapore, raising questions 

regarding the employment protections those workers will receive. We believe 

competition in the market is important, but do not wish to see it come at the expense 

of U.S. jobs. 

s 10-140428-026 PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER 

~II 
As DOT continues to review NAI' s application for an exemption and foreign 

air carrier permit, we urge you to ensure that U.S. and European air carriers are 

competing on a level playing field. Upholding the high labor standards contained in 

the U.S-EU Open Skies Agreement is of the utmost importance, benefitting workers 

on both sides of the Atlantic. Thank you for your consideration ofthese important 

issues. 

Sincerely, 

Q~ (JJ;t,JA 

Diana DeGette 

MEMBER OF CONGRESS 

s 10-140428-026