BEFORE THE 

 DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

 WASHINGTON, D. C. 

--------------------------------------------- 

Application of : 

 : 

 DELTA AIR LINES, INC. : DOT-OST-2010- 

 : 0285 

for allocation of U.S.-China frequencies : 

(Tokyo-Guangzhou and Detroit-Beijing) : 

--------------------------------------------- 

ANSWER OF AMERICAN AIRLINES, INC. 

 

Communications with respect to this document should be sent to: 

VIRASB VAHIDI WILLIAM K. RIS, JR. 

Senior Vice President - Senior Vice President - 

Marketing and Planning Government Affairs 

and Chief Commercial Officer American Airlines, Inc. 

American Airlines, Inc. 1101 17th Street, N.W. 

P.O. Box 619616, MD 5634 Washington, D.C. 20036 

DFW Airport, Texas 75161 

 CARL B. NELSON 

KENJI C. HASHIMOTO Associate General Counsel 

Vice President – Strategic American Airlines, Inc. 

Alliances 1101 17th Street, N.W. 

American Airlines, Inc. Washington, D.C. 20036 

P.O. Box 619616, MD 5635 (202) 4969-5647 

DFW Airport, Texas 75261 carl.nelson@aa.com 

 

ROBERT A. WIRICK 

Director, Regulatory Affairs 

American Airlines, Inc. 

P.O. Box 619616, MD 5635 

DFW Airport, Texas 75261 

(817) 963-0394 

robert.wirick@aa.com 

November 17, 2010 
BEFORE THE 

 DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

 WASHINGTON, D. C. 

--------------------------------------------- 

Application of : 

 : 

 DELTA AIR LINES, INC. : DOT-OST-2010- 

 : 0285 

for allocation of U.S.-China frequencies : 

(Tokyo-Guangzhou and Detroit-Beijing) : 

--------------------------------------------- 

ANSWER OF AMERICAN AIRLINES, INC. 

 American Airlines, Inc. hereby answers the application 

submitted by Delta Air Lines, Inc. on November 16, 2010, requesting 12 of the 14 U.S.-China weekly combination frequencies in the unallocated pool. Delta proposes daily TokyoGuangzhou service starting April 6, 2011 and five-times-a-week 

Detroit-Beijing service starting July 1, 2011. 

 Delta would virtually empty the unallocated pool, leaving only two frequencies remaining. Yet as Delta states in 

footnote 2 (p. 3), it is now sitting on seven dormant U.S.-

China frequencies, two for Seattle-Beijing and five for 

Atlanta-Shanghai. Delta should seek to re-assign these seven 

dormant frequencies to its proposed Guangzhou and Beijing 

service before turning to the unallocated pool.1

 

1

 Delta’s Atlanta-Shanghai frequencies are route specific and 

would require DOT approval for use on another city-pair. The 

Seattle-Beijing frequencies are not route specific. See Order 

2004-7-23, July 23, 2004, p. 4, allocating frequencies to 

Northwest to serve “between the U.S. and China.” 
- 2 – 

 We do not object to an award of five frequencies from 

the pool, but we strongly oppose Delta’s bid to continue 

warehousing seven dormant frequencies, as that could have a 

chilling effect on future plans of other carriers to serve 

China. The fact that additional frequencies become available 

in 2011 and 2012 under the U.S.-China aviation agreement is 

immaterial. As a matter of sound principle, carriers should 

not be granted new frequencies from the unallocated pool when 

they hold dormant frequencies they are not using. 

 Delta (including Northwest) already holds 35 weekly 

U.S.-China frequencies, and by its application here is seeking 

12 more, for a total of 47. American holds 21. If Delta is 

allowed to retain seven dormant frequencies while gaining 12 

new ones, U.S. carriers wishing to expand their service to 

China could have to go through Delta and seek to dislodge its 

dormant cache instead of applying to the unallocated pool. 

 In footnote 2, Delta asserts that “it is in the public 

interest to allow Delta to continue to hold the China frequencies allocated for Seattle-Beijing and Atlanta-Shanghai. In 

these circumstances, neither Seattle nor Atlanta should be 

stripped of China frequencies that are necessary to fund the 

future expansion and potential for daily service at those important gateways.” Note that Delta has no proposal to actually 

use the frequencies, but merely cites their “potential.” 
- 3 - 

 The seven dormant frequencies Delta wants to keep have 

long been on ice. The frequencies now tagged for SeattleBeijing were initially granted to Northwest for DetroitGuangzhou service in 2004, and the frequencies for AtlantaShanghai were awarded to Delta in 2007. See Order 2004-7-23, 

July 23, 2004; 2007/2008/2009 U.S.-China Air Services and 

Combination Frequency Allocation Proceeding, Order 2007-9-25, 

September 25, 2007. 

 These frequencies have been subject to a succession of 

dormancy waivers, the latest of which extend through June 15, 

2011 (Seattle-Beijing) and September 1, 2011 (AtlantaShanghai). See Delta motion of April 21, 2010, approved under 

assigned authority, May 20, 2010 (DOT-OST-2004-18469 and DOTOST-2007-28567). In its April motion for extended dormancy 

waivers until mid to late 2011, Delta was careful to make no 

promises to operate the frequencies, but instead only vaguely 

mentioned “the potential future expansion of Seattle-Beijing” 

flights to daily and “the potential restoration of AtlantaShanghai nonstop service” (p. 2). 
- 4 - 

 In these circumstances, if Delta wishes to increase its 

service to China with new flights to Guangzhou and Beijing, it 

should be required to take its seven dormant frequencies off 

the shelf and put them to use. Frequencies in the unallocated 

pool should be preserved for carriers to seek in the future, 

free from any claim that unused frequencies in the hands of a 

competitor cannot be reassigned because they are tied up by an 

extended dormancy waiver. See Denial of Dormancy Waiver to 

Continental (U.S.-Brazil/Ecuador/Japan), Notice of Action 

Taken, DOT-OST-2002-11615, December 10, 2002 (“we find that the 

public interest would be best served by reassigning these 

frequencies to the unallocated pool of frequencies so that 

whenever Continental or another carrier has firm plans to use 

them, it may apply for the frequencies accordingly”); Denial of 

Dormancy Waiver to Continental Micronesia (U.S.-Japan), Notice 

of Action Taken, DOT-OST-2002-11614, September 30, 2002 (same); 

Denial of Dormancy Waiver to Delta (U.S.-Japan), Notice of 

Action Taken, DOT-OST-2002-11706, September 30, 2002 (same). 
- 5 - 

CONCLUSION

 Delta’s bid to take 12 new U.S.-China frequencies from 

the unallocated pool, while continuing to hold seven dormant 

ones, should be denied. American does not object to an award 

of five frequencies from the pool. 

 Respectfully submitted, 

 

 _______________________ 

 CARL B. NELSON 

 Associate General Counsel 

 American Airlines, Inc. 

November 17, 2010 
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

 

 I hereby certify that I have this day served the foregoing 

document by email on the following persons: 

 

sascha.vanderbellen@delta.com jhill@dlalaw.com 

scott.mcclain@delta.com bill@mietuslaw.com 

sametta.c.barnett@delta.com mgoldman@sgbdc.com 

kquinn@pillsburywinthrop.com rsilverberg@sgbdc.com 

bkeiner@crowell.com dhainbach@ggh-airlaw.com 

mrosia@crowell.com mcmillin@woa.com 

bruce.rabinovitz@wilmerhale.com eskraft@jamhoff.com 

jeffrey.manley@united.com dpdean@jamhoff.com 

bob.kneisley@wnco.com dkirstein@yklaw.com 

robert.land@jetblue.com jyoung@yklaw.com 

msinick@ssd.com donna.kooperstein@usdoj.gov 

cdonley@ssd.com dwight.moore@ustranscom.mil 

gbleopard@fedex.com john.allen@faa.gov 

dvaughan@kelleydrye.com byerlyjr@state.gov 

kevin.montgomery@polaraircargo.com recohn@hhlaw.com 

jrichardson@johnlrichardson.com cjsimpson@zsrlaw.com 

lhalloway@crowell.com pmurphy@lopmurphy.com 

efaberman@wileyrein.com lachter@starpower.net 

mroller@rollerbauer.com anita.mosner@hklaw.com 

howard.kass@usairways.com rpommer@atlasair.com 

benjamin.slocum@usairways.com gmurphy@crowell.com 

sophy.chen@hklaw.com russell.bailey@alpa.org 

david.heffernan@wilmerhale.com esahr@eckertseamons.com 

 

 

 _______________________________ 

 CARL B. NELSON 

November 17, 2010