L\ 

Assistant Secretary U.S. Deportment 

of Transportation 

Office of the Secretary March 25, 2010 

of Transportation 

The Honorable James E. Mayo 


Mayor ofMonroe 


Monroe, LA 71210 


Dear Mayor Mayo: 

Thank you for your letter of March 9 supporting the application for antitrust immunity filed by 

American Airlines and Japan Airlines. I am responding on behalf of Secretary LaHood. 

As you may know, the applicants-members of the oneworld Alliance-are seeking antitrust 

immunity to closely coordinate flights between the United States and Asia. According to the 

application, the alliance partners plan to launch a joint venture for conveyance oftranspacific 

traffic. 

The application is administered in a public docket, which ensures that interested parties have the 

opportunity to comment. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) will evaluate the 

application according to rigorous statutory standards, beginning with a review of the record to 

determine if it is su~stantially complete. Decisions on the @plication are made in .consultation 

with the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division following a thorough analysis of 

competitive factors. As this matter is now pending, I hope you understand that I cannot 

comment onthe merits of the application. I can assure you, however, that DOT will give full 

and fair consideration to the application as well as (!,(jmments filed in the docket. 

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

DOT-OST-2010-0059 as a contact outside the record in this matter. I appreciate your interest in 

this proceeding. 

Sincerely yours, 

Susan L. Kurland 


Assistant Secretl¥'Y 


for Aviation and International Affairs 

S 10-1003 15-043 


OFFICE OF THE MAYOR 

JAMBS E. MAYO 

MAYOR March 9,2010 318-329-2310 

POST OFFICE BOX 123 

MONROE. LOUISIANA 71210 

The Honorable Raymond H. LaHood 

Secretary 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

J200 New Jersey Ave, SE 

" Washington, DC 20590 

Docket DOT-OST-2010"--' 

bear Mr. Secretary: 

Thank you for the opportunity to express my support for the application for antitrust 

immunity and proposed joint business agreement filed by American Airlines and Japan 

,K t, Airlines. The proposed alliance between these two airlines is vital for oDeworld to 

compete effectively with the Star and SkyTeam· alliance. This increased interal1iance 

,,," ,.~colXlpetition will in tum enhance the benefits of the Department's Open Skies policy ­

flfst,_by solidifying U.S.-Japan Open Skies, then by serving as a foundation for further 

liberaHzation across Asia. 

. After a thorough review, I encourage the Department of Transportation t~ approve this 

):lPplication as it would enable these oneworld alliance airlines to work closely together to 

deliver highly competitive air transportation services. Approval for AAlJAL alliance will 

have a positive impact on air travel by offering customers more service, scheduling and 

pricing options and will help to ensure that customers continue' to benefit from having 

three competitive air alliances to choose from. 

I urge you to quickly approve this application. 

+:t.~cf James E. Mayo 

Mayor