BEFORE THE

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Application of

NORWEGIAN AIR INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

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

a foreign air carrier permit pursuant to 

49 U.S.C. § 41301 (U.S.-EU Open Skies)

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Docket DOT-OST-2013-0204

JOINT ANSWER OF DELTA AIR LINES, INC., UNITED AIRLINES, INC., and

AMERICAN AIRLINES, INC.

Communications with respect to this document should be addressed to:
Howard Kass

Vice President -- Regulatory Affairs

American Airlines, Inc. 

1401 H Street, NW

Washington, DC 20005

202-326-5153

Howard.Kass@aa.com

Robert A. Wirick

Managing Director, Regulatory and International 

Affairs 

American Airlines, Inc.

P.O. Box 619616, MD 5635

DFW Airport, Texas 75161

(817) 963-0394

robert.wirick@aa.com

Daniel A. Weiss

Managing Director – International

Affairs and Regulatory

UNITED AIRLINES, INC.

233 South Wacker Drive

10th Floor – HDQIZ

Chicago, IL 60606

(872) 825-6828

dan.weiss@united.com

Alexander Van der Bellen

Managing Director – Regulatory and International 

Affairs & Associate General Counsel

Christopher Walker, Regional Director –

Regulatory and International Affairs

DELTA AIR LINES, INC. 

1212 New York Avenue, N.W. 

Washington, D.C. 20005

(202) 842-4184

sascha.vanderbellen@delta.com

August 18, 2014
BEFORE THE

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Application of

NORWEGIAN AIR INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

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

a foreign air carrier permit pursuant to 

49 U.S.C. § 41301 (U.S.-EU Open Skies)

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Docket DOT-OST-2013-0204

JOINT ANSWER OF DELTA AIR LINES, INC., UNITED AIRLINES, INC., and

AMERICAN AIRLINES, INC. 

Delta, United, and American (the “Joint Carriers”) appreciate this opportunity to reply to 

the Notice that the Department filed on August 4 summarizing the EU Commission’s views on 

the application of Article 17 bis of the U.S.-EU Air Services Agreement to foreign carrier 

applications for operating authority. Consistent with the Department’s admonition, we confine 

our comments to the information contained in the Notice and incorporate here by reference the 

facts and arguments we have already advanced.

The Joint Carriers believe that no new information was developed in the Notice that 

would support the approval of NAI’s application. The essence of the Commission’s position is 

that Article 17 bis does not provide a basis for the Department to unilaterally deny NAI’s 

application. This argument ignores the salutary objective of Article 17 bis, which is to maintain

high labor and social standards in the transatlantic market, and to prohibit the establishment of 

flags of convenience that seek to evade labor protections and create an unfair competitive 

advantage. It also ignores the independent public interest standard that the Department must 

apply to certification requests. 
Norwegian Joint Reply

Page 2

The U.S.-EU agreement specifically acknowledged that the Department was not ceding

its authority to conduct its critical public interest review of airline certification requirements. As 

stated in paragraph 5 of the 2010 Memorandum of Consultations:

The delegations affirmed that the procedures for reciprocal recognition of regulatory 

determinations with regard to airline fitness and citizenship in the new Article 6 bis are 

not intended to modify the conditions prescribed under the laws and regulations normally 

applied by the Parties to the operation of international air transportation referred to in 

Article 4 of the Agreement. 

Furthermore, under Article 4, “the airline [must be] qualified to meet the conditions 

prescribed under the laws and regulations normally applied to the operation of international air 

transportation by the Party considering the application . . .” To be sure, the Department is 

obligated to recognize regulatory determinations of the other Party and act promptly on 

applications for certification approval. But, it is not a “rubber stamp.” Here, where there are 

legitimate reasons for concern, the U.S.-EU agreement provides for appropriate consultation 

processes. We note that one of the Department’s guiding policy principles under 49 USC 40101 

is to “encourag[e] fair wages and working conditions.” The Department is also directed by 

statute to strengthen “the competitive position of [U.S.] air carriers to at least ensure equality 

with foreign air carriers.” 49 U.S.C. §§ 40101(a)(15) and (e)(1). Clearly these policy mandates

are called into question by NAI’s unique and unprecedented attempt to evade the labor laws of 

Norway in order to achieve a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

NAI has filed for both Permit and Exemption relief. The Department should deny NAI an

exemption, which is a discretionary and special process available to expedite consideration 

under appropriate circumstances when the application is clearly in the public interest. 49 U.S.C. 

§ 40109. The denial would be without prejudice to later consideration of NAI’s permit 

application after sufficient facts are established and made available and time allotted for careful 

consideration from all Parties of this novel permit application. The need for exemption relief is 

further mitigated given that Norwegian is already operating to the United States via Norwegian 

Air Shuttle entity using 787s operated by its subsidiary Norwegian Long haul and leased B777s. 

With respect to Article 17 bis, its core objectives would be fatally undermined if the 

Department approved the NAI application. It would allow NAI to enter the U.S.-EU market by

establishing a de facto flag of convenience specifically designed to circumvent Norway’s labor 

protection laws. It would also allow NAI to import lower cost labor from outside the U.S and EU 

which would be deployed to compete directly, and in our view, unfairly in the transatlantic 

marketplace with U.S. and EU carriers that are subject to- and follow - stringent labor standards. 

The Department's summary notes that the U.S. Government requested the meeting with 

the Commission and in particular that Secretary Foxx sought the meeting in order to understand 

the views of DG MOVE on Article 17 of the Agreement. The summary also notes that Director 

Baldwin stated at the outset of the meeting that he was speaking only for officials of DG MOVE

and not for all the parties to the Agreement. Under these circumstances, it is clear that the 
Norwegian Joint Reply

Page 3

views obtained during the meeting with DG MOVE represent the position of DG MOVE only. To 

the extent that the views of the EU are relevant to decisions of the Department regarding the 

application of NAI, it would be necessary to understand the views of the remaining 34 parties to 

the Agreement before drawing any conclusions regarding the EU's position on Article 17 bis. 

For the foregoing reasons and for reasons set out in the Joint Carriers’ earlier filing, the 

Department should deny the NAI application.

Respectfully submitted,

/s/ Alexander Van der Bellen

Managing Director, Regulatory and 

International Affairs

 & Associate General Counsel

Delta Air Lines, Inc.

/s/ Howard Kass

Vice President -- Regulatory Affairs

American Airlines, Inc. 

/s/ Robert A. Wirick

Managing Director, Regulatory and 

International Affairs

American Airlines, Inc.

/s/ Dan Weiss

Managing Director – International Affairs and Regulatory

United Airlines, Inc. 
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

A copy of the foregoing Answer has been served this 18th day of August, 2014, upon the 

following persons via email:

romanow@pillsburylaw.com

peter.nelson@pillsburylaw.com

Russell.Bailey@alpa.org

steve.morrissey@united.com

dan.weiss@united.com

sascha.vanderbellen@delta.com

howard.kass@usairways.com

robert.wirick@aa.com

francis.heil@aa.com

rpommer@atlasair.com

mlbenge@zsrlaw.com

jesse.elliot@faa.gov

douglas.schwab@faa.gov

nicholas.tsokris@faa.gov

john.allen@faa.gov

anita.mosner@hklaw.com

jennifer.nowak@hklaw.com

nssparks@fedex.com

dberg@airlines.org

jcasey@airlines.org

paul.gretch@dot.gov

brian.hedberg@dot.gov

esta.rosenberg@dot.gov

brett.kruger@dot.gov

urskr@state.gov

CristinaSA@state.gov

eugene_alford@ita.doc.gov

info@airlineinfo.com