UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation on March 4, 2010



### NOTICE OF ACTION TAKE N -- DOCKET DOT-OST-2010-0008

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________ This serves as notice to the public of the action described below, taken by the Depa rtment official indicated (no additional confirming order will be issued in this matter).

Applicant: VRG LINHAS AEREAS S.A. d/b/a GOL (Gol) Date Filed: January 7, 2010

Relief requested: Exemption authority under 49 USC §40109 to permit Gol to engage in foreign air transportation of persons, property and mail to the extent necessary to display Am erican Airlines, Inc.’s AA* designator code on flights that it operates within Brazil. 1 2

If renewal, date and citation of last action: n/a

Applicant representative: Charles F. Donley II (202) 626-6840

DOT analyst: Thuy H. Cooper (202) 366-5423

Responsive pleadings: No answers were filed.

DISPOSITION

Action: Approved (subject to conditions, see belo w). Action date: March 4, 2010

Effective dates of exemption authority gran ted: March 4, 2010, through March 4, 2011

Basis for approval (bilateral agreement/reciprocity): Air Tr ansport Agreement between the United States and Brazil

Except to the extent exempted/waived, this authority is subj ect to the terms, conditions, a nd limitations indicated:

X Standard exemption conditions (attached)

Remarks: Based on the record in this case, we found that Gol is financially and operati onally qualified to perform the services authorized above. In addition, we found that Gol is substantially owned and effectiv ely controlled by citizens of

Brazil. 3 The carrier is properly licensed and has been authori zed by the Government of Brazil to perform the proposed services. In addition, the Federal Aviation Administration advised us that it knew of no reason why we should act unfavorably on the applicant’s request. We have verifi ed the applicant’s compliance with 14 CFR Parts 203 (Warsaw liability waiver), and 205 (insurance requirements).

Action taken by: Paul L. Gretch, Director

Office of International Aviation

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Under authority assigned by the Department in its regula tions, 14 CFR Part 385, we found that (1) our action was consistent with Department policy; (2) the applicant was qua lified to perform its proposed operations; (3) grant of the

1 Gol states that it will not sell seats in its name for travel to or from the United States and will not operate its aircraft t o any U.S. point. Gol further states that American will not sell trans portation in its name for travel in local Brazilian markets.

2 Gol and American have filed a separate application for a statement of authorization and an exemption, respectively, permitting them to implement their code-share arrangement. See Docket DOT-OST-2010-0009.

3 Gol is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligen tes S.A. (GLAI). GLAI is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and its shares are traded publicly. GLAI is majority owned by Fundo de Investimento em Partic pacaoes ASAS (FIPA), which holds 63.4% of GLAI’s equity. FIPA is owned by Brazilian citizens. The remaining shares are owned by Brazilian and other investors, none of whom own five percent or more of GLAI.authority was consistent with the public interest; and (4) grant of the authority would not constitute a major regulatory action under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975. To the extent not granted, we denied all requests in the referenced Docket. We may amend, modify , or revoke the authority granted in this Notice at any time without hearing at

our discretion.

Persons entitled to petition the Department for review of the action set forth in this Notice under the Department’s regulations, 14 CFR §385.30, may file their petitions within seven (7) days after the da te of issuance of this Notice. This action was effective when taken, and the filing of a petition for review will not alter such effectiveness.

An electronic version of this document is available on the World Wide Web at: http://www.regulations.govATTACHMENT A Foreign Carrier Exemption Conditions

In the conduct of the operations authorized , the foreign carrier applicant(s) shall:

(1) Not conduct any operations unless it holds a currently effective authorizati on from its homeland for such operations, and it has filed a copy of such authorization with the Department;

(2) Comply with all applicable requirements of the Fe deral Aviation Administration, the Transportation Security Administration, and with all applicable U.S. Government requirements concerning security, including, but not limited to, 14 CFR Parts 129, 91, and 36 a nd 49 CFR Part 1546 or 1550, as applicable. To assure compliance with all applicable U.S. Government requirements concerning security, the holde r shall, before commencing any new service (including charter flights) from a foreign airport that would be the holde r’s last point of departure for the United States, contact its International Industry Representative (IIR) (formerly referred to as International Principal Security Inspector) to advise the IIR of its plans and to find out whether the Transportati on Security Administration has determined that security is adequate to allow such airport(s) to be served;

(3) Comply with the requirements for minimum insurance coverage contained in 14 CFR Part 205, and, prior to the commencement of any operations under this authority, file ev idence of such coverage, in the form of a completed OST Form 6411, with the Federal Aviation Administration’s Pr ogram Management Branch (AFS-260), Flight Standards Service (any changes to, or termination of, insu rance also shall be filed with that office);

(4) Not operate aircraft under this authority unless it complies with operational safety requirements at least equivalent to Annex 6 of the Chicago Convention;

(5) Conform to the airworthiness and airman competency requ irements of its Government for international air services;

(6) Except as specifically exempted or otherwise provided for in a Department Order, comply with the requirements of 14 CFR Part 203, concerning waiver of Warsaw Convention liability limits and defenses;

(7) Agree that operations under this au thority constitute a waiver of sovereign immunity, for the purposes of 28 U.S.C. 1605(a), but only with respect to those actions or proceedings instituted against it in any court or other tribunal in the United States that are: (a) based on its operations in inte rnational air transportation that, according to the contract of carriage, include a point in the United States as a point of orig in, point of destination, or agreed stopping place, or for which the contract of carriage was purchased in the United States; or (b) based on a claim under any international agreement or treaty cognizable in any court or other tribunal of the United St ates. In this condition, the term "international air transportation" means "international trans portation" as defined by the Warsaw Convention, except that all States shall be considered to be High Contr acting Parties for the purpose of this definition;

(8) Except as specifically authorized by the Department, originate or terminate all flights to/from the United States in its homeland;

(9) Comply with the requirements of 14 CFR Part 217, con cerning the reporting of scheduled, nonscheduled, and charter data;

(10) If charter operations are authorized, except as otherwise pr ovided in the applicable aviation agreement, comply with the Department's rules governing charters (including 14 CFR Parts 212 and 380); and

(11) Comply with such other reasonable terms, conditions, and limitations required by the public interest as may be prescribed by the Department, with all applicable orders or re gulations of other U.S. agenci es and courts, and with all applicable laws of the United States.

This authority shall not be effective during any period when the holder is not in compliance with the conditions imposed above. Moreover, this authority cannot be sold or otherwi se transferred without explicit Department approval under Title

49 of the U.S. Code.

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