THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20590 

The Honorable Lynn A. Westmoreland 

U.S. House of Representatives 

Washington, DC 20515 

Dear Congressman Westmoreland: 

April 04, 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. 

Sincerely, 

Anthony R. Foxx 
LYNN A. WESTMORELAND 

3RD DISTRICT, GEORGIA 

WASHINGTON OFFICE: 

2433 RAYBURN HOUSE OrFICE BUILDING 

(202) 225-5901 

DISTRICT OFFICE: 

1601 EAST HIGHWAY 34 

SUITE 8 

NEWNAN, GA 30265 

(770) 683-2033 

DEPUTY WHIP 

February 10, 2014 

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['[JasfJington, i3CC 20515-1003 

The Honorable Anthony Foxx 

Secretary 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

Dear Secretary Foxx: 

COMMITTEES: 

FINANCIAL SERVICES 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON f iNANCIAl INSTITUTIONS 

AND CONSUMER CREDIT 

SUOCOMMilTEE ON H OUSING AND INSURANCE 

SUBCOMMIITEE ON CAPITAL MARKETS AND 

GOVERNMENT SPONSOR[D ENTERPRISE 

HOUSE PERMANENT SELECT 

COMMITIEE ON INTELLIGENCE 

CttAIRMAN, S uocOMMIITH ON OVERSIGHT 

I write today to express my concerns regarding the application by Norwegian Air 

International Limited (NAI), to operate into the U.S. as a foreign air carrier, which is pending 

before your Department. Approval of this application would not be in the public interest. 

The application submitted by NAI proposes a global outsourcing business which will 

result in a severe competitive disadvantage for U.S. airlines and their employees. In fact, while 

this airline will bear the name ''Norwegian", it describes itself in the application as "a foreign 

carrier of Ireland." Furthermore, the application itself contains little information about the 

airline or its plans and the airline appears to be part of the corporate family of another low-cost 

carrier, Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS). In fact, the CEO ofNAI in the application (Asgeir 

Nyseth) is also the Chief Operating Officer ofNAS, and NAI is seeking an operating license 

from Irish aviation authorities, a step that NAS previously signaled it would take. 

NAS has stated that to conduct its new long-haul operations it will seek to register its 

aircraft and receive an air operator's certificate from a European Union country whose labor Jaws 

will allow outsourcing of aircrew beyond the EU. NASINAI has chosen Ireland and stated that it 

plans to operate this Irish subsidiary-registered aircraft to fly from Norway and other EU points 

to the United States. These flights will be operated by outsourced aircrew, based in Southeast 

Asia, under individual employment contracts governed by Singapore law. It is clear that NAS 

intends to use NAI as its Irish affiliate to bring its plan to fruition. 

It is obvious that this business model is designed expressly to undermine fair labor laws 

and working conditions, and I am confident that it will put U.S. carriers, who have to compete 

against it, at a competitive disadvantage. Approval ofNAI's application for authority would be 

inconsistent with the Congressionally-established public interest as set forth in aviation statutes 

and runs contrary to the current EU-U.S. Air Transport Agreement. Giving foreign airlines an 

unfair advantage over U.S. carriers, and allowing those foreign airlines to ignore various laws 

intended for safety and a level playing field is not what our airline industry needs to remain 

competitive. 

s 1 0-140219-012 PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER 
With that in mind, I hope you will reject this misguided application and thank you for 

your consideration ofthis critical matter. 

) 

Member of Congress 

2 

s 10-140219-012