THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION WASHINGTON, D
.C

. 20590

The Honorable Lynn A. Westmoreland U.S
. House ofRepresentatives 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 ofinterested 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 ofthe pleadings filed on the record before we reach a determination in this matter. As is our standard practice, I am placing a copy ofyour letter and my response in Docket DOT-OST -2013-0204, as a contact outside the record ofthis case. You may track the progress ofthis 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. FoxxLYNN A. W ESTMORELAN D 3RD DISTRICT, GEORGIA WASHINGTON OFFICE : 2433 RAYBURN H OUSE OrFICE BUILDING (202) 225-5901
DISTRICT OFFICE : 1 601 EAST H IGHWAY 34 SUITE 8 N EWNAN, GA 30265

(770) 683-2033 DEPUTY WHIP

February 10, 2014 

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### i3CC 20515-1003

The Honorable Anthony Foxx Secretary U.S. Department ofTransportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590 Dear Secretary Foxx: COMMITTEES: FINANCIAL SERVICES SUBCOMMITTEE ON f iNANCIAl I NSTITUTIONS AND C ONSUMER CREDIT SUOCOMMilTEE O N H OUSING AND INSURANCE SUBCOMMIITEE ON CAPITAL MARKETS AND

GOVERNMENT SPONSOR[D E NTERPRISE HOUSE PERMAN ENT 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 ofthis 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 itselfin the application as "a foreign carrier ofIreland." Furthermore, the application itselfcontains little information about the airline or its plans and the airline appears to be part ofthe corporate family ofanother low-cost carrier, Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS)
. In fact, the CEO ofNAI in the application (Asgeir Nyseth) is also the ChiefOperating 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 ofaircrew 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
.


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### With that in mind, I hope you will reject this misguided application and thank you for your consideration ofthis critical matter. )



### Member ofCongress

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