S I 0-100405-005 


,u.s. p'ep'artm~'.mf .. . Assistant Secretary 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

, ·~-,-,()n~pnsp~a!jon_ . WashlnglOn, DC 20590 

Office of the Secretary 
 of Transportation 


May 20, 2010 

Ihe Honorable Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon 


. Governor of Missouri. ' 


Jefferson Cit)', MO 65102 


Dear Governor Nixon: 

Thank you for your Ielitempf),March 12 and March 26 to Secretary LaHood supporting the 

application for antitrust'iriununity filed by American Airlines and Japan Airlines.· 

As you may know, the applicants-members ofthe 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 transpacific 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, begitming with a review ofthe record to 

determitle if it is substantially complete. Decisions on the application are made in consultation ' 

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

'c~ve fa,90rs. As this matter is now pending, I'm sure you understand that the Department 

~'~cannot comment on the merits. of the application. I can assure you, however, that DOT will give 

'full and fair consideration to the application 3$ well as any comments filed in the docket. 

.. 

... 

~ ~s isour normal practice, lam placing a copy of your lett.er and this response in Docket 

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

. d. 'this proceeding . 

Sincerely yours, 

Susan L. Kurland 

Assistant Secr~tary for 

Aviation and International Affairs 
S I 0-1 003 19-013 


GOVERNOR OF MISSOURI 

JEJ)'FEHSON GITY 

"" JERBMlABW.tJAYlN1XON P.O. Box 720 aoVllBNOB· 65102 (1573) 7151-32ee 

March 12,2010 

The Honorable Frank H. LaHood 

Secretary 

Uis. Department ofTransportation 


1200 New Jersey Ave., SE 


Washington, DC 20590 

RE: DocketDOT-OST-201~ 

Dear Mr. Secretary: . 

I write to encourage that you approve the pending application for antitrust 

immunity o~ United States-Japan operations filed by American Airlines and Japan 

Airlines.'·· 

Approval of this application by the U.S. Department of Transportation will enable 

these operat(,)rs to c(')ordinate flight schedqles, fares and services, and will facilitate more 

aggressive competition on routes between the U.S. and Japan. Notably, the SkyTeam 

Alliance accounts for29.9 percent ofall U.S.:-Japan bookings, and Star 28 percent. In 

contrast,today American Airlines alone carries just 6.3 percent of all U.S.-Japan 

passengers. Permitting American Airlines and Japan Airlines to more closely coordinate 

will add competitive heft to the oneworld alliance and is essential to effective 

implementation ofa new U.S.-Japan Open Skies agreement. 

I strongly urge you to approve the pending application. 

www.governor.mo.gov 
, l 

S 10-100405-005 


GOYE11NOll OpMISSOURI 

,JEI~l"EHSON GITY 


J/!JlEMfAU W.(JAy'JNIXUN 
 P.O,Box 7~O 

O()VlmNOlt .'''' " (::S5102 (01::'~' 701-1.1::1C::: 

March 26. 201 0 

The Honorable Raymond H. LaHood 


Secretnry 


U.S. Department of Transportation 


]200 New .Jersey Ave. SE 


Washington, DC 20590 


Docket DOT·QST -2010,....-. 


Dear Mr. Secretary: 

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

immunity and proposed joint business agreement fnietny A:fnkti£lUl.t\jrlines (AA) and Japan 

Airlines_(JAL). The proposed alliance betwcenthese two airlines is vital tal oneworld to 

compete-effectively with the Star and SkyTeam alliance. This increased intcralliance competition 

will in ttml. enhance the benefits of the Department's Open Skies policy - first by solidifying 

U.S.~JapanOpetl SkiesJ then by serving as a foundation for further Iiberali;zation across Asia. . ", ~ ," 

After a thorough review, I encourage the Department ofTransportation to approve this 

application us it would cnuble these oneworld allirulce airlines to work closely together to deliver 

highly competitive ai.rtransportntion services. Approval for AAiJAL alliance \"till have a 

. positive impact on air lrayel by offering customers more service, scheduling and pricingoptions 

and win help to ensure that CU$tomers continue to benefit from having three competitive air 

alliances to choose from. 

I urge you to quickly approve this application. 

. ,. W\\w.gon:rJH .. ,r.mo.g()\·