### BEFORE THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION WASHINGTON, D.C.
Request of: ) ) Silk Way West Airlines ) Docket OST-2014-0111 ) to amend issued exemption authority and ) pending application for a foreign air carrier permit ) and motionto expedite processing ) (Baku-Hong Kong-Chicago-New York-Luxemburg-Baku) )



### ANSWER OF NATIONAL AIRLINES TO SILKWAY WEST AIRLINES' MOTION FORLEAVE TO FILE MOTION TO EXPEDITE Communications with respect to this document should be sent to: Edward M. Davidson President National Air Cargo Group, Inc., d/b/aNational Airlines 5955 T. G. Lee Blvd Suite 500 Orlando, FL 32822

March 11,2015 Pierre Murphy Law Offices ofPierre Murphy 1200 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W. Suite 590 Washington, D.C. 20036 Telephone: (202) 776-3980 Facsimile: (202) 776-3975 Email: pmurphy@lopmurphy.com Attorney for National Air Cargo Group, Inc. d/b/a National Airlines

### BEFORE THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION WASHINGTON, D.C.
Request of: ) ) ) ) ) ) Silk Way West Airlines to amend issued exemption authority and pending application for a foreign air carrier permit and motion to expedite processing ) (Baku-Hong Kong-Chicago-New York-Luxemburg-Baku) ) Docket OST-2014-0111



### ANSWER OF NATIONAL AIRLINES TO SILKWAY WEST AIRLINES' MOTION FORLEAVE TO FILE MOTION TO EXPEDITE In what is now its seventh pleading filed in this docket, 1 Silk Way West Airlines ("SWW") now files a Motionto file a Motion
.2

For the reasons set forth below, National Airlines3 objects to this latest SWW Motion and the reliefsought.



### 1. SWW's original June 23, 2014 application for Azerbaijan-U.S. scheduled allcargo rights was unopposed. However, in its August 15,2014 action granting exemption authority and issuing an Order to Show Cause for foreign air carrier permit authority, the

See: SWW FACP & Exemption Application, June 23,2014 (Azerbaijan-US Sked & Charters); SWW Amendment, October 8, 201 (7th Freedom Sked); SWW Response to Objections, October 24, 2014; SWW consolidated Reply, November 5, 2014; SWW Response to Surreply, December 1, 2014; SWW Response to Surreply, January 13, 2015.
2 See: SWWMotion for Leave to File and Motion to Expedite Request to Amend Authority, March 4, 2015. 3 National Air Cargo Group, Inc., d/b/a National Airlines
.

### ANSWER OF NATIONAL AIRLINES Department specifically limited SWW authority to 3rd;4th Freedom operations as opposed to the broader authority SWW had requested. See: DOT Order 2014-8-15, at 2, n.4 issued August 15, 2014. (FACP Show Cause Order and Order Granting Exemption.) This action was entirely consistent with Departmentpolicy in such situations.

2. Then approximately 2 months later, SWW subsequently filed an October 8, 2014 pleading seeking: (i) to amend the exemption and pending FACP applicationbyrequesting**~** Freedom Baku-Hong Kong-Chicago-New York-Luxembourg-Baku scheduled all-cargo rights; and 

### (ii) to "expedite processing". 

### Itwas only then that U.S. carriers filed objections to the extraordinarily broad scheduled rights sought and each demonstrated that there was a total absence ofcomity and reciprocity with Azerbaijan as regards U.S. carrier operations inBaku.

3. Then after the October 8, 2014 SWW amendment and U.S. carrier objections thereto filed inthis docket, the Department onNovember 13, 2014 issued a Final Ordermaking final the August 15, 2014 Show Cause Order granting 3rd;4th Freedomrights. See: Order 2014- 11-11 (Final Order). In Order 2014-11-11, the Department made clear that to the extentnot acted upon, it dismissed all remaining requests for reliefinthis docket (DOT-OST-2014-0111). Notwithstanding Order 2014-11-11, by a December 1, 2014 pleading, SWW then initiated yet another round ofresponses, surreplies, etc., ofwhich SWW's March 4, 2014 filing is butthe latest.

4. In its latest pleading, SWWraises nothing new. A lack ofcomity and reciprocity for U.S. carrier treatment continues to exist, and Azerbaijan continues to demonstrate

2

### ANSWER OF NATIONAL AIRLINES protectionism. U.S. carriers continue to find the costs ofoperations to Bakuto be uneconomical unless, ofcourse, a carrier has contracted with a Silk Way company, in which case costs are significantly lower. As has been demonstrated, U.S. carriers are unable to compete in such a restrictive and anticompetitive environment.
WHEREFORE, National Airlines submits that the latest Motionto File a Motion of SWW be denied.

March 11, 2015

3

# A erre hy aw 0 tees ofPierre Murphy 1200 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W. Suite 590 Washington, D.C. 20036 Telephone: (202) 776-3980 Facsimile: (202) 776-3975 Email: pmurphy@lopmurphy.com Attorney for National Air Cargo Group, Inc. d/b/aNational AirlinesCERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that I have on this day served a copy ofthe foregoing document onthis 11th day ofMarch 2015 upon each ofthe following email addresses: gpwicks@wicks-group.com ekagrimes@wicks-group.com sascha.vanderbellen@delta.com chris.walker@delta.com dshort@fedex.com sllunsford@fedex.com nssparks@fedex.com gbleopard@fedex.com dheffeman@cozen.com enisson@nac.aero mwiegele@nac.aero kevin.montgomery@polaraircargo.com peter.beckett@polaraircargo.com dan.weiss@united.com pdoell@naca.cc robert.wirick@aa.com francis.heil@aa.com howard.kass@usairways.com benjamin.slocum@usairways.com rsilverberg@sgbdc.com .ijohnson@sgbdc.com jrichardson@johnlrichardson.com jcanny@amerijet.com john@mietuslaw.com rpommer@atlasair.com matwood@cozen.com nwallace@wallaceair.com agoerlich@ggh-airlaw.com dhainbach@ggh-airlaw.com rzerkel@lac.lynden.com gwhite@lac.lynden.com jdavis@lac.lynden.com TGillies@southemair.com anita.mosner@hklaw.com jennifer.nowak@hklaw.com dsmalls@ups.com slachter@cozen.com EngleTS@state.gov

Kristin K. Leake