UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation on November 18, 2011

NOTICE OF ACTION TAKEN -- DOCKET DOT-OST-2011-0168 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This serves as notice to the public of the action described below, taken by the Department official indicated (no 

additional confirming order will be issued in this matter).

Joint Applicants: TACA INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES, S.A. (TACA) and LINEAS AEREAS 

COSTARRICENSES, S.A. (LACSA) 

Applicant: AEROVIAS DEL CONTINENTE AMERICANO S.A. (Avianca) 

Date Filed: September 7, 2011

Relief requested: 

1) Exemption under 49 USC §40109 to the extent necessary to permit Avianca to engage in scheduled foreign air 

transportation of persons, property, and mail from points behind Colombia, via Colombia and intermediate points, on 

the one hand, and Chicago; Dallas/Ft. Worth; Houston; Los Angeles; New York; Washington, D.C.; Orlando; and 

Miami, on the other hand, pursuant to its code-share agreement with TACA and LACSA; and

2) Blanket statements of authorization under 14 CFR Part 212 for an indefinite period to permit TACA and LACSA to 

display the (AV*) designator code of Avianca on flights operated by TACA and LACSA between points in Central 

America and points in the United States, for the purpose of transporting Avianca’s Colombia-U.S. traffic.1 2

Applicant representatives: Charles F. Donley II and Edward W. Sauer, 202-626-6840 (TACA and LACSA)

 Richard D. Mathias and David M. Endersbee, 202-973-7917 (Avianca)

DOT analyst: Robert J. Finamore, 202-366-2405

Responsive pleadings: None.

DISPOSITION

Action: Approved. Action date: November 18, 2011

Effective dates of authority granted: The exemption authority granted to Avianca is effective November 18, 2011,

through November 18, 2012. The statements of authorization granted to TACA and LACSA are effective November

18, 2011, and shall remain in effect for an indefinite period, subject to conditions.

Basis for approval (bilateral agreement/reciprocity): U.S.-Colombia, U.S.-El Salvador, and U.S.-Costa Rica Air 

Transport Agreements.

Except to the extent exempted/waived, this authority is subject to the terms, conditions, and limitations of our standard 

exemption conditions (attached as Appendix A) and code-share conditions (attached as Appendix B).

Special conditions/Remarks: The exemption authority granted to Avianca is limited to operations conducted only on a 

code-share basis with TACA and/or LACSA, on flights operated by TACA and/or LACSA

Action taken by: Paul L. Gretch, Director, Office of International Aviation

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

 1 TACA and LACSA state that no local Central America-U.S. traffic will be transported under Avianca’s code under this 

code-share arrangement. 2 Initial code-share markets are attached as Appendix C.
Under authority assigned by the Department in its regulations, 14 CFR Part 385, we found that (1) our action was consistent with 

Department policy; (2) the applicants were qualified to perform the proposed operations; (3) grant of the 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/deferred/dismissed, 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 date 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.gov
Appendix 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 authorization 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 Federal 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 and 49 CFR Part 1546 or 1550, as applicable. To assure compliance with all 

applicable U.S. Government requirements concerning security, the holder shall, before commencing any new service 

(including charter flights) from a foreign airport that would be the holder’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 Transportation 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 evidence of such coverage, in the form of a completed OST 

Form 6411, with the Federal Aviation Administration’s Program Management Branch (AFS-260), Flight Standards 

Service (any changes to, or termination of, insurance 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 requirements 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 authority 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 international air transportation that, according to the contract of 

carriage, include a point in the United States as a point of origin, 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 States. In this condition, the term 

"international air transportation" means "international transportation" as defined by the Warsaw Convention, except 

that all States shall be considered to be High Contracting 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, concerning the reporting of scheduled, nonscheduled, and 

charter data;

(10) If charter operations are authorized, except as otherwise provided 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 regulations of other U.S. agencies 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 otherwise transferred without explicit Department approval 

under Title 49 of the U.S. Code.

12/2007
Appendix B

The code-share operations authorized here are subject to the following conditions:

(a) The statement of authorization will remain in effect only as long as (i) TACA, LACSA, and Avianca continue to 

hold the necessary underlying authority to operate the code-share services at issue, and (ii) the code-share agreement 

providing for the code-share operations remains in effect. 

(b) TACA, LACSA and/or Avianca, as appropriate, must notify the Department no later than 30 days before they 

begin any new code-share service under the code-share services authorized here. Such notice shall identify the 

market(s) to be served, which carrier will be operating the aircraft in the code-share market added, and the date on 

which the service will begin. Such notice should be filed in Docket DOT-OST-2011-0168.

(c) TACA, LACSA and/or Avianca, as appropriate, must promptly notify the Department if the code-share agreement 

providing for the code-share operations is no longer effective or if the carriers decide to cease operating all or a portion 

of the approved code-share services. Such notice should be filed in Docket DOT-OST-2011-0168.

1

(d) The code-sharing operations conducted under this authority must comply with 14 C.F.R. Part 257 and with any 

amendments to the Department’s regulations concerning code-share arrangements that may be adopted. 

Notwithstanding any provisions in the contract between the carriers, our approval here is expressly conditioned upon 

the requirements that the subject foreign air transportation be sold in the name of the carrier holding out such service in 

computer reservation systems and elsewhere; that the carrier selling such transportation (i.e., the carrier shown on the 

ticket) accept responsibility for the entirety of the code-share journey for all obligations established in its contract of 

carriage with the passenger; and that the passenger liability of the operating carrier be unaffected.

(e) The authority granted here is specifically conditioned so that neither TACA, LACSA, nor Avianca shall 

give any force or effect to any contractual provisions between themselves that are contrary to these conditions.

We may amend, modify, or revoke this authority at any time without hearing, at our discretion.

 1 We expect this notification to be received within ten (10) days after such non-effectiveness or of such decision.
Appendix C