BEFORE THE

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRAN S PORTATION

WASHINGTON D

. C

.

________________________________ _____ _____ )

Application of )

)

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS, INC. )

) Docket No. OST

- 201 3

- For an exemption pursuant to 49 U.S.C § 40109 )

to engage in foreign scheduled air transportation )

of persons, property and mail between Austin

, )

Texas and Cabo San Lucas

, Mexico

. (AUS

- SJD)

. )

_____________________________________ _____ )

APPLICATION OF AIRTRAN AIRWAY S, INC

.

Communications with respect to this document should be sent to:

Bob Jordan Robert W. Kneisley

President Associate General Counsel

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS, INC. Leslie C. Abbott

9955 AirTran Boulevard Senior Attorney

Orlando, FL 32827 SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.

1901 L Street, N.W. , Suite 640

Washington, D.C. 20036

bob.kneisley@wnco.com

(202) 263

- 6284

January 1 6 , 201 31 BEFORE THE

U.S. DEPAR TMENT OF TRAN S PORTATION

WASHINGTON D

. C

.

________________________________ _____ _____ )

Application of )

)

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS, INC. )

) Docket No. OST

- 2013

- For an exemption pursuant to 49 U.S.C § 40109 )

to engage in foreign scheduled air transportation )

of persons, property and mail between Austin

, )

Texas and Cabo San Lucas

, Mexico (AUS

- SJD)

. )

_____________________________________ _____ )

APPLICATION OF AIRTRAN AIRWAYS, INC

.

Pursuant to 49 U .S.C. § 40109 and Subpart C of the Department’s Rules of

Practice, AirTran Airways , Inc. ( AirTran ) hereby applies for an exemption from 49

U.S.C. § 41101 authorizing AirTran to engage in scheduled foreign air transportation of

persons, property, and mail b etween Austin

, Texas ( AUS ) and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

( SJD). Assuming receipt of all necessary approvals, AirTran proposes to commence

operations between AUS and SJD on or about June 2, 2013

. AirTran requests that the

exemption authority specified in th is application be granted as soon as possible for a

period of at least two years.

In support of this application, AirTran states the following :

1. AirTran is a wholly owned subsidiary of Southwest Airlines Co. (Southwest) , a

Texas corporation with its principa l place of business at 2702 Love Field Drive, Dallas,

Texas, 75235 . AirTran maintains its principal place of business at 9955 AirTran2

Boulevard, Orlando, Florida

, 32827 . AirTran and Southwest were granted a Single

Operating Certificate by the FAA on Marc h 1, 2012.

2. Southwest is a citizen of the United States as defined by Section 40102(a)(15) of

Title 49 of the United States Code and Section 204.2(c) of the Depa rtment’s Economic

Regulations. Southwest ’s p resident and at least two

- thirds of its b oard of d irectors and

other managing officers are citizens of the United States

. Southwest is under the actual

control of citizens of the United States and more than 75 percent of its voting interest is

owned or controlled by persons that are citizens of the Unit ed States. Additionally

,

AirTran’s president and other managing officers are citizens of the United States and

AirTran is under the actual control of citizens of the United States.

3. AirTran proposes to commence summer seasonal service between AUS and

SJD on or about June 2, 2013

. AirTran will provide this service using Boeing 737

- 700

aircraft configured for 137 seats and plans to offer service three times per week,

d e pending on demand and other market conditions.

4. AirTran is fit, willing and able to conduc t the services described in this

application. AirTran holds a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity to engage

in interstate scheduled air transportation of persons, property and mail. See Order 97

-

11

- 28 , reissued by Order 2000

- 9

- 10 and transfer red to Southwest Airlines Co. and

AirTran Airways, Inc. by Order 2011

- 11

- 17

. Furthermore, AirTran holds exemption

authority from the Department in several U.S.

– Mexico markets, as well as in a number

of other international markets. See , e.g.

, Dockets OST

- 2012

- 0190 (DEN

- SJD ) , OST

2012

- 0001 (MDW

- CUN), OST

- 2011

- 0205 (SAT

- MEX)

, OST

- 2005

- 21134 (BWI

- CUN

and ATL

- CUN), OST

- 2009

- 0201 (U.S.

– Montego Bay, Jamaica), and OST

- 2009

- 02003

(U.S.

– Aruba ). Pursuant to Rule 24 of the Department’s Rules of Practice, AirTran

asks the Department to take official notice of all data on file necessary to establish

AirTran’s fitness.

5. The requested exemption authority is fully consistent with the terms of the U.S.

-

M exico Air Transport Agreement (Agreement) as amended by the two governments on

December 12, 2005. The Agreement a uthorizes carriers designated by the U.S. to

operate “[f]rom a point or points in the United States to a point or points in Mexico.”

Annex I(A)(1)(a). Pursuant to the amended Agreeme nt, t hree U.S. carrier designations

are authorized on U.S.

– SJD routes . Annex I(B)(5). T hree U.S. carrier d esignations are

currently available on the AUS

- SJD route

.

6. AirTran already provides scheduled service to Mexico with nonstop flights from

cities a cross the United States. AirTran ’s low

- cost s e r v i c e has expanded these markets

significantly and will have an even greater impact on U

. S

. – Mexico service once its

schedule is linked with Southwest ’s extensive domestic network as planned in 2013

.

Tog ether, Southwest /AirTran is the largest carrier at AUS

, and a ccordingly the

Southwest /AirTran network would offer passengers on these new international flights

numerous domestic connecting opportunities

, many of them to cities without current

nonstop servi ce to SJD

. In sum, AirTran’s proposed AUS

- SJD service will provide new

convenient low

- cost travel options to passengers and shippers in both the United States

and Mexico

, and clearly is in the public interest.

7. The environmental impacts of AirTran ’s propo se d services are de minimis , and

will therefore not lead to a near

- term annual increase in aircraft fuel consumption of 10

million gallons or more. Accordingly , grant of this application will not constitute a “major4

regulatory action” within the meaning o f the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975

or Part 313 of the Department’s Economic Regulations.

WHEREFORE, AirTran requests that the Department act expeditiously in

granting the requested exemption authority to enable AirTran to engage in schedule d

foreign air transportation of persons, property and mail between Austin, Texas and

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico as described in this application

.

Respectfully submitted,

______________________ Robert W. Kneisley

January 1 6 , 201 35 C ERTIFICATE OF SERVIC E

I hereby certify that on January 1 6 , 201 3 , a copy of the foregoing was served via

e

- mail on the following persons:

msinick@ssd.com (Alaska Airlines)

francis.heil@aa.com (American Airlines)

Robert.wirick@aa.com (American Airlines)

sascha.vanderbellen@delta.com (Delta Air Lines)

robert.cohn@hoganlovells.com (Frontier Airlines)

Patrick.rizzi@hoganlovells.com (Frontier Airlines)

Robert.land@jetblue.com (JetBlue Airw ays jhill@dowlohnes.com (JetBlue Airways & Hawaiian Airlines)

perkmann@dowlohnes.com (JetBlue Airways & Hawaiian Airlines)

dkirste in@yklaw.com (Spirit Airlines)

John.Fredericksen@suncountry.com (Sun Country Airlines)

dan.weiss@united.com (United Air Lines)

howard_kass@usairways.com (US Airways)

ben.slocum@usairways.com (US Airways)

pmurphy@lopmurphy.com (USA3000)

je gillick@zsrlaw.com (Virgin America)

barbara.russell@virginamerica.com (Virgin America)

susan.kurland@dot.gov

paul.gr etch@dot.gov

esta.rosenberg@dot.gov

brian.hedberg@dot.gov

brett.kruger@dot.gov

john. allen@faa.gov

urskr@dos.gov

Jim Smith

Director of Aviation

Austin

- Bergstrom International Airport

jimsmith@ci.austin.tx.us

in fo@airlineinfo.com

__________________________ Leslie C. Abbott