BEFORE THE

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

2013/2014 U.S.-Brazil Combination Frequency

Allocation Proceeding

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Docket DOT-OST-2013-0072

ANSWER OF THE DELTA MASTER EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

OF THE AIR LINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION, INTERNATIONAL

IN SUPPORT OF APPLICATION OF DELTA AIR LINES, INC.

Communications with respect to this document should be addressed to:

Kingsley S. Roberts 

Chairman

Delta Master Executive Council

Air Line Pilots Association, International

100 Hartsfield Centre Parkway, Suite 800

Atlanta, Georgia 30354

Kingsley.Roberts@alpa.org

May 3, 2013
BEFORE THE

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

2013/2014 U.S.-Brazil Combination Frequency

Allocation Proceeding

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Docket DOT-OST-2013-0072

ANSWER OF THE DELTA MASTER EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

OF THE AIR LINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION, INTERNATIONAL

IN SUPPORT OF APPLICATION OF DELTA AIR LINES, INC.

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (“Delta”) has requested that the DOT allocate to it 21 Brazil 

frequencies in order to increase service to Sao Paulo at Delta’s New York and Atlanta 

gateways and to sustain its current Detroit-Sao Paulo service. The Delta Master 

Executive Council, the Delta chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association, International (the 

“Delta MEC”), strongly supports Delta’s request for 21 Brazil frequencies. 

The award of 21 frequencies to Delta will, of course, benefit the 12,000 members 

of the Delta chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association, International as well as the other 

68,000 dedicated employees of Delta. Just as important, however, an award to Delta of 

the 21 frequencies will satisfy the DOT’s public interest objective to promote intergateway and inter alliance competition in entry limited markets. 

The U.S.-Brazil market is overwhelmingly dominated by American Airlines,

which is on the cusp of being merged with USAirways. Together, American/US Airways 

have applied for 28 frequencies on top of the 7 frequencies Delta is required to transfer to 

US Airways pursuant to the DCA/LGA slot swap transaction. Specifically, American has 
applied for an additional 14 additional frequencies to serve Sao Paulo from Los Angeles 

and Chicago. US Airways has applied for the authority necessary to serve Sao Paulo 

from Charlotte and Philadelphia and requests 14 frequencies to provide the service. US

Airways has not stated its plans for the 7 frequencies it will receive from Delta. 

The optimal competitive distribution of frequencies can only be achieved by 

granting Delta’s request in full. Exhibit DL-105. While American will still be the 

dominant carrier to Sao Paulo, there will be two credible challenges of roughly equal 

strength. Id. Significantly, net of the slot swap frequency transfers, Delta’s proposal will 

result in an equitable division of 14 incremental frequencies to each of Delta and 

American/US Airways over the next two years. Given the reality of the merger, US 

Airways and American should be considered as one for purposes of this case. If, 

however, either carrier should receive frequencies on the basis of its “independent” status 

(and Delta’s request was not fully satisfied) the Department should condition the award 

of any such frequencies to be immediately divested and reallocated to Delta upon 

consummation of the pending merger. 

As the DOT is only too aware, American dominates the U.S.-Brazil market with 

47 weekly flights to Sao Paulo from points in the U.S. United is the second largest U.S.-

Brazil carrier with 35 weekly frequencies. Currently Delta only operates three daily 

flights to Sao Paulo from Atlanta, New York (JFK) and Detroit. To bring balance to the 

competitive level among and between the three major international air carriers, an award 

of 21 frequency allocations to Delta (14 in 2013 and 7 in 2014) is essential. Apart from 

the many consumer and public benefits that will result from Delta being able to offer 

double daily service to Sao Paulo from both the large and important New York and 
Atlanta gateways, an award to Delta is important to continue daily Detroit-Sao Paulo in 

2015 when Delta is committed to transfer seven unrestricted Brazil frequencies to 

USAirways. Detroit-Sao Paulo is a proven and successful route with a strong and 

growing community of interest between Detroit and Sao Paulo, centered around the U.S. 

automobile industry and the Midwest industrial base. 

Delta’s request for 7 additional frequencies to serve the Atlanta-Sao Paulo market 

will allow Delta for the first time to offer a second competitive time channel at the 

Atlanta hub compared to American's 4 times daily Miami-Sao Paulo offerings. Exhibit 

DL-104. The imbalance will be made even worse when American and USAirways merge 

and the merged carrier will be able to offer 5 daily round trip flights to/from Sao Paulo 

from/ to the largest southeastern U.S. gateways. Exhibit DL-205. In fact, the number of 

American operated and branded flights will be even greater when considering 

American’s future alliance/codeshare partner, TAM, operates 2 daily flights from Miami 

to Sao Paulo bringing the total American/oneworld service from southeastern gateway to 

7 daily flights. Doubling Delta’s Sao Paulo flights from Atlanta will enjoy greater 

connecting city support than American has at Miami or USAirways has at Charlotte 

thereby ensuring the success of Delta’s second Atlanta-Sao Paulo flight. Exhibit DL-206.

Delta’s proposal to enhance its existing New York (JFK)-Sao Paulo service takes 

maximum advantage of the fact that New York generates more Sao Paulo bookings than 

any other U.S. gateway. The next largest local market is 1/3 the size of the New York 

market. Exhibit DL-303. It is obvious that Delta’s emphasis on the JFK-Sao Paulo 

market is calculated to provide needed capacity in the market with the greatest need for 

service. Even if Delta can double its daily service at JFK, it will still lag behind the 
service offerings of American and its oneworld partner TAM which offers 3 times daily 

Sao Paulo service from JFK. Exhibit DL-304. Improving the competitive balance in the 

U.S.-Brazil market is the principal objective of the DOT in this proceeding. Order 2013-

4-9, page 3. An award to Delta of 7 frequencies to serve JFK will fully satisfy this stated 

DOT objective.

Delta’s need for 7 frequencies to enable it to continue offering Detroit-Sao Paulo 

service is compelling and obvious. Delta is contractually committed to lease seven Sao 

Paulo frequencies to USAirways in 2014. Therefore, unless the DOT grants 7 

frequencies to Delta to serve Detroit, the Detroit-Sao Paulo will cease to be served on a 

nonstop basis. As difficult as the loss of such service would be to the level of 

competition for Brazil service from the Midwest region of the U.S., the loss to the local 

Detroit market would be even greater. Detroit is the center of the revitalized and 

growing automobile industry that has grown to rely upon Delta’s existing Detroit-Sao 

Paulo service. Since Delta commenced nonstop Detroit-Sao Paulo service in 2010 the 

local market has doubled in size. A market that has responded as has Detroit to the 

introduction of nonstop service simply cannot be deprived of continuing nonstop service. 

Its one thing when new nonstop service does not result in sustaining levels of market 

stimulation and service is then suspended or terminated. Its quite another for a market to 

respond to new service and then lose service due to artificial constraints imposed by 

governmental agreements. The Detroit market has proven its bona fides and more than 

deserves to enjoy continuing year round daily nonstop service to Sao Paulo. 
For the foregoing reasons, the Delta MEC strongly supports Delta’s request for 21 

additional frequencies to serve Sao Paulo, Brazilin order to enhance existing levels of 

service from Atlanta and New York and to preserve existing Detroit-Sao Paulo service.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Kingsley S. Roberts

Chairman

Delta Master Executive Council

Air Line Pilots Association, International
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

A copy of the foregoing document has been served this 3

rd day of May 2013, upon the 

following persons via email:

sascha.vanderbellen@delta.com

Francis.Heil@aa.com 

Robert.Wirick@aa.com

howard.kass@usairways.com

benjamin.slocum@usairways.com

dan.weiss@united.com

thomas.bolling@united.com

paul.gretch@dot.gov

esta.rosenberg@dot.gov

brian.hedberg@dot.gov

brett.kruger@dot.gov

urskr@state.gov

joe.cambron@wcaa.us

brubinst@panynj.gov

louis.miller@atlanta-airport.com

Steve.Luben@atlanta-airport.com

info@airlineinfo.com

sascha.vanderbellen@delta.com