Served: April 19, 2013

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Joint Application of

AIR TAHITI NUI.

SOCIÉTÉ AIR FRANCE

DELTA AIR LINES, INC.

KONINKLIJKE LUCHTVAART MAATSCHAPPIJ N.V.

ALITALIA COMPAGNIA AEREA ITALIANA S.P.A.

under 49 U.S.C. §§ 41308 and 41309 for approval of 

and antitrust immunity for alliance agreements

Docket DOT-OST-2013-0077

NOTICE

On April 15, 2013, Air Tahiti Nui, Société Air France, Delta Air Lines, Inc., Koninklijke 

Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V., and Alitalia Compagnia Aerea Italiana S.p.A. (collectively, the 

“Joint Applicants”) filed a joint application requesting approval of and antitrust immunity for 

alliance agreements covering routes between Los Angeles and Paris.

Access to Documents

Along with their application, the Joint Applicants filed a motion under 14 C.F.R. § 302.12 

(Rule 12) of the Department’s regulations seeking confidential treatment for supporting 

documents and information. They state that this material is confidential, proprietary, and 

commercially sensitive, which qualifies it for being withheld from public disclosure. They ask 

that access to this material be limited to counsel and outside experts who have filed valid 

confidentiality affidavits.1

 

In order to afford interested parties prompt access to the documents in the record, we will grant 

immediate interim access to all documents covered by the Rule 12 Motion to counsel and outside

experts for interested parties who file appropriate affidavits with the Department in advance.2 

Moreover, Parties will be permitted to make copies of the documents, at the Dockets facility, for 

 

1 See Joint Applicants’ Motion for Confidential Treatment under 14 C.F.R. § 302.12, at 4 (April 15, 2013) and 

Motion of Air Tahiti Nui for Confidential Treatment under 14 C.F.R. § 302.12 at 2 (April 15, 2013).

2 See, e.g., Air France/Alitalia/Czech/Delta/KLM/Northwest, Docket DOT-OST-2007-28644, Notice Suspending 

Procedural Schedule and Providing Access to Documents (July 3, 2007).
2

use by persons who have filed confidentiality affidavits. We also find it appropriate to grant 

interim access to any subsequent materials that may be filed in this case under a Rule 12 Motion 

under the same terms, unless the party filing the Motion objects. 

We expect all affidavits to state, at a minimum, that (1) the affiant is counsel for an interested 

party or an outside independent expert providing services to such a party; (2) the affiant will use 

the information only for the purpose of participating in this proceeding; and (3) the affiant will 

disclose such information only to other persons who have filed a valid affidavit in 

Docket DOT-OST-2013-0077. Affiants and interested parties must understand and agree that 

any pleading or other filing that includes or discusses information contained in the covered 

documents must itself be accompanied by a Rule 12 Motion requesting confidential treatment. 

Affidavits must be filed in Docket DOT-OST-2013-0077 with the Department of Transportation, 

Dockets, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington, D.C. 20590. 

Affiants having filed affidavits may examine the documents at the Department of Transportation 

at the Dockets location. Affiants must present a stamped copy of the affidavit filed with the 

Department of Transportation before examination of the documents. Immediately after the 

completion of any judicial review of our final decision in this docket or the expiration of the 

60-day period within which a person may petition for judicial review, all persons who have filed 

confidentiality affidavits in this proceeding are hereby directed to file a further affidavit stating 

that all copies of the applicants’ confidential materials have been destroyed or returned to the 

applicants. 

Suspension of Procedural Schedule

Finally, we suspend the procedural schedule in this proceeding until we have determined that the 

record of this case is substantially complete. At that time, we will announce a procedural 

schedule, including an opportunity for public comment. 

We will serve this notice on all persons on the service list for this docket. 

By: 

SUSAN L. KURLAND

Assistant Secretary 

for Aviation and International Affairs 

Date: April 19, 2013

(SEAL) 

An electronic version of this document is available at http://www.regulations.gov