BEFORE THE

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Application of )

)

ROYAL JET LLC )

) Docket No. OST-2015-

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

and a foreign air carrier permit pursuant )

to 49 U.S.C. § 41301 (UAE – U.S. Charters) )

)

MOTION FOR CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT UNDER RULE 12

Communications with respect to this document should be addressed to:

Josh Romanow

Peter Nelson

PILLSBURY WINTHROP

SHAW PITTMAN LLP

1200 Seventeenth Street NW

Washington, DC 20036

Phone: +1-202-663-8000

Email: romanow@pillsburylaw.com

 peter.nelson@pillsburylaw.com

Counsel for Royal Jet LLC

March 12, 2015
2

BEFORE THE

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Application of )

)

ROYAL JET LLC )

) Docket No. OST-2015-

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

and a foreign air carrier permit pursuant )

to 49 U.S.C. § 41301 (UAE – U.S. Charters) )

)

MOTION FOR CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT UNDER RULE 12

Pursuant to Rule 12 of the Department’s Rules of Practice,1 Royal Jet LLC (“Royal Jet”),

an air carrier of the United Arab Emirates, hereby respectfully moves to withhold from public 

disclosure the following exhibits to its Application for an Exemption and Foreign Air Carrier 

Permit, filed with the Department on March 12, 2015:

• Exhibit H, which includes Royal Jet’s financial statements as of December 31, 2012 and 

2013, including its balance sheet, income statement, and statement of cash flows; and

• Exhibit I, which contains Royal Jet’s first-year traffic and financial forecast (together 

with Exhibit H, the “Exhibits”).

The information contained in these Exhibits is being submitted in the form of a Confidential 

Exhibit to Royal Jet’s application, which is attached hereto in a sealed envelope and marked in 

accordance with Rule 12. As more fully stated herein, this information contains certain 

proprietary, commercially-sensitive, and confidential business information. In support thereof, 

Royal Jet states as follows:

 1 14 C.F.R. § 302.12.
3

1. Rule 12 of the Department’s Rules of Practice instructs the Department to 

evaluate requests for confidential treatment by the standards of disclosure found in the Freedom 

of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552 (“FOIA”). Information may be withheld from disclosure 

under 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(4) if it is (1) commercial or financial, (2) obtained from a person outside 

of government, and (3) privileged or confidential. Gulf and Western Indus., Inc. v. United States, 

615 F.2d 527, 529 (D.C. Cir. 1979). As to the third prong of this test, the Department must 

consider whether “disclosure of the information is likely to have either of the following effects: 

(1) impair the government’s ability to obtain necessary information; or (2) cause substantial 

harm to the competitive position of the person from whom the information was obtained.” 

National Parks and Conservation Assoc. v. Morton, 498 F.2d 765, 770 (D.C. Cir. 1974). Finally, 

to be privileged or confidential, the information must not be of the type that is usually released to 

the public. Gulf and Western, at 530. Royal Jet’s Exhibits meet these standards for protection.

2. Royal Jet’s Exhibits include sensitive business and financial data relevant to the 

Department’s review of Royal Jet’s application for an exemption and foreign air carrier permit. 

Public disclosure of this information would cause substantial harm to Royal Jet’s competitive 

position and investors by disclosing details of its otherwise confidential business and financial 

activities. Third parties could obtain this information and use it to undermine Royal Jet’s 

operations, thus causing economic harm to Royal Jet.

3. The confidential information must be obtained from a person outside of 

government to be granted confidential treatment. Royal Jet is a private limited liability company 

based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, which meets the definition of “person outside of 

government.”

4. In terms of the nature of the information included in the Exhibits, Royal Jet does 
4

not release unaudited financial information or future financial plans to the public. As such, the 

information in the Exhibits is privileged and should be given confidential treatment.

5. In sum, the information that is sought to be withheld from public disclosure meets 

the standards for nondisclosure found in exemption (4) of FOIA, 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(4), in that it 

is (1) commercial or financial, (2) obtained from a person outside the government, and (3) 

privileged or confidential. See Gulf & Western Industries, Inc. v. United States, 615 F.2d 527, 

529 (D.C. Cir. 1979); National Parks and Conservation Assoc. v. Morton, 498 F.2d 765, 770 

(D.C. Cir. 1974). The Department has previously granted numerous motions for confidential 

treatment filed by other foreign carriers seeking to withhold similar financial information 

submitted in connection with permit or exemption applications from public disclosure. See

Comlux Aruba N.V., Order 2013-11-5, fn. 2; Midlex Airlines, Order 2010-11-20, fn. 2; 1263343 

Alberta Inc. d/b/a Enerjet, Order 2009-3-22, fn. 2; Comlux Malta Ltd., Order 2008-12-15, fn. 3; 

ACM Air Charter Luftfahrtgesellschaft MBH, Order 2006-7-6, fn. 2. Finally, release of this 

financial information would impair the government’s ability to collect such information in the 

future. Royal Jet’s sensitive financial information should be similarly granted confidential 

treatment.
5

WHEREFORE, Royal Jet respectfully requests that the designated Exhibits which are

attached hereto in a sealed envelope be accorded confidential treatment under 14 CFR § 302.12.

Respectfully submitted,

Josh Romanow

Peter Nelson

PILLSBURY WINTHROP

SHAW PITTMAN LLP

1200 Seventeenth Street NW

Washington, DC 20036

Phone: +1-202-663-8000

Email: romanow@pillsburylaw.com

peter.nelson@pillsburylaw.com 

Counsel for Royal Jet LLC
1

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that a copy of the foregoing exemption and foreign air carrier application has 

been served this the 12th day of March 2015, upon each of the parties below by electronic mail.

Sascha Vanderbellen

Chris Walker

Delta Airlines

sascha.vanderbellen@delta.com

chris.walker@delta.com

Robert Wirick

Howard Kass

American Airlines, Inc.

robert.wirick@aa.com

howard.kass@aa.com

Steve Morrissey

Dan Weiss

United Air Lines

steve.morrissey@united.com

dan.weiss@united.com

Anita Mosner

Jennifer Nowak

Counsel for United Parcel Service Co

Holland & Knight

anita.mosner@hklaw.com

jennifer.nowak@hklaw.com

Russell Pommer

Atlas Air

rpommer@atlasair.com

Bailey Leopard

Nancy Sparks

Federal Express Corporation

gbleopard@fedex.com

nssparks@fedex.com

Thomas S. Engle

Department of State

EngleTS@state.gov

Paul Gretch

U.S. Department of Transportation

paul.gretch@dot.gov

/s/Melinda A. Hernandez

Melinda A. Hernandez