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

REPLY 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 14, 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

REPLY OF THE DELTA MASTER EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

OF THE AIR LINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION, INTERNATIONAL

IN SUPPORT OF APPLICATION OF DELTA AIR LINES, INC.

The Delta Master Executive Council, the Delta chapter of the Air Line Pilots 

Association, International (the “Delta MEC”), hereby submits this reply in support of the 

application of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (“Delta”) for 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. 

In its prior answer in support of the Delta application the MEC noted that the 

award of 21 frequencies to Delta will, for obvious reasons, benefit the 12,000 members of 

the Delta chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association as well as the other 68,000 dedicated 

employees of Delta. However, the MEC also made the very important point that an 

award to Delta of the 21 frequencies will best satisfy the DOT’s public interest objective 

to promote inter-gateway and inter alliance competition in entry limited markets. 

American and USAirways insist the Department consider their applications 

separately although the carriers are seeking to combine their operations in a merger that 

will produce the single largest U.S. air carrier. Not only will the combined carriers have 
the most extensive U.S. and international route network, but as it involves this 

proceeding, American and USAirways will hold the overwhelming dominant share of 

unrestricted Brazil frequency allocations supporting the provision of nonstop service 

from 5 U.S. gateway cities. Exhibit DL-105. Granting the American and USAirways 

applications would allow the carriers to control 82 frequencies while Delta, with no 

award in this case, would have only 16 allocations operating from only two gateways. 

Exhibit DL-104. To allow the competitive balance in the U.S.-Brazil market to be 

swayed even more in favor of the current dominant air carrier would be antithetical to the 

public interest standard the Department stated would control the outcome of this 

proceeding. 

Put another way, the optimal competitive distribution of frequencies can only be 

achieved by granting Delta’s request in full. DL-105. As previously noted by the MEC,

granting Delta’s application in full will result in there being two credible challengers of 

roughly equal strength in terms of frequency allocations. Id. American and USAirways 

obviously do not want such a result and continue to argue that their applications must be 

independently processed and considered by the Department, even if the allocation of 

frequencies would overly favor the merged carrier. If the DOT is not prepared to 

consider the American and USAirways applications as one, then the DOT should retain 

the flexibility to deal with any eventual market imbalance by conditioning any award to 

American and USAirways by ordering that the awarded frequencies to both carriers be 

immediately divested and reallocated to Delta at the time the merger is consummated. 

This was the approach taken by the Department in Order 89-5-16, May 4, 1989 when the 

Department said it would allocate Japan charter flight allocations to both FedEx and 
Flying Tigers, carriers that were then planning to merge, but that if the merger was 

consummated then one half of the allocations would be withdrawn. Order 8-5-16, page 

8. The Department must fashion any award in this case that takes into account the 

merger impact on the U.S.-Brazil market and allow the Department the needed flexibility 

to reassign frequency allocations to offset the effect of the merger in the marketplace

without the need to conduct yet another carrier selection proceeding. 

Delta has made the case for an award of 21 Brazil frequency allocations (a net of 

14 frequencies once Delta leases 7 frequencies to USAirways as it is contractually 

committed to do in 2014). The Detroit market will retain its currently successful nonstop 

service and Delta will be able to offer more competitive service to American at New 

York and to better compete from Atlanta against the services of American and its code 

share partner TAM at Miami. Any other award of frequency allocations would produce 

sub-optimal results in terms of overall market structure.

For the foregoing reasons, the Delta MEC strongly supports Delta’s request for 21

additional frequencies to serve Sao Paulo, Brazil in order to enhance existing level 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 14th day of May 2013, upon the 

following persons via email:

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