l,d r)COT OC II -I'lJM'lsDORTAIION Ir';lq~", It\.,'. 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Assistant Secretary U.S. Department DC;C;(ETS Washington, DC 20590 

of Transportation 

Office March 25» 2010 of the Secretary 

of Transportation 

, 

The Honorable Rick Thompson 

Speaker of the House 

West Virginia House of Delegates 

Charleston, WV 25305 

Dear Mr. Thompson: 

Thank you for your letter of March 2 supporting the application for antitrust immunity filed by 

American Airlines and Japan Airlines. I am responding on behalf of Secretary LaHood. 

As you may know, the applicants-members of the oneworld Alliance-are seeking antitrust 

immunity to closely coordinate flights between the United States and Asia. According to the 

application, the alliance partners plan to launch a joint venture for conveyance oftranspacific 

traffic. 

The application is administered in a public docket, which ensures that interested parties have the 

opportunity to comment. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) will evaluate the 

application according to rigorous statutory standards, beginning with a review ofthe record to 

determine if it is substantially complete. Decisions on the application are made in consultation 

with the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division following a thorough analysis of 

competitive factors. As this matter is nowpending, I hope you understand that I cannot 

comment on the merits ofthe application. I can assure you, however, that DOT will'give full 

and fair consideration to the application as well as any comments filed in the docket. 

As is our normal practi2e, I am placing a copy of your letter and this response in Docket 

DOT-OST-2010~ as a contact outside the record in this matter. I appreciate your interest in 

this proceeding. 

Sincerely yours, 

Susan L. Kurland 


Assistant Secretary 


for Aviation and International Affairs 

S 10-100308-049 


WEST VIRGINIA HOUSE OF DELEGATES 

OFFICE OF THE SPEAKER 

RICHARD THOMPSON CHARLESTON 25305 (304) 340-3210 

SpeAKER OF THE HOUSE oyoung1@mail.wvnet.edu 

March 2, 2010 

The Honorable Raymond H. LaHood 


Secretary 


U.S. Department ofTransportation 


1200 New Jersey Ave, SE 


Washington, DC 20590 


Docket DOT-OST-2010M
 

" 

Dear Mr, Secretary: 

Thank you for the opportunity to express my support for the application for antitrust immunity 

and proposed joint business agreement filed by American Airlines and Japan Airlines. The 

proposed alliance between these two airlines is vital for oneworld to compete effectively with the 

Star arid SkyTeam alliance. This increased interalliance competition will in tum enhance the 

benefits ofthe Department's Open Skies policy - first by solidifying U,S.-Japan Open Skies, 

then by serving as a foundation for further liberalization across Asia. 

After a thorough review, I encourage the Department ofTransportation to approve this 

application as it would enable these oneworld alliance airlines to work closely together to deliver 

highly competitive air transportation services. Approval for AAlJAL alliance will have a 

positive impact on air travel by offering customers more service, scheduling and pricing options 

and will help to ensure that customers continue to benefit from having three competitive air 

alliances to choose from. . 

I urge you to quickly approve this application.