### THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION WASHINGTON , D
. C
. 20590

The Honorable Tulsi Gabbard U.S. Hou se of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 Dear Congresswoman Gabbard: April 03, 2014

Thank you for your letter regarding the application ofNorwegian Air International Limited (NAI) for authority to conduct U.S. service s . Given that a number of interested parties have filed responsive pleadings to NAI's appl ication and this matter is currently pending before the Department, I am sure you understand that I cannot comment on the merits ofNAl 's application. I ass ure you, however, that we will give fu ll and careful con sideration to all of the pleadings filed on the record before we reach a determination in this matter. As is our standard practice, I am placing a copy of your letter and my response in Docket DOT-OST -2013 -0204, as a contact outside the record of thi s case. You may track the progre ss of this case and v iew the publicly available documents filed in the docket by accessi ng the Federal Docket Management System at www.regulati ons.gov and searching for Docket DOT-OST-2013-0204
. I hope this inforn1ation is helpful. Sincerely ,

Anthony R
. FoxxTULSI GABBARD 2ND D ISTRICT, H AWAII COMMITIEE ON HOME LAN D SE CURI TY

SuBCOMMITIEE ON BORDER AND MARITIME SECURITY C

O MM ITI E E ON FO REIGN A FF AIRS SUBCOMMITIEE ON ASIA AND THE PACIFIC 

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### 20515-1102

The Honorable Anthony R. Foxx Secretary U.S. Department ofTransportation 1200 New Jersey Ave SE Washington , DC 20590-0001 Dear Secretary Foxx, February 7 , 2014 300 ALA MOANA BOULEVARD, ROOM 5-104 HONOLULU, HI 96850

(808) 54 1 - 1 986 502 CANNON HOUSE OFF ICE BUILDING WASHINGTON, DC 20515 (2 0 2) 225-4906 http://www.gabbard.ho u sc.gov



### I am writing regarding an application by Norwegian Air International (NAI) pending at the Department of Transportation for exemption authority and a foreign air carrier permit. Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS), the parent company to NAI, began long-haul operations last year with routes between Thailand, Europe, and the U.S. markets ofNew York and Fort Lauderdale. NAS has announced plans to expand its long-haul operations into more European and U.S. markets and established a subsidiary, NAI, in order to carry out this expansion. It 

### is my understanding that the executives at NAS have made public statements that NAI is being established as an airline in Ireland in order to allow the company to take advantage of hiring flight crews from Thailand, a practice that would not be allowed under Norwegian law. This will undoubtedly cut labor costs for NAI but to the detriment of all other airlines who honor the wage and labor laws of its home country. Media reports have also stated that NAI will not be flying into or out of Ireland, giving the appearance that favorable labor laws are the main, ifnot only, reason for obtaining an Irish air operator's certificate
. The U.S.-European Union Air Transport Agreement prohibits the establishment of flags of convenience to evade labor protections. I urge you to thoroughly consider whether NAI's actions are in compliance with this agreement and any other relevant federal statutes before allowing them to compete with our domestic carriers. Thank you for your attention to this matter.



### 510-140211-016 Sincerely,

# ~~~a~rJ TULSI GABBARD Member of Congress

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### S10- 140211-016 The Honorable Anthony R. 

### Foxx Secretary U.S
. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Ave SE Washington, DC 20590


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