### THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION WASHINGTON , D

. C

. 20590



### The Honorabl e C hri s Gib so n U
. S. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 Dear Congressman Gibson: April 04, 2 014



### Thank you for yo ur letter regard ing the app li cation ofNorwegian A ir International Limited (NA I) for authority to conduct U.S. serv ices. Given that a numb er of interested parties have fi led responsive pleadings to NAI's application and thi s matter i s currently p endin g before the Department , I an1 sure yo u und erstand that I cannot comment o n the merits ofNA I ' s application
. I ass ure you, however, that we w ill g ive full and careful consideratio n to all of the p leading s fi led o n the record before we reach a determination in this matter. As i s our stand ard practi ce , I an1 p lac in g a copy of yo ur lette r and my response in Docket DOT-OST- 20 1 3

- 0204, as a contact outs id e the record ofth is case. You may track the progress oft hi s case and view the publicl y ava ilabl e documents filed in the docket by access ing the Federal D ocket Management System at www. regul atio n s.gov and searching for Docket DOT-OST-201 3 -0204. I hop e this information is he lpful. Sincerely,

A nthony R. FoxxCHRIS GIBSON 1 9th District, New York 1708 Longworth Bu1ld1ng Washmgton. DC 20515 (202) 225-5614 http://g1bson .house.gov 

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## 20515 March 4, 2014
The Honorable Anthony Foxx Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Ave, SE Washington, DC 20590
Dear Mr. Secretary: HOUSE AGR I CU L TURE COMM ITTEE Subcommittee on Genera l Fa rm Commodities and Risk Management Subcommittee on Livestock. Rural Development, and Cred1t HOUSE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee on Intelligence. Emerg1ng Threats. and Capabilities Subcommittee on Military Personnel

I am writing to express my significant concern over Norwegian Air International Limited's (NAI) application with the Department ofTransportation to operate in the U.S. as a foreign air carrier. I join with colleagues on both sides of the aisle who have already written to you in the expectation that an approval of this application would lead to an unfair competitive advantage for a foreign company and foreign workers. As you know, this industry already faces difficulty due to various factors such as high energy prices and the slow economic recovery. There are several aspects of this application that are concerning. To begin, despite having the name Norwegian Air International , it described itself as an Ireland-based carrier. Furthermore, the lack of information regarding its background and business structure combined with employees ' ties and overlap with the low-cost airline Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) , raises concerns with its transparency and the truthfulness of its background. Specifically, the CEO ofNAI, Asgeir Nyseth, is also the COO ofNAS which has coincidentally also expressed interest in an Irish operating license because oflreland's labor laws permitting the outsourcing of aircrew labor outside of the European Union. This means that it will further put U.S. airlines at a disadvantage due to the access to cheap aircrews from Southeast Asia or elsewhere. This entire business model appears to be intentionally deceptive and based on a desire to skirt \abor laws and other industry standards that other european and North American airlines must abide by. While 1 support the complete dismissal of this application, l believe at a minimum it is crucial that your Department ask questions ofNAI management to bring more clarity and light as to their intentions, business model , and other areas that have raised concerns with Members of Congress, our constituents , and interested U.S. businesses. I thank you for your time on this critical matter and hope you will strongly consider my opposition to this misguided application. Should you have any questions on this issue, please do not hesitate to contact my office. 

# ? 7:4

Chris Gibson Member of Congress 

### 510-140311-007