THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20590 

The Honorable Chris Gibson 

U.S. House of Representatives 

Washington, DC 20515 

Dear Congressman Gibson: 

April 04, 2014 

Thank you for your letter regarding the application ofNorwegian Air International Limited 

(NAI) for authority to conduct U.S. services. 

Given that a number of interested parties have fi led responsive pleadings to NAI's application 

and this matter is currently pending before the Department, I an1 sure you understand that I 

cannot comment on the merits ofNAI's application. I assure you, however, that we will give full 

and careful consideration to all of the pleadings filed on the record before we reach a 

determination in this matter. 

As is our standard practice, I an1 placing a copy of your letter and my response in Docket 

DOT-OST-2013-0204, as a contact outside the record ofthis case. You may track the progress 

ofthis case and view the publicly available documents filed in the docket by accessing the 

Federal Docket Management System at www.regulations.gov and searching for Docket 

DOT-OST-201 3-0204. 

I hope this information is helpful. 

Sincerely, 

Anthony R. Foxx 
CHRIS GIBSON 

19th District, New York 

1708 Longworth Bu1ld1ng 

Washmgton. DC 20515 

(202) 225-5614 

http://g1bson .house.gov Qtongre.a.a of tqe lnite~ ~fates 

i.~ou.se of ~presentatiues 

l\masqingtnn, iQt 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 AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE 

Subcommittee on General Farm 

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 of Transportation 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