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

. 20590

The Hon orabl e Steve Israe l U.S
. Hou se of Representatives Washington , DC 20515 Dear Congressman Is rael: April 03 , 2014

Thank you for your letter regarding the appli cation of Norwegian Air International Limited (NAI) for a uthority to conduct U.S
. serv ice s. Given that a number of interested parties have filed re s ponsive pleadings to NAI 's app lication and this matte r i s currently pending before the Department , I am sure yo u understand that I cannot comment on the merits ofNA I ' s application. I a s s ure yo u , however, that we w ill give full and careful consideration to a ll of the pleading s filed on the record before we reac h a de terminatio n in thi s matter. As i s our standard practi ce , I am p lac in g a copy of your letter and my re s ponse in Docket DOT-OST-2013

- 0204 , as a co ntac t outs ide the record of this case. You may track the progre ss ofthis case and v iew the publicl y avai labl e documen ts filed in the docket by ac ce ss ing the Federal Docket Management System at www.regulati ons.gov and s earch in g for D ocket DOT-O ST

- 20 13-0204. I hop e this information i s he lpful. Sincerely,

A nthony R. FoxxDISTRICT OFF I CE : 534 8ROADHOLLOW ROAD, SUITE 302 MELV I LLE, NY 11747 PHONE: (631) 777- 7391 PHONE : (516) 505-1448 PHONE : (718) 875- 167 5

FAx: (631) 777 -7 610 

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### Mr. Anthony Foxx Secretary U.S. Department ofTransportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE Washington, DC 20590 Dear Secretary Foxx: STEVE ISRAEL Third District, New York



### February 18, 2014 WASH I NG TO N OFFICE: 2457 RAYBURN HOUSE OFFICE BU ILD ING WASHINGTON, DC 20515 PHONE: (202) 225-3335

FAx : (202) 225-4669 www.house
. gov / is r ael Twitte r: @ RepSteve l srae l



### I am writing to express my concern regarding Norwegian Air International Limited's (NAI) application for a foreign air carrier permit from the Department ofTransportation (DOT). Approval of such application would allow NAI to conduct commercial air transportation operations to and from the United States utiiizing a flags of convenience approach; something that I believe would not be 

### in the best interest of the American people. Specifically, I am concerned with actions taken by NAIto undermine labor regulations in the carrier's' home country of Norway. NAI has applied for an Irish Air Operator' s Certificate even though the airline does not plan to fly flights in or out of Ireland. NAI has publicly stated that such a mcve was made partly due to the "lower social costs" ofhiring 'flight crews living 

### in other countries , something the airline
.would not be able to do if they continued flying as a Norwegian airline. NAI plans to hire pilots and flight crews through a Singaporean company, and it appears that the wages and working conditions of these employees would be governed by Singapore law, which is significantly less generous than the laws in Norway and the United States. The U
. S.-European Union Air Transport Agreement ("US-EU Bilateral Agreement") prohibits establishment of flags of convenience to avoid labor agreements. It 

### appears that NAI's actions are specifically designed to ·sidestep existing labor and social laws in Norway. Accordingly we ask the DOT to reject NAI's application as their business model appears to violate the US-EU Bilateral Agreement :

, I 

### I appreciate your attention to this matter.



# s 10-140304-010 Sincerely, 

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### STEVE ISRAEL Member of Congress

# - -U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WASHINGTON , DC 20515-3202 PUBLIC DOCUMENT OFFICIAL BUSINESS

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