THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20590 

The Honorable Steve Israel 

U.S. House of Representatives 

Washington, DC 20515 

Dear Congressman Israel: 

April 03, 2014 

Thank you for your letter regarding the application of Norwegian Air International Limited 

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

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

and this matter is currently pending before the Department, I am 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 am placing a copy of your letter and my response in Docket 

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

of this 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 -2013-0204. 

I hope this information is helpful. 

Sincerely, 

Anthony R. Foxx 
DISTRICT OFFICE: 

534 8ROADHOLLOW ROAD, SUITE 302 

MELVILLE, NY 11747 

PHONE: (631) 777- 7391 

PHONE: (516) 505-1448 

PHONE: (718) 875-1675 

FAx: (631) 777-7610 

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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 

WASHINGTON OFFICE: 

2457 RAYBURN HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING 

WASHINGTON, DC 20515 

PHONE: (202) 225-3335 

FAx: (202) 225-4669 

www.house.gov/ israel 

Twitter: @RepStevelsrael 

I am writing to express my concern regarding Norwegian Air International Limited's (NAI) 

application for a foreign air carrier permit from the Department of Transportation (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 

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