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

The Honor a ble P a trick E. Murphy U. S . H o u se of R eprese nt ati ves W as hi n gt o n , D C 205 15 D ear Co n gress m an Murph y: Jun e 20, 2014

Th ank yo u f o r yo ur lette r regardin g the a pp lic a ti o n ofNorweg i an A ir I nte rn at i onal L im it e d (N AI ) fo r a utho rit y to con d u ct U.S. s e rv ices . Gi ven tha t a numbe r of int e reste d parties h ave fi led res p o n sive p lead i ngs t o NAI ' s app li ca ti o n an d thi s m atter i s c urrentl y pe ndi n g b e f o re the Depart me nt , 1 a m sure yo u und e rstand that I canno t c o mment o n th e m e rit s o f NA I' s a ppli ca ti o n . I ass ure yo u , h oweve r , t h a t w e will g ive full and ca r e ful c on s ide ra ti o n to a ll of th e p lea din gs fi le d o n th e re c o rd before we reac h a de te rmin ati o n in t hi s m atte r. As i s o ur st and ard practice. I an1 pl ac in g a co p y of y o u r le tte r an d my re s po n se in D ocket D OT- OS T- 2 013-0 2 0 4, a s a co nt act o ut s i . de th e reco rd of thi s c ase. Yo u m ay t rack the prog res s of thi s case an d v iew th e pu b licl y ava il a bl e doc um e nt s fil ed in the docket b y access in g t he F e de ra l Do cket M anage me nt S yste m at www .reg ul ation s.gov an d sea rc h in g for D ocket DOT- O S T
- 2 0 1 3
- 020 4 . I ho p e thi s inform a ti o n i s he lpful. S ince rely ,



### Anth o ny

# ~PATRICK E. MURPHY 18TH O!S"TRICT, FLORIDA WASHINGTON OfFICE: 1517 L ONGWORTH HOUSE OFFICE BUILD ING WASHINGTON, DC 2 0 515 (20 2 ) 225-302 . 6 F AX: (202) 225-8398 www.palrickmurphy.house.go v



### May 22,2014
Secretary Anthony Foxx 

# (!Congress of tbe Wniteb $tates T!'ouse of ll\epresentnttbe£5 Wmfm)bingtou, 

## 11\tlt 20515-0918

U.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE Washington, D.C . 20590 Dear Secretary Foxx: COMM ITTEES F IN ANCIA L SERV I CES SUBCOMMITTEES: FINANCIAL iNSTffU110NS A N O CONsU MER CAE!Ofl MONETARY Poucv ANll TRAOf SMALL BUSINESS

SUBCO MMITTEE : RANKING MEMBER, AGA I CIJLTUHE, ENERGY, ANI> T HA OE



### I write to you today to express my deep reservations about Norwegian Air International Limited's (NAI) application for a foreign air canier permit. 

### If approved, this application would allow NAIto provide passenger air service between the United States and Not.way (as well as other European Union nations) without adhering to either country's labor laws. Despite its name and its parent company, Norwegian Air Shuttle's, incorporation in Norway, NAI holds an Air Operator ' s Cettificate (AOC) :fi:om Ireland. By establishing NAI in Ireland, the airline can circumvent both Norway's and the United States' heightened labor standards. Instead, NAI can operate under individual employment contracts under the home country rules of its flight crews, which 

### it has hired from Singapore. As a result, NAI can pay its pilots and crews lower wages than other airlines while providing them with inferior working conditions. This business model undermines U.S. and Norwegian labor standards, while the "good actors" who comply with these regulations are placed at an unfair competitive disadvantage. If this scheme is allowed to succeed, it will 

### encourage other foreign airlines to take advantage of the same l oop hole to undercut U.S.:-owned airlines, costing Americans their jobs and the airline industry its competitiveness . Accordingly, approval ofNAPs application would be inconsistent with the Congressionally-established public interest as codified in the aviation statues, and it undermines the EU-U .S. Air Transport Agreement.



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PRINTED ON RECYClED PAFER

### Before approving NAI's application for a foreign air canier permit, I ask that you carefully consider these concems and rule in accordance with the public's best interest. Thank you for your attention to this matter and I look forward to working with you. Sincerely,

Patrick E. Murphy MEMBER OF CONGRESS



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