Document ID: DOT-OST-2004-17624-0002
Agency: dot
Document Type: Notice
Title: Notice of Action Taken re United Air Lines, Inc. and Thai Airways International Public Company Limited
Posted Date: 2004-05-17T04:00Z

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

            DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

                    OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

                             WASHINGTON, DC

                               Issued by the Department of
Transportation on May 17, 2004

                         NOTICE OF ACTION TAKEN -- DOCKET OST-2004-17624

________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________

This serves as notice to the public of the action described below, taken
by the Department official indicated (no additional confirming order
will be issued in this matter).

Joint Application of    United Air Lines, Inc. and Thai Airways
International Public Company Limited      filed  4/23/2004: 

XX Exemption for two years under 49 U.S.C. 41301 for Thai Airways
International Public Company Limited (Thai) to provide the following
service:

Scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property and mail
between points in Thailand and Honolulu via Osaka, Japan, and to add
Osaka as an intermediate point on its existing services between points
in Thailand and Chicago and between points in Thailand and San
Francisco.  Thai intends to operate this service under a code-share
arrangement with United Air Lines. 

XX  Statement of Authorization under 14 CFR Part 212 for United Air
Lines to:

Display Thai’s designator code on flights operated by United Air Lines
between Osaka, Japan on the one hand, and Chicago, Honolulu, and San
Francisco, on the other hand. 

XX  Statement of Authorization under 14 CFR Part 212 for Thai to:

Display United Air Lines’ designator code on flights operated by Thai
between Osaka, Japan and Bangkok. Thailand. 

Applicant reps:  Jeffrey A. Manley  (202) 663-6670        DOT Analyst: 
Gerald Caolo  (202) 366-2406

D I S P O S I T I O N

XX  Granted exemption request in part (see below)

XX  Balance Dismissed (i.e., for longer-term exemption authority)  

The exemption authority granted was effective when taken:  May 17, 2004,
through  May 17, 2005

The statements of authorization granted were effective when taken: May
17, 2004, and will remain in effect indefinitely, subject to the
conditions listed below:

Action taken by:  Paul L. Gretch, Director

		  Office of International Aviation

XX  Authority granted is consistent with the aviation agreements between
the United States and Japan and between the United States and Thailand. 

Except to the extent exempted or waived, this authority is subject to
the terms, conditions, and limitations indicated:     

	XX Holder’s Foreign Air Carrier Permit (Thai)

	XX Standard Exemption Conditions (attached)

________________________________________________________________________
___________________

Remarks:  We note that Thai sought authority for a two-year period. 
However, as is our usual practice in conferring exemption authority in
the circumstances presented, we are limiting the term of authority to
one year.  Thai may, of course, seek renewal of this authority.  

Conditions:  

The statements of authorization granted here to United Air Lines and
Thai are is subject to the following conditions: 

(a)	The statements of authorization will remain in effect as long as (i)
United Air Lines and Thai continue to hold the necessary underlying
authority to operate the code-share services at issue, and (ii) the
code-share agreement providing for the code-share operations remains in
effect. 

(b)	United Air Lines and/or Thai must promptly notify the Department
(Office of International Aviation) if the code-share agreement providing
for the code-share operations is no longer effective or if the carriers
decide to cease operating all or a portion of the approved code-share
services.  Such notices should be filed in Docket OST-2004-17624. 

(c) 	The code-sharing operations conducted under this authority must
comply with 14 CFR Part 257 and with any amendments to the
Department’s regulations concerning code-share arrangements that may
be adopted.  Notwithstanding any provisions in the contract between the
carriers, our approval here is expressly conditioned upon the
requirements that the subject foreign air transportation be sold in the
name of the carrier holding out such service in computer reservation
systems and elsewhere; that the carrier selling such transportation
(i.e. the carrier shown on the ticket) accept responsibility for the
entirety of the code-share journey for all obligations established in
its contract of carriage with the passengers; and that the passenger
liability of the operating carrier be unaffected.  Further, the
operating carrier shall not permit the code of its U.S. air carrier
code-sharing partner to be carried on any flights that enter, depart, or
transit the airspace of any area for whose airspace the Federal Aviation
Administration has issued a flight prohibition.

(d)	The authority granted here is specifically conditioned so that
neither United Air Lines nor Thai shall give any force or effect to any
contractual provisions between themselves that are contrary to these
conditions.

________________________________________________________________________
____________________

On the basis of data officially noticeable under Rule 24(n) of the
Department’s regulations, we found the applicants qualified to provide
the services authorized.

Under authority assigned by the Department in its regulations, 14 CFR
Part 385, we found that (1) our action was consistent with Department
policy; (2) grant of the authority was consistent with the public
interest; and (3) grant of the authority would not constitute a major
regulatory action under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975. 
To the extent not granted, we denied all requests in the referenced
Docket.  We may amend, modify, or revoke the authority granted in this
Notice at any time without hearing at our discretion.

Persons entitled to petition the Department for review of the action set
forth in this Notice under the Department’s regulations, 14 CFR
§385.30, may file their petitions within seven (7) days after the date
of issuance of this Notice.  This action was effective when taken, and
the filing of a petition for review will not alter such effectiveness.

An electronic version of this document is available on the World Wide
Web at:

http://dms.dot.gov//reports/reports_aviation.asp.

Foreign Carrier Exemption Conditions

In the conduct of the operations authorized, the foreign carrier
applicant(s) shall:

(1)  Not conduct any operations unless it holds a currently effective
authorization from its homeland for such operations, and it has filed a
copy of such authorization with the Department;

(2)  Comply with all applicable requirements of the Federal Aviation
Administration, including, but not limited to, 14 CFR Parts 129, 91, and
36, and with all applicable U.S. Government requirements concerning
security, including, but not limited to, 49 CFR Part 1546 or 1550, as
applicable.  To assure compliance with all applicable U.S. Government
requirements concerning security, the holder shall, before commencing
any new service (including charter flights) from a foreign airport that
would be the holder’s last point of departure for the United States,
contact its International Principal Security Inspector (IPSI) to advise
the IPSI of its plans and to find out whether the Transportation
Security Administration has determined that security is adequate to
allow such airport(s) to be served;

(3)  Comply with the requirements for minimum insurance coverage
contained in 14 CFR Part 205, and, prior to the commencement of any
operations under this authority, file evidence of such coverage, in the
form of a completed OST Form 6411, with the Federal Aviation
Administration’s Program Management Branch (AFS-260), Flight Standards
Service (any changes to, or termination of, insurance also shall be
filed with that office);

(4)  Not operate aircraft under this authority unless it complies with
operational safety requirements at least equivalent to Annex 6 of the
Chicago Convention;

(5)  Conform to the airworthiness and airman competency requirements of
its Government for international air services;

(6)  Except as specifically exempted or otherwise provided for in a
Department Order, comply with the requirements of 14 CFR Part 203,
concerning waiver of Warsaw Convention liability limits and defenses;

(7)  Agree that operations under this authority constitute a waiver of
sovereign immunity, for the purposes of 28 U.S.C. 1605(a), but only with
respect to those actions or proceedings instituted against it in any
court or other tribunal in the United States that are: (a) based on its
operations in international air transportation that, according to the
contract of carriage, include a point in the United States as a point of
origin, point of destination, or agreed stopping place, or for which the
contract of carriage was purchased in the United States; or (b)  based
on a claim under any international agreement or treaty cognizable in any
court or other tribunal of the United States.  In this condition, the
term "international air transportation" means "international
transportation" as defined by the Warsaw Convention, except that all
States shall be considered to be High Contracting Parties for the
purpose of this definition;

(8)  Except as specifically authorized by the Department, originate or
terminate all flights to/from the United States in its homeland;

(9)  Comply with the requirements of 14 CFR Part 217, concerning the
reporting of scheduled, nonscheduled, and charter data;

(10) If charter operations are authorized, except as otherwise provided
in the applicable aviation agreement, comply with the Department's rules
governing charters (including 14 CFR Parts 212 and 380); and

(11) Comply with such other reasonable terms, conditions, and
limitations required by the public interest as may be prescribed by the
Department, with all applicable orders or regulations of other U.S.
agencies and courts, and with all applicable laws of the United States.

This authority shall not be effective during any period when the holder
is not in compliance with the conditions imposed above.  Moreover, this
authority cannot be sold or otherwise transferred without explicit
Department approval under Title 49 of the U.S. Code.

 See Notice of Action Taken dated October 18, 1996, in Docket OST
96-1410

 We expect this notification to be received within 10 days of such
non-effectiveness or of such decision.

 PAGE   

 PAGE   3