Document ID: DOT-OST-2003-14629-0005
Agency: dot
Document Type: Notice
Title: Notice of Action Taken re:  American Airlines, Inc.
Posted Date: 2003-06-06T04:00Z

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

            DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

                    OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

                             WASHINGTON, DC

Issued by the Department of Transportation on June 6, 2003

NOTICE OF ACTION TAKEN -- DOCKET OST-2003-14629

________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________

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).

Application of:  American Airlines, Inc.			Date filed:  March 3, 2003

X  Exemption under 49 U.S.C. 40109 for American to provide:

Scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail (1)
between any point or points in the United States and any point or points
in third countries; and between any point or points in Belgium and any
point or points in third countries; and (2) between any point or points
in the United States and Luanda, Angola; Doula and Yaounde, Cameroon;
Kinshasha, Democratic Republic of the Congo; Banjul, Gambia; Conakry,
Guinea; Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Nairobi, Kenya; Monrovia, Liberia; Kigali,
Rwanda; Dakar, Senegal; Freetown, Sierra Leone; and Entebbe, Uganda, and
authority to integrate these services with American’s other
certificate and exemption authority.  

American intends to operate these services under a code-share
arrangement with Delta Air Transport, NV d/b/a SN Brussels Airlines.

Applicant representative:  Carl B. Nelson, Jr. (202) 496-5647

DOT Analyst:  Gordon H. Bingham (202) 366-2404

DISPOSITION

X Granted, subject to conditions (below)

The above action was effective when taken: June 6, 2003, through April
11, 2005

X The exemption authority granted is consistent with the aviation
agreement between the United States and Belgium.  With respect to the
Africa points named above, the authority granted is consistent with the
state of overall aviation relations between the United States and the
foreign countries involved.  Specifically, reciprocity with Angola,
Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya
and Sierra Leone; bilateral aviation agreements with Gambia, Liberia,
Rwanda, Senegal and Uganda.

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

X  Standard Exemption Conditions (attached)

X  Statement of Authorization for Delta Air Transport d/b/a SN Brussels
and American Airlines code-share operations dated April 11, 2003, and
conditions therein, in this docket.

The exemption authority granted American is subject to the following
conditions:

Any service provided under the route integration authority granted shall
be consistent with all applicable agreements between the united States
and the foreign countries involved, and further (a) nothing in our award
of the route integration authority granted should be construed as
conferring upon American rights (including fifth-freedom, intermediate
and/or beyond rights) to serve markets where U.S. carrier entry is
limited unless American notifies us of its intent to serve such a market
and unless and until the Department has completed any necessary carrier
selection procedures to determine which carriers(s) should be authorized
to exercise such rights, and (b) should there be a request by any
carrier to use the limited-entry route rights that are included in
American’s authority by virtue of the route integration exemption
granted here, but that are not then being used by American, the holding
of such authority by route integration will not be considered as
providing American a preference in a competitive carrier selection
proceeding to determine which carrier(s) should be entitled to use the
authority at issue.

The authority granted to operate to third countries is limited to
countries with which the United States has signed open-skies agreements
and/or countries for which the carrier holds authority to serve under
certificates or exemptions issued by the Department, and for which it
holds route integration authority by virtue of either the present action
or other action of the Department.

Comments:  In this docket, American seeks all necessary regulatory
authority to operate blanket reciprocal code-share services with Delta
Air Transport, NV d/b/a SN Brussels.  The carriers provided a list of
initial points that would be included in their code-share services,
including a number of points in Africa.  American already holds
underlying exemption authority to serve between the U.S. and Belgium
(Route 137, Order 96-5-9) and broad route integration authority to
integrate its then-existing certificate and exemption authorities (NOAT)
dated June 8, 2001, Docket OST-97-2336).  The broad grant of exemption
authority to serve third-country points awarded here is limited to
countries with which the United States has signed open-skies agreements
and countries for which American already holds authority to serve under
its certificates and exemptions.  As American does not now hold
underlying authority to serve the initial code-share points in Africa
included in the application, it requires an additional award of
underlying economic authority in order to engage in the proposed
code-share operations.

American and SN Brussels were awarded a blanket Statement of
Authorization to engage in the reciprocal code-share service, subject to
our standard conditions, on April 11, 2003, in this docket. (See NOAT
dated April 11, 2003).  The additional authority awarded here is subject
to the conditions of that authorization.

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Action taken by:  Paul L. Gretch, Director

		  Office of International Aviation

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__

On the basis of data officially noticeable under Rule 24(g) of the
Department’s regulations, we found the applicant 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.

  We are granting this authority coextensive with the underlying
exemption authority granted Delta Air Transport d/b/a SN Brussels on
April 11, 2003, in Docket OST-2003-14336.