Document ID: DOT-OST-2003-16530-0003
Agency: dot
Document Type: Notice
Title: Notice Providing Access to Documents
Posted Date: 2003-11-25T05:00Z

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Joint Application of American Airlines, Inc. 

and Delta Air Transport, Inc. NV d/b/a SN Brussels Airlines

for Approval of and Antitrust Immunity for an Alliance Agreement

under 49 U.S.C. §§ 41308 and 41309 (Docket OST-2003-16530)

NOTICE PROVIDING ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS 

On November 13, 2003, American Airlines and its affiliates TWA Airlines
LLC, American Eagle Airlines, Inc., and Executive Airlines, Inc. d/b/a
American Eagle (hereafter American) and Delta Air Transport, NV d/b/a SN
Brussels Airlines (hereafter SN Brussels) filed a joint application
requesting approval of and antitrust immunity for an alliance agreement.
 On November 17, 2003, the applicants filed a joint Motion under 14
C.F.R. 302.12 (Rule 12) of our regulations seeking confidential
treatment for supporting documents and information.  They state that
this material is proprietary, commercially sensitive, and confidential
in nature which qualifies for being withheld from public disclosure. 
The applicants ask that access to this material be limited to counsel
and outside experts for interested parties.  

In order to afford interested parties prompt access to the documents
under conditions agreed to by the applicants and imposed by the
Department under similar recent circumstances, we will grant immediate
interim access to all documents covered by the Rule 12 Motion to counsel
and outside experts for interested parties who file appropriate
affidavits with the Department in advance.  Moreover, Parties will be
permitted to make copies of the exhibits, at the Dockets facility, for
use by persons who have filed confidentiality affidavits.  We also find
it appropriate to grant interim access to any subsequent materials that
may be filed in this case under a Rule 12 Motion to counsel and outside
experts for interested parties who file appropriate affidavits with the
Department in advance, unless the party filing the Motion objects.  

We expect all affidavits to state, at a minimum, that (1) the affiant
is counsel for an interested party or an outside independent expert
providing services to such a party; (2) the affiant will use the
information only for the purpose of participating in this proceeding;
and (3) the affiant will disclose such information only to other persons
who have filed a valid affidavit in Docket OST-2003-16530.  Affiants
and interested parties must understand and agree that any pleading or
other filing that includes or discusses information contained in the
covered documents must itself be accompanied by a Rule 12 Motion
requesting confidential treatment.  Affidavits must be filed in
Docket OST-2003-16530 with the Department of Transportation, Dockets,
Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, D.C., 20590.  

Affiants having filed affidavits may examine the documents at the
Department of Transportation at the Dockets location.  Affiants must
present a stamped copy of the affidavit filed with the Department of
Transportation before examination of the documents.  Immediately after
the completion of any judicial review of our final decision in this
docket or the expiration of the 60-day period within which a person may
petition for judicial review, all persons who have filed confidentiality
affidavits in this proceeding are hereby directed to file a further
affidavit stating that all copies of the applicants’ confidential
materials have been destroyed or returned to the applicants.  

Finally, when we have determined that the record of this case is
complete, we will announce an appropriate procedural schedule.  

We shall serve this notice on all persons on the service list for this
docket.  

By:  

MICHAEL W. REYNOLDS  

Acting Assistant Secretary 

for Aviation and International Affairs  

Date:  November 25, 2003   

(SEAL)  

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

http://dms.dot.gov  

	See Exhibit JA-1.  

	See Motion at 1.  Answers to the Motion are due on November 26.  We
will rule on the merits of the Rule 12 Motion by subsequent order.  

	See Notices in Dockets OST-2003-14202 dated January 21, 2003, and
OST-2002-11842 dated March 21, 2002.  

	See Notice dated September 7, 2001, Docket OST-2001-10429 (Delta-Air
France-Alitalia-CSA request for approval of and antitrust immunity for
Alliance Agreements); and see Notice dated September 11, 2001, Docket
OST-2001-10387 (American Airlines-British Airways request for approval
of and antitrust immunity for an Alliance Agreement).  

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Served: November 25, 2003