Document ID: DOT-OST-2004-18692-0009
Agency: dot
Document Type: Notice
Title: Notice (2004 U.S.-Mexico Combination Service Proceeding)
Posted Date: 2004-08-06T04:00Z

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

            DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

                    OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

                             WASHINGTON, DC

                                                                        
    Served:  August 6, 2004

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2004 U.S.-Mexico Combination Service Proceeding

DOCKET OST-2004-18692

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NOTICE 

By Order 2004-7-17, July 21, 2004, we instituted the 2004 U.S.-Mexico
Combination Service Proceeding, Docket OST-2004-18692, to select one
primary and one backup carrier, to provide foreign air transportation of
persons, property, and mail over the following transborder routes:
Denver-Cancun, Denver-Puerto Vallarta, Detroit-Cancun, and St.
Louis-Cancun.  We also consolidated the already-filed applications into
this proceeding.  In addition, Order 2004-7-17 established a procedural
timetable for this case as follows:  Petitions for Reconsideration-

July 28; Answers to Petitions-August 2; Direct Exhibits-August 16;
Rebuttal Exhibits-August 30; and Briefs-September 7.

On July 27, 2004, Frontier Airlines, Inc. (Frontier) filed a petition
for reconsideration, requesting additional time on the procedural
schedule, stating that its carrier representatives are focusing on a
variety of planning and scheduling issues including developing winter
schedules, and are also responding to rapidly changing industry
conditions.  Frontier requested that the procedural schedule be modified
by extending the dates as follows:  Petitions for Reconsideration-no
change; Answers to Petitions-August 9; Direct Exhibits-August 23;
Rebuttal Exhibits-September 7; and Briefs-September 17.

By Notice dated July 30, 2004, we denied Frontier’s request to extend
the date for answers to petitions for reconsideration and deferred
action on the balance of the request until after receipt of answers to
the petition.  

Frontier and United Air Lines, Inc. (United) each filed answers to the
petition for reconsideration.  In its answer, Frontier states that it
continues to believe that some additional time must be allowed for each
carrier to address thoroughly all of the issues.  In this regard,
Frontier specifically notes that the September 7 due date for briefs is
immediately after the Labor Day weekend.  Frontier states that it wants
to see the selection process completed in a reasonable time period and,
therefore, would accept a September 15 deadline for the submission of
briefs as an alternative to its earlier-proposed deadline of September
17.  United opposes Frontier’s petition, stating that the Department
should proceed with the schedule set forth in Order 2004-7-17.  United
argues that it is competing in both the Denver-Cancun and Denver-Puerto
Vallarta city-pair proceedings, while Frontier is competing only in the
St. Louis-Cancun city-pair proceeding; that, in establishing an
expedited procedural schedule in Order 2004-7-17, the Department was, in
fact, granting the requests of both United and Frontier to act on the
applications as soon as possible; that Frontier’s petition to extend
the procedural dates is an attempt by Frontier to delay the introduction
of competitive service in the Denver-Cancun market, where Frontier is
already an incumbent; and that Frontier’s request contradicts the
concern it expressed when it objected to United’s request for pendente
lite authority in the Denver-Cancun city-pair market on the basis that
Departmental consideration of United’s pendente lite request might
delay the carrier selection proceedings here.  No other responsive
pleadings were filed.

Upon consideration of the pleadings filed here, we have decided to
grant, in part, the request of Frontier to extend the procedural
schedule in this Docket.  Accordingly, we will modify the procedural
timetable established in Order 2004-7-17 as follows:  Direct Exhibits
will still be due no later than August 16, with Rebuttal Exhibits still
due no later than August 30; however, Briefs will now be due no later
than September 8.  We will deny the request of Frontier for longer-term
extension of the procedural dates in this proceeding.  

As we have stated previously in this matter, in view of the immediate
availability of the route rights involved, and in light of the carrier
interest to commence services on these routes as soon as possible, it is
our intent to process this case on an expedited procedural schedule. 
Under these circumstances, we do not believe that Frontier has provided
any evidence to convince us that it would be in the public interest to
extend the procedural dates as it has requested.  That said, we have
decided to modify the filing date for Briefs by one day to accommodate
Frontier’s specific concern regarding the Labor Day weekend.  We
believe our action here will not prejudice any party in this proceeding,
as we can still maintain an expedited schedule in this proceeding.  

Therefore, acting under authority assigned in 14 CFR 385.13(p), we
modify the procedural schedule in this proceeding as outline above and,
to the extent not granted, deny the request of Frontier for longer-term
extension of the procedural timetable in this case.  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 (August 6, 2004), and the
filing of a petition for review will not alter such effectiveness.

We will serve this notice by electronic mail on all parties to this
proceeding, and hereby authorize service of documents by facsimile and
by electronic mail.

By:

					PAUL L. GRETCH

Director, Office of International Aviation

(SEAL)

Dated:  August 6, 2004

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

  HYPERLINK "http://dms.dot.gov//reports/reports_ aviation.asp" 
http://dms.dot.gov//reports/reports_ aviation.asp 

   See Frontier’s answer dated July 26 to United’s motion for
pendente lite authority, at 4.