Communication from the EFTA Surveillance Authority under Article 4(1)(a) of the Act referred to in point 64(a) of Annex XIII to the EEA Agreement (Council Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92 of 23 July 1992 on access for Community air carriers to intra-Community air routes)

Imposition of new public service obligations in respect of scheduled air services on the route Værøy (heliport)-Bodø v.v.

(2002/C 27/03)

1. INTRODUCTION

Pursuant to Article 4(1)(a) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92 of 23 July 1992 on access for Community air carriers to intra-Community air routes (http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/lif/dat/1992/en_392R2408.html), Norway has decided to impose new public service obligations as of 1 August 2002 in respect of scheduled air services on the following route:

Værøy (heliport)-Bodø v.v.

2. THE PUBLIC SERVICE OBLIGATIONS INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:

2.1. Minimum frequencies, seating capacity, routing and timetables

A daily service obligation applies in both directions.

Frequencies:

- 1 February to 31 October: minimum two daily return services Monday to Friday, one on Saturday and one on Sunday,

- 1 November to 31 January: minimum one daily return service.

Seating capacity:

- 1 February to 31 October: in both directions at least 180 seats shall be offered weekly,

- 1 November to 31 January: in both directions at least 105 seats shall be offered weekly,

- if the number of seats occupied during the period 1 January to 30 June or 1 August to 30 November exceeds 70 % of the number of seats offered, the carrier shall increase the seating capacity in accordance with the rules laid down by the Ministry of Transport and Communications in the annex to this publication,

- if the number of seats occupied during the period 1 January to 30 June or 1 August to 30 November is lower than 35 % of the number of seats offered, the carrier may reduce the seating capacity in accordance with the rules laid down by the Ministry of Transport and Communications in the annex to this publication.

Timetables:

Account shall be taken of the public demand for air travel.

In addition, the following apply to the required flights on Monday to Friday (local times):

- 1 to 28/29 February: at least 2 hours 30 minutes between first arrival in Bodø and last departure from Bodø,

- 1 March to 30 September: at least 4 hours 30 minutes between first arrival in Bodø and last departure from Bodø,

- 1 to 31 October: at least 4 hours 15 minutes between first arrival in Bodø and last departure from Bodø.

2.2. Aircraft category

Helicopters registered for minimum 15 passengers shall be used for the required flights.

Carriers' attention in especially drawn to the fact that VFR daylight conditions apply to operations at Værøy heliport. For further information, please contact: Luftfartstilsynet (Civil Aviation Authority), Postboks 8050 Dep., N - 0031 Oslo, tel. (47) 23 31 78 00.

2.3. Fares:

- maximum basic one-way fare (fully flexible) for the operating period 1 August 2002 to 31 July 2003 may not exceed NOK 755,

- for each subsequent year the maximum fare may be adjusted on 1 August up to the limit of the consumer price index for the 12-month period ending 15 June the same year, as made public by Statistics Norway (http://www.ssb.no/english/),

- the carrier shall be party to the domestic interline agreements in force at any time, and shall offer all discounts available under such agreements,

- social discounts conforming to the usual practice shall be offered.

2.4. Service continuity

The number of flights cancelled for reasons directly attributable to the carrier must not exceed 1,5 % of the intended number of flights on an annual basis.

2.5. Cooperation arrangements

Following a tender procedure, which limits access to the route Værøy-Bodø v.v. to one carrier, these conditions apply:

Fares:

- all connecting fares to/from other air services shall be offered on equal terms for all carriers. Exempted from this are connecting fares to/from other services carried out by the tenderer, provided that the fare is maximum 40 % of the fully flexible fare,

- bonus points from frequent flyer programmes can neither be earned nor redeemed on the flights.

Transfer conditions:

- all conditions set out by the carrier for the transfer of passengers to and from other carriers' routes, including connecting times and through check-in of tickets and baggage, shall be objective and non-discriminatory.

3. OTHER

These public service obligations replace those published for the route Værøy-Bodø v.v. in Official Journal of the European Communities C 16 of 21 January 1999.

4. FURTHER INFORMATION CAN BE OBTAINED FROM: Ministry of Transport and Communications Postboks 8010 Dep. N - 0030 Oslo Tel. (47) 22 24 82 41 Fax (47) 22 24 95 72.

This documentation is also available on the Internet:

http://www.odin.dep.no/sd/engelsk/aktuelt/tenders/ index-b-n-a.html

ANNEX

ANNEX TO THE IMPOSITION OF PUBLIC SERVICE OBLIGATIONS IN RESPECT OF SCHEDULED AIR SERVICES VÆRØY-BODØ V.V.

ADJUSTMENT OF PRODUCTION/AVAILABLE SEATS - PRODUCTION ADJUSTMENT CLAUSE

1. Purpose of the production adjustment clause

The purpose of the production adjustment clause is to ensure that supplied capacity/seats offered by the operator is adjusted to changes in market demand. Whenever the number of passengers increases significantly and exceeds the following specified limits for the percentage of seats occupied at any time (the passenger load factor), the operator shall increase available seats offered. The operator may accordingly decrease available seats offered when the number of passengers decreases significantly. See specification below in point 3.

2. Periods for measuring passenger load factors

The periods during which the passenger load factor shall be monitored and assessed run from 1 January to 30 June inclusive and 1 August to 30 November inclusive.

3. Conditions for changing production/available seats offered

3.1. Conditions for increasing production

3.1.1. An increase in production/available seats offered shall take place when the average passenger load factor on each single route encompassed by public service obligations is higher than 70 %. When the average passenger load factor on these routes exceeds 70 % in any of the periods mentioned in point 2, the operator shall increase production/available seats offered by at least 10 % on these routes, at latest from the start of the following IATA traffic season. Production/available seats offered shall be increased at least so that the average passenger load factor does not exceed 70 %.

3.1.2. When increasing production/available seats offered according to the above, the new production may take place by using aircraft with lower seating capacity than specified in the original tender, if preferred by the operator.

3.2. Conditions for decreasing production

3.2.1. A decrease in production/available seats offered may take place when the average passenger load factor on each single route encompassed by public service obligations is lower than 35 %. When the average passenger load factor on these routes is lower than 35 % in any of the periods mentioned in point 2, the operator may decrease production/available seats offered by no more than 25 % on these routes from the first day after the end of the abovementioned periods.

3.2.2. On routes with more than two daily frequencies offered in each direction, reduction in production according to 3.2.1 shall take place by reducing frequencies offered. The only exception to this is when the operator uses aircraft with larger seating capacity than the minimum specified in the imposition of public service obligations. The operator may then use smaller aircraft, however, not with lower seating capacity than the minimum specified in the imposition of public service obligations.

3.2.3. On routes with only one or two daily frequencies offered in each direction, reduction in available seats offered can only take place by using aircraft with lower seating capacity than specified in the imposition of public service obligations.

4. Procedures for changes in production

4.1. The Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications has the responsibility subject to law for approving proposed time schedules submitted by the operator, including changes in production. Reference is made to Circular N-8/97 of the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications, included in the tender file.

4.2. When production shall be increased according to 3.1, time schedules for new production/new seats should be agreed between the operator and the county (counties) as administrative unit affected.

4.3. If new production shall be offered according to 3.1, and the operator and the county (counties) as administrative unit affected cannot agree upon time schedules according to 4.2, the operator can seek approval from the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications according to 4.1 for a different time schedule for the new production/new seats offered. This does not mean that the operator may apply for approval of a time schedule that does not include the required increase in production. There must exist substantial reasons for time schedules for new production/new seats diverging from those which could be agreed by the county (counties) as administrative unit affected according to 4.2, as a condition for the Ministry to approve such a proposal from the operator.

5. Unchanged remuneration when changing production

5.1. The remuneration to the operator remains unchanged when increasing production according to 3.1.

5.2. The remuneration to the operator remains unchanged when decreasing production according to 3.2.