Commission notice pursuant to Article 4(1)(a) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92 — Imposition of public service obligations in respect of certain scheduled air services within the Autonomous Region of the Azores (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2002-05-16
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Azores, air transport, airline, provision of services, public service, transport capacity

C 115/2

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

16.5.2002

Commission notice pursuant to Article 4(1)(a) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92

Imposition of public service obligations in respect of certain scheduled air services within the
Autonomous Region of the Azores

(2002/C 115/02)

(Text with EEA relevance)

Pursuant

to Article 4(1)(a) of Regulation (EEC) No
1.
2408/92, the Government of the Autonomous Region of the
Azores has decided to impose, as from 27 October 2002,
public
services
operated on the following routes:

service obligations on the

scheduled air

— Ponta Delgada–Santa Maria–Ponta Delgada

— Ponta Delgada–Terceira–Ponta Delgada

— Ponta Delgada–Horta–Ponta Delgada

— Ponta Delgada–Pico–Ponta Delgada

— Ponta Delgada–São Jorge–Ponta Delgada

— Ponta Delgada–Flores–Ponta Delgada

— Terceira–Graciosa–Terceira

— Terceira–São Jorge–Terceira

— Terceira–Pico–Terceira

— Terceira–Horta–Terceira

— Terceira–Flores–Terceira

— Terceira–Corvo–Terceira

— Horta–Flores–Horta

— Horta–Corvo–Horta

— Corvo–Flores–Corvo

2.

The public service obligations are as follows:

Minimum frequency

— on the Ponta Delgada–Santa Maria–Ponta Delgada route,
nine round trips per week from November to March, 10
round trips per week from April
to June and from
September to October and 14 round trips per week in
July and August, with at least one trip per day throughout
the year,

— on the Ponta Delgada–Terceira–Ponta Delgada route, 22
to June and

round trips per week from September

twenty-six round trips per week in July and August, with
at least two trips per day throughout the year,

— on the Ponta Delgada–Horta–Ponta Delgada route, six
to March, 11
round trips per week from November
round trips per week from April
to June and from
September to October and 17 round trips per week in
July and August,

— on the Ponta Delgada–Pico–Ponta Delgada route, two
round trips per week from November to March, seven
round trips per week from April
to June and from
September to October and nine round trips per week in
July and August,

— on the Ponta Delgada–São Jorge–Ponta Delgada route,
three round trips per week from April to June and from
September to October and six round trips per week in July
and August,

— on the Ponta Delgada–Flores–Ponta Delgada route, two
round trips per week from April
to June and from
September to October and four round trips per week in
July and August,

— on the Terceira–Graciosa–Terceira route, seven round
trips per week from September to June and eight round
trips per week in July and August, with at least one trip per
day from Monday to Saturday in the period from
September to June and one trip per day from Monday to
Sunday in July and August,

— on the Ponta Delgada–São Jorge–Terceira route, eight
round trips per week from September to June and nine
round trips per week in July and August, with at least
one trip per day throughout the year,

— on the Terceira–Pico–Terceira route, seven round trips
per week from September to June and eight round trips
per week in July and August, with at least one trip per day
throughout the year,

— on the Terceira–Horta–Terceira route, 11 round trips per
week from September to June and 14 round trips per week
in July and August, with at
least one trip per day
throughout the year,

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 115/3

— on the Terceira–Flores–Terceira route, from Monday to
Friday, two round trips per week from September to June
and four round trips per week in July and August,

— on the Ponta Delgada–Pico–Ponta Delgada service, 200
seats from November to March, 780 seats from April to
June and September to October and 1 000 seats in July and
August,

— on the Terceira–Corvo–Terceira route, from Monday to
Friday, three round trips per week in July and August. They
may be combined with services to Horta or Flores,

— on the Ponta Delgada–São Jorge–Ponta Delgada service,
330 seats from April to June and September to October
and 670 seats in July and August,

— on the Horta–Flores–Horta route, four round trips per
week from Monday to Saturday from September to June
and five round trips per week, including one on Sunday, in
July and August,

— on the Ponta Delgada–Flores–Ponta Delgada service, 190
seats from April to June and September to October and
380 seats in July and August,

— on the Horta–Corvo–Horta route, three round trips per
week throughout the year on alternate days from Monday
to Friday. They may be combined with services to Flores,

— on the Corvo–Flores–Corvo route, two round trips per
week throughout the year on non-consecutive days from
Monday to Friday.

should enable daily services

Linking Ponta Delgada, Terceira, Horta and Corvo flights to
island from
Flores
Monday to Saturday from September
to June and from
Monday to Sunday in July and August.

to that

Every week at least two flights must be operated to and from
each island, connecting with flights from and to outside the
region. A weekly service must also be operated between each
island and the others. Where there is no obligation to operate a
daily service to a particular island, a weekly service from and to
outside the region must be operated, and a service to São
Miguel, Terceira and Faial.

— on the Terceira–Graciosa–Terceira service, 700 seats
from September to June and 910 seats in July and August,

— on the Terceira–São Jorge–Terceira service, 820 seats
from September to June and 1 040 seats in July and
August,

— on the Terceira–Pico–Terceira service, 780 seats from
September to June and 890 seats in July and August,

— on the Terceira–Horta–Terceira service, 1 290 seats from
November to March, 1 320 seats from April to June and
September to October and 1 680 seats in July and August,

— on the Terceira–Flores–Terceira service, 190 seats from
September to June and 380 seats in July and August,

— on the Terceira–Corvo–Terceira service, 60 seats in July

and August,

— on the Horta–Flores–Horta service, 380 seats

from

September to June and 480 seats in July and August,

Capacity

The following minimum weekly capacity must be offered.

the year,

— on the Horta–Corvo–Horta service, 60 seats throughout

— on the Ponta Delgada–Santa Maria–Ponta Delgada
service, 1 050 seats from November
to March, 1 200
seats from April to June and September to October and
1 680 seats in July and August,

— on the Ponta Delgada–Terceira–Ponta Delgada service,
2 590 seats from September to June and 3 070 seats in
July and August,

— on the Corvo–Flores–Corvo service, 40 seats throughout

the year.

In the event of temporary suspension of the air services due to
unforeseen circumstances,
force majeure and for
other reasons, the programmed capacity must be increased
least 60 % from the moment when services can be
by at
resumed until
the traffic backlog accumulated during the
suspension of services has been cleared.

to cases of

— on the Ponta Delgada–Horta–Ponta Delgada service, 620
seats from November to March, 1 270 seats from April to
June and September to October and 1 960 seats in July and
August,

Where average seat sales on a particular route exceed 70 % in
any IATA season, the minimum capacity to be offered in the
next corresponding season must be increased by at
least
enough to maintain a 70 % average.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

16.5.2002

the weekly capacity on a particular

Where the number of passengers on the waiting list exceeds
is
5 % of
equivalent
frequently
used on that route, whichever is less, an extra service will be
operated, if the passengers concerned are unable to continue
their journey on flights scheduled for the following 48 hours.

to the capacity of

the aircraft most

route, or

Additional services will be operated to meet the extra demand
created by religious holidays and sporting and cultural events
on the islands. For each additional service seat sales must not
be less than 70 %, both ways.

Freight, including mail, is to be carried using the capacity of
the aircraft used to carry passengers.

Type of aircraft used

The services must be operated using aircraft which have been
duly certified for passenger flights and meet the technical and
operational requirements which allow them to land at aero-
dromes with night flight restrictions. Services to and from the
aerodromes and airports of the Autonomous Region of the
Azores must be operated in accordance with the conditions
laid down in the ‘Aeronautical information of Portugal’ (AIP)
and the ‘Civil pilot manual’ (MPC).

The aircraft used must have a certified minimum capacity of
18 seats.

Fares

The fare structure must include:

(a) a fully flexible economy reference fare, not exceeding the

values set out in Annex A.

(b) a range of special fares with levels and conditions tailored

to different demand segments:

— senior citizens' fare,

— youth fare,

— APEX;

(c) reduced fares for Portuguese and EU citizens who have
been resident in the Autonomous Region of the Azores
for at
least six months. The maximum fares shall be
those set out in Annex B;

(d) reduced fares for students living in the Autonomous Region
of the Azores, for journeys within the region between their
island of residence and the island where their educational
establishment is located. These fares shall be 40 % less than
the standard fares;

(e) a reduced fare for children which shall be 50 % of the adult

fare.

(f) a reduced fare for babies which shall be 10 % of the adult

fare.

In addition to the above, special fares may be offered provided
they have been approved by the Regional Department of
Economic Affairs.

Freight tariffs must be approved by the Regional Department of
Economic Affairs.

These fares shall be revised automatically every year on 1 April,
beginning in 2003, based on the rate of
inflation for the
previous year, as published by the Portuguese Government in
the Grandes Opções do Plano (major planning options) and as
notified, by 28 February, to the carriers operating the routes in
question. The Commission will be notified of the new fares,
which shall enter into force only after publication in the Official
Journal of the European Communities.

The fares given in Annexes A and B are standard from point of
departure to point of arrival with any intermediate stage —
provided that the route is listed in Annex C — even if the
overall route involves more than one carrier. In the latter case,
the carriers providing services between islands shall apportion
earnings according to the number of miles travelled. Carriers
specifying
shall also agree passenger
connection times and reciprocal arrangements for transferring
tickets and luggage
such that
passengers are not unduly penalised. The conditions must be
submitted to the Regional Department of Economic Affairs for
approval.

transfer conditions,

final destination,

to the

Continuity of service and punctuality

Except in cases of force majeure, the number of flights cancelled
for reasons not directly attributable to the carrier must not
exceed 2 % of the number of flights scheduled in any IATA
season.

in cases of

Except
force majeure, delays of more than 15
minutes directly attributable to the carrier may not affect
more than 25 % of the flights.

The planned services must be guaranteed throughout at least
one calendar year and, except in the cases mentioned above,
may be suspended only with six months notice.

Timetables

Flights should be distributed as evenly as possible throughout
the week and the time slots available.

Unless there are restrictions on operating timetables or oper-
ational restrictions on aerodromes and airports, flights must
take place between 6 a.m.
the place of
departure and 12 midnight local time at the destination.

time at

local

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 115/5

Flight marketing

Flights must be marketed using a computerised reservation
system but other distribution channels can also be used
which, taking account of the nature of the services, provide
sufficient information.

A no-show penalty may be set, not exceeding 10 % of the
relevant economy class reference fare.

Mail service

Mail sent by the universal postal service operator must satisfy
the quality standards of
service and other
applicable legal requirements.

the universal

3.
Given the special importance of the routes in question,
and the exceptional nature of service continuity requirements,
EU carriers are hereby informed of the following conditions:

— carriers wishing to operate one or more of the services
subject to these obligations must first submit a financial
plan which demonstrates
their ability to operate the
services profitably for one year in accordance with the
obligations,

— all carriers holding a valid operating licence issued by a
Member State in accordance with Council Regulation
(EEC) No 2407/92 on licensing of air carriers, and an
appropriate air operator's certificate can operate these
services,

— carriers wishing to operate the services in question must
prove that their air operator certificate covers the main and
reserve aircraft and the associated human resources needed
for the scheduled services they propose to provide, without
prejudice to their right, exceptionally, to subcontract to
other carriers in order to deal with unforeseen devel-
opments,

— carriers must prove that, by the scheduled starting date, the
human, logistical and technical facilities have been set in
place, or contractually agreed, on each island in the Azores
to enable the public to purchase individual tickets either
directly from the carrier or from an authorised agent,

— within the Autonomous Region of

the Azores, carriers
must have their own, or contracted, technical organisations
available (services for operating flights, and engineering and

maintenance services for aircraft and associated equipment),
which have been previously certified by the Instituto Na-
cional da Aviação Civil (Portuguese Civil Aviation Institute)
in accordance with the regulations in force,

— given the special nature of these services, air carriers will
have to demonstrate that most of the cabin crew on the
flights they operate in the Azores can speak and understand
Portuguese and, in addition, that most of the technical crew
to the island of Corvo can speak and
on services
understand Portuguese,

— carriers may establish commercial agreements

such as

‘interline’ or ‘codeshare’,

— suspension of any of the services in question, without the
advance notice specified in the public service obligations set
out above, or failure to fulfil these obligations, shall be
punishable by administrative penalties and fines,

— carriers may apply to operate one or more services without
claiming any compensation,
and without demanding
exclusive rights to the route, within one month of the
date of publication in the Official Journal of the European
Communities,

— if several carriers apply to operate the same route without
claiming compensation or demanding exclusive rights, then
all the carriers must comply strictly with all the public
the frequency and
service requirements imposed, except
capacity of services, for which the joint contributions of
all the applicants will be taken into consideration. To that
end, each carrier will be required to provide a minimum
frequency
the
frequency and capacity for the route set out in paragraph
1 of this notice equally by the number of rival proposals.

and capacity determined by dividing

Community carriers are also informed that
the Regional
Transport and Communications Department of the Regional
Department of Economic Affairs of the Regional Government
of the Azores will monitor compliance with the public service
obligations imposed.

Applications (proposals) must be delivered to the Regional
Transport and Communications Department (Direcção Regio-
nal dos Transportes
the Regional
Department of Economic Affairs (Secretaria Regional da Eco-
nomia) of the Government of the Autonomous Region of the
Azores (Governo da Região Autónoma dos Açores).

e Comunicações) of

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Official Journal of the European Communities

16.5.2002

ANNEX A

Standard economy fare (RT) (in euro)

CVU

FLW

GRW

HOR

CVU

FLW

GRW

HOR

PDL

PIX

SJZ

SMA

TER

48

164

154

172

164

164

172

164

48

164

154

172

164

164

172

164

164

164

98

154

98

98

164

98

154

154

98

154

98

98

164

140

PDL

172

172

154

154

154

154

98

140

PIX

164

164

98

98

154

98

164

140

SJZ

164

164

98

98

154

98

164

98

SMA

172

172

164

164

98

164

164

154

TER

164

164

98

140

140

140

98

154

CVU: Corvo/FLW: Flores/GRW: Graciosa/HOR: Horta/PDL: Ponta Delgada/PIX: Pico/SJZ: São Jorge/SMA: Santa Maria/TER: Terceira

ANNEX B

Fare for residents (RT) (in euro)

CVU

FLW

GRW

HOR

CVU

FLW

GRW

HOR

PDL

PIX

SJZ

SMA

TER

38

140

122

146

140

140

146

128

38

140

122

146

140

140

146

128

140

140

82

128

82

82

140

82

122

122

82

128

82

82

140

122

PDL

146

146

128

128

128

128

82

122

PIX

140

140

82

82

128

82

140

122

SJZ

140

140

82

82

128

82

140

82

SMA

146

146

140

140

82

140

140

128

TER

128

128

82

122

122

122

82

128

CVU: Corvo/FLW: Flores/GRW: Graciosa/HOR: Horta/PDL: Ponta Delgada/PIX: Pico/SJZ: São Jorge/SMA: Santa Maria/TER: Terceira

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 115/7

ANNEX C

Fares for services between islands

The routes below are for travel between two islands in the Autonomous Region of the Azores calling at one or more
intermediate points (with or without stopovers) for the standard fare from point of departure to destination.

All the routes listed in one direction only may also be taken in the other direction.

CVU–FLW (*)–HOR (*)–TER (*)–GRW

FLW–CVU (*)–HOR (*)–TER

CVU–FLW–HOR

CVU–FLW–HOR–TER–PDL

CVU–FLW (*)–HOR (*)–TER (*)–PIX

GRW–TER (*)–HOR

GRW–TER–PDL

GRW–TER (*)–PIX

CVU–FLW–HOR–TER–PDL–SMA

GRW–TER–PDL–SMA

CVU–FLW (*)–HOR (*)–TER (*)–SJZ

CVU–FLW–HOR–TER

FLW–CVU (*)–HOR (*)–TER (*)–GRW

FLW–CVU (*)–HOR

FLW–HOR–TER–PDL

FLW–CVU (*)–HOR (*)–TER (*)–PDL

FLW–CVU (*)–HOR (*)–TER (*)–PIX

GRW–TER (*)–SJZ

HOR–TER–PDL

HOR–TER (*)–PIX

HOR–TER–PDL–SMA

HOR–TER (*)–SJZ

PDL–TER–SJZ

PDL–TER–PIX

FLW–HOR–TER–PDL–SMA

PIX–TER–PDL–SMA

FLW–CVU (*)–HOR (*)–TER (*)–PDL (*)–SMA

PIX–TER (*)–SJZ

FLW–CVU (*)–HOR (*)–TER (*)–SJZ

FLW–HOR–TER

SMA–PDL–TER–SJZ

SMA–PDL–TER

(*) No stopovers allowed.