F-Aurillac: operation of scheduled air services — Operation of scheduled air services between Aurillac and Paris (Orly) — Notice of a competitive public tender issued by France pursuant to Article 4(1)(d) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92 for the delegation of a public service
Date: 2007-12-04
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: France, air transport, airline, award of contract, inland transport, invitation to tender, public service

C 290/44

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

4.12.2007

F-Aurillac: operation of scheduled air services

Operation of scheduled air services between Aurillac and Paris (Orly)

Notice of a competitive public tender issued by France pursuant to Article 4(1)(d) of Council
Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92 for the delegation of a public service

(2007/C 290/14)

1. Introduction: Pursuant

to Article 4(1)(a) of Regulation
(EEC) No 2408/92 of 23.7.1992 on access for Community
air carriers to intra-Community air routes, France has
imposed a public service obligation on scheduled air
services between Aurillac and Paris (Orly). The standards
required by this public service obligation were published in
Official
the European Union C 289 of
1.12.2007.

Journal of

If on 1.5.2008 no air carrier has commenced or is about
to commence operating these scheduled air services in
accordance with the public service obligation imposed and
requesting financial compensation, France has
without
decided,
in accordance with the procedure laid down in
Article 4(1)(d) of the above-mentioned Regulation, to limit
access to the route to only 1 carrier and to offer the right
to operate such services from 1.6.2008 by invitation to
tender.

accordance with Council Regulation (EEC) No 2407/92 of
23.7.1992 on licensing of air carriers.

7. Award

(f),

(e),

(g),

for

and

criteria

procedure

selecting
applications: This invitation to tender is subject to Arti-
cles 4(1)(d),
(h) and (i) of Regulation (EEC)
No 2408/92, Chapter IV, Section 1 of Law No 93-122 of
29.1.1993 on the prevention of corruption and on trans-
parency in public life and government procedures and the
texts implementing it (in particular Decree No 97-638 of
31.5.1997 implementing Law No 97-210 of 11.3.1997 on
strengthening the fight against illegal employment), and
Decree No 2005-473 of 16.5.2005 relating ‘inter alia’ to
the rules governing the allocation of financial compensa-
tion by the State and the 3 Orders of 16.5.2005 imple-
menting it.

2. Contracting

authority: Chambre

et
d'industrie du Cantal, 44, boulevard du Pont Rouge,
-15013 Aurillac Cedex. Tél.
(33) 471 45 40 41.
Fax (33) 471 48 48 12. E-mail: cdouhet@cantal.cci.fr.

commerce

de

3. Subject of the consultation: To provide, from 1.6.2008,
scheduled air services in accordance with the public service
obligation specified in paragraph 1.

4. Main features of the contract: This is a public service
delegation contract concluded between the carrier,
the
Chamber of Trade and Industry of Cantal and the State, in
accordance with Article 8 of Decree No 2005-473 of
16.5.2005 relating ‘inter alia’ to the rules governing the
allocation of financial compensation by the State.

The delegatee will receive the revenue. The Chamber of
Trade and Industry of Cantal and the State will pay it a
contribution corresponding to the difference between the
actual expenditure, excluding taxes (VAT, and aviation
taxes), on operating the service and the commercial
revenue excluding taxes (VAT, and aviation taxes) received
by it, within the limit of the maximum compensation to
which it has committed itself, after deduction, where
appropriate, of the penalties specified in Section 9-4 of this
notice.

5. Duration of the contract: The duration of the contract
is 3 years from

(public service delegation agreement)
1.6.2008.

6. Participation in the consultation: Participation is open
to all air carriers holding a valid operating licence issued in

7-1. Application file: The application file must be drawn
up in French. Where necessary, tenderers must have
documents issued by public authorities in an official
language of
the European Union translated into
French. Along with the French version, tenderers may
enclose a version drafted in another official language
this version will not be
of
authentic.

the European Union;

The application file must contain the following:

— an application letter, signed by the manager or
together with docu-

his or her representative,
ments giving the power to sign;

for

the

applicant's

— a memorandum presenting the undertaking and
professional
vouching
capability and financial standing in the field of air
transport, together with any relevant references.
This memorandum must make it possible to
assess the applicant's ability to ensure the conti-
nuity of the public service and guarantee equality
of treatment for users; if they so wish, the appli-
cants may base their application on the model
form DC5 used in connection with the award of
public contracts;

relevant services over

— the overall turnover and the turnover relating to
the supply of
the last
3 years or, if the applicant so wishes, the balance
sheets and outturn accounts for the last 3 years.
If it cannot provide this information, the appli-
cant must explain the reasons;

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— a methodology note explaining how the applicant
proposes to respond to the consultation file if it
is allowed by the Chamber of Trade and Industry
of Cantal to submit a tender, setting out, in par-
ticular:

— the technical and human resources which the
applicant will assign to the operation of the
route,

— the number, qualifications and assignment of
the

personnel and any recruitments
applicant proposes to make,

that

— the types of aircraft used and, where appro-

priate, their registration,

— a copy of the tenderer's air carrier operating

licence,

— if the operating licence was issued by a Euro-
pean Union Member State other than France,
the tenderer must also provide the following
information:

— the country in which the pilots' licences

were issued,

— the law applicable to the employment

contracts,

— details of membership of social insurance

bodies,

— the

to

steps

taken

comply with
Articles L. 342-1 to L. 342-6 and
Articles D. 341-5 ‘et seq.’ of the Labour
Code relating to the temporary second-
ment of wage-earners for the purpose of
supplying services on the national terri-
tory;

— certificates

or

issued

statements

on
honour, as provided for in Article 8 of
Decree No 97-638 of 31.5.1997 and the
Order
implementing
31.1.2003
Article 8 of the aforementioned Decree,
vouching that the applicant has discharged
its obligations with regard to taxation and
social insurance, in particular covering:

of

France, equivalent certificates or
state-
ments must be drawn up by the adminis-
trations and bodies of
the country of
origin;

— a statement

issued on honour relating to the
absence of conviction recorded in bulletin No 2
for offences referred to in Articles L. 324-9,
L. 324-10, L. 341-6, L. 125-1 and L. 125-3 of
the Labour Code;

— a statement issued on honour and/or proof of
compliance with the obligation to employ handi-
capped workers provided for in Article L. 323-1
of the Labour Code;

— extract ‘K bis’ of

the entry in the Companies

Register, or an equivalent document;

— pursuant

to Article 7 of Regulation (EEC)
No 2407/92 of 23.7.1992, an insurance certifi-
cate less than 3 months old covering civil liability
in the event of accidents, in particular in respect
of passengers, baggage, cargo, mail and third
parties
and conforming to Regulation (EC)
No 785/2004 of 21.4.2004, and in particular
Article 4 thereof;

— in the event of a safeguard or collective procedure
measure, a copy of any judgment to this effect (if
the judgment is not drawn up in French, it must
be accompanied by a certified translation).

7-2. Procedures

for

the examination of applications:
Applications will be selected with reference to the
following criteria:

— the professional and financial guarantees offered

by the applicants,

— their ability to ensure the continuity of the public
service and guarantee equality of treatment for
users with regard to that service,

— their

the
compliance with
employ handicapped workers
Article L. 323-1 of the Labour Code.

obligation
to
laid down in

— corporation tax,

— value added tax,

— contributions

in respect of

social
insurance, work accidents, occupa-
tional illnesses and family allowances,

— civil aviation tax,

— airport tax,

— tax on noise pollution from aircraft,

— solidarity levy;

In the
from a
European Union Member State other than

applications

case of

8. Criteria for the award of the contract: The carriers
whose applications are accepted will
subsequently be
invited to submit their tenders in accordance with the
procedures laid down in the specific rules for the invitation
to tender which will then be supplied to them.

Tenders submitted in this way will be negotiated freely by
the authority responsible in the Chamber of Trade and
Industry of Cantal.

In accordance with Article 4(1)(f) of Regulation (EEC)
No 2408/92, selection among the tenders will be made
taking into consideration the adequacy of
the service,
including the prices and conditions which can be quoted
to users, and the cost of the compensation required.

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9. Essential additional information:

9-1. Financial compensation: The tenders submitted by
the carriers whose applications are accepted must
specify the maximum amount required by way of
compensation for operating the route for 3 years
from 1.6.2008, with an annual breakdown. The
exact amount of compensation finally granted will be
determined annually ‘ex post’ on the basis of the
costs and revenue actually generated by the service,
within the limits of the amount stated in the tender.
This maximum limit may be revised only in the
event of unforeseen changes in the operating condi-
tions.

The annual payments will be made in the form of
advance payments and an adjustment balance. The
balance will be paid only after approval of
the
carrier's accounts for the route in question and verifi-
cation that the service has been operated in accord-
ance with the conditions laid down in Section 9-2
below.

In the event of termination of the contract before its
normal expiry date, Section 9-2 will be applied as
soon as possible to allow payment to the carrier of
the balance due, the maximum amount referred to in
the first subparagraph being reduced in proportion
to the actual duration of the service.

9-2. Verification of the performance of the service and of
the carrier's accounts: The performance of the service
and the carrier's cost accounting for the route in
question will be examined at least once a year in
cooperation with the carrier.

9-3. Amendment and termination of the contract: Where
the carrier believes that unforeseen changes in the
operating conditions justify revision of the maximum
amount of financial compensation, it must present a
reasoned request
signatory parties,
to the other
which must reach a decision within 2 months. The
contract may then be amended by means of an addi-
tional agreement.

the
The contract may be terminated by either of
the
signatory parties before the normal end of
validity of
the contract provided that a 6-month
period of notice is observed. In the event of serious
the carrier
its contractual obligations,
breaches of
will be deemed to have terminated the contract
without notice if it does not resume the service in
accordance with the public service obligation within
1 month of the serving of formal notice.

9-4. Penalties or other deductions provided for in the
contract: Failure by the carrier
to observe the
period of notice referred to in Section 9-3 will be

subject either to an administrative fine pursuant to
Article R.330-20 of the Civil Aviation Code, or to a
penalty calculated on the basis of the number of
months of default and the actual operating loss of
the service during the year in question, but not
exceeding the maximum financial
compensation
provided for in Section 9-1.

In the event of minor breaches of the public service
obligation,
the maximum financial compensation
provided for in Section 9-1 will be reduced, without
prejudice to the application of Article R.330-20 of
the Civil Aviation Code.

Such reductions will take account, as appropriate, of
the number of flights cancelled for reasons directly
attributable to the carrier,
flights
made with less than the required capacity, and the
flights not complying with the public
number of
service obligation in terms of stopovers and fares
charged.

the number of

10. Submission of applications: Application files must be
enclosed in a sealed envelope marked: ‘Réponse à l'appel de
candidatures Ligne aérienne Aurillac/Paris
- À
n'ouvrir que par le destinataire’. They must be sent by
registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt (the date
on the latter serving as proof of the date of receipt) or
delivered by hand (in which case a receipt must be
obtained) to reach the following address by no later than
16.1.2008 (12:00), local time on:

(Orly)

Chambre de commerce et d'industrie du Cantal, 44, boule-
vard du Pont Rouge, F-15013 Aurillac Cedex.

11. Subsequent procedure: Not later than 21.1.2008,

the
Chamber of Trade and Industry of Cantal will send the
selected applicants a tender file including the tender rules
and a draft contract.

The applicants selected must submit their tenders by not
later than Monday 18.2.2008 (12:00), local time.

The bid will be binding on the tenderer for a period of
280 days from its submission.

12. Validity of the invitation to tender: The validity of this
invitation to tender is subject to the condition that no
Community carrier presents by 1.5.2008 a programme for
operating the route in question from 1.6.2008 in accord-
ance with the public service obligation imposed and
without receiving any financial compensation.

13. Requests for additional

information: To obtain any
information they may need, applicants may contact the
President of the Chamber of Trade and Industry of Cantal
at the address/fax number indicated in Section 2 above,
exclusively by letter or fax.