 

			  UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

		        DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

			  OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

			          WASHINGTON, D.C.

	   Issued by the Department of Transportation on September 27, 2000

NOTICE OF ACTION TAKEN -- DOCKET OST-99-6644

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________

This serves as notice to the public of the action described below, taken
by the Department official indicated (no additional confirming order
will be issued in this matter).

Applicant:  Air Engiadina AG									Date Filed:  December 14, 1999

Relief requested:  Exemption from 49 U.S.C. 41301 and statement of
authorization under 14 CFR 212 of the Department’s regulations to
permit Air Engiadina to display the airline designator code of Northwest
Airlines, Inc., on flights operated by Air Engiadina between Amsterdam,
Netherlands, and Berne, Switzerland.

If renewal, date and citation of last action:  New authority

Applicant representative:  Charles Donley   202-626-6601

Responsive pleadings:  None

	DISPOSITION

Action:  Approved									Action date:  September 27, 2000

Effective dates of exemption authority granted:  September 27, 2000  - 
September 27, 2002

Effective dates of statement of authorization granted:  Indefinite,
subject to the code-share conditions, attached

Basis for approval (bilateral agreement/reciprocity): The authority is
provided for in the U.S.-Switzerland Air Transport Agreement.  We found,
based on the record, that the carrier is substantially owned and
effectively controlled by citizens of Switzerland, properly licensed,
and operationally and financially qualified to undertake the proposed
operations.  Finally, the FAA has advised us that it knows of no reason
to withhold this authority.

Except to the extent exempted/waived, this authority is subject to the
terms, conditions, and limitations indicated:

 X Standard exemption conditions (attached)        __ Foreign air
carrier permit conditions (Order   -  -  )

Action taken by:   Paul L. Gretch, Director	

		      Office of International Aviation	

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____________________________________________________________

Under authority assigned by the Department in its regulations, 14 CFR
Part 385, we found that (1) immediate action was required and was
consistent with Department policy; (2) grant of the authority was
consistent with the public interest; and (3) grant of the authority
would not constitute a major regulatory action under the Energy Policy
and Conservation Act of 1975.  To the extent not
granted/deferred/dismissed, we denied all requests in the referenced
Docket.  We may amend, modify, or revoke the authority granted in this
Notice at any time without hearing at our discretion.

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 ten (10) days after the date
of issuance of this Notice.  This action was effective when taken, and
the filing of a petition for review will not alter such effectiveness.

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

http://dms.dot.gov//reports/reports_aviation.asp

												        Appendix A

FOREIGN AIR CARRIER CONDITIONS OF AUTHORITY

In the conduct of the operations authorized, the holder shall:

(1)  Not conduct any operations unless it holds a currently effective
authorization from its homeland for such operations, and it has filed a
copy of such authorization with the Department;

(2)  Comply with all applicable requirements of the Federal Aviation
Administration, including, but not limited to, 14 CFR Parts 129, 91, and
36;

(3)  Comply with the requirements for minimum insurance coverage
contained in 14 CFR Part 205, and, prior to the commencement of any
operations under this authority, file evidence of such coverage, in the
form of a completed OST Form 6411, with the Federal Aviation
Administration’s Program Management Branch (AFS-260), Flight Standards
Service (any changes to, or termination of, insurance also shall be
filed with that office);

(4)  Not operate aircraft under this authority unless it complies with
operational safety requirements at least equivalent to Annex 6 of the
Chicago Convention;

(5)  Conform to the airworthiness and airman competency requirements of
its Government for international air services;

(6)  Except as specifically exempted or otherwise provided for in a
Department Order, comply with the requirements of 14 CFR Part 203,
concerning waiver of Warsaw Convention liability limits and defenses;

(7)  Agree that operations under this authority constitute a waiver of
sovereign immunity, for the purposes of 28 U.S.C. 1605(a), but only with
respect to those actions or proceedings instituted against it in any
court or other tribunal in the United States that are:

   (a)  based on its operations in international air transportation
that, according to the contract of carriage, include a point in the
United States as a point of origin, point of destination, or agreed
stopping place, or for which the contract of carriage was purchased in
the United States; or

   (b)  based on a claim under any international agreement or treaty
cognizable in any court or other tribunal of the United States.

In this condition, the term "international air transportation" means
"international transportation" as defined by the Warsaw Convention,
except that all States shall be considered to be High Contracting
Parties for the purpose of this definition;

(8)  Except as specifically authorized by the Department, originate or
terminate all flights to/from the United States in its homeland;

(9)  Comply with the requirements of 14 CFR Part 217, concerning the
reporting of scheduled, nonscheduled, and charter data;

(10) If charter operations are authorized, comply (except as otherwise
provided in the applicable bilateral agreement) with the Department's
rules governing charters (including 14 CFR Parts 212 and 380); and

(11) Comply with such other reasonable terms, conditions, and
limitations required by the public interest as may be prescribed by the
Department, with all applicable orders or regulations of other U.S.
agencies and courts, and with all applicable laws of the United States.

This authority shall not be effective during any period when the holder
is not in compliance with the conditions imposed above.  Moreover, this
authority cannot be sold or otherwise transferred without explicit
Department approval under Title 49 of the U.S. Code (formerly the
Federal Aviation Act of 1958, as amended).

(41301/40109) 9/98

Air Engiadina AG - Docket OST-99-6644

The code-share operations authorized here are subject to the following
conditions:

(a)  The statement of authorization will remain in effect only as long
as (i) Air Engiadina and Northwest continue to hold the necessary
underlying authority to operate the code-share services at issue, and
(ii) the code-share and/or alliance agreement providing for the
code-share operations remains in effect.

(b)  Air Engiadina and Northwest must promptly notify the Department if
the code-share agreement providing for the code-share operations is no
longer effective or the carriers decide to cease operating any or all of
the approved code-share services.    We expect this notification to be
received within 10 days of such non-effectiveness or of such decision. 
Such notices should be filed in Docket OST-999-6644.

(c)  The code-sharing operations conducted under this authority must
comply with 14 CFR 257 and with any amendments to the Department’s
regulations concerning code-share arrangements that may be adopted. 
Notwithstanding any provisions in the contract between the carriers, our
approval here is expressly conditioned upon the requirements that the
subject foreign air transportation be sold in the name of the carrier
holding out such service in computer reservation systems and elsewhere;
that the carrier selling such transportation (i.e., the carrier shown on
the ticket) accept responsibility for the entirety of the code-share
journey for all obligations established in its contract of carriage with
the passenger; that the passenger liability of the operating carrier be
unaffected; and that the operating carrier shall not permit the code of
its U.S. code-sharing partner to be carried on any flight that enters,
departs, or transits the airspace of any area for whose airspace the
Federal Aviation Administration has issued a flight prohibition; and

(d)  The authority granted here is specifically conditioned so that
neither Air Engiadina nor Northwest shall give any force or effect to
any contractual provisions between themselves that are contrary to these
conditions.

We may amend, modify, or revoke this authority at any time without
hearing. 

