 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation on March 4, 2004

NOTICE OF ACTION TAKEN -- DOCKET OST 2004-17125

________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________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).

Application of    COMAIR, INC.,   filed  2/13/04 for:

XX  Exemption for two years under 49 U.S.C. §40109 to provide the
following service:

Scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail
between Atlanta, Georgia, and Monterrey, Mexico, and to combine this
exemption authority with Comair’s existing certificate and exemption
authority, consistent with applicable international agreements.  Comair,
a wholly-owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (Delta), states that
it will operate under the “DL” code as a “Delta Connection”
carrier.

XX Statement of Authorization for Comair, Inc., for indefinite duration
under Part 212 of the Department’s Regulations to:

Display the “AM” designator code of Aerovias de Mexico, S.A., de
C.V. (Aeromexico) on flights operated by Comair between Atlanta,
Georgia, and Monterrey, Mexico. 

Applicant reps: Robert E. Cohn (Comair) (202) 663-8060 DOT Analyst:
Linda Lundell (202) 366-2336

D I S P O S I T I O N

XX  Granted (subject to conditions, see below)

The above action granting new exemption authority to Comair was
effective when 

taken:  March 4, 2004,   through _March 4, 2006  .

The above action granting a statement of authorization to Comair was
effective when

taken:    March 4, 2004, and will remain in effect indefinitely, subject
to the conditions below.

Action taken by:	Paul L. Gretch, Director

			Office of International Aviation

XX  The authority granted is consistent with the aviation agreement
between the United States and Mexico.

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

	XX   Comair’s certificates of public convenience and necessity

	XX   Standard Exemption Conditions (attached)

Conditions:   The U.S.-Mexico exemption authority granted to Comair is
subject to the dormancy notice requirements set forth in condition 7 of
Appendix A of Order 88-10-2.  Consistent with our policy, the dormancy
notice period will begin May 1, 2004, Comair’s proposed start-up date
for these services.  

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The route integration authority granted to Comair is subject to the
condition that any service provided under this exemption shall be
consistent with all applicable agreements between the United States and
the foreign countries involved.  Furthermore, (a) nothing in the award
of the route integration authority granted should be construed as
conferring upon Comair rights (including fifth-freedom intermediate
and/or beyond rights) to serve markets where U.S. carrier entry is
limited unless Comair notifies the Department of its intent to serve
such a market and unless and until the Department has completed any
necessary carrier selection procedures to determine which carrier(s)
should be authorized to exercise such rights); (b) should there be a
request by any carrier to use the limited-entry route rights that are
included in Comair’s authority by virtue of the route integration
exemption granted here, but that are not then being used by Comair, the
holding of such authority by route integration will not be considered as
providing any preference for Comair in a competitive carrier selection
proceeding to determine which carrier(s) should be entitled to use the
authority at issue.

The Statement of Authorization granted Comair is subject to the
following conditions:

 The statement of authorization will remain in effect only as long as
Comair and Aeromexico continue to hold the underlying authority to
operate the code-share services at issue, and the code-share agreement
providing for the code-share operations remains in effect.

  Comair and/or Aeromexico must promptly notify the Department (Office
of International Aviation) if the code-share agreement is no longer
effective or if the carriers decide to cease operating all or a portion
of the approved code-share services.  (Such notice should be filed in
Docket OST-2004-17125).  

  The code-sharing operations conducted under this authority must comply
with 14 CFR 257 and with any amendment 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;
and that the passenger liability of the operating carrier be unaffected;
and  

  The authority granted here is specifically conditioned so that neither
Comair nor Aeromexico shall give any force or effect to any contractual
provisions between themselves that are contrary to these conditions.

________________________________________________________________________
_________

On the basis of data officially noticeable under Rule 24(g) of the
Department’s regulations, we found the applicant qualified to provide
the services authorized.

Under authority assigned by the Department in its regulations, 14 CFR
Part 385, we found that (1) our action was consistent with Department
policy; (2) grant of the application 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, 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 seven (7) 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 

U.S. Carrier Standard Exemption Conditions

In the conduct of the operations authorized, the U.S. carrier
applicant(s) shall:

(1)  Hold at all times effective operating authority from the government
of each country served;

(2)  Comply with applicable requirements concerning oversales contained
in 14 CFR 250 (for scheduled operations, if authorized);

(3)  Comply with the requirements for reporting data contained in 14 CFR
241;

(4)  Comply with requirements for minimum insurance coverage, and for
certifying that coverage to the Department, contained in 14 CFR 205;

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

(6)  Comply with all applicable requirements of the Federal Aviation
Administration and with all applicable U.S. Government requirements
concerning security.  To assure compliance with all applicable U.S.
Government requirements concerning security, the holder shall, before
commencing any new service (including charter flights) to or from a
foreign airport, contact its Principal Security Inspector (PSI) to
advise the PSI of its plans and to find out whether the Transportation
Security Administration has determined that security is adequate to
allow such airport(s) to be served; and

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

The authority granted shall be effective only during the period when the
holder is in compliance with the conditions imposed above.

											8/2003

   Aeromexico already holds exemption authority to conduct scheduled
combination service in the Atlanta-Monterrey market (see Notice of
Action Taken dated September 23, 2003, in Docket OST-2001-10369).  

   We expect this notification to be received within 10 days of such
non-effectiveness or of such decision.

