 

			  UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

		        DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

			  OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

			          WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation on May 19, 2004

NOTICE OF ACTION TAKEN -- DOCKET OST 2004-17906

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________

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:  ANTONOV DESIGN BUREAU                                       
                                Date Filed:  May 19, 2004

Relief requested:  Exemption from 49 U.S.C. section 40109(g) to permit
the applicant to operate one, one-way, cargo charter flight from
Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas, to Miami, Florida, during the period May 19-20,
2004, using its AN-124-100 aircraft to transport one Boeing 777 aircraft
engine, plus ancillary equipment, on behalf of Rolls Royce and American
Airlines.  The applicant stated that American Airlines requires delivery
of the engine as soon as possible to repair one of its aircraft at
Miami, and to return that aircraft to scheduled service; that the cargo
is too large for transportation on U.S.-carrier aircraft; and that
surface transportation is not feasible because of the large size of the
cargo and of the long time period that such mode of transportation would
take.

Applicant representative:  Sheryl R. Israel, 202-663-8312            DOT
analyst:  Allen F. Brown, 202-366-2405

Responsive pleadings:  Antonov Design Bureau served its application on
those U.S. carriers operating large all-cargo aircraft.  Each carrier
indicated that it did not have aircraft available to conduct the
proposed operations and that it had no comment or did not oppose grant
of the requested authority to Polet Airlines.

Statutory Standards:  Under 49 U.S.C. section 40109(g), we may authorize
a foreign air carrier to carry commercial traffic between U.S. points
(i.e., cabotage traffic) under limited circumstances.  Specifically, we
must find that the authority is required in the public interest; that
because of an emergency created by unusual circumstances not arising in
the normal course of business the traffic cannot be accommodated by U.S.
carriers holding certificates under 49 U.S.C. section 41102; that all
possible efforts have been made to place the traffic on U.S. carriers;
and that the transportation is necessary to avoid unreasonable hardship
to the traffic involved (an additional required finding, concerning
emergency transportation during labor disputes, was not relevant here).

                                                                        
        DISPOSITION

Action: Approved                                                        
                                               Action date:  May 19,
2004

Effective dates of authority granted:  May 19, 2004, through May 20,
2004.

Basis for approval:  We are granting the request of Antonov Design
Bureau to operate its proposed flight from Dallas/Ft. Worth to Miami,
through May 20, 2004.  We found that its request met all the relevant
criteria of 49 U.S.C. section 40109(g) for the grant of an exemption of
this type and that the grant was required in the public interest. 
Specifically, we were persuaded of the need to move the engine promptly
in order to meet American Airlines’ urgent repair schedule, the fact
that the cargo could not be transported by surface transportation
because of the long time period such movement would take, the potential
negative impact of delivery delay; and the unique, outsized nature of
the cargo, constituted an emergency not arising in the normal course of
business.  Moreover, based on the representations of the U.S. carriers,
we concluded that no U.S. carrier had aircraft available which could be
used to conduct the operation at issue here.  We also found that grant
of this authority was necessary to prevent unreasonable hardship to
Rolls Royce and American Airlines.  Finally, we found that the applicant
was qualified to perform its proposed operation.

Except to the extent exempted/waived, this authority is subject to our
standard exemption conditions and to the condition that the applicant
must comply with an FAA-approved flight routing for the authorized
flight.

Action taken by:         Karan K. Bhatia

                                    Assistant Secretary

                       for Aviation and International Affairs	

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

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

