 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, DC

Issued by the Department of Transportation on April 6, 2005

NOTICE OF ACTION TAKEN –

DOCKET OST-2005-20581

________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________

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  North American Airlines, Inc.  filed   3/7/05 for:

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

Scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property and mail
between points in the United States via intermediate points to points in
Ghana and beyond.

XX  Allocation of seven round-trip U.S.-Ghana frequencies to operate its
proposed services.  

Continental Airlines filed an answer and North American filed a reply. 
Continental states that it has no objection to the application provided
that the Department grants Continental’s pending request for Ghana
exemption authority and seven frequencies contemporaneously with North
American’s application.  In its reply, North American states that it
has no objection to a contemporaneous grant of Ghana authority to
Continental.   

Applicant rep: David M. Kirstein (202) 861-1756  DOT Analyst:  Michael
D. Bodman  (202) 366-9667

D I S P O S I T I O N

XX  Granted (See below).

The above action with respect to North American’s exemption authority
was effective when taken:  April 6, 2005, through April 6, 2007. 

The above action with respect to North American’s allocation of seven
frequencies was effective when taken:  

April 6, 2005, through March 31, 2006.   

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 Ghana.  

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

XX  Holder’s certificates of public convenience and necessity

XX  Standard exemption conditions (attached)

________________________________________________________________________
_____________

Remarks:  With respect to Continental’s comments, we are
contemporaneously granting Continental’s request for Ghana exemption
authority and seven weekly frequencies by separate notice in Docket
OST-2005-20523.  

The U.S.-Ghana Open-Skies Agreement includes a transitional limitation,
through March 31, 2006, of 21 scheduled roundtrip weekly combination
frequencies for U.S. carriers using their own aircraft.  Based on our
action here and the contemporaneous granting of Continental’s Ghana
application in Docket-2005-20523, 14 of the 21 frequencies are now
allocated to North American (7) and Continental (7).  The remaining
seven frequencies are unallocated.  

Conditions:  The exemption authority granted to serve intermediate
points is limited to countries with which the United States has signed
open-skies agreements and/or countries for which the carrier holds
authority to serve under certificates or exemptions issued by the
Department, and for which it holds route integration authority, by
virtue of either the present action or other action of the Department,
and is subject to all conditions attached to that authority. 

The frequency allocation is subject to the condition that if any of the
frequencies are not used for a period of 90 days, the allocation as to
each of those frequencies will expire automatically and the unused
frequencies will revert to the Department for reallocation.  The
dormancy condition will begin on the date of this Notice.  The
frequencies allocated here are for weekly operations.  A scheduled
carrier may not bank frequencies from one week to the next.  

___________________________________

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 exemption 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, 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, including, but not limited to, 49 CFR Part 1544. 
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
International Principal Security Inspector (IPSI) to advise the IPSI 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.

Initially, North American intends to commence service between New York
and Accra, Ghana.  It plans to commence operations on or about April 15,
2005.    

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