UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation on December 22, 2005

NOTICE OF ACTION TAKEN -- DOCKET OST-2005-22257

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________

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:  LINEAS AEREAS AZTECA, S.A. de C.V.  (Azteca)                
                   Date Filed:  August 26, 2005

Relief requested:  Exemption from 49 USC § 41301 to permit the
applicant to conduct scheduled foreign air transportation of persons,
property, and mail between Toluca, Mexico, and Las Vegas, Nevada.

 

Date and citation of last action:  November 23, 2005, in this Docket.

Applicant representative:  Pierre Murphy, 202-776-3980            DOT
analyst:  Robert J. Finamore, 202-366-2405

Responsive pleadings:  None.

	DISPOSITION

Action:  Approved (See remarks below).	           			Action date: 
December 22, 2005

Effective dates of authority granted:  December 22, 2005, through
November 23, 2006.

Basis for approval:  United States-Mexico Air Transport Services
Agreement (“the Agreement”).

Except to the extent exempted/waived, this authority is subject to the
terms, conditions, and limitations of our standard exemption conditions
(attached).

Special conditions/Remarks:  At the time this application was filed, the
operative U.S.-Mexico aviation agreement provided that only two
combination carriers could be designated to serve any given city-pair
market, and Toluca/Mexico City was considered a single point for
designation purposes.  Compañía Mexicana de Aviación, S.A. de C.V.
(Mexicana) and Consorcio Aviaxsa, S.A. de C.V. (Aviaxsa) held the
available designations to serve the Mexico City/Toluca-Las Vegas market;
therefore, no designation was available under the agreement for Azteca
to serve that market at that time.  

On September 21, 2005, the United States and Mexico reached an ad
referendum agreement on certain amendments to the U.S.-Mexico aviation
agreement, providing for the expansion of services between the two
countries for both combination and all-cargo air transportation
services, including combination services in the Toluca-Las Vegas market.
 We are now in a position to award authority pursuant to these
amendments.

Action taken by:   Paul L. Gretch, Director, Office of International
Aviation	

________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________

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) the applicant was qualified to perform its proposed
operations; (3) grant of the authority was consistent with the public
interest; and (4) 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 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:

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

FOREIGN CARRIER EXEMPTION CONDITIONS                                    
                              ATTACHMENT

In the conduct of the operations authorized, the foreign carrier
applicant(s) 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, and with all applicable U.S. Government requirements concerning
security, including, but not limited to, 49 CFR Part 1546 or 1550, as
applicable.  To assure compliance with all applicable U.S. Government
requirements concerning security, the holder shall, before commencing
any new service (including charter flights) from a foreign airport that
would be the holder’s last point of departure for the United States,
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;

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, except as otherwise provided
in the applicable aviation agreement, comply 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.                    
                                                                        
       		

05/2004

 By Notice of Action Taken dated November 23, 2005, in this Docket, we
granted Azteca’s request for exemption authority to conduct scheduled
foreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail between Puebla
and Monterrey, Mexico, on the one hand, and New York, New York, on the
other hand.  We deferred action on Azteca’s request for exemption
authority between Toluca, Mexico, and Las Vegas, Nevada.  This Notice of
Action Taken addresses the still-pending portion of the applicant’s
request.

 We are making the duration of this authority coextensive with that of
our earlier action in this docket.

 The United States and Mexico signed the agreement in Mexico City on
December 12, 2005.

 

