 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, DC

Issued by the Department of Transportation on November 2, 2005

NOTICE OF ACTION TAKEN -- DOCKET OST-2005-22645 

________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________

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 US AIRWAYS, INC. (US Airways) filed 10/3/05 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 (1) the terminal point Phoenix, Arizona, on the one hand, and
the terminal points Mexico City, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, San Jose del
Cabo, Acapulco, Guadalajara, Guaymas, Hermosillo, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo,
Manzanillo, and Cancun, Mexico, on the other hand; (2) the terminal
point Las Vegas, Nevada, on the one hand, and the terminal points Puerto
Vallarta and San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, on the other hand; and (3) the
terminal point Los Angeles, California, on the one hand and the terminal
points Acapulco and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on the other hand.  US
Airways also requests authority to combine this exemption authority with
all of US Airways’ existing certificate and exemption authority,
consistent with applicable international agreements. 

US Airways states that it requests this authority in order to expand
services under a code-share arrangement with America West and/or Mesa
Airlines operating as America West Express (America West), whereby US
Airways will place its “US” code on flights operated by America West
in the respective city-pair markets.   

Applicant rep: Joanne W. Young (202) 530-8520	DOT Analyst: Tretha
Chromey (202) 366-2367 

D I S P O S I T I O N

XX	Granted (subject to conditions, see below)

The above action was effective when taken:  November 2, 2005, through
November 2, 2007. 

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 The holder’s certificates of public convenience and necessity

	XX Standard exemption conditions (attached)

Conditions:  The U.S.-Mexico exemption authority granted is subject to
the dormancy notice requirements set forth in condition 7 of Appendix A
of Order 88-10-2, and is limited to code-share services only.  

The code-share operations conducted under this authorization are subject
to the following conditions:

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
US Airways nor America West shall give any force or effect to any
contractual provisions between themselves that are contrary to these
conditions.

The route integration authority granted 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 award of the route
integration authority granted should be construed as conferring upon US
Airways rights (including fifth-freedom intermediate and/or beyond
rights) to serve markets where U.S. carrier entry is limited unless US
Airways 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; and (b) should there be a request by any
carrier to use the limited-entry route rights that are included in US
Airways’ authority by virtue of the route integration exemption
granted here, but that are not then being used by US Airways, the
holding of such authority by route integration will not be considered as
providing any preference for US Airways in a competitive carrier
selection proceeding to determine which carrier(s) should be entitled to
use the authority at issue.

________________________________________________________________________
______

On the basis of data officially noticeable under Rule 24(g) of the
Department's regulations, we found the applicant qualified to provide
the exemption 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 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:

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

 

APPENDIX

U.S. Carrier 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.

05/2004

 US Airways states that on September 27, 2005, America West Holdings
Corporation merged with US Airways Group, Inc.  As a result, America
West became a subsidiary of US Airways Group.

