 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, DC

Issued by the Department of Transportation on March 31, 2006

NOTICE OF ACTION TAKEN -- DOCKET OST-2006-24218

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 SHUTTLE AMERICA CORPORATION (Shuttle America) filed
3/15/06 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 points in the United States and points in the Bahamas, and
authority to integrate this authority with its existing certificate and
exemption authority.  Shuttle America requests this authority to operate
the service using large jet aircraft under code-share fee for service
arrangements with one or more major U.S. air carriers.

Applicant rep:	Alexander Van der Bellen, (202) 637-8382		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: March 31, 2006 through March
31, 2008. 

Action taken by:	Paul L. Gretch, Director

			Office of International Aviation

XX	The authority granted is consistent with the 1946 Air Transport
Agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom, as amended,
to which the Government of the Bahamas acceded upon its independence,
and with the overall state of aviation relations between the two
countries.

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)

Conditions: The authority awarded here is subject to the terms of the
April 6, 2005 correspondence, referenced in footnote 1, below. 

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

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

The code-share 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.

The authority granted here is specifically conditioned so that neither
Shuttle America nor its code-share partner(s) shall give any force and
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 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  

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

  Shuttle America is a commuter carrier certificated to provide
scheduled interstate air transportation using aircraft with fewer than
60 seats (Order 98-11-15).  By letter dated April 6, 2005, to Mr. Robert
Cohn (Counsel for Shuttle America) from Mr. William Bertram (Chief, Air
Carrier Fitness Division, Office of Aviation Analysis), the Department
authorized Shuttle America to engage in interstate scheduled
transportation using large aircraft, subject to the restriction that
Shuttle America’s operations are performed under a fee-for-service
agreement with a major U.S carrier.

