 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, DC

Issued by the Department of Transportation on October 22, 2007

   NOTICE OF ACTION TAKEN -- DOCKET DOT-OST-2007-0015         

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_________________________________

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).

Joint Application of   SHUTTLE AMERICA CORPORATION (Shuttle), and DELTA
AIR LINES, INC. (Delta), filed 10/12/07, for:

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

Scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail
between Atlanta, Georgia, and Leon/Guanajuato, Mexico, and to integrate
this authority with Shuttle’s other exemption and certificate
authority granted by the Department, to the extent permitted by
international agreements.  The applicants state that they will provide
year-round service in the market pursuant to a code-share arrangement,
whereby Shuttle will operate the service under Delta’s “DL*”
designator code as a Delta Connection carrier, beginning March 1, 2008.

Applicant rep: Robert E. Cohn (202)637-4999  DOT Analyst: Linda L.
Lundell (202)366-2336 

	                  

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: October 22, 2007, through 
October 22, 2009. 

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.

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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.  Consistent with our standard policy, the dormancy
notice period will begin on March 1, 2008, the joint applicants’
proposed start-up date for the subject services.  

The exemption authority granted to Shuttle for direct-carrier
(own-aircraft) service is awarded subject to the terms of the
correspondence dated April 6, 2005, referenced in footnote 1, above.

With respect to the proposed replacement of the currently operated ASA
services on the Atlanta-Leon/Guanajuato route, we note that the joint
applicants have indicated that a dormancy notice for ASA’s services
will be forthcoming.  In this regard, we remind the parties that this
notice should be filed as soon as the proposed replacement services
begin.  

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

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
Shuttle nor Delta shall give any force or effect to any contractual
provisions between themselves that are contrary to these conditions.

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Remarks:  We acted on this application without expiration of the 15-day
answer period to the application with the consent of all parties served
with a copy of the application.

On the basis of data officially noticeable under Rule 24(g) of the
Department's regulations, we found Shuttle 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://www.regulations.gov"  http://www.regulations.gov 



				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, the Transportation Security 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.

11/06

     Shuttle 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 (then Chief of
the Air Carrier Fitness Division, Office of Aviation Analysis), the
Department authorized Shuttle to engage in interstate scheduled
transportation using large aircraft, subject to the restriction that
Shuttle’s operations are performed under a fee-for-service agreement
with a major U.S carrier.  

 The applicants further request that Delta’s existing code-share
authorization for the Atlanta-Leon/Guanajuato route be amended, to the
extent necessary, to identify Shuttle as an authorized code-share
partner.  The applicants explain that, currently, Delta Connection
service on the route is being providing by Atlantic Southeast Airlines,
Inc. (ASA) but that Delta intends to substitute the proposed Shuttle
service for the service currently operated by ASA.  The applicants state
that, to ensure that the Delta Connection service is not disrupted,
ASA’s designation to serve the route should not be withdrawn until
Shuttle has commenced its new service and ASA has given notice that its
Atlanta-Leon/Guanajuato authority is dormant.

