UPDATE ON APPLICATION OF NORWEGIAN AIR INTERNATIONAL
August 14, 2014
There have been two interesting developments in the dispute over Norwegian Air International’s (NAI) application for a foreign air carrier permit and exemption authority, which was filed with DOT on December 2, 2013.
First, on July 9, 2014, former Secretaries of Transportation Andrew H. Card, Jr., Norman Y. Mineta, and Mary E. Peters wrote a blanket letter to Members of Congress in support of NAI’s application. The Secretaries believe approval is warranted in this case because NAI’s application meets all legal and regulatory requirements contained in U.S. law and the binding U.S.-EU Open Skies Agreement. They also believe certain parties are using the NAI application as an opportunity to block competition and deny a choice to transatlantic travel consumers and that any attempts by U.S. carriers and organized labor to undermine the Open Skies Agreement and restrict market competition would be detrimental to the liberalization of air transportation.
Second, a U.S.-EU government-to-government meeting took place on Monday, July 14, in Brussels. Representatives from both the Transportation and State Departments were in attendance, at the behest of Secretary Foxx, so that they could discuss NAI’s application and hear the EU’s views on the legal meaning and applicability of Article 17 bis of the U.S.-EU Open Skies Agreement as it applies to carriers seeking either U.S. or EU authorizations under the ATA. The Department of Transportation will post a summary of the meeting in the relevant docket, but nothing has been published to date.