UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
WASHINGTON, D.C.

Posted: March 20, 1997

Served: March 26, 1997

Under a Memorandum of Consultations signed by representatives of the United States and Brazil in October 1996, U.S. carriers may operate 750 U.S.-Brazil all-cargo charters each charter year (July 1 through June 30). In view of the strong demand for these charters in the 1996/1997 charter year, it is possible that the demand for charters may exceed the number available in the 1997/1998 charter year. Therefore, we invite all U.S. carriers interested in providing all-cargo charter service in the U.S.-Brazil market to submit applications with the Department Dockets, Room PL 401, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590 in Docket OST-97-97-2243 no later than April 7, 1997. Answers to those applications will be due April 14, 1997.

Applications should include (1) the number of flights requested; (2) the aircraft to be used, the payload capacity of those aircraft, and the availability of those aircraft for the proposed services; (3) the markets to be served; (4) the cargo to be carried; (5) whether the flights will be ad hoc or under contract for a series of flights with one or more charterers; (6) evidence showing the likelihood that the flights will be operated, including the charter contract where available;¹ (7) whether a partial grant of the requested number of charters would affect the likelihood that such charters will be operated, and, if so, the minimum number of flights the applicants will accept; and (8) any other information the applicant believes would be useful to our determination.²

Should the number of charters requested exceed the number available, the Department will proceed to allocate the flights using show-cause procedures. In this regard, we emphasize that U.S.-Brazil charters are very valuable and we do not intend that they be wasted. We intend to review carefully our records as to whether previous allocations

were used in the numbers awarded, and whether award recipients complied fully with all of our established procedures.

Therefore, should carriers that were allocated flights for the 1996/1997 charter year fail to use their allotments or fail to return flights in a timely manner, the presumption will be that their awards for the 1997/1998 charter year, if any, may be reduced by the same number of charters that they failed to use in the 1996/1997 charter year.

By:

(SEAL)

Dated: March 20, 1997

2 The original submission is to be unbound and without tabs on 8 1/2" x 11" white paper using dark ink (not green) to facilitate use of the Department’s imaging system.