NEW

September 30, 1997

This serves as interim notice to the public of the action described below, taken orally by the Department official indicated; the confirming order or other decision document will be issued as soon as possible.

Applications of Delta Air Lines, Inc. filed 9/18/97 in Docket OST-96-1672 for:

XX Waiver of the 90-day dormancy provision relating to 9.25 of the U.S.-Russia combination frequencies allocated to Delta by Orders 96-10-1 and 97-7-33.

Delta requests that the dormancy period for 5.5 weekly frequencies operated under a code-share with Austrian Airlines and 3.5 weekly frequencies operated under a code-share with Sabena be waived until 90 days after the Government of the Russian Federation approves each of these services; and that Delta be issued a waiver with respect to an additional 0.25 frequency which will be used by Delta to commence a new, daily Moscow-Zurich code-share service with Swissair. Delta states that the Department has previously granted a waiver of the dormancy conditions for third country code-share service to Russia for United with respect to its code-share service with Lufthansa, and that such precedent should be followed here.

Baltia Air Lines, Inc., submitted an answer, arguing that the waiver request was not in the public interest and that Delta’s code-share services would provide no additional lift by U.S. carriers and noting that the Russian government had previously refused to approve U.S. carrier third-country code-share services involving United. Delta filed a reply, arguing that the waiver is in the public interest since its code-share services are consistent with the aviation agreement and would have been operated if permitted by the Russian goverment.

Applicant rep.: Robert E. Cohn 202-663-8060 DOT analyst: Linda Senese, 202-366-2367

DISPOSITION

XX Granted. (See below)

Action regarding the 9 frequencies for services with Austrian Airlines and Sabena:*

Effective: September 23, 1997 through September 30, 1997; and September 30, 1997, until the Government of the Russian Federation permits code-share operations with Austrian Airlines and/or Sabena

Action regarding the 0.25 frequency for services with Swissair:*

Effective: September 23, 1997 through September 30, 1997; and September 30, 1997 through December 9, 1997

XX Under assigned authority (14 CFR 385) by:

Paul L. Gretch, Director
Office of International Aviation
(Petitions for review may be filed from now until
10 days after the confirming order/letter issues.
Filing of a petition shall not stay the effectiveness of this action.)

Special Remarks:

In the circumstances of this particular case, we found that approval of Delta’s request was in the public interest. In a comparable situation, we granted a waiver to a U.S. carrier (United, in Order 96-10-1), awaiting Russian government permission to perform third-country code-sharing services. Baltia has restated arguments discussed in a recent Department order addressing Russia frequency issues (Order 97-9-12) and has presented no new arguments that persuade us to adopt a new policy here. Furthermore, nothing in our action here will affect Baltia’s access to frequencies should it commence service consistent with the terms recently prescribed by the Department. See Order 97-9-11. Consistent with the policy established in Order 96-10-1, the 90-day dormancy period on Delta’s frequency allocation for the 9 frequencies proposed for service with Austrian and Sabena will begin on the date(s) that the Government of the Russian Federation permits these third-country code-share operations.

Delta’s waiver request was filed September 18, l997. Answers to the request were not due until September 29, 1997. Because the frequencies at issue would be dormant on September 23, before expiration of the answer period, we orally granted the waiver request through September 30, to provide for the filing of answers and our consideration of such answers before we took further action on Delta’s application.

With respect to the .25 frequency to be operated in conjunction with Delta’s services with Swissair, Delta states that it will use it in the near future in conjunction with the additional frequency allocation granted by Order 97-9-12. The additional 1.5 frequencies granted by that order will not be dormant until December 9, 1997. Given Delta’s representations that the .25 frequency will be implemented shortly, we will extend the dormancy period for that frequency to be coextensive with the 1.5 frequencies granted by Order 97-9-12, i.e., through December 9, 1997.