BEFORE THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION WASHINGTON, D.C. Joint Application of DELTA AIRLINES, INC. AEROVIAS DE MEXICO S.A DE C.V Docket DOT-OST-2015-0070 Under 49 U.S.C. 41308 and 41309 for Approval of and Antitrust Immunity for Alliance Agreements OBJECTIONS AND COMMENTS OF THE ASOCIACION SINDICAL DE PILOTOS AVIADORES DE MEXICO Communications with respect to this document should be addressed to: Captain Mario Alberto Gonzalez Aguilera General Secretary Asociacion Sindical de Pilotos Aviadores de Mexico, Palomas 110 Col. Reforma Social Ciudad de Mexico 11650 mario.aguilera@aspa.org.mx November 30, 2016
BEFORE THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION WASHINGTON, D.C. Joint Application of DELTA AIRLINES, INC. AEROVIAS DE MEXICO S.A DE C.V Docket DOT-OST-2015-0070 Under 49 U.S.C. 41308 and 41309 for Approval of and Antitrust Immunity for Alliance Agreements OBJECTIONS AND COMMENTS OF THE ASOCIACION SINDICAL DE PILOTOS AVIADORES DE MEXICO The Asociacion Sindical de Pilotos Aviadores de Mexico (the ASPA hereby comments in support of the Joint Application and objects to the Show Cause Order. ASPA represents the Aeromexico pilots and has a significant interest in this proceeding because the proposed Joint Cooperation Agreement ( JCA, and the Department's tentatively proposed divestitures on the Show Cause Order, will have a substantial impact on ASPA pilots as it would mean Pilot job positions. ASPA believes that the JCA as presented by the applicants is fair and equitable and offers significant potential benefits for Aeromexico, Delta, their employees, the tourism and business sector, flying public and the population that will be benefited from the increase in air services. However, ASPA is concerned that the onerous and arbitrary conditions suggested in the Show Cause Order are not consistent with the public interest as it presently stands, with the proposed unprecedented and punitive remedies beyond any DOT precedent, the JCA will not achieve its
promised enhancements and efficiencies because those benefits depend on an non limited JCA and more than that, they would severely diminish the economic viability of the JCA and severely damage the fundaments of the recently revised Bilateral Aviation Agreement between the United Mexican States and the United States of America, as the Mexican Government repeatedly made clear during the consultations on the agreement the previous two years, the antitrust immunity for its carriers was a fundamental prerequisite for Mexico s agreement to the new bilateral. 1.- The unprecedented way to analyze this JCA, ignoring the traditional pragmatic JCA analysis methods which the Department has applied in other previous ATI applications, and the criteria s based on outdated information, leads to substantially damage the possibility to engage a wellbalanced third network on to the bilateral market, the Departments analysis takes apart the antitrust standards in the proposed slots divestiture. 2.- The tentatively proposed 24 slots divestiture and the 5 year term of the JCA, jeopardizes the possibility to establish an additional new regional Hub in Mexico since there is no assurance that Aeromexico and Delta can bridge in a long term basis the infrastructure and common investments in Mexico City s Airport. Unless and until they do, this JCA shall be able to provide consistent benefits to the public interest, lowering prices and improving service options that will stimulate more transborder travel and attract passengers from less competitive carriers. The JCA foresees possible objectives on the basis to obtain the ATI without conditions such as those intended, as they do not represent a real threat to competition in the bilateral market because at all times both the DOT and the Mexican authority have the faculties to review and
take the pertinent legal actions within the framework of the Bilateral Agreement, to prevent and correct competitive deviations, in a joint and transparent manner. 3. The Bilateral Agreement is based on the principles on the Chicago Convention, particularly in respect of sovereignty and recognition of the jurisdiction of the States over their territories and application of their national laws, criteria that were endorsed in Resolution A39-15 adopted at the 39 th session of the ICAO Assembly, which urges the Member States to encourage the cooperation between regional and/or national competition responsible in dealing with issues related to international air transport, even within the context of approval of alliances and mergers; also, to avoid adopting unilateral and extraterritorial measures that may affect the orderly, sustainable and harmonious development of the international air transport. In this sense, the DOT and the DGAC can establish: joint criteria and procedures to impulse the competition. In this context, the pretended conditions in the Order to Show Cause by the DOT result in a violation of these principles. Respectfully submitted, Captain Mario Alberto Gonzalez Aguilera General Secretary Asociacion Sindical de Pilotos Aviadores de Mexico Palomas 110 Col. Reforma Social Ciudad de Mexico 11650 mario.aguilera@aspa.org.mx
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE A copy of the foregoing document has been served this 30 th day of November, 2016, upon the following persons via email: Air Carrier Name Email Address Aeromexico Robert Cohn robert.cohn@hoganlovells.com Aeromexico Patrick Rizzi patrick.rizzi@hoganlovells.com ALPA Dino Atsalis dino.atsalis@alpa.org ALPA Russell Bailey russell.bailey@alpa.org ALPA John Malone john.malone@alpa.org ALPA David Semanchik david.semanchik@alpa.org Alaska Airlines David Heffernan dheffernan@cozen.com Alaska Airlines Jeremy Ross jeremy.ross@alaskaair.com American Howard Kass howard.kass@aa.com American Robert Wirick robert.wirick@aa.com Delta Alex Krulic alex.klulic@delta.com Delta Chris Walker chris.walker@delta.com Frontier Howard Diamond howard.diamond@flyfrontier.com Hawaiian Parker Erkmann perkmann@cooley.com JetBlue Robert Land robert.land@jetblue.com JetBlue Evelyn Sahr esahr@eckertseamans.com JetBlue Drew Derco dderco@eckertseamans.com Southwest/AirTran Bob Kneisley bob.kneisley@wnco.com Southwest/AirTran Leslie Abbott leslie.abbott@wnco.com Spirit Airlines David Kirstein dkirstein@yklaw.com Spirit Airlines Joanne Young jyoung@yklaw.com Sun Country Mathew Friebe mathew.friebe@suncountry.com Sun Country Larry Chestler larry.chestler@suncountry.com United Dan Weiss dan.weiss@united.com United Thomas Bolling thomas.bolling@united.com Virgin America John Varley john.varley@virginamerica.com Robert Finamore Brian Hedberg Todd Homan Peter Irvine Brett Kruger Joseph Landart Susan McDermott Jenny Rosenberg Ben Taylor Info robert.finamore@dot.gov brian.hedberg@dot.gov todd.homan@dot.gov peter.irvine@dot.gov brett.kruger@dot.gov joseph.landart@dot.gov susan.mcdermott@dot.gov jenny.rosenberg@dot.gov ben.taylor@dot.gov info@airlineinfo.com