[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 183 (Friday, September 20, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Page 59328]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-23968]



[[Page 59328]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary


Review Under 49 U.S.C. 41720 of Delta/Northwest/Continental 
Agreements

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Extension of waiting period.

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SUMMARY: Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, and Continental Airlines 
have submitted code-sharing and frequent-flyer program reciprocity 
agreements to the Department for review under 49 U.S.C. 41720. That 
statute requires such agreements between major U.S. passenger airlines 
to be submitted to the Department at least thirty days before the 
agreements' proposed effective date but does not require Department 
approval for the agreements. The Department may extend the waiting 
period for these agreements at the end of the thirty-day period. The 
Department has determined to extend the waiting period for the Delta/
Northwest/Continental agreements for an additional thirty days.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Ray, Office of the General 
Counsel, 400 Seventh St. SW., Washington, DC 20590, (202) 366-4731.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As required by 49 U.S.C. 41720, Delta, 
Northwest, and Continental submitted code-sharing and frequent-flyer 
program reciprocity agreements to us for review on August 23, more than 
thirty days before the airlines planned to implement these agreements. 
The statute requires certain kinds of joint venture agreements among 
major U.S. passenger airlines to be submitted to the Department at 
least thirty days before they can be implemented, including the code-
sharing and frequent-flyer reciprocity agreements proposed by Delta, 
Continental, and Northwest. We may extend the waiting period by 150 
days for code-sharing agreements and by sixty days for other types of 
agreements. At the end of the waiting period (either the thirty-day 
period or any extended period established by us), the parties may 
implement their agreement, since doing so would not require our 
approval. To block the airlines from implementing their agreements, we 
would normally need to issue an order under 49 U.S.C. 41712 (formerly 
section 411 of the Federal Aviation Act) in a formal enforcement 
proceeding that determined that the agreements' implementation would be 
an unfair or deceptive practice or unfair method of competition that 
would violate that section.
    We are informally reviewing the agreements submitted by Delta, 
Continental, and Northwest under 49 U.S.C. 41720. Although our review 
is informal, we have invited interested parties to submit comments on 
the agreements. 67 FR 56340 (September 3, 2002). We are considering 
their comments, the agreements, and other information in our 
possession, and we will be consulting with the Justice Department, 
which is responsible for enforcing the antitrust laws in the airline 
industry.
    We have concluded that we need additional time to analyze the 
issues presented by the agreements. Those issues are important and 
require careful consideration. We have therefore determined to extend 
the waiting period by thirty days, from September 22 to October 22. We 
took similar action on the United/US Airways joint venture agreements. 
67 FR 54525 (August 22, 2002). We understand the need to complete our 
review as promptly as possible, so that the three airlines will know 
our views on whether and under what terms they may go forward with the 
agreements.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on September 17, 2002.
Read C. Van de Water,
Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs.
[FR Doc. 02-23968 Filed 9-19-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-62-P