AGREEMENT TO AMEND THE AIR TRANSPORT AGREEMENT OF JUNE 18, 1998 BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC

(Washington, 10 October 2000)

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 10 OCTOBER 2000

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC, 

Contracting Parties to the Air Transport Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the French Republic, signed at Washington June 18, 1998 (the "Agreement");
 
DESIRING to promote an international aviation system based on competition among airlines in the marketplace with appropriate government regulation and offering the airlines of both Parties fair and equal opportunities to compete;
 
DESIRING to establish possibilities for passenger intermodal cooperation between airlines and surface transportation providers;
 
DESIRING to expand choices for passengers and link additional cities to the international transportation network;
 
BEING PARTIES to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, opened for signature at Chicago on December 7, 1944, 

HAVE AGREED, pursuant to Article 15 of the Agreement, to amend the following provisions:

Article 1

Article 8 shall be amended by adding the following paragraph 8: 

"8. Consistent with the rights in this Agreement, and in connection with international air transportation, airlines of each Party shall be permitted to hold out passenger services under their own name, through cooperative arrangements with surface transportation providers holding the appropriate authority to provide such surface transportation to and from any points in the territories of the Parties or in third countries. Surface transportation providers shall not be subject to laws and regulations governing air transportation on the sole basis that such surface transportation is held out by an airline under its own name. Such intermodal services may be offered at a single through price for the air and surface transportation combined, provided that passengers are not misled as to the facts concerning such transportation. Surface transportation providers have the discretion to decide whether to enter into cooperative arrangements. In deciding on any particular arrangement, surface transportation providers may consider, among other things, consumer interests and technical, economic, space, or capacity restraints."

Article 2

Annex V shall be amended by adding a subparagraph A.2(e) to Section 2: 

"(e) Except for the rights specified for United Airlines/British Midland in (b) (iii) of paragraph 2, airlines granted authority under subparagraphs (a) - (d) of this paragraph may exercise their respective rights with either third-country surface transportation providers or third-country airlines."

Article 3

Annex V shall be amended further by adding the following at the end of Subsection B of Section 2: 

"The above limitations also shall apply to passenger intermodal cooperative arrangements authorized pursuant to Section 2, subparagraph A.2(e) of this Annex."

Article 4

The present Agreement shall enter into force on the date of signature.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned, being duly authorized by their respective Governments, have signed the present Amendment.

DONE at Washington, this tenth day of October, 2000, in two originals, in the English and French languages, both texts being equally authentic.

SIGNATORIES:

FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:

Rodney E. Slater
Secretary of Transportation
 
	FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC:

Jean-Claude Gayssot
Minister for Public Works, Transport, and Housing