(a) Any air carrier of commuter operator having the authority to
conduct international operations shall be provided slots for those
operations, excluding transborder service solely between HDR airports and
Canada, subject to the following conditions and the other provisions of
this section:
(1) The slot may be used only for a flight segment in which either the
takeoff or landing is at a foreign point or, for foreign operators, the
flight segment is a continuation of a flight that begins or ends at a
foreign point. Slots may be obtained and used under this section only for
operations at Kennedy and O'Hare airports unless otherwise required by
bilateral agreement and only for scheduled service unless the requesting
carrier qualifies for the slot on the basis of historic seasonal
operations, under §93.217(a)(5).
(2) Slots used for an operation described in paragraph (a)(1) of this
section may not be bought, sold, leased, or otherwise transferred, except
that such a slot may be traded to another slot-holder on a one-for-one
basis for a slot at the same airport in a different hour or half-hour
period if the trade is for the purpose of conducting such an operation in
a different hour or half-hour period.
(3) Slots used for operations described in paragraph (a)(1) of this
section must be returned to the FAA if the slot will not be used for such
operations for more than a 2-week period.
(4) Each air carrier or commuter operator having a slot that is used
for operations described in paragraph (a)(1) of this section but is not
used every day of the week shall notify the office specified in
§93.221(a)(1) in writing of those days on which the slots will not be
used.
(5) Except as provided in paragraph (a)(10) of this section, at Kennedy
and O'Hare Airports, a slot shall be allocated, upon request, for seasonal
international operations, including charter operations, if the Chief
Counsel of the FAA determines that the slot had been permanently allocated
to and used by the requesting carrier in the same hour and for the same
time period during the corresponding season of the preceding year.
Requests for such slots must be submitted to the office specified in
§93.221(a)(1), by the deadline published in a FEDERAL REGISTER notice for
each season. For operations during the 1986 summer season, requests under
this paragraph must have been submitted to the FAA on or before February
1, 1986. Each carrier requesting a slot under this paragraph must submit
its entire international schedule at the relevant airport for the
particular season, noting which requests are in addition to or changes
from the previous year.
(6) Except as provided in paragraph (a)(10) of this section, additional
slots shall be allocated at O'Hare Airport for international scheduled air
carrier and commuter operations (beyond those slots allocated under
§§93.215 and 93.217(a)(5) if a request is submitted to the office
specified in §93.221(a)(1) and filed by the deadline published in a
FEDERAL REGISTER notice for each season. These slots will be allocated at
the time requested unless a slot is available within one hour of the
requested time, in which case the unallocated slots will be used to
satisfy the request.
(7) If required by bilateral agreement, additional slots shall be
allocated at LaGuardia Airport for international scheduled passenger
operations within the hour requested.
(8) To the extent vacant slots are available, additional slots during
the high density hours shall be allocated at Kennedy Airport for new
international scheduled air carrier and commuter operations (beyond those
operations for which slots have been allocated under §§93.215 and
93.217(a)(5)), if a request is submitted to the office specified in
§93.221(a)(1) by the deadline published in a FEDERAL REGISTER notice for
each season. In addition, slots may be withdrawn from domestic operations
for operations at Kennedy Airport under this paragraph if required by
international obligations.
(9) In determining the hour in which a slot request under
§§93.217(a)(6) and 93.217(a)(8) will be granted, the following will be
taken into consideration, among other things:
(i) The availability of vacant slot times;
(ii) International obligations;
(iii) Airport terminal capacity, including facilities and personnel of
the U.S. Customs Service and the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization
Service;
(iv) The extent and regularity of intended use of a slot; and
(v) Schedule constraints of carriers requesting slots.
(10) At O'Hare Airport, a slot will not be allocated under this section
to a carrier holding or operating 100 or more permanent slots on the
previous May 15 for a winter season or October 15 for a summer season
unless:
(i) Allocation of the slot does not result in a total allocation to
that carrier under this section that exceeds the number of slots allocated
to and scheduled by that carrier under this section on February 23, 1990,
and as reduced by the number of slots reclassified under §93.218, and does
not exceed by more than 2 the number of slots allocated to and scheduled
by that carrier during any half hour of that day, or
(ii) Notwithstanding the number of slots allocated under paragraph
(a)(10)(i) of this section, a slot is available for allocation without
withdrawal of a permanent slot from any carrier.
(b) If a slot allocated under §93.215 was scheduled for an operation
described in paragraph (a)(1) of this section on December 16, 1985, its
use shall be subject to the requirements of paragraphs (a)(1) through
(a)(4) of this section. The requirements also apply to slots used for
international operations at LaGuardia Airport.
(c) If a slot is offered to a carrier in other than the hour requested,
the carrier shall have 14 days after the date of the offer to accept the
newly offered slot. Acceptance must be in writing and sent to the office
specified in §93.221(a)(1) and must repeat the certified statements
required by paragraph (e) of this section.
(d) The Office of the Secretary of Transportation reserves the right
not to apply the provisions of this section, concerning the allocation of
slots, to any foreign air carrier or commuter operator of a country that
provides slots to U.S. air carriers and commuter operators on a basis more
restrictive than provided by this subpart. Decisions not to apply the
provisions of this section will be made by the Office of the Secretary of
Transportation.
(e) Each request for slots under this section shall state the airport,
days of the week and time of the day of the desired slots and the period
of time the slots are to be used. Each request shall identify whether the
slot is requested under paragraph (a)(5), (6), or (8) and identify any
changes from the previous year if requested under both paragraphs. The
request must be accompanied by a certified statement signed by an officer
of the operator indicating that the operator has or has contracted for
aircraft capable of being utilized in using the slots requested and that
the operator has bona fide plans to use the requested slots for operations
described in paragraph (a).