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Exchange of Notes constituting an Agreement to amend the Air Transport Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the United Mexican States, done at Mexico on December 21, 1961, as amended [2000] CATSer 16 (22 September 2000)

E103214 - CTS 2000 No. 20

EXCHANGE OF NOTES CONSTITUTING AN AGREEMENT TO AMEND THE AIR TRANSPORT AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED MEXICAN STATES, DONE AT MEXICO ON DECEMBER 21, 1961, AS AMENDED

I

The Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the United Mexican States to the Ambassador of Canada to Mexico

MEXICO CITY, April 9, 1999

His Excellency Mr. S. E. Gooch
Ambassador of Canada in Mexico

Mr. Ambassador,

I have the honour to refer to the consultations between the aeronautical authorities of the United Mexican States and of Canada held in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, February 01-02, 1999, during which they agreed to amend the Agreement on Air Transport between the two countries signed on December 21, 1961, as amended (the Agreement), introducing amendments to Articles VI, VII, X and XI; the addition of provisions relating to the operation of passenger charter flights and amendments to Sections I and II of the Route Schedule, along the following lines:

Article VI of the Agreement is superseded in its entirety and the following is substituted therefore:

PROVISIONS ON SAFETY STANDARDS, CERTIFICATES AND LICENCES

1. Certificates of airworthiness, certificates of competency and licences, issued or rendered valid by the aeronautical authorities of one Contracting Party and still in force, shall be recognized as valid by the aeronautical authorities of the other Contracting Party for the purpose of operating the agreed services provided that such certificates or licences were issued or rendered valid pursuant to, and in conformity with, the standards established under the Convention. The aeronautical authorities of each Contracting Party reserve the right, however, to refuse to recognize, for the purpose of flights above its own territory, certificates of competency and licences granted to its own nationals by the other Contracting Party.

2. If the privileges or conditions of the licences or certificates referred to in paragraph 1 above, issued by the aeronautical authorities of one Contracting Party to any person or designated airline or in respect of an aircraft used in the operation of the agreed services, should permit a difference from the standards established under the Convention, and which difference has been filed with the International Civil Aviation Organization, the other Contracting Party may request consultations between the aeronautical authorities with a view to clarifying the practice in question.

3. Consultations concerning the safety standards and requirements maintained and administered by the aeronautical authorities of the other Contracting Party relating to aeronautical facilities, aircrew, aircraft, and operation of the designated airlines shall be held within fifteen (15) days of receipt of a request from either Contracting Party. If, after fifteen (15) days from the date of the request for consultations, the aeronautical authorities of one Contracting Party find that the aeronautical authorities of the other Contracting Party do not effectively maintain and administer safety standards and requirements in these areas that are at least equal to the minimum standards which may be established pursuant to the Convention, the aeronautical authorities of the other Contracting Party shall be notified of such findings and the steps considered necessary to conform with these minimum standards. Failure to take appropriate corrective action within a reasonable time shall constitute grounds for withholding, revoking, suspending or imposing conditions on the authorizations of the airline or airlines designated by the other Contracting Party.

Article VII is amended as follows:

AIRLINE PRINTED MATERIAL

1. With respect to Article VII, aircraft stores shall include items intended for use, or used solely in connection with the operation or servicing of aircraft of that airline as well as printed ticket stock, air waybills, any printed material which bears the insignia of the company printed thereon and usual publicity material distributed without charge by that airline.

Article X of the Agreement is superseded in its entirety and the following is substituted therefor:

PROVISIONS ON CAPACITY

1. There shall be fair and equal opportunity for the designated airlines of both Contracting Parties to operate the agreed services on the specified routes.

2. In operating the agreed services, the designated airlines of each Contracting Party shall take into account the interest of the designated airline or airlines of the other Contracting Party so as not to affect unduly the services which the latter provide on the whole or part of the same routes.

3. The agreed services provided by the designated airlines of the Contracting Parties shall bear reasonable relationship to the requirements of the public for transportation on the specified routes and shall have as their primary objective the provision, at a reasonable load factor, of capacity adequate to meet the current and reasonably anticipated requirements for the carriage of passengers, mail and cargo between the territory of the Contracting Party which has designated the airline and the countries of ultimate destination of the traffic.

4. Provision for the carriage of passengers, mail and cargo both taken up and discharged at points on the specified routes in the territories of States other than that designating the airline shall be made in accordance with the general principle that capacity shall be related to:

(a) traffic requirements to and from the territory of the Contracting Party which has designated the airline;

(b) traffic requirements of the area through which the airline passes after taking account of other transport services established by airlines of the States comprising the area; and

(c) the requirements of through airline operation.

5. Each designated airline of a Contracting Party shall be free to use its commercial judgment with respect to the capacity to be provided consistent with the principles set out in this Article. Neither Contracting Party or its aeronautical authorities may unilaterally impose any restrictions on the designated airline or airlines of the other Contracting Party with respect to capacity, frequency or type of aircraft employed in connection with services over any of the routes specified in the Annex to this Agreement.

Article XI is amended as follows:

STATUTORY NOTICE PERIOD FOR FILING TARIFFS:

1. With reference to paragraph 2 of Article XI of the Agreement, proposed tariffs shall, if required, be filed at least fifteen (15) days before the proposed date of introduction in lieu of forty-five days. Similarly, with respect to paragraph 4 of the said Article, the period for notice of dissatisfaction for filed tariffs shall be at least ten (10) days in lieu of thirty (30) days.

The following provisions are added to the Agreement relative to the operation of passenger charter flights:

CHARTER AIR SERVICES

1. In the performance of charters Canadian and Mexican air carriers shall have the right, without uplift ratio restrictions, capacity/frequency limitations, the offering of a right of first refusal to designated air carriers, and on a nondiscriminatory basis, to:

(a) carry traffic between any point or points in the territory of the Contracting Party of which the air carrier is a national and any point or points in the territory of the other Contracting Party, without local or stopover traffic rights between points in the territory of the other Contracting Party;

(b) combine on the same aircraft international charter traffic destined to a point(s) in the territory of the other Contracting Party with traffic destined to a point(s) in a third country, without local or stopover traffic rights between the territory of the other Contracting Party and the third country;

(c) charter the unused bellyhold space of aircraft chartered for the carriage of passengers for the carriage of cargo.

2. Charter flights or series of charter flights shall be sold and operated in accordance with the charter regulations of the country of origin of the charter traffic. To the fullest extent possible the aeronautical authorities shall minimize the administrative burden imposed on air carriers.

3. Fees or charges for permits to operate charters applied by the aeronautical authorities of one Contracting Party to the airlines of the other Contracting Party shall be no higher than the lowest such fees or charges applied to any other air carrier operating international charters to or from that territory.

The Route Schedule of the Agreement is superseded in its entirety and the following is substituted therefore:

ROUTE SCHEDULE

SECTION I

The following route may be operated in each direction by an airline or airlines designated by the Government of Canada:

Notes:

1. Intransit and own stopover rights shall be available at Intermediate Points and at Points in Mexico. Stopover rights shall not be available between Points in Mexico. At the option of each designated airline, on-line connections may be made at any of the points on the route. No fifth freedom rights shall be available between Intermediate Points and Points in Mexico and between Points in Mexico and Points Beyond.

2. Any Intermediate Points and/or Points Beyond may be omitted on any or all services, provided that all services originate or terminate in Canada. Points in Mexico may be served separately or in combination.

3. Subject to the regulatory requirements normally applied by the aeronautical authorities of the United Mexican States, the designated airline or airlines of Canada may enter into co-operative arrangements for the purpose of code-sharing (i.e., selling transportation under its/their own code) on flights operated by the designated airline or airlines of Mexico and/or on flights operated by airlines of third countries. All airlines in such arrangements shall hold the appropriate authority. Airlines shall be permitted to transfer traffic between aircraft for the purpose of code-sharing. Fifth freedom rights shall not be authorized for the purposes of code sharing and own aircraft services.

4. Notwithstanding the provisions of Article III of the Agreement, the Government of Canada may designate up to two airlines to operate own aircraft services between each point in Canada and each point in Mexico. Additional airlines may be authorized for code sharing services, on the flights of the designated airlines of the other Contracting Party and airlines of third countries, in each city pair.

5. With respect to paragraph 4 the additional designation between Toronto and Mexico City shall be available after one year from February 2, 1999, unless a shorter period is agreed by both governments. However, a second airline, authorized for code share services may operate the Mexico City -Toronto route.

SECTION II

The following route may be operated in each direction by an airline or airlines designated by the Government of the United Mexican States:

Notes:

1. Intransit and own stopover rights shall be available at Intermediate Points and at Points in Canada. Stopover rights shall not be available between Points in Canada. At the option of each designated airline, on- line connections may be made at any of the points on the route. No fifth freedom rights shall be available between Intermediate Points and Points in Canada and between Points in Canada and Points Beyond.

2. Any Intermediate Points and/or Points Beyond may be omitted on any or all services, provided that all services originate or terminate in Mexico. Points in Canada may be served separately or in combination.

3. Subject to the regulatory requirements normally applied by the aeronautical authorities of Canada, the designated airline or airlines of Mexico may enter into co-operative arrangements for the purpose of code-sharing (i.e., selling transportation under its/their own code) on flights operated by the designated airline or airlines of Canada and/or on flights operated by airlines of third countries. All airlines in such arrangements shall hold the appropriate authority. Airlines shall be permitted to transfer traffic between aircraft for the purpose of code-sharing. Fifth freedom rights shall not be authorized for the purposes of code sharing and own aircraft services.

4. Notwithstanding the provisions of Article III of the Agreement, the Government of Mexico may designate up to two airlines to operate own aircraft services between each point in Mexico and each point in Canada. Additional airlines may be authorized for code sharing services, on the flights of the designated airlines of the other Contracting Party and airlines of third countries, in each city pair.

With respect to paragraph 4 the additional designation between Toronto and Mexico City shall be available after one year from February 2, 1999, unless a shorter period is agreed by both governments. However, a second airline, authorized for code share services may operate the Mexico City -Toronto route".

If the foregoing amendments are acceptable to your Excellency's Government, I have the honour to propose that this Note, the text of which is equally authentic in English, French and Spanish, and your reply in confirmation thereto, shall constitute an Agreement between our two Governments which shall permit its entry into force on the date when both Contracting Parties shall have informed each other through diplomatic channels, that they have fulfilled the formal requirements under their national law, in conformity with the provisions of Article XX of the Agreement.

Accept, Excellency, the renewed assurances of my highest consideration.

Ambassador Rosario Green
Secretary of Foreign Affairs
United Mexican States

II

The Ambassador of Canada to Mexico to the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the United Mexican States

CANADIAN EMBASSY

MEXICO CITY, April 9, 1999

No. 062

H. E. Rosario Green
Secretary of Foreign Affairs
Mexico City

Excellency:

I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of your Note No. 1880 dated April 9, 1999, which reads as follows:

"I have the honour to refer to the consultations between the aeronautical authorities of the United Mexican States and of Canada held in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, February 01-02, 1999, during which they agreed to amend the Agreement on Air Transport between the two countries signed on December 21, 1961, as amended (the Agreement), introducing amendments to Articles VI, VII, X and XI; the addition of provisions relating to the operation of passenger charter flights and amendments to Sections I and II of the Route Schedule, along the following lines:

Article VI of the Agreement is superseded in its entirety and the following is substituted therefor:

PROVISIONS ON SAFETY STANDARDS, CERTIFICATES AND LICENCES

1. Certificates of airworthiness, certificates of competency and licences, issued or rendered valid by the aeronautical authorities of one Contracting Party and still in force, shall be recognized as valid by the aeronautical authorities of the other Contracting Party for the purpose of operating the agreed services provided that such certificates or licences were issued or rendered valid pursuant to, and in conformity with, the standards established under the Convention. The aeronautical authorities of each Contracting Party reserve the right, however, to refuse to recognize, for the purpose of flights above its own territory, certificates of competency and licences granted to its own nationals by the other Contracting Party.

2. If the privileges or conditions of the licences or certificates referred to in paragraph 1 above, issued by the aeronautical authorities of one Contracting Party to any person or designated airline or in respect of an aircraft used in the operation of the agreed services, should permit a difference from the standards established under the Convention, and which difference has been filed with the International Civil Aviation Organization, the other Contracting Party may request consultations between the aeronautical authorities with a view to clarifying the practice in question.

3. Consultations concerning the safety standards and requirements maintained and administered by the aeronautical authorities of the other Contracting Party relating to aeronautical facilities, aircrew, aircraft, and operation of the designated airlines shall be held within fifteen (15) days of receipt of a request from either Contracting Party. If, after fifteen (15) days from the date of the request for consultations, the aeronautical authorities of one Contracting Party find that the aeronautical authorities of the other Contracting Party do not effectively maintain and administer safety standards and requirements in these areas that are at least equal to the minimum standards which may be established pursuant to the Convention, the aeronautical authorities of the other Contracting Party shall be notified of such findings and the steps considered necessary to conform with these minimum standards. Failure to take appropriate corrective action within a reasonable time shall constitute grounds for withholding, revoking, suspending or imposing conditions on the authorizations of the airline or airlines designated by the other Contracting Party.

Article VII is amended as follows:

AIRLINE PRINTED MATERIAL

With respect to Article VII, aircraft stores shall include items intended for use, or used solely in connection with the operation or servicing of aircraft of that airline as well as printed ticket stock, air waybills, any printed material which bears the insignia of the company printed thereon and usual publicity material distributed without charge by that airline.

Article X of the Agreement is superseded in its entirety and the following is substituted therefor:

PROVISIONS ON CAPACITY

1. There shall be fair and equal opportunity for the designated airlines of both Contracting Parties to operate the agreed services on the specified routes.

2. In operating the agreed services, the designated airlines of each Contracting Party shall take into account the interest of the designated airline or airlines of the other Contracting Party so as not to affect unduly the services which the latter provide on the whole or part of the same routes.

3. The agreed services provided by the designated airlines of the Contracting Parties shall bear reasonable relationship to the requirements of the public for transportation on the specified routes and shall have as their primary objective the provision, at a reasonable load factor, of capacity adequate to meet the current and reasonably anticipated requirements for the carriage of passengers, mail and cargo between the territory of the Contracting Party which has designated the airline and the countries of ultimate destination of the traffic.

4. Provision for the carriage of passengers, mail and cargo both taken up and discharged at points on the specified routes in the territories of States other than that designating the airline shall be made in accordance with the general principle that capacity shall be related to:

(a) traffic requirements to and from the territory of the Contracting Party which has designated the airline;

(b) traffic requirements of the area through which the airline passes after taking account of other transport services established by airlines of the States comprising the area; and

(c) the requirements of through airline operation.

5. Each designated airline of a Contracting Party shall be free to use its commercial judgment with respect to the capacity to be provided consistent with the principles set out in this Article. Neither Contracting Party or its aeronautical authorities may unilaterally impose any restrictions on the designated airline or airlines of the other Contracting Party with respect to capacity, frequency or type of aircraft employed in connection with services over any of the routes specified in the Annex to this Agreement.

Article XI is amended as follows:

STATUTORY NOTICE PERIOD FOR FILING TARIFFS:

With reference to paragraph 2 of Article XI of the Agreement, proposed tariffs shall, if required, be filed at least fifteen (15) days before the proposed date of introduction in lieu of forty-five days. Similarly, with respect to paragraph 4 of the said Article, the period for notice of dissatisfaction for filed tariffs shall be at least ten (10) days in lieu of thirty (30) days.

The following provisions are added to the Agreement relative to the operation of passenger charter flights:

CHARTER AIR SERVICES

1. In the performance of charters Canadian and Mexican air carriers shall have the right, without uplift ratio restrictions, capacity/frequency limitations, the offering of a right of first refusal to designated air carriers, and on a nondiscriminatory basis, to:

(a) carry traffic between any point or points in the territory of the Contracting Party of which the air carrier is a national and any point or points in the territory of the other Contracting Party, without local or stopover traffic rights between points in the territory of the other Contracting Party;

(b) combine on the same aircraft international charter traffic destined to a point(s) in the territory of the other Contracting Party with traffic destined to a point(s) in a third country, without local or stopover traffic rights between the territory of the other Contracting Party and the third country;

(c) charter the unused bellyhold space of aircraft chartered for the carriage of passengers for the carriage of cargo.

2. Charter flights or series of charter flights shall be sold and operated in accordance with the charter regulations of the country of origin of the charter traffic. To the fullest extent possible the aeronautical authorities shall minimize the administrative burden imposed on air carriers.

3. Fees or charges for permits to operate charters applied by the aeronautical authorities of one Contracting Party to the airlines of the other Contracting Party shall be no higher than the lowest such fees or charges applied to any other air carrier operating international charters to or from that territory.

The Route Schedule of the Agreement is superseded in its entirety and the following is substituted therefor:

ROUTE SCHEDULE

SECTION I

The following route may be operated in each direction by an airline or airlines designated by the Government of Canada:

Points in Canada		Intermediate Points		Points in Mexico		Points Beyond
Any point or points		Any point or points		Any point or points		Any point or points

Notes:

1. Intransit and own stopover rights shall be available at Intermediate Points and at Points in Mexico. Stopover rights shall not be available between Points in Mexico. At the option of each designated airline, on-line connections may be made at any of the points on the route. No fifth freedom rights shall be available between Intermediate Points and Points in Mexico and between Points in Mexico and Points Beyond.

2. Any Intermediate Points and/or Points Beyond may be omitted on any or all services, provided that all services originate or terminate in Canada. Points in Mexico may be served separately or in combination.

3. Subject to the regulatory requirements normally applied by the aeronautical authorities of the United Mexican States, the designated airline or airlines of Canada may enter into co-operative arrangements for the purpose of code-sharing (i.e., selling transportation under its/their own code) on flights operated by the designated airline or airlines of Mexico and/or on flights operated by airlines of third countries. All airlines in such arrangements shall hold the appropriate authority. Airlines shall be permitted to transfer traffic between aircraft for the purpose of code-sharing. Fifth freedom rights shall not be authorized for the purposes of code sharing and own aircraft services.

4. Notwithstanding the provisions of Article III of the Agreement, the Government of Canada may designate up to two airlines to operate own aircraft services between each point in Canada and each point in Mexico. Additional airlines may be authorized for code sharing services, on the flights of the designated airlines of the other Contracting Party and airlines of third countries, in each city pair.

5. With respect to paragraph 4 the additional designation between Toronto and Mexico City shall be available after one year from February 2, 1999, unless a shorter period is agreed by both governments. However, a second airline, authorized for code share services may operate the Mexico City -Toronto route.

SECTION II

The following route may be operated in each direction by an airline or airlines designated by the Government of the United Mexican States:

Points in Mexico		Intermediate Points		Points in Canada		Points Beyond
Any point or points		Any point or points		Any point or points		Any point or points

Notes:

1. Intransit and own stopover rights shall be available at Intermediate Points and at Points in Canada. Stopover rights shall not be available between Points in Canada. At the option of each designated airline, on- line connections may be made at any of the points on the route. No fifth freedom rights shall be available between Intermediate Points and Points in Canada and between Points in Canada and Points Beyond.

2. Any Intermediate Points and/or Points Beyond may be omitted on any or all services, provided that all services originate or terminate in Mexico. Points in Canada may be served separately or in combination.

3. Subject to the regulatory requirements normally applied by the aeronautical authorities of Canada, the designated airline or airlines of Mexico may enter into co-operative arrangements for the purpose of code-sharing (i.e., selling transportation under its/their own code) on flights operated by the designated airline or airlines of Canada and/or on flights operated by airlines of third countries. All airlines in such arrangements shall hold the appropriate authority. Airlines shall be permitted to transfer traffic between aircraft for the purpose of code-sharing. Fifth freedom rights shall not be authorized for the purposes of code sharing and own aircraft services.

4. Notwithstanding the provisions of Article III of the Agreement, the Government of Mexico may designate up to two airlines to operate own aircraft services between each point in Mexico and each point in Canada. Additional airlines may be authorized for code sharing services, on the flights of the designated airlines of the other Contracting Party and airlines of third countries, in each city pair.

5. With respect to paragraph 4 the additional designation between Toronto and Mexico City shall be available after one year from February 2, 1999, unless a shorter period is agreed by both governments. However, a second airline, authorized for code share services may operate the Mexico City -Toronto route".

If the foregoing amendments are acceptable to your Excellency's Government, I have the honour to propose that this Note, the text of which is equally authentic in English, French and Spanish, and your reply in confirmation thereto, shall constitute an Agreement between our two Governments which shall permit its entry into force on the date when both Contracting Parties shall have informed each other through diplomatic channels, that they have fulfilled the formal requirements under their national law, in conformity with the provisions of Article XX of the Agreement".

I have the honour to inform you that the Government of Canada accepts the proposals set forth in your Note and agrees that your Note, which is equally authentic in English, French and Spanish, and this reply, shall constitute an Agreement to amend the Air Transport Agreement between our two Governments signed at Mexico City, D.F. on December 21, 1961, as amended, which shall enter into force on the date when both Contracting Parties shall have informed each other through diplomatic channels, that they have fulfilled the formal requirements under their national law, in conformity with the provisions of Article XX of the Agreement.

Accept, Excellency, the renewed assurances of my highest consideration.

Stanley E. Gooch

Ambassador of Canada