Common use of Commercial Operations Clause in Contracts

Commercial Operations. 1. The Parties grant each other the rights set out in paragraphs 2 to 17 of this Article. Air carriers of the Parties shall not be required to retain a local partner for the purposes of this Article. Air carrier representatives 2. The air carriers of each Party shall be permitted to freely establish offices and facilities in the territory of another Party as necessary to provide services under this Agreement as far as practicable and without discrimination. 3. Without prejudice to safety and security regulations, where such facilities are located in an airport, they may be subject to limitations on grounds of availability of space. 4. The air carriers of each Party shall be permitted, in accordance with the laws and regulations of another Party relating to entry, residence, and employment, to bring into and maintain in the territory of that other Party managerial, sales, technical, operational, and other specialist staff who are required to support the provision of air transport. The Parties shall process expeditiously the granting of employment authorisations, where required, for personnel employed in the offices referred to in this paragraph, including those performing certain temporary duties, subject to the relevant laws and regulations in force. Ground handling (a) Without prejudice to paragraph 5(b) of this Article, the air carriers of each Party shall, in relation to ground handling in the territory of another Party, be permitted to: (i) perform their own ground handling (self-handling); or (ii) select among competing suppliers, where such suppliers are providing ground handling services in whole or in part, in accordance with the laws and regulations of the Party concerned. (b) Paragraph 5(a) of this Article shall be subject to considerations of safety, security, and physical or operational constraints. Where such considerations limit, prevent, or preclude self-handling and where there is no effective competition between suppliers that provide ground handling services, the relevant Party shall ensure that all such services are available on both an equal and an adequate basis to all air carriers, and that the prices of such services are determined according to relevant, objective, transparent, and non-discriminatory criteria. Allocation of slots at airports 6. Each Party shall ensure that its regulations, guidelines, and procedures for allocation of slots at the airports in its territory are applied in a transparent, effective, non-discriminatory, and timely manner. Operational plans, programmes, and schedules 7. Notification of operational plans, programmes, or schedules for air services operated under this Agreement may be required by a Party to be provided to its competent authorities for information purposes only. If a Party requires such notification, it shall minimise the administrative burden associated with its notification requirements and procedures that is borne by air transport intermediaries and the air carriers of another Party. Sales, local expenses, and transfer of funds 8. The air carriers of each Party shall be permitted to engage in the sale of air transport and related services, both of their own and that of any other air carrier, in the territory of another Party. An air carrier may, at its discretion, do so directly and/or through its sales agents, other intermediaries appointed by the air carrier or through the internet or any other available channel. The sale and purchase of such transport and related services shall be permitted in the currency of the territory of the sale or purchase, or in freely convertible currencies. 9. The air carriers of each Party shall be permitted to pay for local expenses, including purchases of fuel in the territory of another Party, in local currency, or, at their discretion, in freely convertible currencies at the market rate of exchange. (a) The air carriers of each Party shall be permitted on demand to convert local revenues into freely convertible currencies and remit such revenues at any time, in any way, from the territory of another Party to the country of their choice. Conversion and remittance shall be permitted promptly without restrictions or taxation in respect thereof at the market rate of exchange applicable to current transactions and remittance on the date an air carrier makes the initial application for remittance and shall not be subject to any charges except those normally made by banks for carrying out such conversion and remittance. (b) Where, in exceptional circumstances, capital movements and payments, including transfers, cause or threaten to cause serious difficulties for the operation of the economy of a Party, that Party may take measures which restrict the rights laid down in paragraph 10(a) of this Article, provided that such measures are temporary and strictly necessary to address such difficulties. Such measures shall not constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustified discrimination in respect of the air carriers of the other Parties compared to the carriers of any other country. Cooperative marketing arrangements 11. In operating or holding out air transport services under this Agreement, the air carriers of each Party shall be permitted to enter into cooperative marketing arrangements, such as blocked-space or code-sharing arrangements, with: (a) any air carrier or carriers of the Parties; (b) any air carrier or carriers of a third country; and (c) any surface (land or maritime) transport provider of any country, provided that (i) the operating carrier holds the appropriate traffic rights, (ii) the marketing carrier holds the appropriate underlying route rights, and (iii) the arrangements meet the requirements normally applied to such arrangements. 12. In operating or holding out air transport services under this Agreement, subject to Article A, the air carriers of each Party shall be permitted to enter into cooperative marketing arrangements, such as blocked-space or code-sharing arrangements, with an air carrier that is operating a domestic leg, provided that: (a) the domestic leg is part of an international journey; and (b) the arrangements meet the requirements normally applied to such arrangements. For the purposes of this paragraph, a domestic leg means, where the operating carrier of the domestic leg is a carrier of the Union, a route within the territory of an EU Member State; and, where the operating carrier of the domestic leg is a carrier of an ASEAN Member State, a route within the territory of that ASEAN Member State. 13. In respect of the sale of passenger air transport involving cooperative marketing arrangements, the purchaser shall be informed at the point of sale, or in any case at check-in, or before boarding where no check-in is required for a connecting flight, which transport providers will operate each sector of the service. Intermodal services 14. In relation to the transport of passengers, surface transport providers shall not be subject to the laws and regulations governing air transport on the sole basis that such surface transport is held out by an air carrier under its own name. 15. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the air carriers and indirect providers of cargo transport of each Party shall be permitted, without restriction, to employ in connection with international air transport, any surface transport for cargo to or from any points in the territories of the Parties or in third countries, including transport to and from all airports with customs facilities, and (where applicable) the right to transport cargo in bond under the applicable laws and regulations. Such cargo, whether moving by surface or by air, shall have access to airport customs processing and facilities. An air carrier may elect to perform its own surface transport or to provide it through arrangements with other surface transport providers, including surface transport operated by other air carriers and indirect providers of cargo air transport. Such intermodal cargo services may be offered at a single, through price for the air and surface transport combined, provided that shippers are not misled as to the facts concerning such transport.

Commercial Operations. 1. The Parties grant each other the rights set out in paragraphs 2 to 17 of this Article. Air carriers of the Parties shall not be required to retain a local partner for the purposes of this Article. Air carrier representatives. 2. The air carriers of each Party shall be permitted to freely establish offices and facilities in the territory of another Party as necessary to provide services under this Agreement as far as practicable and without discrimination. 3. Without prejudice to safety and security regulations, where such facilities are located in an airport, they may be subject to limitations on grounds of availability of space. 4. The air carriers of each Party shall be permitted, in accordance with the laws and regulations of another Party relating to entry, residence, and employment, to bring into and maintain in the territory of that other Party managerial, sales, technical, operational, and other specialist staff who are required to support the provision of air transport. The Parties shall process expeditiously the granting of employment authorisations, where required, for personnel employed in the offices referred to in this paragraph, including those performing certain temporary duties, subject to the relevant laws and regulations in force. Ground handling. (a) Without prejudice to paragraph 5(b) of this Article, the air carriers of each Party shall, in relation to ground handling in the territory of another Party, be permitted to: (i) perform their own ground handling (self-handling); or (ii) select among competing suppliers, where such suppliers are providing ground handling services in whole or in part, in accordance with the laws and regulations of the Party concerned. (b) Paragraph 5(a) of this Article shall be subject to considerations of safety, security, and physical or operational constraints. Where such considerations limit, prevent, or preclude self-handling and where there is no effective competition between suppliers that provide ground handling services, the relevant Party shall ensure that all such services are available on both an equal and an adequate basis to all air carriers, and that the prices of such services are determined according to relevant, objective, transparent, and non-discriminatory criteria. Allocation of slots at airports. 6. Each Party shall ensure that its regulations, guidelines, and procedures for allocation of slots at the airports in its territory are applied in a transparent, effective, non-discriminatory, and timely manner. Operational plans, programmes, and schedules. 7. Notification of operational plans, programmes, or schedules for air services operated under this Agreement may be required by a Party to be provided to its competent authorities for information purposes only. If a Party requires such notification, it shall minimise the administrative burden associated with its notification requirements and procedures that is borne by air transport intermediaries and the air carriers of another Party. Sales, local expenses, and transfer of funds. 8. The air carriers of each Party shall be permitted to engage in the sale of air transport and related services, both of their own and that of any other air carrier, in the territory of another Party. An air carrier may, at its discretion, do so directly and/or through its sales agents, other intermediaries appointed by the air carrier or through the internet or any other available channel. The sale and purchase of such transport and related services shall be permitted in the currency of the territory of the sale or purchase, or in freely convertible currencies. 9. The air carriers of each Party shall be permitted to pay for local expenses, including purchases of fuel in the territory of another Party, in local currency, or, at their discretion, in freely convertible currencies at the market rate of exchange. (a) The air carriers of each Party shall be permitted on demand to convert local revenues into freely convertible currencies and remit such revenues at any time, in any way, from the territory of another Party to the country of their choice. Conversion and remittance shall be permitted promptly without restrictions or taxation in respect thereof at the market rate of exchange applicable to current transactions and remittance on the date an air carrier makes the initial application for remittance and shall not be subject to any charges except those normally made by banks for carrying out such conversion and remittance. (b) Where, in exceptional circumstances, capital movements and payments, including transfers, cause or threaten to cause serious difficulties for the operation of the economy of a Party, that Party may take measures which restrict the rights laid down in paragraph 10(a) of this Article, provided that such measures are temporary and strictly necessary to address such difficulties. Such measures shall not constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustified discrimination in respect of the air carriers of the other Parties compared to the carriers of any other country. Cooperative marketing arrangements. 11. In operating or holding out air transport services under this Agreement, the air carriers of each Party shall be permitted to enter into cooperative marketing arrangements, such as blocked-space or code-sharing arrangements, with: (a) any air carrier or carriers of the Parties; (b) any air carrier or carriers of a third country; and (c) any surface (land or maritime) transport provider of any country, provided that (i) the operating carrier holds the appropriate traffic rights, (ii) the marketing carrier holds the appropriate underlying route rights, and (iii) the arrangements meet the requirements normally applied to such arrangements. 12. In operating or holding out air transport services under this Agreement, subject to Article A, the air carriers of each Party shall be permitted to enter into cooperative marketing arrangements, such as blocked-space or code-sharing arrangements, with an air carrier that is operating a domestic leg, provided that: (a) the domestic leg is part of an international journey; and (b) the arrangements meet the requirements normally applied to such arrangements. For the purposes of this paragraph, a domestic leg means, where the operating carrier of the domestic leg is a carrier of the Union, a route within the territory of an EU Member State; and, where the operating carrier of the domestic leg is a carrier of an ASEAN Member State, a route within the territory of that ASEAN Member State. 13. In respect of the sale of passenger air transport involving cooperative marketing arrangements, the purchaser shall be informed at the point of sale, or in any case at check-in, or before boarding where no check-in is required for a connecting flight, which transport providers will operate each sector of the service. Intermodal services 14. In relation to the transport of passengers, surface transport providers shall not be subject to the laws and regulations governing air transport on the sole basis that such surface transport is held out by an air carrier under its own name. 15. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the air carriers and indirect providers of cargo transport of each Party shall be permitted, without restriction, to employ in connection with international air transport, any surface transport for cargo to or from any points in the territories of the Parties or in third countries, including transport to and from all airports with customs facilities, and (where applicable) the right to transport cargo in bond under the applicable laws and regulations. Such cargo, whether moving by surface or by air, shall have access to airport customs processing and facilities. An air carrier may elect to perform its own surface transport or to provide it through arrangements with other surface transport providers, including surface transport operated by other air carriers and indirect providers of cargo air transport. Such intermodal cargo services may be offered at a single, through price for the air and surface transport combined, provided that shippers are not misled as to the facts concerning such transport.