Commercial opportunities
Article 10
1. The airlines of each Party shall have the right to establish offices in the territory of the other Party for the promotion and sale of air transportation and related activities. 2. The airlines of each Party shall be entitled, in accordance with the laws and regulations of the other Party relating to entry, residence, and employment, to bring in and maintain in the territory of the other Party managerial, sales, technical, operational, and other specialist staff who are required to support the provision of air transportation. 3. (a) Without prejudice to subparagraph (b) below, each airline shall have in relation to ground handling in the territory of the other Party: (i) the right to perform its own ground-handling (self-handling) or, at its option (ii) the right to select among competing suppliers that provide ground-handling services in whole or in part where such suppliers are allowed market access on the basis of the laws and regulations of each Party, and where such suppliers are present in the market. (b) The rights under (i) and (ii) in subparagraph (a) above shall be subject only to specific constraints of available space or capacity arising from the need to maintain safe operation of the airport. Where such constraints preclude self-handling and where there is no effective competition between suppliers that provide ground-handling services, all such services shall be available on both an equal and an adequate basis to all airlines; prices of such services shall not exceed their full cost including a reasonable return on assets, after depreciation. 4. Any airline of each Party may engage in the sale of air transportation in the territory of the other Party directly and/or, at the airline's discretion, through its sales agents or other intermediaries appointed by the airline. Each airline shall have the right to sell such transportation, and any person shall be free to purchase such transportation, in the currency of that territory or in freely convertible currencies. 5. Each airline shall have the right to convert and remit from the territory of the other Party to its home territory and, except where inconsistent with generally applicable law or regulation, the country or countries of its choice, on demand, local revenues in excess of sums locally disbursed. Conversion and remittance shall be permitted promptly without restrictions or taxation in respect thereof at the rate of exchange applicable to current transactions and remittance on the date the carrier makes the initial application for remittance. 6. The airlines of each Party shall be permitted to pay for local expenses, including purchases of fuel, in the territory of the other Party in local currency. At their discretion, the airlines of each Party may pay for such expenses in the territory of the other Party in freely convertible currencies according to local currency regulation. 7. In operating or holding out services under the Agreement, any airline of a Party may enter into cooperative marketing arrangements, such as blocked-space or code-sharing arrangements, with: (a) any airline or airlines of the Parties; (b) any airline or airlines of a third country; and (c) a surface (land or maritime) transportation provider of any country; provided that (i) all participants in such arrangements hold the appropriate authority and (ii) the arrangements meet the conditions prescribed under the laws and regulations normally applied by the Parties to the operation or holding out of international air transportation. 8. The airlines of each Party shall be entitled to enter into franchising or branding arrangements with companies, including airlines, of either Party or third countries, provided that the airlines hold the appropriate authority and meet the conditions prescribed under the laws and regulations normally applied by the Parties to such arrangements. Annex 5 shall apply to such arrangements. 9. The airlines of each Party may enter into arrangements for the provision of aircraft with crew for international air transportation with: (a) any airlines or airlines of the Parties; and (b) any airlines or airlines of a third country; provided that all participants in such arrangements hold the appropriate authority and meet the conditions prescribed under the laws and regulations normally applied by the Parties to such arrangements. Neither Party shall require an airline of either Party providing the aircraft to hold traffic rights under this Agreement for the routes on which the aircraft will be operated. 10. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, airlines and indirect providers of cargo transportation of the Parties shall be permitted, without restriction, to employ in connection with international air transportation any surface transportation 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 including, where applicable, the right to transport cargo in bond under applicable laws and regulations. Such cargo, whether moving by surface or by air, shall have access to airport customs processing and facilities. Airlines may elect to perform their own surface transportation or to provide it through arrangements with other surface carriers, including surface transportation operated by other airlines and indirect providers of cargo air transportation. Such inter-modal cargo services may be offered at a single, through price for the air and surface transportation combined, provided that shippers are not misled as to the facts concerning such transportation.