88Authorisation of contracts, arrangements, and understandings relating to international carriage by air

1. In this section and in sections 89 to 91, unless the context otherwise requires,—

   capacity means a statement, expressed to apply to 1 or more specified airlines, or to all airlines other than 1 or more specified airlines, or to all airlines, specifying the number of flights to be undertaken between specified points in a period or successive periods by the airline or airlines, whether or not by reference to specified classes of aircraft or the number of seats or volume of cargo space to be provided

   commission regime means a statement, expressed to apply to any specified international carriage by air, specifying the rates and bases of calculation of agency commissions (including any benefit, whether in monetary form or otherwise, supplied to an agent) to be allowed, charged, disbursed, given, offered, paid, provided, or retained, in relation to the international carriage by air to which it is expressed to apply, and the circumstances and conditions under and subject to which any such commission is to be allowed, charged, disbursed, given, offered, paid, provided, or retained; and different rates, bases, circumstances, and conditions may be specified in respect of all or any of the following:

   1. international carriage by air provided by different airlines:
   2. international carriage by air arranged by persons of different classes:
   3. international carriage by air provided for persons of different classes

   international carriage by air means the carriage by air of persons, baggage, or cargo—

   1. between New Zealand and any place outside New Zealand; or
   2. where that carriage is purchased, sold, or arranged in New Zealand, between places outside New Zealand

   tariff means a statement, expressed to apply to 1 or more specified airlines, or to all airlines other than 1 or more specified airlines, or to all airlines, specifying—

   1. the fares, rates, and charges applicable to international carriage by air between specified points (whether direct or indirect, and whether or not including any stopovers) that may at any time be provided by the airlines to which it is expressed to apply; and
   2. any conditions subject to which any such fares, rates, and charges, or any of them, are to apply to international carriage by air between those points; and
   3. any conditions subject to which international carriage by air between those points is to be provided on such fares, rates, and charges.

2. The Minister may from time to time specifically authorise all or any provisions of a contract, arrangement, or understanding made between 2 or more persons in respect of international carriage by air and related to such carriage so far as the provisions relate, whether directly or indirectly, to the fixing of tariffs, the application of tariffs, or the fixing of capacity, or any combination thereof.

3. In considering whether to grant authorisation under subsection (2), the Minister shall ensure that the granting of such authorisation will not prejudice compliance with any relevant international convention, agreement, or arrangement to which the Government of New Zealand is a party.

4. Subject to subsection (5), authorisation shall not be given under this section to any provision of any contract, arrangement, or understanding that—

5. provides that any party to it may directly or indirectly enforce it through any form of action by way of fines or market pressures against any person, whether or not that person is a party to the contract, arrangement, or understanding; or
6. has the purpose or effect of breaching the terms of a commission regime issued under section 89; or
7. unjustifiably discriminates between consumers of international air services in the access they have to competitive tariffs; or
8. so far as it relates to tariffs, has the effect of excluding any supplier of international carriage by air from participating in the market to which it relates; or
9. has the purpose or effect of preventing any party from seeking approval, in terms of section 90, for the purpose of selling international carriage by air at any other tariff so approved; or
10. prevents any party from withdrawing without penalty on reasonable notice from the contract, arrangement, or understanding.

11. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (4), the Minister may authorise any provision of any contract, arrangement, or understanding under this section if the Minister believes that to decline authorisation would have an undesirable effect on international comity between New Zealand and any other State.

12. If the Minister declines to authorise any provision of any contract, arrangement, or understanding under this section, the Minister shall give notice in the Gazette that authorisation has been declined.