Jonathon advises U.S. and foreign airlines, public charter operators, aviation industry trade associations, and travel intermediaries (e.g., online travel agencies, travel management companies, and tour operators) on matters arising under the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) economic regulations, including licensing and registration, consumer protection requirements, and investigations and enforcement actions. He also counsels aviation clients on U.S. carrier continuing fitness and citizenship requirements, competition matters, joint ventures and airline alliances, traffic rights under bilateral air service agreements, multilateral treaties concerning liabilities in international air carriage, and competitive route and slot-award proceedings.
As part of his regulatory practice, Jonathon counsels passenger and all-cargo airlines and other aircraft operators (including both crewed aircraft and uncrewed, i.e., drone, operators), aviation manufacturers, fixed-based operators, and shippers under the Federal Aviation Regulations, Civil Aviation Security Regulations, and Hazardous Materials Regulations. He also regularly represents such entities before government agencies, including adversarial proceedings and civil penalty actions before the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Before entering private practice, Jonathon was a presidential management fellow in the Office of the Secretary and Office of the General Counsel at the DOT. From 1998 through 2001, Jonathon worked in the planning department of a major U.S. network airline. He has extensive knowledge of both the legal and business sides of the commercial aviation industry.
Jonathon has consistently been ranked as a leading aviation and regulatory attorney in peer-review publications, including Chambers USA, Who’s Who Legal, and Expert Guides. He serves on the adjunct faculty at Georgetown University Law Center, where he teaches Aviation Law, and currently is the editor-in-chief for the American Bar Association's Air & Space Lawyer.
Jonathon earned his bachelor’s degree, cum laude, from American University and his law degree from Northeastern University School of Law. He is fluent in Spanish.