(a) Except as otherwise provided in this subpart, international slots identified by U.S. carriers for international operations in December 1985 and the equivalent number of international slots held as of February 24, 1998, will be domestic slots. The Chief Counsel of the FAA shall be the final decisionmaker for these determinations.

(b) Canadian carriers shall have a guaranteed base level of slots of 42 slots at LaGuardia, 36 slots at O'Hare for the Sumner season, and 32 slots at O'Hare in the Winter season.

(c) Any modification to the slot base by the Government of Canada or the Canadian carriers that results in a decrease of the guaranteed base in paragraph (b) of this section shall permanently modify the base number of slots.