August 11, 2008

Exemption No. 9738

Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2008-0814

Mr. Glenn E. Nordling

Vice President Flight Operations

Sun Country Airlines

1300 Mendota Heights Road

Mendota Heights, MN 55120

Dear Mr. Nordling:

This letter is to inform you that we have granted your request for
exemption. It transmits our decision, explains its basis, and gives you
the conditions and limitations of the exemption, including the date it
ends.

**The Basis for Our Decision**

By letter dated July 17, 2008, you petitioned the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) on behalf of Sun Country Airlines (Sun Country) for
an exemption from §§ 121.623(a) and (d), 121.643 and 121.645(e) of
Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR). That exemption, if
granted, would allow Sun Country to conduct its supplemental operations
within the 48 contiguous United States and the District of Columbia
using the flight regulations for alternate airports as required by §
121.619 and fuel reserve requirements as required by § 121.639 that are
applicable to domestic operations.

The FAA has determined that good cause exists for not publishing a
summary of the petition in the [Federal Register]{.underline} because
the requested exemption would not set a precedent, and any delay in
acting on this petition would be detrimental to Sun Country.

The FAA has issued a partial grant of exemption in circumstances similar
in all material respects to those presented in your petition. In Partial
Grant of Exemption No. 5307, as amended (copy enclosed), the FAA noted
that when a domestic air carrier initiates a flight without designating
an alternate, its dispatcher, a certificated airman, is required to
monitor the weather and other events that could change and prevent a
safe completion of that flight. Should such an occurrence arise, the
regulations require the dispatcher to relay this occurrence rapidly to
the flightcrew and provide them with information to complete the flight
safely. The FAA further noted that there are no such requirements for
flights conducted by a supplemental air carrier.

The FAA agreed with the previous petitioners that significant fuel
savings would result if the air carriers were granted an exemption from
the requirement to carry enough fuel to fly to an alternate airport when
the weather conditions were such that, under the domestic regulations of
part 121, alternate airport fuel would not be required to be carried.

After careful consideration of the facts and circumstances of the
previous petitions, the FAA found that an exemption providing relief
from the fuel supply and alternate airport requirements applicable to
supplemental air carriers would not adversely affect safety because the
fuel supply, dispatch system, flight time limitations, and crew rest
requirements applicable to domestic air carriers would be established in
their place.

Having reviewed your reasons for requesting an exemption, I find that---

-   they do not differ materially from those presented by the petitioner
    in the enclosed partial grant of exemption;

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-   the reasons stated by the FAA for granting the enclosed exemption
    also apply to the situation you present; and

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-   a grant of exemption is in the public interest.

**Our Decision**

Under the authority contained in 49 U.S.C. 40113 and 44701, which the
FAA Administrator has delegated to me, I hereby grant Sun Country an
exemption from 14 CFR §§ 121.623(a) and (d), 121.643, and 121.645(d) to
the extent necessary to allow Sun Country to conduct its supplemental
operations within the 48 contiguous United States and the District of
Columbia using the flight regulations for alternate airports as required
by § 121.619 and fuel reserve requirements as required by § 121.639 that
are applicable to domestic operations, subject to the conditions and
limitations described below.

**Conditions and Limitations**

1\. Prior to initiating operations under this exemption, Sun Country
must amend its

operations specifications to comply with the following regulations
applicable to

domestic air carrier operations:

> \(a\) Part 121, subpart E: All sections.
>
> \(b\) Part 121, subpart G: § 121.135.
>
> \(c\) Part 121, subpart M: §§ 121.385 and 121.395.
>
> \(d\) Part 121, subpart P: All sections.
>
> \(e\) Part 121, subpart T: §§ 121.533, 121.541, 121.551, 121.555,
> 121.557, and

121.569.

> \(f\) Part 121, subpart U: §§ 121.593, 121.599, 121.601, 121.607,
> 121.619,

121.627, 121.635, 121.637, 121.639, 121.659, and 121.663.

> \(g\) Part 121, subpart V: §§ 121.683, 121.685, 121.687, 121.695, and
> 121.711.

2\. Sun Country must ensure that its aircraft dispatchers hold aircraft
dispatcher

certificates issued under subpart C of part 65 and are properly
qualified under

part 121, subpart P, before permitting those persons to serve in
operations

conducted under this exemption.

3\. Sun Country must conduct its supplemental operations under this
exemption\--

> \(a\) Within the 48 contiguous United States and the District of
> Columbia; and
>
> \(b\) Except as required in § 121.637 for unlisted airports, or to,
> from, or between
>
> those regular, provisional, refueling, and alternate airports listed
> in its
>
> operations specifications or listed in a separate current listing,
> that listing is
>
> referenced in its operations specifications and is authorized by the
>
> Administrator.

This exemption terminates on August 31, 2010, unless sooner superseded
or rescinded.

Sincerely,

/s/

John M. Allen

Acting Director, Flight Standards Service

Enclosure