BEFORE THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

) MOTION of ) ) AIRLINES for AMERICA (A4A) ) REGIONAL AIRLINES ASSOCIATION (RAA) ) Docket DOT

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- 2013

- 0084 ) for a temporary exemption from ) 14 C.F.R. § 259.4 ) )

COMMENTS OF SPIRIT A IRLINES, INC.

Communications with respect to this document should be sent to:

Joanne W. Young David M. Kirstein Kirstein & Young, PLLC 1750 K Street, N.W. Suite 200 Washington, D.C. 20006 (202) 331

- 3348 (telephone) (202) 331

- 3933 (facsimile)
Attorneys for SPIRIT AIRLINES, INC.

April 26, 2013BEFORE THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

) MOTION of ) ) AIRLINES for AMERICA (A4A) ) REGIONAL AIRLINES ASSOCIATION (RAA) ) Docket DOT

- OST

- 2013

- 0084 ) for a temporary exemption from ) 14 C.F.R. § 259.4 ) )

COMMENTS OF SPIRIT A IRLINES, INC.

Spirit Air lines, Inc. (“Spirit”) files the s e Comments in support of the above captioned

request of Airlines for America (“A4A”) and the Regional Airlines Association (“RAA”) that the
Department grant a temporary exemption from its tarmac delay regulations under § 14 C.F.R

. §259.4 (the “Tarmac Delay Rule”) for a period of 90 days or until the FAA sequestration
furloughs end. Spirit urges the Department to expeditiously grant this request and relieve all
airlines from the requirement to ensure domestic flights will not rema in on the tarmac for longer
than 3 hours, and international flights for longer than 4 hours, before allowing passengers an
opportunity to deplane. Providing airlines with this temporary exemption will benefit the
traveling public by preventing the combina tion of the Tarmac Delay Rule and the FAA furloughsComments of Spirit Airlines, In c.

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2 from resulting in more flight cancellations and longer delays than necessary. In support of
granting this request Spirit states the following:

1. Spirit serves most of the seven major U.S. airports that wil l be affected by daily ground
delays being implemented as part of the FAA sequestration plan, including La Guardia
Airport, Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport, Chicago O’Hare
International Airport, and Los Angeles International Airport. Spiri t also service s a
number of the major U.S. airports that will require daily traffic management initiatives,
including Philadelphia International Airport and Hartsfield

- Jackson Atlanta
International Airport.

2. On the second and third day s of implementing furloughs, FAA reported 1,200 delays
and 1,025 delays respectively attributable to staffing reductions. Difficulties caused by
these furloughs included “staffing challenges” at En Route Centers that resulted in
delays at LAX, DFW, and LAS on April 22, 2013
, and delays at ORD and LAS on
April 23, 2013, all airports served by Spirit Airlines. 1 The FAA is advising travelers to

“ expect to see a wide range of delays that will change throughout the day depending on
staffing and weather related issues.” 2 As FAA observes, the disruptions caused by
these staffing shortages are widespread and unpredictable and therefore, difficult for
airlines to plan for or avoid. Accordingly, travelers have been put on notice by the
FAA to expect potentially lon g and unpredictable delays, which creates a very different
expectation than passengers would hold pre

- sequestration.

1 Press Release, FAA, FAA Statement ( April 23, 2013) , http://www.faa.gov/news/press_releases/news_story.cfm?newsId=14575 ; Press Release, FAA, FAA Statement (April 24, 2013), http://www.faa.gov/news/press_releases/news_story.cfm?newsId=14594

. 2 Id.Comments of Spirit Airlines, In c.

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3 3. Specifically, since the FAA furloughs began, Spirit has experienced higher than normal
delays lasting an average of one hour at many of th e major airports it serves. By way of
example, on April 24 Spirit flights experienced delays up to 3 hours at LAX due to
issues created by the FAA furloughs

. For short

- haul markets, like the LAX to LAS
market, these lengthy delays impede Spirit’s ability to not only co mpete with other
carriers, but to compete with other modes of transportation. While the furlough

- related
delays currently tend to run about one hour, it is clear that an event of bad weather on
top of the these delays could cause many flights that have le ft the gate
, and are in the

take

- off queue, to spike over the return to gate limit.

4. T he FAA furloughs, combined with the pressure to cancel flights created by the
Tarmac Delay Rule, will more adversely affect smaller, low cost carriers, like Spirit,

than the large legacy carriers. Accordingly, these furloughs will not only negatively
affect passenger travel plans, but could also threaten the disciplining competition
provided by low cost carriers like Spirit . I n this time of ever

- increasing industry

consol idation , the Department should take all actions that could lessen the negative
effects of these FAA furloughs on low cost carriers, including granting the requested
exemption.
As Spirit has expressed to the Department in the past, small carriers are espe cially
harmed by widespread flight disruptions . This is particularly the case when disruptions

lead to cancellations
, because it is more difficult for smaller carriers to accommodate
displaced passengers on alternate flights. Spirit operates a much lower number of
flights per day in the markets it serves than larger carriers, and therefore has moreComments of Spirit Airlines, In c.

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4 difficulty re

- accommodating passengers on later flights. Also, without a hub and spoke
system, Spirit does not have the ability to move passengers via alternate routes.

I mportantly, small, low cost carriers
, have more limited access to gates further
exacerbating the negative effects on these carriers in the event of widespread tarmac
delays. As explained in the comments of masFlig ht filed in this D ocket and w h ich
Spirit endorses , the FAA furloughs are causing a backlog of aircraft on the tarmac
awaiting departure, creating the risk of Tarmac Delay Rule violations. As masFlight
notes, in the event of bad weather this backlog could increase substantially.

M any carriers are managing the delays caused by FAA furloughs by holding more
flights at the gate to avoid longer wait time s on the tarmac. The combination of these
two activities threaten to create significant operational issue s as flights experiencing
lengthy tarmac delays attempt to return to gates that are already occupied by another
flight. This problem will especially impact low cost carriers that rely on high

utilization of limited gates to keep costs low for travelers

. Larger carrie r s with more ,
and often underutilized
, gates will have an easier time accommodating flights returning
from the tarmac. That many smaller carriers share common use gates further
exacerbates the difficulty of dealing with flights returning to t he gate. Accordingly, if
the A4A/RAA request is not granted, smaller carriers will have a greater incentive to
cancel flights, rather than risk violating the Tarmac Delay Rule.

5. Accordingly, s uspending the Tarmac Delay Rule under the extraordinary circumstances
created by the FAA furloughs will benefit the public interest by providing carriers with
additional flexibility to deal with disruptions caused by FAA staffing issues

. F or theComments of Spirit Airlines, In c.

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5 reasons stated above, as well as those contained in the above cap tioned Motion, Spirit

request s the Department grant the requested exemption from 14 C.F.R. § 2 59.4.
Respectfully submitted,

__________________________ Joanne W. Young David M. Kirstein Kirstein & Young PLLC 1750 K Street N.W. Suite 200 Washington, D.C. 20006 (202) 331

- 3348 (telephone) (202) 331

- 3933 (facsimile)
Attorneys for SPIRIT AIRLINES, INC.
April 26, 2013