U.S. Department 

of Transportation 

Office of the Secretary 

of Transportation 

GENERAL COUNSEL 

August 3, 2009 

Certified Mail • Return Receipt Requested 

Ms. Anita A. Mosner, Esq. 

Ms. Sophy Chen, Esq. 

Counsel to Singapore Airlines Limited 

Holland & Knight LLP 

1747 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 1200 

Washington, D.C. 20006 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

l ··' 

·., ··, 

Re: Equivalent Alternative Det.:.:rmination 

Request Concerning 14 Cl·~ 382.61 

Dear Ms. Mosner an 1 Ms. Chen: 

This letter concerns Singapore Airlines Limited's ("Singapore") September 10, 2008, 

request for an equivalent alternative determination concerning the movable aisle armrest 

requirement contained in 14 CFR 382.61 of the Department's Air Carrier Access Act 

(ACAA) regulation for its ftrst class suites and business class seats. We are granting 

Singapore's request subject to certain conditions, as discussed below. Singapore's request 

for a conflict of law waiver concerning another provision of 14 CFR Part 382 (Part 382) is 

still under review by the Department. 

Section 382.61(a) requires carriers to ensure that "aircraft with 30 or more passenger seats[! I 

on which passenger aisle seats have armrests are equipped with movable aisle armrests on at 

least one-half of the aisle seats in rows in which passengers with mobility impairments are 

permitted to sit under FAA or applicable foreign government safety rules." Section 

382.6l(c) notes that movable aisle armrests must be "provided proportionately in all classes 

of service in the cabin."2 Furthermore, the Enforcement Office has interpreted movable 

1 The Department's Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings ("Enforcement Office") has long held 

that the passenger seating capacity of an aircraft is the manufacturer's maximum designed seating capacity Of a 

given aircraft type. Therefore, a carrier may not avoid compliance with the aircraft accessibility requirement 

of Part 382 by reducing the number of seats on an aircraft or. ordering an aircraft with fewer seats than its 

designed seating capacity. For example, if a manufacturer designs an aircraft type to hold a maximum of 110 

passenger seats, the Enforcement Office would treat the aircraft as an aircraft with a passenger seating capacity 

of II 0 even if a carrier stipulates that the aircraft is to be delivered with 99 seats or takes delivery of an aircraft 

with 110 seats and then removes II seats. 

2 For example, if 80 percent of the aisle seats in which passengers with mobility impairments may sit are in 

coach, and 20 percent are in first class. then 80 percent of the movable. aisle armrests must be in coach, with 20 

percent in first class. In a more specific example, if a carrier is using an Embraer 195 with a I 00-seat seating 

configuration, w'ith 12 seats in first class ( 4 rows with one seat on one side of the aisle and two seats on the 

other side), 8 of which are aisle seats, and 88 seats in coach class, 42 of which are aisle seats for the purpose of 
aisle armrest as meaning an annrest on an aisle seat that completely moves or folds out of 

the way while the seatback remains in an upright position to permit a passenger with a 

mobility impairment to safely make an unobstructed transfer (with assistance from carrier 

personnel if the passenger's physical ability necessitates such assistance) from an aisle 

wheelchair to his or her aircraft seat. 

In its equivalent alternative determination request, Singapore states that its first class suites 

and business class seats do not have movable aisle armrests as required by section 382.61. 

However, Singapore asserts that the seat pitch and entrance spacing of these seats are wide 

enough such that a horizontal transfer of a person with a mobility impairment from the 

onboard wheelchair onto these seats, and vice versa, can be accommodated easily. 

Accordingly, Singapore asserts that its first class suites and business class seats provide an 

equivalent alternative to the movable aisle amrrest requirement of section 382.61. 

The Department has reviewed Singapore'!; first class suites and business class seat 

schematics and aircraft configuration diagrat.ts. The Department also reviewed Singapore 

videos, which demonstrate both a carrier-assbted and a self-assisted horizontal transfer of a 

person with a mobility impairment from an r:sle or boarding wheelchair to Singapore's first 

class suites and business class seats. This m"' ceria! shows that the passenger does not have to 

be lifted over the aisle armrest. Based on the information provided by Singapore, the 

Department is granting its equivalent alternative determination request for section 382.61 

with the following conditions: 

(1) This approval is limited to Singapore's Airbus A380 aircraft; 

(2) This approval is limited to Singapore's first class suites and business class seats with 

the dimensions provided in its equivalent alternative determination request. 

Singapore must obtain the Department's prior approval for any seat configuration 

changes and/or seat dimension changes to be made on any aircraft subject to this 

approval. If Singapore implements seat configuration and/or seat dimension changes 

without prior approval of the Department, then it risks being in violation of section 

382.61; 

(3) Singapore must provide, or ensure the provtswn of, specialized training to its 

employees and contractors, as well as the employees and contractors of any other 

entity that will be transferring persons with a mobility impairment to and from its 

first class suites and business class seats. The specialized training must ensure 

training to proficiency in how to properly transfer a passenger to and from 

Singapore's first class suites and business class seats and must include a viewing of 

the transfer technique demonstration video submitted to the Department. Such 

training must also cover, at a minimum: (A) the proper use of all items needed to 

compliance with 14 CFR 382.61 (two aisle seats are not counted in this calculation, because at least one row 

would typically be an emergency exit row in which passengers with mobility impairments are not permitted to 

sit under FAA or other aviation safety authority's safety regulations), the carrier must, at a minimum, have 4 

seats in first class with movable aisle armrests and 21 seats in coach class with movable aisle armrests. 

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transfer a passenger to and from the first class suites and business class seats (e.g., 

transfer board); (B) the number of persons needed to perform the transfer; (C) how to 

properly operate the first class suites and business class seats (e.g., location and use 

of control buttons); and (D) how to transfer a passenger to and from the first class 

suites and business class seats in a safe and dignified manner; and 

(4) Singapore must also: (A) provide, or ensure the provision of, annual refresher 

training; (B) retain for three years individuals' training records demonstrating that all 

persons required to receive initial and refresher training have done so; and (C) within 

30 days after each calendar quarter, provide the Enforcement Office with copies of 

all complaints, if any, regarding passenger transfers to and from its tirst class suites 

and busine,;s class seats. 

If you have any qHestions about this matter, please contact James Fisher, of my staff, or me 

at (202) 366-9342 You may also reach us by FAX at (202) 366-7152. 

Sincerely, 

{ 

Samuel Podberesky 

Assistant General Counsel for 

Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings 

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