U.S . Department of Transportation Office of the Secretary of Tran sportation GENERAL COUNSEL April 28, 2015 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Wash ing ton, DC 20590


### Ce rtified Mail- Return Receipt Requested A nthon y U. Batti s t a Co nd o n Forsy th LLP 7 Times S quare 1 8 'h F l oor New York , New York 10036

Dea r Mr. Battista : Re: Amended Petition of A irTanker Serv i ces Limited for a Temporar y Exemption from 14 C.F.R. 

### § 382.63

T hi s le tte r i s in reference to th e amended petition [Docket No
. D OT

- OST

- 20 1 5- 006 3 ] fi l e d by A i rTa nke r Serv ice s , LTD ("ATS ") on Apri l 1 , 2 015. In its p e tition , ATS reque s t s a temporary exe mpti o n from th e requ irement in 14 C.F.R. 

### § 382.63 that carriers mu s t e n sure that ai r craft wi th mo re th an o n e a i s le in w hi c h lavatorie s are provid e d mu st include at least o n e accessible lavatory. ATS see k s a n exe mption in order t o o perate a twin a i s le A330-243 a ir c r aft 1 in pa sse n ger se rv ice , w itho ut a n access ible l avat o ry, on tran satl anti c fl i g ht s , for a period of up to s i x m o nth s, wh i le it awa its appro va l from A irbu s SAS and lavatory manufacturer Diehl on the in s ta ll a ti on of an access ibl e l avatory th a t it plan s t o in s tall. In it s petition , A TS a sse rt s t h at award in g the ex emption wou ld b e in the public intere s t du e to increased co mpetition a nd se rvi ce provided by t h e o p e ration of th e aircraft. 2 ATS s tated that the aircraft will of fer p asse ng e r se rvice betwe e n mu lti p l e loc ati o ns in the U nite d Kingdom and multiple lo cations in th e U nited States
. 3 H owever, th e petition do es not addre ss an y a l ternative m ea ns of accom m o datin g perso n s w ith disa bili tie s wh o may need to access a n accessi ble lavatory o n th ese fli g ht s. We not e that s uch tra n satlanti c fl ig ht s ty pica ll y take more t h an seve n h ours to complete , and in so m e cases, may take over 12 h o urs to co mplete. The refore , we request that ATS explain in d e tail an y a lternate means that it p l an s to imp le m ent durin g the propo se d peri od of exemption in order to acco mm o d ate pa sse n gers w ith di sab iliti es o n-board it s A33 0- 2 4 3 a irc r aft that n ee d to u se a n acces s ibl e l avatory. P ri o r to determ in in g w he ther to g rant A TS an exe mpti o n from th e re quire me nt s of 14 C.F. R
. 

### § 382
. 63 , we w ill re v iew th e inf ormat io n th at ATS provi d es in respo n se to thi s reque s t. U nd er 49 U.S.C. § 40109, th e
1 Se ria l number M SN 14 98. 2 Am e nd e d Pet it io n of AirTanker Ser vices , L TO. ( " ATS " ) fo r T e mporary Exe mpti o n fr o m 14 C
. F.R
. § 3 8 2.63, fil e d Apri l 1 ,2 015 , at 2-3. 3 & at 3.

### Secretary may grant an exemption when it is consistent with the public interest. We remind ATS that should the aircraft be used for passenger service to and from the United States while the exemption request is pending before the Department, the carrier would be in violation of the Department's disability regulation and may be subject to significant civil penalties. We ask that ATS provide the above information to this office no later than ten ( 1 0) day s from the date of this letter. ATS may also provide any other information that it believes should be taken into account in our review of this matter. If you have any questions about this matter , please do not hesitate to contact Ryan Patanaphan, Trial Attorney, at (202) 366-9180 or Livaughn Chapman , Chief , Aviation Civil Rights Compliance Branch at (202) 366-9342
. Sincerely ,

# 6~/J/1/~ Blane A. 

### Workie Assistant General Counsel for

Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings

cc: Jean Cooper Rose

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