AFS-15-120-E December 18, 2014

Exemption No. 11126 Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2014-0901

Mr. Kenneth R. Barthel Director of Operations Chautauqua Airlines and Shuttle America Corporation

8909 Purdue Road Indianapolis, IN 46268

Dear Mr. Barthel:

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 October 24, 2014, you petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on behalf of Chautauqua Airlines and Shuttle America Corporation (Shuttle America) for an exemption from § 121.291(b)(1) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) to the extent necessary to allow Shuttle America to add airplanes to its operating certificate without first conducting a partial demonstration of the emergency evacuation procedures.

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

The FAA has issued a grant of exemption in circumstances similar in all material respects to those presented in your petition. In Grant of Exemption No. 9979 (copy enclosed), the FAA found that the surviving certificate holder would be required to conduct the partial demonstrations. In that exemption, the FAA found th at an equivalent level of safety would be maintained during the period of time between issuance of a single operating certificate and2

the conduct of the partial evacuation demonstrations, because only qualified Northwest Airlines flight attendants would serve these aircraft until the demonstrations were completed.

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

 they are similar in all material respects to relief previously requested in the enclosed Grant of Exemption No. 9979;

 the reasons stated by the FAA for granting the enclosed Grant of Exemption No. 9979 also apply to the situation you present; and

 a grant of exemption is in the public interest.

Our Decision

Under the authority contained in 49 U.S.C. §§ 106(f), 40113, and 44701, which the FAA Administrator has delegated to me, I hereby grant Shuttle America Corporation an exemption from 14 CFR 121.291(b)(1) to the extent necessary to allow Shuttle America to add an airplane to its operating certificate without first conducting a partial demonstration of the emergency evacuation procedures, subject to the conditions and limitations described below.

Conditions and Limitations

1. Shuttle America must submit a plan to complete the Partial Evacuation Demonstration to the FAA in accordance with the guidance in 8900.1, Volume 3, Chapter 30, Section 1, paragraph 3-2464, for EMB-145 no later than January 30, 2015. The plan must include a schedule of events that ensures that all evacuation demonstrations are completed by January 31, 2016.

2. All crew member operating manual revisions, Aircraft Qualification (AQ), differences training will be completed and training qualification records updated prior to commingling flight attendant crewmembers.

3. Until the partial evacuation demonstrations are completed on these aircraft, no cross-utilization of flight attendant crewmembers on the EMB-145 will bepermitted. Shuttle America flight attendants will not be scheduled on the EMB145 until the partial evacuation demonstrations have been completed.3

This exemption terminates on January 31, 2016, unless sooner superseded or rescinded.

Sincerely,

/s/

John S. Duncan Director, Flight Standards Service

Enclosure