BEFORE THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

) Formal Complaint of ) ) VICTOR CHERENFANT, ) RAINER DAHM, ) JEAN MOLIERE, ) GLORIA NEJJAR, and ) JAMES SIMEON, ) Docket No. ) C omplainants, ) DOT
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- 0097 against ) ) SPIRIT AIRLINES, INC. and ) DIRECT AIRLINE SERVICES, INC., ) ) Respondents. )

____________________ ________________ )

ANSWER OF SPIRIT AIRLINES, 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.

June 5, 2013BEFORE THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

) Formal Complaint of ) ) VICTOR CHERENFANT, ) RAINER DAHM, ) JEAN MOLIERE, ) GLORIA NEJJAR, and ) JAMES SIMEON, ) Docket No. ) C omplainants, ) DOT
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- 2013
- 0097 against ) ) SPIRIT AIRLINES, INC. and ) DIRECT AIRLINE SERVICES, INC., ) ) Respondents. )

____________________ ________________ )

ANSWER OF SPIRIT AIRLINES, INC . Pursuant to Section 302.405 of the Department’s procedural regulations, Spirit Air lines, Inc. (“Spirit”) hereby files this Answer on behalf of itself and Direct Airline Service, Inc. (DAS) in response to the above captioned Complaint served May 7, 2013. 1 Spirit denies that its wheelchair attendants are not trained to proficiency in accordance with the Air Carrier Access Act and P art 382 of the Department’s regulations. The Complaint is without merit and contains a number of falsehoods , including the fact that only one of the five Complainants provides wheelchair or air travel services to Spirit passengers. The Complaint appears to be no more than a leveraging tool for Service Employees International Union (SEIU) to use as p art of an effort to

1 By Notice dated M ay 22 , 2013 the time to file Answers was extended to June 5, 2013.A nswer of Spirit Airlines, Inc.

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2 unionize DAS employees , and should be immediately dismissed. Further evidence that the SEIU has filed this complaint to harass Spirit as part of its industry organizing efforts is supported by the fact that it has filed eight complaint s involving 28 airlines and four different providers of wheelchair services. The Complaint should be rejec ted and no further action taken by the Department.
I. Introduction Spirit contracts with Direct Airline Services (“DAS”) to provide wheelchair assistance to Spirit passengers at Fort Lauderdale

- Hollywood International Airport (“FLL”). Specifically, DAS employees transport Spirit passengers requesting wheelchair assistanc e from the ticket counter to the gate area, from aircraft to baggage claim or to connecting flights, and when necessary for international travel, through customs and immigration facilities. Additionally, when non

- ambulatory passengers require additional a ssistance boarding the aircraft, DAS provides an aisle chair and two attendants to transport and secure the passenger in his or her assigned seat on the aircraft. Under the terms of Spirit’s contract, DAS is responsible for training its employees in accor dance with Part 382 and is also responsible for providing and maintaining the equipment used to assist passengers and for training its wheelchair attendants. As required under § 382.15, this contract includes an assurance that DAS will provide wheelchair assistance in accordance with Part 382. Complainants are employees of DAS, which provides air travel services to multiple airlines at FLL. H owever, Complainants Victor Cherenfant, Rainer Dahm, Jean Moliere, and
James Simeon are not assigned to Spirit and do not provide any services to Spirit passengers

. Ms. Nejjar is assigned to Spirit. H owever , contrary to her allegations, she was provided trainingA nswer of Spirit Airlines, Inc.

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3 to proficiency , as appropriate to the duties of a wh eelchair attendant, in accordan ce with 14 C.F.R. § 382.141

. As a contract service provider, DAS management participates in daily briefings on Spirit operations at FLL. Although Spirit does not manage DAS employees directly , it regularly reviews the services provided by DAS, and when problems occur or customer complaints arise , Spirit works with DAS to address these issues and to ensure DAS is providing appropriate assistance to Spirit passengers. In that regard, the number of complai nts received by Spirit Airlines at FLL regarding DAS’s wheelchair ser vices is extremely low. In the past year, out of 35,688 requests for wheelchair assistance at FLL, Spirit received only 1 4 complaints related to
DAS provided services . This very small number of complaints primarily concerned de lays in furnishing a wheelc hair. N one of the complaints evidenced a deficiency in training.

II. The C omplainant R eceived T raining to Proficiency in Accordance with Part 382 In accordance with the Spirit

- DAS contract, DAS properly trains all of its employees as required by Part 382 and maintains its equipment in prope r and safe working condition

. DAS provides extensive initial training , including one - on - one, on - the

- job training o n the provision of wheelchair assistance to passengers with a disability , to all of its new em ployees assigned to Spirit as wheelchair attendants . It also conducts recurrent /refresher training at least every 18 months thereafter

. The extremely low num ber of complaints at FLL relating to wheelchair service is substantial evidence that the training provided by DAS ensure s proficiency in the proper and safe provision of wheelchair assistance to passengers with a disability

. Prior to providing wheelchair assistance, new DAS wheelchair attendants participate in a live classroom training ses sion at which an instructor presents and discusses information abo ut the Air Carrier Access Act and Part 382 , as required by 14 C.F.R. § 381.141(a)(i), a s well asA nswer of Spirit Airlines, Inc.

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4 DAS procedures concerning the provision of wheelchair assistance to passengers with a disability. A t the conclusion of the classroom session, each wheelchair attendant completes a short test to ensure he/she understands the material and to document attendance. The attendants and instructors review and discuss any questions answered incorrectly. After the classroom session, t he new wheelchair attendant then goes through a 10

- 14 day

on - the

- job , supervised training period before being allowed to provide unsupervised wheelchair assistance. This tr aining includes 2

- 3 days greeting passengers at the DAS po dium located near the Spirit ticket counter. During this time, and building on the classroom training, the wheelchair attendant is provided instruction on general customer service a s well as awareness and appropriate responses to passengers with a disability as required by 14 C.F.R. § 382.141(a)(2)

. Next , the wheelchair a ttendant shadow s a DAS supervisor for 4

- 5 days as he or she provides wheelchair assistance. During this time, the supervisor will provide detailed instruction on the use of wheelchairs and boarding and deplaning equipment to assistant passengers with a disability and DAS procedures for the provision of this assistance , as required by 14 C.F.R. § 382.141(a) (1) (ii) & (iii)

. When the supervisor is comfortable that the new wheelchair attendant

un derstands the responsibilities of the position and can properly perform them in accordance with DAS procedures and Part 382, the supervisor will oversee the wheelchair attendant while he/she assists customers for 5

- 6 days. During this time, the supervisor c hecks that the wheelchair attendant is proficient in DAS procedure and properly interacting with passengers with disabilities. When the supervisor is comfortable that the wheelchair attendant can properly perform the duties and responsibilit ies of the position, he or she is allowed to assist passengers unsupervised.A nswer of Spirit Airlines, Inc.

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5 Both the classroom and on

- the

- job training includes , to the extent applicable to the duties of a wheelchair a ttendant , instruction regarding the proper and safe operation of wheelchairs and aisle chairs, the use of boarding and deplaning assistance equipment, awareness of and appropriate responses to passengers with a variety of disabilities, and interacting with individuals with vision or hear ing impairments. During the classroom training and shadowing period, employees have ample opportunity to ask questions, learn how to properly conduct themselves in a variety of situations, and familiarize themselves with the DAS policies and procedures

co ncerning the provision of wheelchair assistance to passengers with a disability. Complainant Gloria Nejjar participated in a one

- on - one , classroom training session with DAS Station Manager Chelle Dubissette on December 4, 2012, at which Ms. Dubissette re ad over and discussed a packet of information about the ACAA , Part 382, and DAS procedures with Nejjar. Typically, these training sessions are done in small groups, but Nejjar was hired outside of the normal hiring season and so her training session was done one

- on - one. Nejjar’s completed ACAA test, documenting her attendance at this training session is attached as Exhibit A. Nejjar had been a wheelchair attendant for the airport service company that provided wheelchair assistance to Spirit passengers prior to DAS. Nejjar was also a part

- time wheelchair attendant for another airport service provider, and so was already somewhat familiar with the requirements of Part 382. Dario Knowels, a DAS wheelchair attendant supervisor, oversaw Nejjar’s on

- the

job training, wh ich lasted approximately 10 days. Declarations from Ms. Dubissette and Mr. Knowles supporting the assertion that Ms. Nejjar was provided training to proficiency in accordance with the requirements of § 382.141 are attached as Exhibits B & C.A nswer of Spirit Airlines, Inc.

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6 III. Equipmen t for the Assistance of Passengers with a Disability I s Provided in Safe Working C ondition DAS supplies the straight back wheelchairs and aisle chairs used by wheelchair attenda nts assigned to Spirit

. DAS employee E ddie Phillips inspects DAS wheelchairs on a daily basis and performs any necessary maintenance or repairs

. A Declaration from Mr. Phillips regarding the quality of DAS’s equipment is attached as Exhibit D. DAS employees are trained
to remove equipment that i s not in proper working condition or is otherwise unsafe and to notify their supervisor of the defect . To the extent that the Complainants discovered damaged or faulty wheelchairs, these wheelchairs should not have been used and should have been removed f rom service in accordance with their training.

IV. Spiri t Airlines Specific Answers to Each A llegation of the Complaint Spirit denies each and every allegation of the Complaint that is not specifically admitted herein:
1. Spirit admits the allegations of paragraph 1.
2. Spirit admits the allegations of paragraph 2.
3. Spirit denies that Victor Cherenfant’s job duties require him to provide assistance to Spirit passengers. Spirit is without sufficient information to admit or deny the remaining allegations of paragraph 3.
4. Spirit denies that Rainer Dahm’s job duties require him to provide assistance to Spirit
passengers. Spirit is wi thout sufficient information to admit or deny the remaining allegations of paragraph 4.A nswer of Spirit Airlines, Inc.

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7 5. Spirit denies that Jean Moliere ’s job duties require him to provide assistance to Spirit
passengers. Spirit is without sufficient information to admit or deny the rem aining allegations of paragraph 5.
6. Spirit admits the allegations of paragraph 6.
7. Spirit denies that James Simeon ’s job duties require him to provide assistance to Spirit passengers. Spirit is without sufficient information to admit or deny the remaini ng allegations of paragraph 7

. 8. Paragraph 8 merely restates the a llegations of Paragraphs 1 to 7, which Spirit admits and denies as stated above.
9. Paragraph 9 consists of a quotation from Part 382 to which no response is required.
10. Spirit denies that it has an obligation to ensure Cherenfant received formal training because Ch e renfant does not provide assistance to Spirit passengers . Spirit is without sufficient information to admit or deny the remaining allegations of paragraph 10.
11. Spirit denies that it has an obligation to ensure Dahm received formal training because Dham does not provide assistance to Spirit customers. Spirit is without sufficient information to admit or deny the remaining allegations of paragraph 11.
12. Spirit denies that it ha s an obli gation to ensure Moliere received formal training because Moliere does not provide assistance to Spirit customers. Spirit is without sufficient information to admit or deny the remaining allegations of paragraph 12.
13. Spirit denies the allegations of paragr aph 13. Nejjar received formal training in the form of a one - on - one training session with DAS Station Manager Chelle Dubissette on December 4, 2012 before beginning work on December 6, 2012. During the course of this session , Nejjar and the Station Manag er discussed a training packetA nswer of Spirit Airlines, Inc.

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8

outlining the general requirements, purpose and objective of the Air Carrier Access Act and Part 382, the responsibilities of DAS wheelchair attendants under the ACAA/Part 382, the use of aisle chairs, wheelchair s , and other equipment for the boarding and deplaning of passengers with a disability, and communicating with passengers with a disability while showing sensitivity and respect. Nejjar also completed the ACAA/Part 382 training test attached as Exhibit A

. In addition to the

on e - on - one training session, Nejjar underwent 10 days of on

- the

- job training as described in Section II above

. 14. Spirit denies that it had an obligation to ensure Simeon received formal training because Simeon does not provide assistance to Spirit customers. Spirit is without sufficient information to admit or deny the remaining allegations of paragraph 14

. 15. Spirit admits the allegations of paragraph 15 with respect to Nejjar. Spirit is without sufficient in formation to admit or deny the remaining allegations of paragraph 15.
16. Paragraph 16 asserts legal conclusions that Spirit denies are applicable in this proceeding. Spirit denies the other allegations of paragraph 16 with respect to Nejjar. Spirit is witho ut sufficient information to admit or deny the allegations of paragraph
16 with respect to Cherenfant, Dahm, Simeon and Moliere

. 17. Paragraph 17 merely restates the allegations of Paragraphs 1 to 16, which Spirit admits and denies as stated above

. 18. Paragraph 18 consist s of a quotation from Part 382 to which no response is required. 19. Paragraph 19 consists of a quotation from Part 382 to which no response is required.
20. Spirit admits the allegations of paragraph 20 with respect to Nejjar. Spirit is without sufficient inform ation to admit or deny the remai ning allegations of paragraph 20

.A nswer of Spirit Airlines, Inc.

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9 21. Spirit denies the allegations of parag raph 21 with respect to Nejjar. Ms. Nejjar received on

- the

-

job training that included hands

- on instruction regarding the proper use of boarding and dep laning assistance equipment and appropriate boarding and deplaning assistance procedures that safeguard the safety and dignity of passengers, in accordance with the requirements of § 382.141(a)(1)(iii). Spirit is without sufficient information to admit or deny the remaining allegations of paragraph 21.
22. Paragraph 22 merely restates the allegations of Paragraphs 1 to 21, which Spirit admits and denies as stated above

. 23. Paragraph 23 consists of a quotation from Part 382 to which no response is required.
24. Spirit denies t he allegations of paragraph 24 with respect to Nejjar. Nejjar received training to proficiency through both one

- on - one training using written materials and supervised on

- the

-

job training regarding awareness and appropriate responses to passengers with a v ariety of disabilities, as appropriate to the duties of a wheelchair attendant and in accordance with § 382.141.(a)(2). Spirit is without sufficient information to admit or deny the remaining allegations of paragraph 2 4

. 25. Paragraph 25 merely restates the a llegations of Paragraphs 1 to 24, which Spirit admits and denies as stated above

. 26. Paragraph 26 consists of a quotation from Part 382 to which no response is required.
27. Spirit denies the allegations of paragraph 27 with respect to Nejjar. Nejjar received training to proficiency through both one

- on - one training using written materials and supervised on

- the

-

job training regarding recognizing requests for accommodation from, and using acceptable methods of communicating with, passengers with visual or hearing impairment s, as appropriate to the duties of a wheelchair attendant and inA nswer of Spirit Airlines, Inc.

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10

accordance with § 382.141.(a)(3). Spirit is without sufficient information to admit or deny the remaining allegations of paragraph 27.
28. Paragraph 28 merely restates the allegations of Paragraphs 1 to 27, to which responses have been supplied. 29. Paragraph 29 consists of a quotation from Part 382 to which no response is required.
30. Paragraph 30 asserts legal conclusions that Spirit denies are applicable in this proceeding

. 31. Spirit denies the a llegations of paragraph 31. See Declaration of E ddie Phillips.
32. Spirit denies the allegations of paragraph 32. Paragraph 32 also asserts legal conclusions that Spirit denies are applicable in this proceeding.

AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES
1. Complainants do not state a claim on which relief can be granted.
2. Spirit’s contractor provided all training required by Title 14 C.F.R. Part 382 to Complainant Nejjar in December 2012. Complainants Cherenfant, Dahm, Moliere, and Simeon do not provide any services to Spirit p assengers and therefore Spirit is not obligated to ensure they are trained in accordance with Title
14 C.F.R. Part 382.A nswer of Spirit Airlines, Inc.

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11 CONCLUSION For the foregoing reasons, the Complaint is without merit and it should be dismissed. 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. June 5, 2013CERTIFICATE OF SERVI CE

I hereby certify that I have this day served the foregoing Answer of Spirit Airlines, Inc. by electronic mail on the following persons: Aldo Muirragui Agent for Complainants Service Employees International Union 32BJ amuirragui@seiu32bj.org Samuel Podberesky, Esq. Assistant General Counsel for Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings sam.podberesky@dot.g ov Jeffrey R. Anderson Vice President Airports & Administration Direct Airline Services andersonj@directairlineservices.com
Burt on F ishman Counsel for Direct Airline Services Fort n ey & Scott, LLC bfishman@fortneyscott.com

__________________________ Lyndsey Grunewald
June 5 , 2013A nswer of Spirit Airlines, Inc.

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## EXHIBIT A TRAINING TEST FOR GL ORIA NEJJARA nswer of Spirit Airlines, Inc.

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## EXHIBIT B DECLARATION OF CHELL E DUBISSETTEA nswer of Spirit Airlines, Inc.

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## EXHIBIT C DECLARATION OF DARIO KNOWELSA nswer of Spirit Airlines, Inc.

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## EXHIBIT D

DECLARATION OF EDDIE PHILLIPS