FAA Docket 2007
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 U.S Department of Transportation Docket Operations West Building Ground Floor, Room W12
- 140 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590 Copy To: Federal Aviation Administration Regulations Division Office of the Chief Counsel, AGC
- 200 800 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, DC 20591

Submitted By: S outhwest Airlines Co. 2832 Shorecrest Drive Dallas, TX 75235 ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Shell Docket No.: FAA- 2007
- 0001 **Petition for Exemption From 14 CFR**  § **121. 139** 



### Dated this 28 th 

### Day of January 2012

___________________________ Southwest Airlines Co. Chief Inspector Director of Maintenance Chief Pilot Director of Operations Director of SafetyFAA Docket 2007
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 Pursuant to the provisions of 14 CFR § 11.63, Southwest Airlines Co. hereby requests an exemption from 14 CFR § 121.139 Requirements in its **entirety** for manual aboard aircraft: Supplemental operations. Southwest Airlines Co. keeps its manuals stored electronically via a web portal, such that the manuals may be accessed world
-wide on the intranet. This ensures that the manuals are always current and accessible to all Southwest Airlines Co. personnel at every location at which we conduct scheduled, unscheduled and supplemental operations. This process is supported by policies and procedures that provide alternative means by which any portion of required manuals may be obtained in the event the web portal is not accessible.
Since first being published to the Federal Register on December 31, 1964 , 14 CFR § 121.139 has been amended four times to keep pace with evolving air carrier operations and the modernization of aircraft and technology systems. Over the years , 14 CFR § 121.139 has also been the subject of numerous inquires and petitions , many o f which address the same issues raised in this submission . Responding to a February 25, 2004 notice published in the Federal Register “ asking the public to tell the Administrator which regulations should be amended, **removed** or simplified” (69 FR 8575) , the Air Transportation Association of America, Inc . and the National Air Carrier Association Inc. (collectively representing thirty
- six Part 121 Air Carriers , including Southwest Airlines Co. ) submitted comments on May 25, 2004 which included petitions for de letion of 14 CFR § 121.139. Each of these industry dockets cited advances in technology and communications , and 24/7 maintenance control centers as negating factors for the requirement to carry manuals onboard aircraft. In its response to industry and public comments , the Administrator rejected requests to delete 14 CFR § 121.139, s tating in part that “ [its] view is that the information in the **manual must be available**  wherever the aircraft goes. For this reason, [ the FAA was ] not inclined to change the regulation.” (Federal Register / Vol.72, No. 122 / Tuesday June 26, 2007)

Southwest Airlines Co. concurs with the Administrator ’s statement that the manual must **be available** at any location at which the operator conducts operations (scheduled, unscheduled or supplemental) and does not believe that this or the prior petitions sugge st otherwise . That said, Southwest Airlines Co. believes the focus should be on the **availability and accessibility** of the manual , not necessarily the requirement that the manual be physically located onboard an aircraft. The notion that appropriateFAA Docket 2007
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 parts of the manual should be physically located on the aircraft because an operator’s personnel may not otherwise have access to the manual’s contents could be viewed as outdated , particularly in light of advances in global electronic connectivity and technology generally . Southwest Airlines Co. maintains robust and redundant data and communication systems , along with requisite processes and procedures that ensure availability of the manual or appropriate parts of the manual to

– 1) Its appropriate ground operations and maintenance personnel ; 2) Crewmembers; and 3) Representatives of the Administrator assigned to it. (14 CFR § 121.137) These data and communication systems are available virtually worldwide using modern technology. In order to comply with 14 CFR § 121.139(a), Southwest Airlines Co.'s current practice is to ensure a mobile device with the “downloaded appropriate parts of the manual” is located on each aircraft. While this arrangement ensures Southwest Airlines Co. complies with 14 CFR § 121.139(a), the updates to the mobile device must be manually uploaded (i.e., updates to the manual are not uploaded to the mobile device in real time). This creates the unavoidable possibility that there may be a delay between an update to the manual and the time at which such update is uploaded to the mobile device. In this scenario, public s afety and Southwest Airlines Co. ’s normal high standards are compromised since Southwest Airlines Co. personnel referring to the manual contained on the mobile device could unknowingly be relying on outdated material. The use of the Southwest Airlines Co.’s web portal via the intranet completely eliminates the possibility of error of relying on outdated material while still meeting the Administrator’s requirement of having the **information** in the manual available anywhere the aircraft goes. Allowing the information to be accessed in only one form may in fact be more compromising to the flying public in that it is not real time and may result in lengthy delays if there are difficulties in uploading the manual to the mobile device.

Southwest Airlines Co. believes that 14 CFR §§ 121.131, 121.133, 121.135, 121.137 and 121.141 clearly articulate the FAA’s “ regulatory objective” (Executive Order 13563, Sect 1 (b)) in ensuring each certificate holder prepares, maintains and distributesFAA Docket 2007
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 its manual, with specific content, to its personnel conducting and supporting flight operations. These rules have no boundaries or stipulations as to when they apply , but rather, they apply to “all certificate holders” (14 CFR § 121.131 ) regardless of where they are operating. Therefore, a separate rule mandating that the manual be carried onboard during specific operations ( 14 CFR § 121.139 ) is “ inconsistent, incompatible and duplicative with other regulations” (Executive Order 12866, Section 1 (b) (10 )) .

14 CFR § 121.139 does not “protect or improve the health and safety of the public ” as stipulated in Executive Order 12866, Section 1 (a) . Rather , Southwest Airlines Co. contends that it is in the **Public interest** to embody a more reliable mean of data acquisition. By acquiring necessary data electronically Southwest Airlines Co. will have the ability to decrease unnecessary maintenance and flight schedule delays, without compromising safety. This operational impact would be a direct benefit to the flying public by replacing an antiquated system with a more accurate , timely and viable solution. In April 2011 the Department of Transportation issued a press release that outlined further expansions of the Passenger Bill of Rights. In addition to other items , the expansions focus on lengthy tarmac delays. It is the opinion of Southwest Airlines Co. that the spirit of the expansion is to protect the flying public from any **unnecessary** delays, lengthy or otherwise. Considering that granting an exception from 14 CFR 121.139, allowing Southwest Airlines to access the information via the web portal, allows the public safety to be better protected from human error and also supports the spirit of the Passenger Bill of Rights in that potential delays in accessing the manual will be averted. Southwest Airlines Co. seeks exemption from 14 CFR 121. 1 39 in its **entirety** not only for the purpose of having a more reliable means of acquiring real
- time data , but also as a means to better serve its flying public. Additionally, while Southwest Airlines Co. is currently a domestic carrier, it is our intention to fly outside of the United States and exemption of 14 CFR 121.139 would allow Southwest Airlines Co . to provide the same level of safety and service internationally that it has provided domestically to the flying public for over 40 years.FAA Docket 2007
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 Exemption of 14 CFR § 121.139 in its **entirety** will allow both Southwest Airlines Co. and regulators to focus on keeping the United States Air Transportation System safe, relevant and viable in the face of significant global economic challenge.

While Southwest Airlines Co. recognizes and appreciates that the Administrator’s docket has many high priority items , we respectfully request an expedited review and response to this exemption petition.

Submitted by: Southwest Airlines Co. Dallas, TX
Communications with respect to this petition should be directed to:

Christian Toro 2832 Shorecrest Drive Chief Inspector/Director Quality Control Dallas, TX 75235 214
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- 2667 Office Christian.toro@wnco.com