AFS

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- E August 27, 2015

Exemption No. 12644 Regulatory Docket No. FAA

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- 1430

Mr. Brad Sheehan Vice President, Flight Operations ExpressJet Airlines, Inc.

990 Toffie Terrace

Atlanta , GA 30354

Dear Mr. Sheeha n :

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 Ba sis for Our Decision

By letter dated April 16, 2015

, you petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on

behalf of ExpressJet Airlines, Inc. (ExpressJet ), for an exemption from § 121.619(a) (2) of

Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) to th e extent necessar y for ExpressJet to dispatch flights to domestic airports at which for at least 1 hour before and after the estimated time of arrival at the destination airport the appropriate weather reports or forecasts, or an y

c ombination of them, indi cate the ceilings be reduced from at least 2,000 to 1,000 feet above ground level ( AGL ) , and visibility be reduced from at least 3 statute miles to 2 statute miles

.

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 ExpressJet

.

A lthough ExpressJet ’s petition cites § 121.619(a)(2), the FAA notes the relief described by

th e petitioner requires an exemption from § 121.619(a)(1) and (2)

. Therefore, the FAA has construed ExpressJet’s request as a petition from § 121.619(a)(1) and (2). The FAA has issued
a grant of exemption in circumstances similar in all material respects to those presented in2

your petiti on. In Grant of Exemption No

. 10208A (copy enclosed), the FAA found that

Pinnacle Airlines , Inc. could dispatch aircraft to domestic airports without designating an alternate for the destination airport where for at least 1 h our before and 1 hour after the estimated time of arrival at the destination airport the appropriate weather reports or forecasts, or any combination of them, indicate the ceiling will be at least 2,000 feet to 1,000 feet above the airport elevation and vi sibility may be reduced from at least 3 statute miles to 2 statute miles for Category (CAT) I approaches and 2 statute miles for CAT II approaches.

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

—

• they do no t differ materially from th ose presented by the petitioner in the enclosed G rant
of e xemption No. 10208A ;

• the reasons stated by the FAA for granting the enclosed Grant of Exemption No. 10208A also apply to the situation you present; and

• a grant of exemption is in the public interes t.

Our Decision

Under the authority contained in 49 U.S.C. §§ 106 (f), 40113 and 44701, which the FAA Administrator has delegated to me, ExpressJet Airlines is granted an exemption from § 121.61 9(a) (1) and (2) to the extent necessary to allow ExpressJet to dispatch flights to domestic airports at which for at least 1 hour before and after the estimated time of arrival at the destination airport the appropriate weather reports or forecasts, or an combination of them, indicate the ceilings be reduced from at least 2,000 AGL to 1,000 AGL, and visibility be

reduced from at least 3 s tatute miles to 2 statute miles

, subject to the conditions and

limit ation s described below.

Conditions and Limitations :

1. Before conducting operations under this exemption, ExpressJe t must have its operations specifications amended and comply with all the regulations applicable to domestic air carrier operations, except those pertaining to the certification of air

carriers.

2. Operations under this exemption are limited to only those destination airports in the 48 contiguous United States and the District of Columbia

3. Operations under this exemption must use a current and qualified aircraft dispatcher.

4. Operations under this exemption are limited to only those airports at which an

o perable instrument landing system (ILS) procedure is published

. Alternate

minimums are predicated on the following table:3

Table

- Alternate Minimums (Ceiling and Visibility Required)

Operable ILS Ceiling Required Visibility Required

CAT I 1,000 feet abo ve ground level (AGL) 3 statute miles

CAT II 1,000 feet AGL 2 statute miles

5. Before conducting operations under this exemption, ExpressJet must demonstrate to

the satisfaction of the FAA principal operations inspector (POI) assigned to the ExpressJet Ce rtificate Management Office that:

a. Each ExpressJet aircraft dispatcher has a system available to display each flight within 3 minutes of real time;

b. Each ExpressJet dispatch facility has a system that provides its aircraft dispatchers with overlays of weather returns updated at least once every

5 minutes;

c. Each ExpressJet dispatch facility has a system that provides its aircraft dispatchers with a display of the specific aircraft routing as assigned by air traffic control (ATC) and actual filed flight p lan routing;

d. Each ExpressJet aircraft dispatcher must have the capability to expeditiously recompute projected arrival fuel from a “point aloft” to the intended destination in the event conditions, including those required to be reported in

condition 8 be low, occur that negatively impact the flight;

e. Each ExpressJet aircraft dispatcher must have data available that will show aircraft status, including the aircraft capability to conduct CAT I or CAT II operations as applicable to the exemption being used:

f. Each ExpressJet aircraft dispatcher has a system available to display locations of other airborne aircraft including aircraft of other operators;

g. Each ExpressJet dispatch facility has a system available that provides its aircraft dispatchers with a displa y of planned and actual fuel at regular intervals along the route and the difference between planned and actual fuel;

h. Each ExpressJet dispatch facility has a system available that automatically alerts its aircraft dispatchers to special weather updates, c hanges in weather reports and forecasts and/or other significant weather

- related reports and ensures that these can be relayed to flightcrews in an expeditious manner;4

i. Each ExpressJet aircraft dispatcher is provided the capability to access the

services o f a qualified meteorologist approved by the POI whenever the

aircraft dispatcher believes the consultation is necessary to ensure safety of operations under this exemption. The presence of an approved Enhanced Weather Information System program satisfies this requirement; and

j. Each dispatch release issued in accordance with this exemption will contain a

statement such as “ALTERNATE WEATHER EXEMPTION APPLIES REFERENCE (APPROPR I ATE DOCUMENT SUCH AS FLIGHT OPERATIONS MANUAL, GENERAL OPERATIONS MANUAL, ETC)” The certificate holder may choose to use other wording, if desired, but the meaning must be clear.

6. The reporting requirements of the flightcrews listed in condition No. 8, Mandatory Pilot Reports, and the required dispatch flight planning and tracking sys tems in Condition No. 5 must be used to determine the feasibility of dispatching the flight under this exemption and/or continuing the flight after dispatch.

7. Approved Procedures. If the use of these systems, reports, or the occurrence of other

factors ind icate the conditions under which the flight was originally dispatched have changed and may negatively impact the flight, the dispatcher and flight crew must reevaluate the continued operation of the flight using approved procedures, and if

necessary, agree on the alternate plan as soon as practicable after the occurrence of any of the following.

a. En route holding or delaying vectors, airspeed changes, altitude changes, or

re

- routings;

b. Unplanned or sustained use of deicing and anti

- icing systems or other f actors directly relating to fuel consumption that may have a negative effect on trip fuel requirements;

c. The deterioration of destination weather below a 1,000 foot ceiling and

2 mile visibility if using an exemption that requires at least 3 statute miles visibility as listed in the Table above; and

d. The deterioration of destination weather below a 1,000 foot ceiling and

1 mile visibility if using and exemption that requires for at least 2 statute miles visibility as listed in the Table above.

8. Mandatory P ilot Reports. Pilots will notify dispatch as soon as possible in the event of any of the following:5

a. Lateral deviation from the planned route by greater than 100 nautical miles;

b. Vertical deviation from the planned route by greater than 4,000 feet;

c. Estima ted time of arrival will exceed the planned time of arrival by greater than 15 minutes;

d. Fuel consumption in excess of the planned fuel consumption that may have a negative effect on trip fuel requirements ;

e. Fuel system component failure or apparent malfun ction that may have a negative effect on trip fuel requirements;

f. The flight encounters weather significantly different that forecast, to include turbulence;

g. The flight is assigned en route or arrival holding; and

h. Unplanned or sustained use of deicing o r anti

- icing systems.

9. ExpressJet must maintain CAT I (Operations Specification C054)/CAT II (Operations Specification C059) ILS approach authorization (as applicable) for those aircraft to which this exemption would apply, and each aircraft must have full y operating equipment needed for the appropriate CAT I or CAT II ILS approach for the aircraft to operate under this exemption.

10. At the time of dispatch, the flightcrew must be qualified to conduct a CAT I or CAT

II ILS approach to published minimums (as applicable). Pilots in command ( PICs )

with less than the requisite minimum hours specified in the §121.652 cannot be used in operations under this exemption, unless the operator also holds Exemption No. 5549 (as amended) issued to Airlines for America, th e PIC has been trained in

accordance with the requirements of that exemption, and all of the conditions specified by Exemption No. 5549 are met.

11. Operations are not permitted under this exemption at any airport at which

thunderstorms are reported or foreca st from 1 hour before through 1 hour after the estimated arrival time if such reports or forecast are in either or both the main body of the remarks section of the weather report or the weather forecast. Furthermore, ExpressJet cannot use exemption 3585 (as amended) issued to Airlines for America,

members or any subsequent exemption granting similar relief regarding any kind of forecast of thunderstorms at the destination airport in conjunction with any operation conducted under this exemption.6

12. Each cert ificated ExpressJet aircraft dispatcher and PIC, who conducts operations under this exemption, must be provided with a copy of the pertinent parts of this exemption. Operations under this exemption are permitted by ExpressJet aircraft dispatchers and Expr essJet PICs but are not required.

13. Use of this exemption in operations to destination outside the contiguous United States is prohibited

. ExpressJet is authorized to use this exemption in operations to airports within the 48 contiguous States and the Dist rict of Columba from airports outside those boundaries provided ExpressJet also holds Operations Specification A012 (Part 121 Domestic Operations to Certain Airports Outside the 48 Contiguous States and Alaska) and operations are conducted in accordance wi th appropriate provisions of that operations specification as they pertain to operations from Alaska and/or the airports listed in the Table thereof.

14. ExpressJet aircraft dispatchers will not apply this exemption when any of the following conditions exist:

a. During periods of uncovered dispatch shifts (i.e., due to sick calls, etc. );

b. When the aircraft dispatch er is within 6 months of successfully completing

his or her initial competence check;

c. When doing so will cause the aircraft dispatcher to flight foll ow more than

two flights dispatched under this exemption;

d. The aircraft is to be dispatched with the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) inoperative; and

e. When the aircraft dispatcher is flight following more than five flights in addition to the flights dispatched using this exemption

.

15. ExpressJet must provide the Administrator, by the 15 th day of each month, reports that include the information listed below, during the preceding calendar month. The

POI is authorized to delete this reporting requirement once ExpressJet has conducted operations under this exemption satisfactorily for at least 24 continuous calendar months, and sufficient data to thoroughly evaluate operation performance have been

obtained.

Reports must contain the following information:

a. The total number of flights operated by ExpressJet under domestic rules to

destinations within the 48 contiguous States and the District of Colombia;7

b. The total number of flights operated under this exemption, including those

fl ights conducted under the appropriate provisions and limitations of Operations Specification A012. For each flight operated, the dates; airport pairs; flight numbers; aircraft make, model, and serial number; trended or graphical summary of flight planned fuel vs. actual arrival fuel; and contingency fuel must be listed. Report format shall be chronological order by fleet type;

c. The total number of flights that divert to an alternate airport;

d. The total number of flights that divert to an alternate airport that separated under this exemption, and the reason for each diversion, such as weather conditions, mechanical problem, fuel quantity, passenger problem, air traffic, crewmember, or any other reason. ExpressJet must fully document each diversion; and

e. T he total number of ExpressJet flights, operated under this exemption, that declare an emergency and the reason for such declaration, or during which flight a low fuel state occurs that results in actions being taken by ATC and/or dispatch to provide priori ty handling, even if no emergency is

declared.

This exemption terminates on August 3 1 , 2017 , unless sooner superseded or rescinded.

Sincerely,

/s/ John Barbagallo Deputy Director, Flight Standards

Enclosure