SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.

 Leslie C. Abbott

 Senior Attorney

 919 18th Street, N.W., Suite 600

 Washington, D.C. 20006

(202) 263-6285

 (202) 263-6291 - Fax

 leslie.abbott@wnco.com

____________________________________________________________________________

November 13, 2013

Filed Electronically Via E-Mail 

U.S. Department of Transportation Mr. John Duncan

Docket Operations, M-30 Director, Flight Standards Service

West Building ground floor, Federal Aviation Administration

Rm W12-140 AFS-1, Flight Standards Service,

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE. Rm 821

Washington, DC 20590 800 Independence Avenue, S.W.

Washington, DC 20591

 John.duncan@faa.gov

Re: Petition for Renewal and Amendment of Exemption from 

14 CFR § 121.434(c)(1)(ii); FAA-2002-11485

Dear Sir:

Pursuant to Federal Aviation Regulation 14 CFR §11.61(b), Southwest Airlines 

Co. (“Southwest”) hereby petitions the FAA for the seventh renewal of Exemption No. 

7132, which permits Southwest to substitute a qualified and authorized check airman in 

place of an FAA inspector to observe a qualifying pilot in command (“PIC”) while that 

PIC is completing the initial or upgrade training specified in FAR §121.424 (FAA-2002-

11485, previously Docket No. 29836).1 

The FAA initially granted Exemption No. 7132 on February 28, 2000 and has 

extended it for six consecutive two-year periods. Unless this exemption is extended 

once again, it will terminate on February 28, 2014. Southwest requests that the FAA 

renew Exemption No. 7132 for at least two additional years. This request is consistent 

with the exemption renewals that the FAA has already granted to Southwest, as well as 

to other airlines. A copy of the original Exemption No. 7132, and the most recent 

Exemption Renewal No. 7132G, are attached as Exhibits A and B.

 

1

Southwest’s acquisition of AirTran Airways, Inc. (“AirTran”) on May 2, 2011 is not relevant to this exemption 

application because AirTran continues to employ a separate pilot training program from Southwest and AirTran’s 

Training Manual is a separate appendix to Southwest’s Training Manual. The separate training structure will remain 

in place until Southwest absorbs all AirTran pilots into its existing training program, which is expected to take place 

over the next several years. Therefore, there is no need to consider AirTran in this exemption application.
Federal Aviation Administration

November 13, 2013

Page 2

I. FAA HAS CONSISTENTLY FOUND THAT EXEMPTION 7132 IS IN THE 

PUBLIC INTEREST AND PROVIDES A COMPARABLE LEVEL OF SAFETY.

Exemption No. 7132 grants Southwest relief from 14 CFR §121.434(c)(1)(ii) to

the extent necessary to permit Southwest to substitute a qualified and authorized check 

airman in place of an FAA inspector to observe a qualifying PIC who is completing the

initial or upgrade training specified in FAR §121.424 during at least one flight leg that 

includes a takeoff and a landing. Exemption No. 7132 at p. 2. 

In granting Southwest’s exemption request and the subsequent renewals, FAA 

determined that such an exemption was in the public interest. Specifically, FAA found 

that for Southwest and other similarly situated commercial air carriers, “permitting a 

limited number of qualified and authorized check airmen to conduct certain PIC 

observations would benefit the public by reducing unnecessary costs that may influence 

the price of services to the public and by improving the airlines’ ability to provide ontime, dependable air service.” Exemption No. 7132 at p. 1. The FAA also found that the 

exemption “would not reduce the level of safety, provided the petitioner complies with 

certain conditions and limitations.” Id. These findings continue to hold true and 

Southwest’s multi-year, uninterrupted safe operation pursuant to the exemption strongly 

supports its renewal. 

II. SOUTHWEST IS IN FULL COMPLIANCE WITH ALL OF THE EXEMPTION 

CONDITIONS AND LIMITATIONS.

Southwest is in full compliance with all of the conditions and limitations specified 

in Exemption No. 7132 and its subsequent renewals. Southwest believes that its 

performance under the exemption has been satisfactory to the FAA, as no indication to 

the contrary has been received. 

III. RESTRICTIONS ON WHEN THE CHECK AIRMAN OBSERVATIONS TAKE 

PLACE ARE UNNECESSARY, IMPOSE ADDITIONAL COSTS AND SHOULD 

BE ELIMINATED.

Exemption 7132 requires that the Southwest check airman or aircrew program

designees conduct observations when “[t]he qualifying PIC candidate has completed no 

less than 10 hours of supervised OE [operational experience] and accomplished no 

fewer than two takeoffs and landings....(emphasis added).” 

Based on its many years of experience operating pursuant to Exemption 7132, 

Southwest believes that requiring 10 hours of OE prior to the authorized PIC or aircrew 

program designee observation is unnecessary. Moreover, this limitation can complicate 

pilot scheduling, impose additional costs and even create occasional delays associated 

with the PIC candidate completing his or her operating experience. Therefore, 

Southwest respectfully requests that the 10-hour limitation be removed, so that the FAA 
Federal Aviation Administration

November 13, 2013

Page 3

or check airman observation may be conducted in the earlier stages of operating 

experience and without any limitations related to the number of landings accomplished 

by the PIC candidate.

a. The Justification that Originally Supported Requiring Observations After Ten 

Hours of Operating Experience is no Longer Applicable.

A careful examination of the historical basis for the FAA PIC observations help 

place the timing requirement in context and show that the limitation is no longer 

necessary. 

Amendment 121-55, published in 35 F.R. 84, January 3, 1970 / Effective 

February 2, 1970, created the requirement for FAA to observe pilots during 

the operating experience when the certificate holder utilized a course of 

training in an airplane simulator as provided in 121.409(c). FAA created this

requirement to determine if learning in a flight simulator directly transferred to 

the aircraft.

Amendment 121-74, published in 36 F.R. 12284, June 30, 1971 / Effective 

July 30, 1971, recognized the expertise of the check pilots who supervised 

the operating experience, “The FAA recognizes the expertise of check pilots 

to determine the ability of pilots to assume the responsibilities of the positions 

for which they are trained.”

Amendment 121-91, published in 37 F.R. 10727, May 27, 1972 / Effective 

May 26, 1972, provided air carriers with additional flexibility by allowed 

additional maneuvers to be accomplished in simulation (in lieu of the aircraft) 

and to limit the operating experience observation to PIC’s only.

Finally, Amendment 121-140, published in 43 F.R. 9598, March 9, 1978 / 

Effective March 9, 1978, recognized that the observation of transitioning PIC’s 

would no longer be necessary. 

The FAA’s extensive experience observing transition operating experience flights 

has shown that flight simulator training produces a better-trained pilot than a pilot 

trained only in an aircraft. This is reflected in the amendments listed above that have 

modified the observation requirements over time to reduce the observation 

requirements and provide the industry with appropriate flexibility. In addition, FAA has 

long provided exemptions to air carriers from 121.434(c)(ii) by allowing check pilots to 

conduct the required observation in lieu of an FAA inspector. Specifically, the FAA has 

stated in 36 F.R. 12284, June 30, 1971 / Effective July 30, 1971 that it “recognizes the

expertise of check pilots to determine the ability of pilots to assume the responsibilities 

of the positions for which they are trained.”
Federal Aviation Administration

November 13, 2013

Page 4

This FAA’s extended experience with simulator training and the ample evidence 

of its effectiveness, combined with confidence in check pilot PIC observations supports 

removing the requirement to conduct the single-leg FAA observation after 10 hours of 

operating experience. Allowing the PIC observation to take place at any time during the 

operational experience is fully justified and would have no degradation on safety. 

Even using FAA’s original rational for conducting the observations (i.e., validating 

that training in a flight simulator transfers learning directly to the aircraft), observations 

conducted earlier in the operating experience would be more effective in evaluating the 

learning transfer. Waiting until the PIC candidate has accomplished 10 hours of 

operational experience is an evaluation of the combination of both the flight simulator 

training and the experiences gained during line operations. In addition, the supervising 

check airman has the opportunity and responsibility, over the entire duration of the

operating experience, to assess the performance of the PIC candidate during several 

flights and conditions. The check airman is responsible for certifying the PIC candidate 

as authorized to conduct unsupervised operations as a PIC. This can be most 

effectively accomplished without unnecessary restrictions on the timing of the 

observations. All of these facts taken together support the elimination of the 10-hour 

and landing/take-off timing restriction on PIC observations. 

b. Southwest’s Pilot Upgrade Training Procedures Make the 10-Hour Operational

Training Requirement Unnecessary

Southwest operates only B737 aircraft. The only way an SIC pilot is able to 

become a PIC is through the upgrade training program. Importantly, Southwest does 

not create PIC’s through a transition or initial-equipment training program. All of 

Southwest’s PIC candidates possess between seven and ten years of SIC experience 

in the B737 aircraft in the Southwest route system prior to becoming eligible for upgrade 

to PIC.

An upgrading Southwest PIC would typically complete his or her operating 

experience after approximately thirteen hours of supervised flying. Therefore, the 

current requirement that observations take place after ten hours of OE forces Southwest 

to schedule the observation during the final three hours of the operating experience. 

The operating experience can occur anywhere within Southwest’s extended operational 

network, with the particular flight sequence dictated by the existing flight schedule, not 

the operating experience hourly requirements. For example, the last three hours of a 

PIC candidate’s operating experience may occur during the latter portion of a four-hour 

flight. From both an operational and staffing standpoint, Southwest would prefer not to

have to require the observing check airman to standby onboard the flight awaiting the 

10th hour to pass before observing the PIC candidate as it wastes limited resources and 

imposes unnecessary costs. 
Federal Aviation Administration

November 13, 2013

Page 5

Based on a totality of the factors described above, Southwest respectfully 

requests that the 10-hour limitation be removed, so that the FAA observation may be 

conducted in the earlier stages of operating experience and without any limitations 

related to the number of landings accomplished by the PIC candidate.

IV. CONCLUSION

All of the circumstances stated in Southwest’s original request for this 

exemption and the preceding requests for its renewal, remain the same. There has 

not been any material change in the findings relative to public interest and safety 

that were the basis for granting the original exemption. As the FAA has noted, 

granting this exemption (and by extension the renewal of the exemption requested 

herein), would have no adverse effect on safety. Instead, it will allow Southwest to 

continue efficient and competent completion of observation flights through 

appropriate utilization of FAA resources and qualifying PIC’s. To minimize the 

administrative burden on all parties, Southwest seeks a renewal for a minimum of 

two years, with a longer extension preferred. 

We appreciate the FAA’s consideration of this request. 

Respectfully submitted,

_________________

Leslie C. Abbott

CC: Joe Marott, Southwest Director Flight Training Center

Jim Stieve, Southwest Senior Manager Operational Certification & Compliance 

Bob Kneisley, Southwest Associate General Counsel

Attachments

Attachment A – Southwest Exemption No. 7132, February 28, 2000

Attachment B – Southwest Exemption Renewal No. 7132G, February 8, 2010.
Attachment A

(Exemption 7132)



Attachment B

(Exemption 7132G)
AFS-12-179-E 

March 29, 2012 

 Exemption No. 7132G 

 Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2002-11485 

Ms. Leslie C. Abbott 

Senior Attorney 

Southwest Airlines Company 

1901 L Street NW., Suite 640 

Washington, D.C. 20036 

Dear Ms. Abbott: 

This letter is to inform you that we are revising your petition to extend Exemption No. 7132, 

as amended. 

The Basis for Our Decision 

By letter dated January 13, 2012, you petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 

on behalf of Southwest Airlines Company (Southwest) for an extension of Exemption 

No. 7132, as amended. That exemption from § 121.434(c)(1)(ii) of Title 14, Code of Federal 

Regulations allows Southwest to substitute a qualified and authorized check airman in place 

of an FAA inspector to observe a qualifying pilot in command (PIC) while that PIC is 

performing prescribed duties during at least one flight leg that includes a takeoff and a 

landing when completing initial or upgrade training as specified in § 121.424. 

Once you were granted your extension, it was noted the FAA inadvertently included the 

wrong conditions and limitations. This exemption includes the correct list of conditions and 

limitations. The FAA apologizes for any inconvenience this has caused. 

In your petition, you indicate that there has been no change in the conditions and reasons 

relative to public interest and safety that were the basis for granting the original exemption. 
 2

The FAA has determined that good cause exists for not publishing a summary of the petition 

in the Federal Register because the requested extension of the exemption would not set a 

precedent, and any delay in acting on this petition would be detrimental to Southwest. 

Our Decision 

The FAA has determined that the justification for the issuance of Exemption No. 7132, as 

amended, remains valid with respect to this exemption and is in the public interest. 

Therefore, under the authority provided by 49 U.S.C. 40113 and 44701, which the FAA 

Administrator has delegated to me, I grant your petition, subject to the following conditions 

and limitations. 

Conditions and Limitations 

1. A Southwest check airman or aircrew program designee may conduct a 

PIC observation in place of an FAA inspector when–– 

a. The Administrator preapproves that substitution for each observation of a 

qualifying PIC candidate, thus reserving first right of refusal to the FAA in 

each case. Southwest, therefore, must contact an appropriate FAA office, in 

each instance, before substituting that check airman or aircrew program 

designee; 

b. The qualifying PIC candidate has completed no less than 10 hours of 

supervised OE and accomplished no fewer than two takeoffs and landings; and 

c. The qualifying PIC candidate is performing PIC duties during a complete 

flight leg, including flightdeck preparation, before starting engines checklist, 

taxi, takeoff, all other flight phases, landing, taxi, and securing checklist. 

2. Each Southwest check airman or aircrew program designee conducting a PIC 

observation in place of an FAA inspector must–– 

a. Be approved by the Administrator to conduct the observation; 

b. Have served as a check airman or aircrew program designee for Southwest for 

no less than 6 months; and 

c. Not supervise the OE or conduct the initial line check for the qualifying 

PIC candidate being observed. 

3. Southwest must maintain student, check airman, and aircrew program designee 

records that demonstrate compliance with the conditions and limitations of this 

exemption. 
 3

The Effect of Our Decision 

Our decision extends the termination date of Exemption No. 7132, as amended, to 

February 28, 2014, unless sooner superseded or rescinded. 

Sincerely, 

/s/ 

Raymond Towles 

Acting Director, Flight Standards 

 Service