FAA Docket 2007-0001 - 1

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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:

Southwest Airlines Co.

2832 Shorecrest Drive

Dallas, TX 75235

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Shell Docket No.: FAA-2007-0001

Petition for Exemption From 14 CFR § 

121.139

Dated this 11th Day of November 2011

___________________________

Southwest Airlines Co.

Chief Inspector

Director of Maintenance

Chief Pilot

Director of Operations

Director of Safety
FAA Docket 2007-0001 - 2

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Pursuant to the provisions of 14 CFR § 11.63, Southwest Airlines Co. hereby requests 

an exemption from 14 CFR § 121.139 Requirements 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 of 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 deletion 

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, stating 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 

suggest 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 appropriate 
FAA Docket 2007-0001 - 3

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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 safety 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. 

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 distributes 

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)).
FAA Docket 2007-0001 - 4

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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, it places an undue burden 

on the public by requiring certificate holders to carry data and data access systems 

onboard their aircraft, notwithstanding current data being readily available via 

modern technology on the ground. 

Exemption of 14 CFR § 121.139 will not only improve public safety by eliminating the

possibility of inadvertent reliance on outdated data carried onboard aircraft, but it 

will also provide relief from a rather onerous regulatory obligation, thereby allowing

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