14 CFR 121.163 Proving Runs 

Exemption Request - April 19, 2011 

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April 19, 2011 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

Docket Operations 

West Building Ground Floor 

Room W12-140 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE. 

Washington, DC 20590 

To Whom it May Concern: 

The Department of Transportation (DOT) granted an exemption to the provisions of section 

41105 of Title 49 of the United States Code, allowing for the purchase of ExpressJet Holdings, 

Inc by SkyWest, Inc. on September 30, 2010. Following that approval, on November 12, 2010, 

ExpressJet Holdings, Inc., the parent company of ExpressJet Airlines, Inc. was purchased by 

SkyWest, Inc. through its wholly-owned subsidiary Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Inc. As a result 

of the transaction, ExpressJet Holdings, Inc. became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Atlantic 

Southeast Airlines, Inc. 

On December 20, 2010, Atlantic Southeast Airlines and ExpressJet Airlines received FAA 

Acceptance of the Single Operating Certificate Transition Plan and Operation Specification 

A502 has been granted and issued. 

With the activities associated with the transition now beginning, the purpose of this letter is to 

request Exemption approval on several regulations to ensure a smooth transition to a single 

operating certificate. Note that while the current plan is for the final operating certificate to be 

the current Atlantic Southeast Airlines Air Carrier Certificate (Certificate No. ASOA029B), the 

discussion provided in this letter is applicable regardless of which certificates were to be the 

merged carrier's certificate. Atlantic Southeast Airlines is following the process outlined in 14 

CFR 11 and 14 CFR 121 in requesting a one-time exemption from the regulation listed below: 

121.163 (a) (b) and (c) Aircraft proving tests. 

(a) Initial airplane proving tests. No person may operate an airplane not before proven 

for use in a kind of operation under this part or part 135 of this chapter unless an airplane 

of that type has had, in addition to the airplane certification tests, at least 100 hours of 

proving tests acceptable to the Administrator, including a representative number of flights 

into en route airports. The requirement for at least 100 hours of proving tests may be 

reduced by the Administrator if the Administrator determines that a satisfactory level of 

proficiency has been demonstrated to justify the reduction. At least 10 hours of proving 

flights must be flown at night; these tests are irreducible. 
14 CFR 121.163 Proving Runs 

Exemption Request - April 19, 2011 

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(b) Proving tests for kinds of operations. Unless otherwise authorized by the 

Administrator, for each type of airplane, a certificate holder must conduct at least 50 

hours of proving tests acceptable to the Administrator for each kind of operation it 

intends to conduct, including a representative number of flights into en route airports. 

(c) Proving tests for materially altered airplanes. Unless otherwise authorized by the 

Administrator, for each type of airplane that is materially altered in design, a certificate 

holder must conduct at least 50 hours of proving tests acceptable to the Administrator for 

each kind of operation it intends to conduct with that airplane, including a representative 

number of flights into en route airports. 

Precedents for such approval include the granting of the same approval for the America West 

and US Airways merger, the TWA and American Airlines merger as well as the Northwest and 

Delta Airlines merger. 

The extent of relief sought is a one-time exemption approval from proving test requirements for 

all aircraft types which are not presently included on the final air carrier certificate. Those type, 

and the approximate year of entry into service at the carrier are listed in the table attached to this 

request. 

Factors for consideration supporting this request for exemption include: 

• Both carrier's very extensive operating experience with these aircraft. All city pairs which 

might be considered for proving runs are currently being operated in revenue service. 

• The carrier's flight deck crews and cabin crews will operate these aircraft types in 

accordance with the FAA-approved procedures in place at SOC issuance. 

• No crewmember movement between legacy carriers will occur until post-Single 

Operating Certificate and merging of all training programs has been completed for these 

crewmembers. 

Expediting the movement to a Single Operating Certificate provides: 

• A reduced period of time maintaining two 'parallel' certificates including carrier 119 

positions and separate individual carrier accountability and oversight by the FAA. 

• Movement to a single certificate allows a single operational control system to be in place, 

which is essential to ensure the highest level of safety as the carrier moves forward to 

complete the balance of the merger related items. 

• Provides increased operational flexibility with respect to the use of aircraft and serviced 

markets. This enables the adjustment of service to better ensure appropriate service levels 

to the public in all cities served. 

Failure to obtain this exemption would result in: 
14 CFR 121.163 Proving Runs 

Exemption Request - April 19, 2011 

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• Extensive disruption to the carrier's operations as aircraft and crews are pulled from 

current line operations to support these activities. These activities may have a negative 

effect on the traveling public. 

• Disruption to ramp operations as the additional proving flights must be accommodated as 

though they were revenue flights. This may result in disruptions to revenue flights being 

conducted with a negative effect on the traveling public. 

• Significant additional workload for the FAA in the supervision and conduct of such 

proving tests. 

Based upon each legacy carrier's extensive experience in operating these aircraft types and the 

high level of experience of the crews, such an exercise would not have any increase in the level 

of safety of the merged carrier's operation. 

We look forward to your timely response to this request. Should you require any additional 

information, please feel free to contact me. 

Sincerely, 

James Nides 

SOC Project Manager 

Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Inc. 

cc: Brad Holt 

Charlie Tutt 

 Lisa Walker 

 J.D. Schwab (FAA) 

Attachment 

 
14 CFR 121.163 Proving Runs 

Exemption Request - April 19, 2011 

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Proving Runs by Aircraft Type for each Legacy Carrier 

Fleet Type 

Atlantic Southeast Legacy ExpressJet Legacy 

Proving Run Date Proving Run Date

CRJ-200 September 1997 n/a 

CRJ-700 Not Required n/a 

CRJ-900 Not Required n/a 

EMB-135 n/a January 1997 

EMB-145 n/a January 1997 

n/a = Aircraft Not Applicable to the Operator 

Waived = Exempt based upon prior demo 

Not Required = Not required due to prior variant compliance