AFS

- 1 5

- 483

- E April 21, 2015

Exemption No. 10740 A Regulatory Docket No. FAA

- 2012

- 1061

Ms. Barbara Russell, Esq.

Associate General Counsel Virgin America, Inc. 555 Airport Boulevard, Suite 50 0 Burlingame, CA 94010

Dear Ms. Russell:

This letter is to inform you that we have granted your petition to extend and amend Exemption

No. 10740 . It transmits our decision, explains its basis, and gives you the conditions and limitations of the exempti on, including the date it ends.

The Basis for Our Decision

By letter dated January 29, 2015 , you petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on behalf of Virgin America, Inc. (Virgin America), for an ex tension of, and amendment to

, Exemption No. 10740 . That exemption from § 61.3(a) and (c) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) allows Virgin America to establish special procedures to issue to its pilot flight crewmembers, on a temporary basis, confirmation of any required pilot and

me dical certificate and photo ID, based on information in the operator’s approved record
system.

Virgin America also requests E xemption No. 10740 be amended to provide relief from § 121.383(a)(2)

. An exemption from this part is also necessary to allow Virg in America to
issue written confirmation of an FAA

- issued crewmember certificate to a pilot flight crewmember employed by Virgin America based on information in its approved record keeping system.

In your petition, you indicate that there has been no cha nge 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 th e requested e xtension of, and amendment to, the exemption would not set a precedent, and any delay in acting on this petition would be detrimental to Virgin America.

Our Decision

Upon review of the petitioner’s request for amendment, the FAA has determin ed that a grant of relief from § 121.383 should have been included in the original grant of exemption to Virgin America , that the amendment is in the public interest and provides a level of safety at least equal to that provided by the rule from which the petitioner seeks exemption

. Therefore, the FAA is amending the conditions and limitations to correspond to those of similar exemptions granted to other part 121 air carriers.

The FAA has determined that the justification for the issuance of Exemption No. 10740 remains valid with respect to this exemption and is in the public interest. Therefore, under the authority provided by 49 U.S.C. §§ 106(g), 40113 and 44701, which the FAA Administrator has delegated to me, Virgin America, Inc. is granted an extensi on of, and amendment to, Exemption No. 10740 for §§ 61.3(a) and (c), and 121.383 (a)(2) t o allow Virgin America to
issue written confirmation of an FAA

- issued crewmember certificate to a pilot flight crewmember employed by that air carrier based on informa tion in the air carrier’s approved record system , subject to the conditions and limitations described below.

Conditions and Limitations

1. Prior to utilizing any provisi on of this plan, the carrier must develop, sub mit to, and have approved by its FAA Pri ncipal Operations Inspector a plan outlining the procedures it expects to employ in issuing a temporary confirmation document to crewmembers who do not have in their personal possession the airmen or medical certificate required under § 61.3 for a particul ar flight.

2. If the individual no longer has any identification, the carrier’s procedures, specified in

C ondition No. 1, must include a method to assure positive identification of the

individual.

3. Each airman who operates a flight under this exemption must co mply with § 61.29(c) and assure that a request for an official communication from the FAA confirming the applicable certificate is made within 72 hours of the initiation of any flight conducted under this exemption. The air carrier is authorized to make t his application to the FAA on behalf of each applicable airman. The airman must provide a copy of the official communication to the air carrier within 24 hours of the receipt of that official

communication.

4. The carrier’s confirmation must include the writ ten words “Issued under the authority of Exemption No. ‘10740 ’ , as amended.”3

5. The privileges of this exemption may only be exercised when the affected airman operates totally within the District of Columbia and the 48 contiguous states of the

United States

.

This exemption terminates on April 3 0

, 201 7 , unless sooner superseded or rescinded.

Sincerely,

/s/ John Barbagallo Acting Deputy Director, Flight Standards Service