p1llsburij 

May4, 2012 

VIA FEDERAL EXPRESS AND E-MAIL 

Samuel Podberes ky 

Assistant General Counsel for 

Aviation E"nforcement and Proceedings, C-70 

U.S. Department ofTransportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.-Room W96-322 

Washington, D.C. 20590 

Re: !,AN Colombia's request fgr Equivalent Alteroativt: under 14 C.f.R. ;38~.§7-

Docket OST-2008-0272 

Dear Mr. Podberesky: 

Pursuant to 14 C.F.R. 382.10 (2008), Aerovias de lntegracion Regional Aires S.A. previously known as 

AIRES S.A. and currently d/b/a LAN Colombia I"LAN Colombia"), respectfully submits this request for an 

equivalent alternative determination related to priority space in the cabin to store a passenger's 

wheelchairs. 

Under §382.67 of the Air Carrier Access Act ("ACAA"), the Department of Transportation (the 

"Department") requires that aircraft of foreign air carriers ordered after May 13, 2.009 or delivered after 

May 13, 2010 with 100 or more passenger seats keep "priority space in the cabin of sufficient size to 

stow at least one adult-sized folding, collapsible, or break-down manual passenger wheelchair, the 

dimensions of which are within a space of 13 inches by 36 inches by 42 inches without having to 

remove the wheels or otherwise disassemble it." Furthermore, under §382.67(b} of the ACAA the 

priority space shall not be that of overhead compartments or under se()ts, which are typically used to 

stow passengers' carry-on items. 

LAN Colombia began operating A320 aircraft to the United States on February 1, 2012.1 when it moved 

its operations from Fort lauderdale International Airport to Miami International Airport. 2 See Exhibit A 

for aircraft A320 blueprint. During the month of April 2012 LAN Colombia received one A320 

(registration number CC-BAF} and will be receiving in the future other similar aircraft that it intends to 

operate to the United States that do not have the required priority in-cabin space for an adult-sized 

wheelchair as required under §382.67 of the ACAA. 

1 All current A320 aircrafts used in LAN Colombia's operations to the United States were either ordered before 

May 13, 2009 or delivered from the manufacturer before May 13, 2010, and therefore do not fall within the 

requirements of §382.67 of the ACAA. 2 Before February 1, 2012 LAN Colombia operated to the United States a fleet of Boeing 737s, which were 

delivered from the manufacturer before May 13, 2010. 
-

Since compliance with the rules and regulations of all jurisdictions where it operates is of upmost 

importance to LAN Colombia, at this time the use of the A320 aircraft with registration number CC-BAF 

has been placed on hold, to allow the Department to consider this current request for an equivalent 

alternative to the priority wheelchair cabin space requirement under §382.67 of the ACAA. Such matter 

is of value to the company, as the use of the CC-BAF aircraft and other similarly designed A320s will 

provide LAN Colombia major operational flexibility. 

Equivalent Alternative 

As an equivalent alternative, LAN Colombia plans to follow the procedure it has in place for the 

transportation of passengers' wheelchairs on similar aircraft to the CC-BAF, which do not have in-cabin 

priority space for an adult-sized foldable wheelchair. As part of the procedure, during the boarding 

process, these wheelchairs and other similar items that are of priority to certain passengers are received 

at the main entrance of the aircraft, placed in a priority area of the cargo hold, and brought back to the 

main entrance immediately upon arrival of the aircraft at the gate prior to disembarkation. Specifically, 

section 13.2.10 of LAN Colombia's Ground Operations Manual states: 

Transportation of Standard Wheelchairs 

Standard wheelchairs shall be ticketed as Gate Dispatch and carried with maximum care, 

preferably at the entrance of the cargo hold. 

At the destination, these shall be disembarked and delivered with maximum priority at the 

aircraft's main entrance. . r· \-

,-\VI. c; f()<\AI"'Y\ 

See Exhibit B, pg. 9 of LAN Colombia's Ground Operations Manual. 

In support of the above procedure, if the Department accepts LAN Colombia's proposal for an 

equivalent alternative, LAN Colombia will update its General Operations Manual ("MGO") and the Cabin 

Crew Manual to include in the applicable sections the following: 

On aircraft A320FAM, series number 4383 and up, once the passenger reaches the aircraft door 

upon entering the aircraft, the passenger's own wheelchair must be stored as the last item in 

the main deck of the aircraft's cargo hold and labeled with a priority tag. Upon arrival at the \A. 

destination airport or any other alternate airport, airport personnel will make the wheelchair & 0 .0\. 

available to the passenger with maximum griority at the aircraft's main entrance upon l ~ -

disembarkation. (.___ vJ ~:~~~~ ,\N\.~~"~~ \ ~ \fi ~ 

One of the main benefits of the mentioned procedure is that it allows not just one, but all~ VJ' 0. YJ 

traveling with foldable wheelchairs to have access to their wheelchairs upon arrival, within a time period · 

close to or the same as if it would be if the wheelchair where transported in-cabin. Furthermore, 

personnel at both Miami and Bogota have already been trained to comply with the proposed procedure, 

and therefore will not require additional training to ensure compliance with the proposed equivalent 

alternative, though LAN Colombia will reinforce the procedure requirements in trainings and through 

procedural updates and communications similar to the one proposed in Exhibit C. 

2 
............ ---------------

We are aware that similar procedures are used by at least one foreign air carrier operating A320 family 

aircraft in order to comply with the ACAA, and therefore respectfully submit that the proposed 

procedure provides substantially equivalent alternative for the transportation of one adult-sized 

wheelchair on-board. LAN Colombia appreciates the Department's consideration of its proposed 

equivalent alternative and looks forward to its determination. 

A redacted version of this document will be accordingly docketed. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Josh Romanow 

Justin J. Bintrim 

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP 

2300 N. Street, N.W. 

Washington, D.C. 20037 

Tel: {202) 663-8000 

Fax: (202) 663-8007 

romanow@pillsburylaw.com 

justin. bintrim@ pillsbu rylaw .com 

3 
........ 

----------------

EXHIBIT A 
____________ __ 

A 8 c D 

--- N 

1 

2 2 

3 3 

IN 
0 

c 

B II I I .. 

__ 

. 

------ I ... ... I 

A 

QTY. PART NUMBffl DESCRIPTIOH 

861304 E>EABRIUATOR (SEe NOTE 3) 

APPUCABILITY TABLE 

LIFE VEST PAX JUNGLE SVRVIVAI.I<IT 

{Undeuaci>Oeat) (83123-101) 

{S3123-103AI.l) 

LA I W OPERATION 168EIA SEENOTE2 

LAN ARGENTINA OPERA nON 188E/A NOREQ. 

LAN PERU OPERATION NOREQ. 1 EIA LAN ECUADOR OPERATION 168EIA 1EIA 

---·------ -··-·- -

NOTES: 

1.-INSTAI.l TWO OXYGEN MASK tN EVERY PORTABLE OXYGEN BOTTLE. 

2.- OPTIONAL FOR LA I LU OFIERATION. 

3.- IF lJiE DEFISRli.LATOR IS NOT INSTAU.ED, THE DISPATCH IS NOT AfFECT

I STCH I : STRETCHER LOCAllON 

CEJ : FACII.mES fOR HANOlCAPI'EO 

(PROVlli!OtlS) 

:OONVER!llll.ESEAn> 

LB : UMITEO llREAI< OVER 

OW :0\IERWING 

JS ; JUMI'SEAT (6) 

GAS : <lABINAmHDAHrSEAT 

OH6 · : oveRHt;AD 1!1N 
EXHIBIT B 
I 

AIRES SA 

REF 

PAGINA 

FECHA 

MOT ·GRH.001 

9 

29.SEP·11 (RJ04) 

MANUAL DE OPERACIONES TERRESTRES 

13.2.10 

13.2.11 

IMPORTANT§: En estaciones de transite, el EOP debera asegurar que los retenidos se 

mantengan siempre Ia posici6n definida en el parrafo anterior. 

Transporte de Sillas de Ruedas Nonnales 

Las sillas de ruedas normales, seran etiquetadas como Gate Dispatch y cargadas teniendola maxima 

precauci6n, preferentemente a Ia entrada del compartimiento de carga a granel. 

En el destino, deberan ser desembarcadas y entregadas en Ia puert.a del avi6n t::on maxima 

prioridad. 

Transporte de Sillas de Ruedas con Bateria 

1) Aviso ante transporte de Sillas de Ruedas con Bateria 

Toda vez que sa transporten sillas de ruedas con baterlas, el area de servicio al pasajero 

debera dar aviso oportunamente al area a cargo del peso y balance y al EOP a cargo del 

vuelo, a fin de que esta disponga del espacio nacesario para ·Ia ubicaci6n en los 

compartimientos de carga y coordine su manejo en tierra. 

El area de Servicio al Pasajero debera ademas confeecionar un NOTOC con Ia infonnaci6n 

respectiva de Ia silla de ruedas. 

2) Presentacion y Embarque 

Las sillas de ruedas motorizadas debersm ser prasentadas en el puente de embarque, antes del 

inicio del embarque de pasajeros con Ia baterfa desconectada y sus bomes aislados. El EOP a 

cargo del vuelo dispondra de su traslado hacia el compartimiento de carga donde sera ubicada y 

ftjaci6n al piso, recibiendo un tratamiento de bulto HEA si esta pesa 90 Kg o mas. 

· Nota 1: Dependiendo de Ia infraestructura del aeropuerto, esta podrla ser llavada directamente 

at bagroom para ser despachada directamente al avi6n. · 

Nota 2: 8 area de Servicio a! Pasajero debera dar aviso oportunamante al EOP a cargo del 

vuelo, a fin de coordinar el embarque de esta. 

Segun el tlpo de baterla que posea esta silla de ruedas, el are~ de servlcio al pasajero debera 

antragar las sUias de ruedas cumpliendo las siguientes condiciones para su embarque; 

··,· .. ,· 
EXHIBIT C 
MGO, Vol.4: 

Sample of the memorandum to be distributed to cabin crew: 

. FROM: LAN Colombia Operations 

MEMO No._ PROPOSAL 

SUBJECT: Boarding of passengers traveling with their standard, collapsible wheelchairs 

Dear Crew Members: 

Please be advised that, in accordance with legal requirements in the United States, aircraft must have 

priority space in the cabin of sufficient size to stow at least one adult-sized folding, collapsible, or breakdown manual passenger wheelchair, without having to remove the wheels or otherwise disassemble it. 

Such priority space shall not be that of overhead compartments or under seats, which are typically used 

to stow passengers' carry-on items. 

The said priority space is not available inside the cabin of A320 aircraft with registration CC·BAF, and will 

not be available on other similar aircraft that the company will be receiving in the near future. As a 

result, in lieu of compliance with the above referenced requirement, the following procedure must be 

strictly followed: 

Once the passenger using his/her own wheelchair reaches the aircraft door, airport personnel 

will load the passengers wheelchair, as the last item, inside the main deck of the aircraft's cargo 

hold and labeled with a priority tag. 

Upon arrival at the destination airport or any other alternate airport, airport personnel will 

make the wheelchair available to the passenger with maximum priority at the aircraft's main 

entrance. 

This Operational Memorandum must be registered at the QRH and be available until the next MTC 

revision. 

Cc: Flight Operations Manager- LAN Colombia S.A.-Camilo Sinisterra 

Operational Standards Manager- Rudy Stange 

··-