Order 2011

- 11

- 34

Served: November 30, 2011

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

on the 30 th day of November

, 2011

A pplication of

UNIVERSAL JET AVIATION, INC.

for an e xemp tion from the provisions of 14 CFR

Part 298 Docket DOT

- OST

- 2011

- 0152

ORDER GRANTING EXEMPTION

Summary

By this order, we grant a renewal of the limited exemption to Universal Jet Aviation Inc

. (“ Universal Jet ”)

, from the provisions of 14 CFR Part 298 (“Part 298 ”) of the Department’s

Economic Regulations

, to the extent necessary to allow the air carrier to operate through

February 29, 2012

, a certain executive

- c onfigured Boeing 737 aircraft , commonly called a

Boeing Business Jet (“BBJ”)

, in on

- demand air transpor tation as an air taxi

.

Background

Universal Jet is a corporati on organized under the laws of the State of Florida. The air carrier,

headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida

, has operated as an air taxi under Part 298 since 1999

, and

hold s a Part 135 Federa l Aviation Regulation (“FAR”) operating certificate from the Federal

Aviation Administration (“FAA”) . It operates a fleet of 11 Gulfstream business jets, 1 Learjet,

and 1 Bell helicopter. The air carrier states it is a U.S. citizen and that its sole shar eholder and

President , Mr. Michael McCauley, is a U.S. citizen.

The Application

On August 15, 2011, Universal Jet filed an application in the subject docket requesting a

pendent e lite exemption from Part 298 to allow it to operate one executive configur ed BBJ

, 1

1 Normally, aircraft with only 16 seats would not r equire certificate authority since such aircraft generally qualify

as “small” aircraft that can be operated under the Part 298 air taxi exemption. However, the BBJ, which is a

modified B

- 737, and other similar sized aircraft are “large” aircraft

, i.e., ai rcraft originally designed to have a

maximum passenger capacity of more than 60 seats or a maximum payload capacity of more than 18,000 pounds,

U N

I T E D S

T A T E S O F A

M E R I C A D E P A R T M E N T O F T R A N S P O R T A T

I O

N2

registration number N920DS, in on

- demand charter operations pending the Department’s action

on its contemporaneously filed application s for interstate and foreign passenger charter

certificate authority

. The Department granted the exemption on Au gust 17, 2011, allowing the

air carrier to operate through the end of November 2011. 2

On November 20, 2011, Univer sal Jet applied for a renewal to the above mentioned exemption

in order to continue to meet ongoing commitments to its charter customers wh ile its application

for certificate authority is pending Department approval. 3 Universal Jet state s that same public

interest considerations are again present as existed at the time the Department granted the initial

exemption, stating that “aside from te chnical design capacity specifications, this 16

- seat BBJ has

essentially the same characteristics, capability and operational profile as the other 13 charter

aircraft on Universal’s air carrier certificate.” 4

No answers opposing Universal Jet ’s exemptio n request were filed.

Decision

W e have determined that it is consistent with the public interest to grant a renewal of the limited

exemption to Universal Jet from the provisions of Part 298 so that it may continue to conduct

certain on

- demand charter o perations using the BBJ previously accepted on its FAA Operations

Specifications for a limited period

. 5 Because Universal Jet’s air taxi registration was

inadvertently processed with the addition of the BBJ , Universal Jet reasonably believed that that

the BBJ qualified for air taxi service when placed in operation, and thus entered into contracts

, including a long

- term contract, for the use of this specific aircraft. W e find that since Universal

Jet submitted applications for the appropriate economic auth ority to operate the BBJ immediately

upon being notified of the processing error in accepting its registration of the BBJ under Part

298 , it has shown a good faith effort to comply with the laws and regulations governing its

services

, and for this and the other reasons stated above

, we find that grant ing additional

temporary relief is appropriate

. We point out the temporary nature of this exemption and the fact

that the exemption is limited to the specific aircraft involved, registration number N920DS

. We

also note that Universal Jet should not construe our grant of this extension of its exemption as a

decision to approve the related application s for certificate s of public convenience and necessity

or any aspect of those application s

.

which do not qualify for the air taxi exemption. Thus, Universal Jet has applied for the exemption authority at issue

here.

2 See Order 2011

- 8

- 19.

3 In the same docket, Universal Jet filed a Motion to shorten the answer period, requesting that answers to its

exemption request be filed no later November 28, 2011. By Notice dated November 22, 2011, the Department

granted the air carrier’s request.

4 See Application of Universal Jet Aviation, Inc. for Renewal of Pendente Lite Exemption and Motion to Shorten

Answer Period, at 2.

5 The grant of exemption in this case does not limit the number of small, non

- BBJ airc raft Universal Jet may use

in its current air taxi operations

.3

ACCORDINGLY,

1. W e grant Universal Jet Aviation , Inc.

, a renewal of its existing e xemption from the

provisions of 14 CFR Part 298 to the extent necessary to enable it to operate through February

29, 2012, an executive

- configured Boeing 737 aircraft

, registration number N92 0DS, in on

demand charter operations

.

2. We may amend, modify, or revoke this order at any time and without hearing.

3. We will serve a copy of this order on th e persons listed in Attachment A

.

By:

SUSAN L. KURLAND

Assistant Secretary

for Aviation and Int ernational Affairs

An electronic version of this document is available on the World Wide Web at

http://www.regulations.govSERVI CE LIST FOR

UNIVERSAL JET AVIATION, INC ATTACHMENT A

MR MICHAEL MCAULEY

PRESIDENT

UNIVERSAL JET AVIATION INC

3700 AIRPORT ROAD

SUITE 204

BOCA RATON FL 33431 MR JERRY PROENZA

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION

PRINCIPAL OPERATIONS INSPECTOR

SOUTH FLORIDA FSDO

2895 SW 145 TH STREET

SU ITE 120

MIRAMAR FL 33027 REGIONAL COUNSEL

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION

SOUTHERN REGION

PO BOX 20636

ATLANTA GA 30320

MR GERALD F MURPHY

MS LOR R AINE B HALLOWAY

CROWELL & MORING LLP

1001 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE NW

WASHINGTON DC 20004 MR KEN D AY

AIRPORT MANAGER

3701 FAU BOULEVARD

SUITE 205

BOCA RATON FL 33431 MR PIERRE MURPHY

1200 NEW HAMPSHIRE AVE NW

SUITE 800

WASHINGTON DC 20036

MR MALCOLM BENGE

888 SEVENTEENTH ST NW

SUITE 700

WASHINGTON DC 20006 OFFICE OF AIRLINE I NFORMATION

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

1200 NEW JERSEY AVE SE

WASHINGTON DC 20590 MR JAMES TELLO

PO BOX 66824

WASHINGTON SQUARE STATION

WASHINGTON DC 20035

MR MARSHALL SINICK

1201 PENNSYLVANI AVE NW

SUITE 500

WASHINGTON DC 20004 MR PETER LYNCH

ASST CHIEF COUNSEL FOR

ENFORCEMENT AGC

- 300

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION

800 INDEPENDENCE AVENUE SW

WASHINGTON DC 20591