Legal Department 

3620 Hacks Cross Road 

Building B, 3rd Floor 

Memphis, TN 38125 US 

N&CO 

Express 

May 28, 2015 

VIA TRANSMITTAL & FEDEX OVERNIGHT LETTER 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

Docket Operations 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140 

Washington, DC 20590-0001 

To Whom It May Concern: 

Federal Express Corporation hereby submits the attached Petition for Exemption for relief 

from a portion of 14 C.F.R. § 121.619 (a) as it pertains to the requirement for an alternate 

airport for destination for domestic air carrier operations, as more fully described herein. 

submitted, 

J. Mdrk Hansen 

ad Counsel - Regulatory Affairs 

Federal Express Corporation 
Federal Express Corporation 

FDEA140A 

Petition for Exemption to 

14 C.F.R. §§ 121.619(a)(1) and (a)(2) 

May 28, 2015 
Petition for Exemption § 121.619(a)(1) &(a)(2) Federal Express Corpozation 

May 28, 2015 

Page 1 of 11 

Summary 

Federal Express Corporation (hereinafter referred to as FedEx), with air carrier 

operating certificate FDEA140A, petitions the Administrator for relief from a 

portion of 14 C.F.R. § 121.619(a)(1) and (a)(2), in order to conduct domestic flight 

operations utilizing a different methodology to determine the need for an alternate 

airport for destination. This method seeks to take credit for FedEx's low landing 

minimums program, highly advanced real -time weather products, the in - house 

FedEx meteorology department, and FedEx's advanced flight monitoring and flight - 

planning systems. 

This petition, if awarded, would lower the minimum domestic no - alternate required 

ceiling from 2,000 feet, to 1,000 feet. This petition would lower the minimum 

domestic no alternate required visibility from 3 statute miles down to 2 statute 

miles visibility. 

This petition would grant to FedEx relief from FAR § 121.619 such that no alternate 

would be required for a domestic flight operation if for at least one hour before and 

one hour after the estimated time of arrival, the appropriate forecasts or reports 

indicate the ceiling will be at least 1000 feet and the visibility will be at least two 

statute miles. Furthermore, the destination airport must have at least a suitable 

Category II ILS approach, and the flight crew must be qualified to shoot a CAT II 

Approach. 
Petition for Exemption § 121.619(a)(1) &(a)(2) Federal Express Corporation 

May 28, 2015 

Page 2 of 11 

In accordance with the provisions of 14 C.F.R. § 11.63, Federal Express Corporation 

petitions the Administrator for an exemption from 14 C.F.R. § 121.619(a)(1) and 

(a)(2). 

AfEected FAR Sections: 

Sec. 121.619 — Alternate airport for destination: IFR or over - the -top: Domestic 

operations. 

(a) No person may dispatch an airplane under IFR or over -the - top unless he lists at 

least one alternate airport for each destination airport in the dispatch release. 

When the weather conditions forecast for the destination and first alternate airport 

are marginal at least one additional alternate must be designated. However, no 

alternate airport is required if for at least 1 hour before and 1 hour after the 

estimated time of arrival at the destination airport the appropriate weather reports 

or forecasts, or any combination of them, indicate— 

(1) The ceiling will be at least 2,000 feet above the airport elevation,' 

(2) Visibility will be at least 3 miles. 

Requested Relief. 

FedEx is requesting to reduce the weather required for not naming a destination 

alternate for domestic air carrier operations from the current FAR requirement of 

at least 2,000 feet ceilings and three statute miles visibility to a 1,000 foot ceiling 

and two statute miles visibility, based on the following additional requirements: 

• This exemption, if granted, would only apply to destination airports within 

the 48 contiguous United States and the District of Columbia. 

• Each dispatcher must have a system to display the actual location of each 

flight and current, significant weather. 

• The dispatch facility must have a system to automatically alert the 

dispatcher to a change in forecast weather conditions or a special weather 

update. 

• FedEx must maintain Operations Specifications CO59 – Category II 

Instrument Approach and Landing Operations and C060 - Category III 

Instrument Approach and Landing Operations. 

• At the time of dispatch the aircraft must be at least Category II ILS capable. 

• The captain must be off of "high -minimums" of 14 C.F.R. § 121.652, or the 

captain must be eligible to have FedEx Exemption 5549 1applied. 

• The intended destination must have at least one suitable CAT II ILS 

approach. 

• The forecast crosswind components are within the limitations as specified in 

the FedEx Fligh t Opera tions Man ual. 

1Exemption from FAR 121.652 (a) &(c) and OpSpec CO54 a. Authorizes FedEx Captains during first 

100 hrs PIC (High Minimums), to fly to the lowest published ILS CAT I or CAT II minimums under 

specific conditions. Allows substitution of crosswind component and braking action along with a 

requirement to use autopilot and/or autoland system. 
Petition for Exemption § 121.619(a)(1) &(a)(2) Federal Express Corporation 

May 28, 2015 

Page 3 of 11 

• This exemption may not be applied when the Mandator,pAlternate Policyof 

the FedEx Flight Operations Manual applies. 

• The exemption may not be used if thunderstorms are forecast in the main 

body or conditional language of the weather report or forecast from one hour 

before to one hour after the estimated time of arrival. 

• The operation will use a qualified aircraft dispatcher. 

• FedEx will maintain a system to track and trend flight diversions and 

reasons for any diversion. 

Justification: 

FAR § 121.619, commonly referred to as the 1-2-3 rule, allows dispatch to a 

destination airport without an alternate named only if the forecasted destination 

weather or other reports indicate the ceiling will be at least 2,000 feet and a 

visibility of at least three miles for the period of one hour before and one hour after 

the estimated time of arrival. This regulation assumes this level of weather will still 

provide an adequate margin for the crew to perform an IFR letdown to the 

stipulated weather conditions. However, the current rule, unlike for flag flight 

operations 2, does not set a minimum margin between the weather requirements of 

the rule and the available instrument approach procedures to trigger when a 

destination alternate airport is required. Depending on the available approach, the 

margin may be as high as 1,800 feet and 2-1/2 statute miles visibility if the airport 

has a CAT I approach to no margin at all if the available approaches require a 

ceiling of 2,000 feet height above threshold and three statute miles visibility. 

Most of FedEx scheduled domestic destination airports within the U.S. have at least 

one CAT II/III ILS. 

FedEx believes advances in all -weather aircraft capability, improved weather 

forecasting capability, improved flight crew training to be able to conduct low 

minimums approaches, advances in weather products and their improved flight 

monitoring capability makes this a safer operation along with the minimum 

weather margin. 

2See, generally, § FAR 121.621(a)(1)(i) —(a)(1)(iii) 
Petition for Exemption § 121.619(a)(1) &(a)(2) Federal Express Corporation 

May 28, 2015 

Page 4 of 11 

Improvemen ts in All Wea ther Capability 

When FAR § 121.619 was published in 1964, the lowest approach categories were at 

best a 250 foot decision height and 3/ statute miles visibility. Few aircraft had the 

requisite avionics with landing or guidance systems capable of operations to 

touchdown. Plus, most operators did not have the flight simulators capable of 

training crews in such operations without requiring the actual aircraft to complete 

the check ride. Dispatcher fli.ght following was limited to aircraft position reports 

and textual weather reports. Graphical weather products were large facsimile 

reports, or maps based on dot matrix printing. There was no ability to overlay 

actual aircraft positions along with significant weather prognostic charts, radar 

summaries, or any of the other weather products now available to today's aircraft 

dispatcher. 

The entire FedEx fleet is capable of landing down to CAT III minimums. The lowest 

approach capability in the FedEx fleet is an RVR of 300 feet and a 100 foot alert 

height3 . Both dispatchers and flight crew are required to demonstrate proficiency 

with the requirements of low minimums operations as a part of their annual 

training requirements. 

FedEx recognizes the majority of weather diversions are caused by thunderstorm 

activity during the spring and summer months. While the lowering of the ceiling 

and visibility when an alternate is required could increase the exposure to "pop - up" 

non-frontal airmass thunderstorms during those times when convective activity is 

common, dispatchers typically will list an alternate airport for destination when 

thunderstorms are in the forecast, even if the ceilings and visibility are forecast to 

be above the 2,000 feet ceilings and the three miles visibility required of § 121.619. 

Therefore, FedEx believes it to be appropriate to prohibit the use of the proposed 

exemption when thunderstorms are in the forecast. 

FedEx believes the greatest potential that could be gained from this exemption will 

be during the winter months when it is very common for prolonged periods of 

broken to overcast clouds to form and persist in between 1,500 and 2,000 feet. 

Visibility under these layers of clouds is typically very good. With the all -weather 

capability of the FedEx fleet, these conditions pose no hazard to the safety of flight, 

nor do they reduce the probability of completing the operation to the scheduled 

destination. 

The advanced technology now commonly found on most transport category aircraft 

combined with the improvements in aviation weather forecasting, advanced flight 

3FedEx Operations Specifications C060, Category III Instrument Approach and Landing Operations. 

The B757-200, MD10, MD11, B767F and B777F aircraft can initiate an approach down to the RVR 

300 feet minimum. 
Petition for Exemption § 121.619(a)(1) &(a)(2) Federal Express Corporation 

May 28, 2015 

Page 5 of 11 

monitoring techniques, and real - time weather reporting and airport landing 

systems, provide for a safe operation into conditions much lower than the proposed 

reduction in the weather requirements for the determination of the need for a 

destination alternate. As previously stated, the entire FedEx fleet has been certified 

to conduct approaches to Category III conditions. Furthermore, Dispatchers are 

required by regulation to take into account all factors of the flight when 

determining fuel and alternate requirements 4 . 

FedEx Sy,stem Completion Factor 

During 2014, FedEx operated over 170,000 flights within the domestic system, with 

a total of 448 diversions for weather. We collect and analyze many different sources 

of data to monitor and fine tune our flight planning methods, and we are 

continually adjusting our operations based on the trends these analyses show. We 

track and categorize reasons flights divert, whether it is mechanical, a service - 

related issue, weather, or any number of other reasons. When weather related 

diversion reasons are singled out, the data reveals there is approximately a 0.26% 

chance a flight will divert due to unforecast adverse weather conditions at the 

intended arrival airport. 

The FedEx EWINS System 

The FedEx Meteorology department is EWINS (Enhanced Weather INformation 

System) certified by the FAA and is the primary source of Flight Movement 

Forecasts (FMFs) for domestic and international flight operations when provided. 

The Meteorology department uses a computer based data collection system which 

gathers weather reports and integrates them with real - time satellite and radar 

data, upper air winds, SIGMETs and other conventional aeronautical weather data 

which is used to prepare FMFs and forecasts of adverse weather phenomena. This 

information is available to aircrews and aircraft dispatchers directly from the 

Meteorology department through a data communications system (mainframe), an 

internal web -based interface, facsimile, or in - flight through air/ground networks. At 

foreign locations or U.S. military airports, the foreign/state weather service must 

subscribe to the standards and practices of ICAO Conventions as well as any U.S. 

military weather reporting sources. Except when superseded by FedEx forecasts, 

the primary sources for weather data for FedEx flight operations are the National 

Weather Service (NWS) or sources approved by the NWS, foreign States, or the 

Department of Defense 5 . 

In addition to all of the above weather assets, FedEx dispatchers can always talk in 

person to a qualified meteorologist who is always on duty in the dispatch facility. 

4 See, generally, 14 C.F.R. § 121.647, Factors for Computing Fuel Required. 

5FedEx Operations Specifications A010(a), Aeronautical Weather Data. 
Petition for Exemption § 121.619(a)(1) &(a)(2) Federal Express Corporation 

May 28, 2015 

Page6of11 

Fligh t Planning an d Moni toring Tools 

FedEx dispatchers use a program called SABRE Flight Explorer 6to overlay up to 10 

weather overlays (out of a menu of over 130 different graphical weather products) 

on a map which contains their current aircraft locations (within three minutes of 

real time). The aircraft locations come from either the FAA, through the Volpe 

National Transportation Systems Center for flights within US controlled airspace, 

or the Flight Explorer datafeed for flights outside US Airspace. Plus, each ACARS 

installation on each ACARS -installed aircraft sends automated position reports to 

the company every 30 minutes, with the exception of the B777, which transmits a 

position report over every fix along the route. The Flight Explorer system is further 

integrated within the flight planning system to where a dispatcher can design a 

route of flight, and can display it on their Flight Explorer screen. Dispatchers can 

view nearly all IFR traffic in the National Airspace System, not just FedEx traffic. 

Through Flight Explorer, dispatchers can retrieve current RVR data for airports. 

Flight Explorer is able to display not just the filed flight plan, but the ATC - assigned 

flight plan as well. 

FedEx Aircraft Dispatchers use an internally - developed Flight Planning System 

(FPS). The FPS uses the Jeppesen JetPlan flight planning engine to generate down - 

to-the -pound accurate flight plans. The FPS contains, amongst other databases for 

navigation and flight performance, as well as specific engine fuel bias data for each 

aircraft in the FedEx fleet, so flight plans are tailored to the actual specific fuel 

mileage of each individual aircraft based on the tail number. 

FedEx aircraft dispatchers' also use, as a component of the flight planning system, a 

program called Alert Messenger. Alert Messenger monitors the incoming stream of 

worldwide weather data and presents an alert to the dispatcher if the weather at 

one of his/her airports has changed (i.e., an airport to which the dispatcher has used 

to release a flight, whether it's a destination, an alternate, ETOPS airport, etc.), 

and that weather meets or is worse than certain thresholds. Through Alert 

Messenger dispatchers receive ACARS downlinks from aircraft, as well as 

instantaneous notification of events such as earthquakes, tsunamis, SIGMETs & 

enroute NOTAMS, and space weather. 

The dispatcher can use the FPS to query the weather database for the same data, as 

well as instantaneous Digital ATIS data for a number of airports worldwide. 

FedEx maintains a significant system of ATC coordination, for the Alert Messenger 

system can alert a dispatcher of pre - departure or en route National Airspace 

System constraints, e.g., Airspace Flow Program as well as ATC terminal area 

6This system is approved for use via Operations Specifications A008(a)(7), Operational Control. 
Petition for Exenlption § 121.619(a)(1) &(a)(2) Federal Express Corporation 

May 28, 2015 

Page 7 of 11 

initiatives such as ground stops and ground delay programs. All FedEx dispatchers 

have access to a qualified Air Traffic Coordinator, who has access to the Air Traffic 

Control System Command Center, as well as any ATC facility systemwide. 

FedEx Flight Communications Capabilities 

ACARS or SATCOM are the primary means of en route company flight -watch 

communications. However, FedEx also uses the services of Delta Air Lines Atlanta 

Radio, ARINC or other Long Distance Operational Control (LDOC) frequencies 

around the world. The FedEx communications system can provide the rapid and 

reliable communications capabilities to any aircraft aloft worldwide. 

FedEx Manda tory Domestic Alterna te Policy 

FedEx has in its Flight OperationsManual, a requirement to carry an alternate for 

domestic operations when any of the following conditions exist, regardless of 

forecast ceiling and/or visibility: 

• The crosswind component for the intended landing runway is forecast to be in 

excess of 25 kts, excluding gusts, for 1 hour before and 1 hour after the ETA. 

• The braking action is expected to be Poor at ETA. 

• The destination has no control tower or the tower will be closed at ETA. 

• The flight is scheduled to arrive at an unlighted airport less than 30 minutes 

before sunset or less than 30 minutes after sunrise. 

• Other conditions determined by the Captain or Aircraft Dispatcher. 7 

FedEx has invested significant assets well above and beyond those required by FAR 

to properly plan and monitor all flight operations within the FedEx worldwide route 

structure. 

Descriptions of Persons Covered By This Exemption 

Each qualified FedEx aircraft dispatcher and pilot in command would be covered by 

this exemption, if granted. 

No Adverse Effect on Public Safety 

As previously stated, the FedEx flight completion factor is very high. Few flights on 

an annual basis are diverted due to unforecast weather. However, there still needs 

to be a system in place to monitor flights in real -time, along with the ability to for a 

dispatcher to directly monitor conditions enroute. FedEx has such a system. FedEx 

proposes the following minimum requirements in order to maintain an equivalent 

level of safety: 

7 FedEx Flight Operations Manual, para. 3-37, Alternate Airport: General Weather Requirements: 

Domestic Operations, May 7, 2015. 
Petition for Exemption § 121.619(a)(1) &(a)(2) Federal Express Corporation 

May 28, 2015 

Page 8 of 11 

• This exemption would apply only to destination airports within the 48 

contiguous United States and the District of Columbia. 

• All operations conducted under this exemption will be conducted using a 

qualified dispatcher. 

• Each dispatcher will have a system to display the actual location of each 

flight under his control, as well as current, significant weather. 

• The dispatch facility must have a system to automatically alert the 

dispatcher to a change in the forecast weather conditions or a special weather 

update. 

• FedEx must maintain Operations Specifications CO59 — Category II 

Instrument Approach and Landing Operations and C060 - Category III 

Instrument Approach and Landing Operations. 

• At the time of dispatch the aircraft must be at least Category II ILS capable. 

• The captain must be off of the "high -minimums" of FAR § 121.652, or the 

captain must be eligible to have FedEx Exemption 5549$ applied. 

• The intended destination must have at least one suitable CAT II ILS 

approach. 

• The forecast crosswind components are within the limitations as specified in 

the FedEx Flight OperationsManual. 

• This exemption may not be applied when the MandatoryAlternate Polieyof 

the FedEx Flight Operations Manual applies. 

• The flight planning system must have the capability to expeditiously 

recompute the projected arrival fuel from a point aloft to the intended 

destination if conditions occur that negatively impact the flight. 

• The flight plan/release will contain a specific statement alerting the pilot in 

command the flight was released under this exemption, and include the 

exemption number, such as "RELEASED UNDER EXEMPTION XXXXX". 

• The exemption may not be used if thunderstorms are forecast in the main 

body or conditional language of the weather report or forecast from one hour 

before to one hour after the estimated time of arrival. 

• FedEx will maintain a system to track and trend flight diversions and 

reasons for any reason. 

8Exemption from FAR 121.652 (a) &(c) and OpSpec CO54 a. Authorizes FedEx Captains during first 

100 hrs PIC (High Minimums), to fly to the lowest published ILS CAT I or CAT II minimums under 

specific conditions. The OpSpec Allows substitution of crosswind component and braking action 

along with a requirement to use autopilot and/or autoland system. 
Petition for Exemption § 121.619(a)(1) &(a)(2) Federal Express Corporation 

May 28, 2015 

Page 9 of 11 

Public Benefit 

FedEx believes a Grant of Exemption would be in the public interest for the 

following reasons: 

• The current state of § 121.619 does not require a minimum margin between 

approach capability at the destination airport and the FAR weather 

requirements. Based on the requirement to have at least one suitable and 

operational CAT II ILS approach, there will always be a margin of at least 

900 feet ceilings, and 2-1/2 statute miles of visibility when a domestic flight is 

dispatched without an alternate airport for the destination. 

• Fuel consumption will decrease because fewer flights will require an 

alternate airport be named for the destination airport. This will result in an 

overall weight savings, which will provide more available payload for the 

shipping public. 

• Fuel consumption will decrease which means there will be fewer CO2 

emissions from FedEx aircraft operating within the area covered by the 

Exemption. 

• All FedEx pilots maintain additional training to safely operate and use 

advanced navigation equipment installed in the aircraft. 

• All FedEx dispatchers will have access to state of the art flight tracking and 

weather monitoring tools well beyond those required by regulation for 

releasing or following a flight. 

Conclusions 

In the past few decades, there have been significant advancements in technology for 

weather forecasting, aircraft approach capability, flightcrew training, and flight 

following. Aircraft are now much safer to operate due to these advancements. For 

many years, FedEx has successfully dispatched and monitored flights with a very 

high reliability rate. FedEx and airport operators have created a network that 

supports the ability to operate aircraft safely and reliably into weather conditions 

with less than a 2,000-foot ceiling and 3 miles visibility. In consideration of these 

changes and based on the information provided in this petition, we believe it is 

prudent for the FAA to grant FedEx the requested exemption from FAR 

§121.619(a)(1) and (a)(2). 

Publication into the Federal Register 

FedEx furthermore requests action on this petition not be delayed for publication in 

the Federal Register so FedEx may start to take advantage of the Exemption, if 

granted. There are several domestic air carriers 9which already have an equivalent 

exemption, so this petition for exemption has no precedential value. 

9See, generally, Exemption 8660 (as amended) for American Airlines, Exemption 8654 (as amended) 

for Southwest Airlines, Exemption 8653 (as amended) for United Air Lines. 
Petition for Exemption § 121.619(a)(1) &(a)(2) Federal Express Corporation 

May 28, 2015 

Page 10 of 11 

Please contact Douglas K. Snow, FedEx Global Operations Control - Standards 

(GOCSTDS) atdouglas.snow@fedex.com, 901 - 397- 8228 (office), 574 - 596- 3514 

(mobile), or J. Mark Hansen, Lead Counsel — Regulatory Affairs if you have any 

questions or require additional information. 

incerel , 

%Fieal

k Hansen, Lead Counsel — Regulatory Affairs 

 Express Corporation 

3620 Hacks Cross Road, Building B, 31'd Floor 

Memphis, TN 38125 - 8800 

jmhansen@fedex.com 

Office: 901-434-8583 
Petition for Exemption § 121.619(a)(1) &(a)(2) Federal Express Corporation 

May 28, 2015 

Page 11 of 11 

CC: 

Capt Robert E. Fisher 

Bldg C, VP Flight Ops/Sys Chief Pilot 

Memphis, TN 38118 

refisher@fedex.com 

901 - 224- 5525 

Mr. Paul Tronsor 

Mng Dir — Global Operations Control 

3865 Airways Blvd — Mod. F— 4th Floor 

Memphis, TN 38116 

paul.tronsor@fedex.com 

901 - 397- 8462 

Mr. Christopher S. Simons 

Mgr Global Operations Control 

3865 Airways Blvd — Mod. F— 4th Floor 

Memphis, TN 38116 

cssimons@fedex.com 

901 - 397- 8594 

Mr. Stephen J Kuhar 

Sr Tech Advisor/Flight 

Bldg C, Flt Standards/Tech & AOD 

Memphis, TN 38118 

sikuhar@fedex.com 

901 - 224-5339 

Capt Jim Bowman 

Bldg C, VP Flight Ops/Sys Chief Pilot 

Memphis, TN 38118 

jlbowman@fedex.com 

901 - 224- 5640 

Mr. J. Randy DiGirolamo 

Sr Mgr — Global Operations Control 

3865 Airways Blvd — Mod. F- 4th Floor 

Memphis, TN 38116 

'Zdigirolamo@fedex.com 

901 - 397- 8242 

Mr. Hal J. Medling 

Federal Aviation Administration 

FedEx Certificate Management Office 

2847 Business Park Dr, Bldg J 

Memphis, TN 38118 

hal.j.medling@faa.gov 

901-322-8600