Exemption No. 10880

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION

WASHINGTON, DC 20591

 

In the matter of the petitions of 

 

ALASKA AIRLINES, INC., Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2013-0655

AMERICAN AIRLINES, INC.,

AMERICAN EAGLE AIRLINES, INC.,

COMPASS AIRLINES,

DELTA AIR LINES, INC., 

GOJET AIRLINES

HORIZON AIR,

TRANS STATES AIRLINES, 

UNITED AIRLINES, INC.

 

for exemptions from Subparts Q, R,

and S of Part 121 of Title 14, Code of 

Federal Regulations 

GRANT OF EXEMPTIONS

The certificate holders named in the attached Appendix A have petitioned the Federal 

Aviation Administration (FAA) for exemptions from part 121, Subparts Q, R, and S of Title 

14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR). The proposed exemption if granted would

implement part 117 prior to its effective date of January 4, 2014. 

The petitioners request relief from the following regulation:

Subparts Q, R, and S of 14 CFR part 121 will, among other things, govern flight, duty, 

and rest for part 121 passenger operations until part 117 becomes effective on January 

4. Beginning on January 4, 2014, part 121 passenger operations will no longer be 

subject to Subparts Q, R, or S, and will instead have their flight, duty, and rest governed

by part 117. The petitioners request relief from Subparts Q, R, and S of part 121 as 

applicable to either implement or transition to part 117 earlier than January 4, 2014.
2

The petitioner supports its request with the following information:

The certificate holders named in Appendix A state they would like to be allowed to conduct: 

(1) a phased transition to 14 CFR part 117;1 or (2) an early implementation of 14 CFR 

part 117.

The FAA’s analysis is as follows:

In order to grant an exemption, the FAA must find that granting the exemption: (1) would not 

have an adverse effect on safety; and (2) would be in the public interest.

2

 In a notice 

published in the Federal Register (78 FR 59226), the FAA considered an Airlines for America 

(A4A) and Regional Airline Association (RAA) petition asking for an exemption from 

Subparts Q, R, and S of 14 CFR part 121 in order to implement part 117 early. Instead of 

granting A4A and RAA’s petition, the FAA found that granting an exemption for a phased 

transition or an early implementation of part 117 in the names of individual certificate holders 

requesting such relief would: (1) not have an adverse effect on safety; and (2) be in the public 

interest. In that notice, the FAA also found that good cause exists for not publishing a 

summary of the exemption petition in the Federal Register, as delaying action on petition 

would result in an adverse effect. See id.

The FAA’s Decision

In consideration of the foregoing, under the authority contained in 49 U.S.C. §§ 106(f), 40113,

and 44701, which the FAA Administrator has delegated to me, I hereby grant the certificate 

holders named in Appendix A an exemption from 14 CFR part 121, Subparts Q, R, and S to 

the extent necessary to conduct a phased early transition to part 117 or an early 

implementation of part 117, subject to the conditions and limitations described below.

Conditions and Limitations

1. For each certificate holder listed in Appendix A, this exemption permits an early 

transition or an early implementation of part 117 on the date(s) noted for that 

certificate holder in Appendix A. A designation of “N/A” instead of a date in either 

the early transition or early implementation column means that the action in the 

affected column is not granted by this exemption for that certificate holder. 

a. Early Implementation. Certificate holders being granted an earlyimplementation exemption for part 117 must comply with part 117 beginning

on the early-implementation date specified in Appendix A in the manner 

described in Section A of the Federal Register notice published at 78 FR 

 1 Because the rule that created part 117 does not become effective until January 4, 2014, part 117 has not yet 

been codified in the Code of Federal Regulations. As such, all references to part 117 in this notice are to the 

regulatory provisions of part 117 specified in 77 FR 330 (Jan. 4, 2012), as corrected by the FAA, that will be 

codified in the CFR once the rule that created part 117 becomes effective. 2 See 14 CFR 11.81(d) and (e).
3

59226.

3

 For these certificate holders, the effective date of part 117 essentially 

becomes the early-implementation date specified in Appendix A.

b. Early Transition. Certificate holders being granted an early-transition 

exemption for part 117 may begin transitioning individual flightcrew members 

to part 117 on the date specified for early transition in Appendix A. Beginning 

on that date, a flightcrew member working for the certificate holder may 

operate under the provisions of part 117 instead of part 121, Subparts Q, R, and 

S. Once a flightcrew member operates under the provisions of part 117, that 

flightcrew member must continue to operate under the provisions of part 117 

until this exemption terminates. Subject to Condition No. 1a above, a

flightcrew member who is not operating under part 117 pursuant to this 

provision must continue to operate under part 121, Subparts Q, R, and S as 

applicable.

2. Any part 121 operation that is not operated under part 117 must be operated pursuant 

to the provisions of Subpart Q, R, or S of part 121 as applicable.

3. Each certificate holder listed in Appendix A must notify the appropriate FAA 

personnel at its Certificate Management Office of its intent to operate under this 

exemption.

 These exemptions terminate on January 4, 2014, unless sooner superseded or rescinded.

Issued in Washington, DC, on October 24, 2013

/s/

John S. Duncan

Director, Flight Standards Service

 3 See Appendix B for a copy of this Federal Register notice.
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Appendix A

CERTIFICATE HOLDER

EARLY

TRANSITION DATE

EARLYIMPLEMENTATION 

DATE

Alaska Airlines, Inc. N/A January 1, 2014

American Airlines, Inc. December 30, 2013 January 1, 2014

American Eagle Airlines, Inc. December 30, 2013 January 1, 2014

Compass Airlines December 15, 2013 N/A

Delta Air Lines, Inc. January 1, 2014 N/A

GoJet Airlines December 29, 2013 N/A

Horizon Air December 1, 2013 N/A

Trans States Airlines December 29, 2013 N/A

United Airlines, Inc. December 30, 2013 N/A
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Appendix B

[Attach copy of Federal Register notice]