U.S. Department 

of Transportation 

Office of the f~cretary of Transportation 

Richard D. Mathias 

GENERAL COUNSEL 

August 16JP 2012 

Registered Mail-Return Receipt Requested 

Counsel for Aerolineas Galapagos S.A. 

Zuckert, Scoutt & Rasenberger, L.L.P. 

888 Seventeenth Street, NW 

Washington, DC 20006 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Washinn.to.n, oc. 20. 59.Q t ~., 1 ~~ , iH' ' I 

1

1

, L '"L· 1:.l ..'~ '1 

Re: Equivalent Alternative Determination 

Request Concerning 14 CFR 382.61 

Dear Mr. Mathias: 

This letter concerns the March 2, 2012, request of Aerolineas Galapagos S.A. (AeroGal) for 

an equivalent alternative determination concerning the movable aisle armrest requirement 

contained in 14 CFR 382.61 of the Department's Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) regulation 

for the business class seats in its Airbus A320 aircraft. We are granting AeroGal's 

equivalent alternative request subject to the conditions discussed below. 

Section 382.6l(a) r~quires carriers to ensure that "aircraft with 30 or more passenger seats1 

on which passenger aisle seats have armrests are equipped with movable aisle armrests on at 

least one-half of the aisle seats in rows in which passengers with mobility impairments are 

permitted to sit under FAA or applicable foreign government safety rules." Section 

382.61(c) notes that movable aisle armrests must be "provided proportionately in all classes 

of service in the cabin. "2 Furthermore, the Enforcement Office has interpreted movable aisle 

armrest as meaning an armrest on an aisle seat that completely moves or folds out of the way 

while the seatback remains in an upright position to permit a passenger with a mobility 

impairment to safely make an unobstructed transfer (with assistance from carrier personnel 

if the passenger's physical ability necessitates such assistance) fro111 an aisle wheelchair to 

his or her aircraft seat. 

1 The Department's Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings (Enforcement Office) has long held that 

the passenger seating capacity of an aircraft is the manufacturer's maximum designed seating capacity of a 

given aircraft type. Therefore, a carrier may not avoid compliance with the aircraft accessibility requirement 

of Part 382 by reducing the number of seats on an aircraft or ordering an aircraft with fewer seats than its 

designed seating capacity. For example, if a manufacturer designs an aircraft type to hold a maximum of 110 

passenger seats, the Enforcement Office would treat the aircraft as an aircraft with a passenger seating capacity 

of I I 0 even if a carrier stipulates that the aircraft is to be delivered with 99 seats or takes delivery of an aircraft 

with I I 0 seats and then removes II seats. 

2 For example, if 80 percent of the aisle seats in which passengers with mobility impairments may sit are in 

coach. and 20 percent are in first class, then 80 percent of the movable aisle armrests must be in coach, with 20 

percent in first class. 
In its equivalent alternative determination request, AeroGal states that its parent company, 

Avianca Tf}.CJrt ijglding S.A, is also the parent company of Aerovias Del Continente 

Americano S.A. Avianca ("AviancaY). _ AeroGal states that the business class seats in its 

Airbus A320 aircraft are configured ""id~ntically to the business class seats in the Airbus 

A320 aircraft for which A vianca was granted an equivalent altemative determination dated 

October 27, 2009. Aerogal notes that the seating manufacturer, seat mqf~,(;:l, seating and aisle 

dimension, and overall cabin configuration is identical to the seat and'' cabin configuration 

information in Avianca's request that was presented to the Department in the Avianca 

equivalent alternative determination. Accordingly, AeroGal contends that its Airbus A320 

business class seats provide an equivalent altemative to the moveable aisle armrest 

requirement of section 382.61. 

The Department has reviewed AeroGal's business class seat schematics for its Airbus A320 

aircraft, which appear to be configured identically to Avianca's Airbus A320 business class 

seats. Before granting Avianca's October 27, 2009, equivalent alternative determination, the 

Department reviewed A vianca' s configuration diagrams, and videos, and attended a 

presentation at Miami International Airport which demonstrated both a catTier-assisted and 

self-assisted transfer of a person with a mobility impairment from an aisle or boarding 

wheelchair to Avianca's business class seats. Based on the video, diagrams, and 

demonstration, the Department granted Avianca's request. Similarly, after reviewing the 

information submitted by AeroGal, the Department is granting AeroGal's equivalent 

alternative determination request for section 382.61 for the business class seats in its Airbus 

A320 aircraft with the following conditions: 

(1) This approval is limited to the business class seats in AeroGal's Airbus A320 aircraft 

with the configuration and dimensions provided in the CatTier's March 2, 2012, 

equivalent alternative determination request. AeroGal must obtain the Department's 

prior approval for any seat configuration changes and/or seat dimension changes to 

be made on any aircraft that is subject to this approval. If AeroGal implements seat 

configuration and/or seat dimension changes without prior approval of the 

Department, it risks being in violation of section 3 82.61; 

(2) AeroGal must provide, or ensure the provision of, specialized training to its 

employees and contractors, as well as the employees and contractors of any other 

entity that will be transfetTing persons with a mobility impairment to or from the 

business class seats in its Airbus A320 aircraft on or before February 28, 2013. The 

specialized training must ensure training to proficiency in how to properly transfer. a 

passenger to and from AeroGal's business class seats. Such training must also cover, 

at a minimum: (A) the proper use of all items needed to transfer a passenger to and 

from the business class seats (e.g., transfer board and sling/harness); (B) the number 

of persons needed to perform the ttansfer; (C) how to properly operate the business 

class seats (e.g., location and use of control buttons); and (D) how to transfer a 

passenger to and from the business class seats in a safe and dignified manner: and 
(3) AeroGal must also: (A) provide, or ensure the provision of, annual refresher training; 

(B) retain for three years individuals' training records demonstrating that all persons 

requ,ire#lHoreceive initial and refresher training have done so; and (C) within 30 days 

after ~each calendar quarter, f01: a period of three years, provide the Enforcement 

Office with copies of all complaints, if any, regarding passenger transfers to and 

from their business class seats in the covered aircraft. 

If you have any questions about this matter, please contact Michael ~allock or Kimberly 

Graber of my staff, or me, at (202) 366-9342. 

Sincerely, 

-=cc.~· Samuel Podberesky 

Assistant General Counsel for 

Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings 

cc: David M. Endersbee 

3