Exemption No. 10380A

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION

WASHINGTON, DC 20591

 

In the matter of the petition of 

 

UNITED AIRLINES, INC. Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2011-0617

 

requesting change to 

Exemption No. 10380, for an 

exemption from §121.317(d) 

of Title 14, Code of 

Federal Regulations 

 

PARTIAL GRANT OF EXEMPTION

By letter dated February 28, 2012, Mr. D. K. Loo, Director, Quality Assurance,

United Airlines (CALA), 800 South Airport Boulevard, P.O. Box 3800, San Francisco, 

CA 94128 petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on behalf of CALA for 

additional consideration in the relief from § 121.317(d) of Title 14, Code of Federal 

Regulations (14 CFR). The proposed exemption, if granted, would permit the use of 

symbolic placards in lieu of text that states, “Fasten Seat Belt While Seated” for all 

Boeing Model 787 (B787) aircraft. This petition was submitted to Docket No. FAA2012-0236. The FAA requested the contents of that docket to be transferred to Docket 

No. FAA-2011-0617; where the petitioner submitted its initial request.

The petitioner requests relief from the following regulation:

Section 121.317(d) prescribes, in pertinent part, that no person may operate a passengercarrying airplane under this part unless at least one legible sign or placard that reads 

“Fasten Seat Belt While Seated” is visible from each passenger seat. These signs or 

placards need not meet the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section

The petitioner supports its request with the following information:

As background for this request, United Airlines (UAL) and Continental Airlines (CAL) 

commenced a merger transition process on November 1, 2010. CALA and CAL received 

a single operating certificate November 30, 2011 and now operates as a single carrier 
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under the name United Airlines and operating certificate CALA014A. On October 28, 

2011 CALA was granted a partial exemption for relief from § 121.317(d) to the extent 

necessary to allow CALA (formerly CAL) to use symbolic placards in lieu of text for all 

B787 aircraft “Fasten Seat Belt While Seated” placards. Exemption No. 10380 (Docket 

No. FAA-2011-0617) allows CALA to use symbolic placards in lieu of text; however, the 

exemption is contingent upon certain conditions and limitations.

The FAA identified six conditions and limitations in its partial grant of exemption to 

§ 121.317(d). These six conditions and limitations are:

1. The symbolic placards on the Boeing 787 aircraft will be included in the initial 

conformity inspection and maintained in the condition that was present during aircraft 

delivery.

2. Strict compliance with § 121.571(a)(2) will be reemphasized to each crewmember 

serving on any airplane to be operated under this exemption prior to introduction of the 

Boeing 787 aircraft into air carrier service. Thus, after each takeoff, immediately before 

or immediately after turning the seatbelt sign off, an announcement shall be made that 

passengers should keep their seatbelts fastened, while seated, even when the seatbelt sign 

is off.

3. The briefing shall include a statement that the Federal Aviation Regulations require 

passenger compliance with lighted passenger information signs, placards, and 

crewmember instructions concerning the use of safety belts.

4. Cabin crewmembers will use alternate methods to alert special passengers; such as, 

the elderly, non-English speaking, deaf or hearing impaired, those with limited mobility, 

and those traveling with small children. CALA cabin safety procedures will include the 

use of visual aids; such as, seatbelt extenders or briefing cards, pointing to seatbelt signs 

and symbolic placards combined with oral announcements during seatbelt compliance 

checks.

5. Crewmembers will include a caution to passengers that they should not attempt to 

open overhead bins when the seatbelt sign is illuminated in the seatbelt announcement.

6. Cabin crewmembers will include additional announcements that passenger risk is 

increased when long lines form around the lavatory as needed.

In its additional request for exemption to 14 CFR § 121.317(d), the petitioner requests

relief from three of the six conditions and limitations in the FAA’s partial grant of 

exemption. The petitioner states the original petition was necessary because the aircraft 

manufacturer is employing graphic symbols in lieu of text in many areas on the B787 to 

communicate to passengers certain safety messages required by federal regulation. 

The petitioner states that Condition Nos. 1 through 3 provide a level of safety equivalent 

to the intended purpose of the rule, whereas Condition No. 4 focuses on an issue 
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addressed in CALA’s existing procedures, and Condition Nos. 5 and 6 are an attempt to 

safeguard passengers when they are not seated. The petitioner requests to be released 

from Condition Nos. 4, 5 and 6 of the FAA’s grant of partial exemption. The petitioner 

believes that Condition Nos. 4 through 6 do not support the goal of achieving a level of 

safety equivalent to that intended by § 121.317 (d). 

Specifically, in its submission, the petitioner states that Condition No. 4 targets additional 

communication to customers requiring special attention (elderly, non-English speaking, 

hearing impaired, etc.). The petitioner states the Air Carrier Access Act already 

mandates specific flight attendant procedures for addressing these customers for all 

public announcements and communication to customers, not just the seat belt policy and 

the petitioner’s procedures have been reviewed and accepted by FAA certificate 

management office for CALA. The petitioner believes that imposing additional 

requirements is redundant and indicates current procedures are inadequate. 

In regards to Condition No. 5, the petitioner asserts it has absolutely no correlation to 

ensuring compliance with § 121.317(d) or achieving an equivalent level of safety, nor 

does it ensure customers understand they must keep their seat belts fastened while seated. 

The petitioner further states by providing an announcement with this warning it implies 

to customers it is acceptable to be up while the seat belt sign is on as long as they don’t 

open the overhead bins. The petitioner believes that this condition creates a contradiction 

in expectations that would actually aggravate the task of keeping customers seated while 

the seat belt sign is on.

Condition No. 6 requires crewmembers to provide “announcements that passenger risk is 

increased when long lines form around the lavatory.” The petitioner maintains this 

requirement also has no correlation to ensuring compliance with § 121.317(d) or 

achieving an equivalent level of safety. The petitioner believes it also does not ensure 

customers understand they must keep their seat belts fastened while seated. The 

petitioner states that CALA security procedures require flight attendants to make an 

almost identical statement during boarding and after takeoff, which makes this a 

redundant requirement.

The FAA has determined that good cause exists for not publishing a summary of the 

petition in the Federal Register because the requested exemption would not set a 

precedent and any delay in acting on this petition would be detrimental to CALA.

The FAA’s analysis is as follows:

Clear Air Turbulence (CAT) continues to be the leading cause of in-flight injury to 

passenger and crewmembers. The “Fasten Seat Belt While Seated” placard has 

traditionally been the medium by which this information is presented. Several factors are 

considered in the evaluation of the placard, such as, the noticeable placard against the 

background, characteristics of lettering, picture quality and the location of the placard. 

The petitioner did not provide a safety risk analysis to support additional relief. 
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FAA human factors research and published guidance recommends the combination of 

crewmember instructions and placards with text stating “Fasten Seat Belt While Seated” 

denoting when seat belts must be fastened and when all persons must be seated in the 

cabin. The proposed use of a symbol in lieu of the “Fasten Seat Belt While Seated” text 

placard is introducing an unfamiliar graphic. There is a potential increase in the risk of 

passenger non-compliance due to being unfamiliar with the graphic symbol. 

The conditions in Condition Nos. 4 and 5 of the partial exemption have been reevaluated 

to include additional measures to increase passenger situational awareness with this 

unique graphic symbol, therefore mitigating the hazard of injury due to turbulence. 

Crewmember instructions during routine seatbelt announcements combined with the use 

of visual aids such as safety information cards increase passenger awareness and 

compliance. The revised verbiage in Condition Nos. 4 and 5 is intended to bridge the 

transition from the established regulatory standard text placard to the new graphic 

symbol. 

The “Fasten Seat Belt While Seated” placards provide both information and instruction 

about items of safety hardware in the cabin. The FAA has adopted safety standards based 

on human factors and survival factors research when it pertains to placard requirements 

in parts 25 and 121. 

Section 25.791(e) specifically allows carriers to use symbols in lieu of letters. It is the 

FAA’s position that although the aircraft manufacturer has proposed to deliver the 

aircraft with symbolic placards in lieu of text stating “Fasten Seat Belts While Seated,”

this does not relieve the air carrier from the prescribed rules of part 121.

The FAA’s grant of exemption to § 121.317(d) with the conditions described, permits the 

use of symbolic placards alone. Without this relief, the air carrier could potentially have 

both symbolic placards to meet § 25.791(e) and text placards stating “Fasten Seat Belts 

While Seated” to comply with § 121.317(d). The conditions listed in the exemption 

ensure that the safety hazard of seat belt non-compliance is communicated consistently to 

passengers in a form acceptable to the Administrator.

The FAA has considered all the information presented by the petitioner in its request for 

relief from Condition Nos. 4 through 6. The revised conditions in this partial grant of 

exemption are directly related to compliance with § 121.317(d) and include 

announcements to remind passengers about the importance of seatbelt compliance while 

seated. The objective is to educate the occupants of the cabin about the pictorial 

representation in lieu of the words “Fasten Seat Belt While Seated” and to achieve a level 

of safety at least equal to that provided by the rule. 

The FAA’s Decision

 In consideration of the foregoing, I find that a grant of exemption is in the public 

interest. Therefore, pursuant to the authority contained in 49 U.S.C. §§ 40113 and 44701, 

delegated to me by the Administrator, United Airlines, Inc. is granted an exemption from 

14 CFR § 121.317(d) to the extent necessary to allow CALA to operate its B787 aircraft 
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using symbolic representation placards. Each placard will be affixed to each forward 

bulkhead or partition and each passenger seat back in lieu of text placards reading

"Fasten Seat Belt While Seated," subject to the conditions and limitations listed below.

Conditions and Limitations

1. The symbolic placards on the B787 aircraft will be included in the initial 

conformity inspection and maintained in the condition that was present during 

aircraft delivery.

2. Strict compliance with § 121.571(a)(2) will be reemphasized to each crewmember 

serving on any airplane to be operated under this exemption prior to introduction 

of the B787 aircraft into air carrier service. Thus, after each takeoff, immediately 

before or immediately after turning the seat belt sign off, an announcement shall 

be made that passengers should keep their seat belts fastened, while seated, even 

when the seat belt sign is off. This announcement must be made each time the 

seat belt sign is turned off.

3. The briefing shall include a statement that Federal Aviation Regulations require 

passenger compliance with lighted passenger information signs, symbolic

placards, and crewmember instructions concerning the use of safety belts.

4. Flight attendants will conduct a cabin walk-through each time the seat belt sign is 

turned off to remind passengers to keep their seat belts fastened when seated.

5. Safety information cards will be revised to illustrate the symbolic placard symbol 

in lieu of text that has replaced the “Fasten Seat Belt While Seated” placard.

This exemption terminates on August 31. 2015, unless sooner superseded or rescinded.

Issued in Washington, D.C., on July 30, 2013. .

/s/

Michael J. Zenkovich

Deputy Director, Flight

 Standards Service