. amer1ca 

January 29, 2015 

Submitted via www.regulations.gov 

Mr. Jolm S. Duncan 

Director, Flight Standards Service 

Federal Aviation Administration 

800 Independence Avenue, SW 

Washington, DC 20591 

Re: Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2012-1061 

555 Airpon Blvd., 5°' Fl. 

Burlingame, CA 940 I 0 

Direct Dia l: (650) 762-7394 

Direct Fax: ( 650) 648-0489 

barbara.russell@virginamcrica.com 

Petition of Virgin America Inc. for Extension of and Amendment to 

Exemption No. 10740 

Dear Mr. Duncan: 

Virgin America Inc. ("Virgin America"), a part 121 operator, hereby requests, 

pursuant to 14 C.F.R. § 11.61 , that the Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA") extend 

and amend Exemption No. 10740, granted on March 29, 2013 and issued in the abovecaptioned docket (copy enclosed), as more fully described herein. 1 Exemption No. 

10740, as issued, provides relief from 14 C.F.R. § 61.3(a) and (c) and allows Virgin 

America to establish special procedures to issue to its pilot flight crewmembers, on a 

temporary basis, confirmation of any required pilot and medical certificate and photo ID, 

based on information in the carrier's approved record system and subject to conditions 

and limitations. As set forth herein, Virgin America asks that the relief from 14 C.F.R. 

61.3(a) and (c) be extended, and that Exemption No. 10740 also be amended to provide 

relief from 14 C.F.R. § 121.383(a)(2). Virgin America respectfully requests that any 

extension and amendment granted by the FAA in response to this petition be for a period 

of not less than two years. 

In support of this petition, Virgin America states as follows: 

1. The FAA determined, in its original decision granting Exemption No. 

10740, that the circumstances presented by Virgin America were similar in all material 

respects to a previous exemption granted by the FAA, specifically Exemption No. 5560, 

as amended, issued to the Regional Airline Association. In this regard, the FAA 

concluded that the reasons for issuing Exemption No. 5560 also applied to the 

1 Exemption No. 10740, by its terms, expires on April 30, 2015. 
Mr. John S. Duncan 

Director, Flight Standards 

Federal Aviation Administration 

January 29, 20I5 

circumstances presented by Virgin America, and, consistent with prior FAA findings, 

"permitting the air carrier to issue written confirmation of an FAA-issued flight 

crewmember certificate could preclude delays and cancellations and, therefore, would be 

in the public interest." Exemption No. I 0740 at 2. The FAA also found that grant of the 

exemption with the conditions and limitations attached thereto "would provide a level of 

safety equivalent to that provided by the affected regulations." ld. 

2. Virgin America's reasons and need for the grant of this requested relief 

remain the same today as when the FAA granted Exemption No. I 0740 and, as a 

consequence, fully support the relief requested herein, for a further two-year period. 

Virgin America's flights involve operations during all hours of the day and night and, 

considering the hundreds of certificated airmen required to support the carrier's flight 

schedule, it is not uncommon for a small percentage of this group to have his or her 

required certificate(s) and/or photo ID misplaced, lost or damaged. Occasionally, this 

may occur at a location where it is not possible to contact the FAA telephonically or 

online to immediately obtain the appropriate telegraphic confirmation in accordance with 

I4 C.F.R. § 61.29. 

3. An extension and amendment of Exemption No. I 0740 would: 

a) be wholly consistent with previous exemptions granted m similar 

circumstances; 

b) avoid unnecessary flight delays and cancellations; and 

c) allow full utilization of Virgin America's fleet, thereby ensuring the 

traveling public enjoys maximum access to the carrier's well-received 

low fare service. 

4. Importantly, grant of this requested relief to Virgin America will not 

reduce the level of safety provided by the applicable regulations, as the Administrator has 

previously detennined in similar requests for relief, including Exemption No. I 0740 to 

Virgin America, that: 

a) the document issued by the carrier must be in the pilot flight 

crewmember's physical possession when exercising the privileges of 

the exemption and must contain the information set forth in the 

conditions and limitations attached to the exemption; 

b) the carrier receive approval from its FAA principal operations 

inspector for the procedures to be employed in issuing the 

confirmation document to the relevant pilot flight crewmembers, 

including procedures to ensure positive identification when the pilot 

no longer has photo identification; and 
Mr. John S. Duncan 

Director, Flight Standards 

Federal Aviation Administration 

January 29, 2015 

c) each pilot flight crewmember who operates a flight under the 

exemption (i) obtain from Airmen Services at www.faa.gov, as soon as 

practicable, a document containing temporary authority to exercise 

certificate privileges, (ii) comply with 14 C.F.R. § 61.29 (if the pilot 

flight crewmember' s FAA pilot and medical certificate are 

permanently lost or damaged) and (iii) provide a copy of FAA-issued 

documents containing temporary authority to exercise certificate 

privileges to the carrier within 24 hours of receipt of the document. 

5. Virgin America, in its initial request that the FAA grant the exemption at 

issue, petitioned the FAA for relief from 14 C.F.R. § 121.383(a)(2), which states, in 

relevant part, "No certificate holder may use any person as an airman nor may any person 

serve as an airman unless that person ... [h ]as any required appropriate current airman 

and medical certificates in his possession while engaged in operations under this part." 

The decisional letter issued by the FAA in response to the carrier's initial request did not 

explicitly address Virgin America's request for relief from Section 121.383(a)(2). Virgin 

America therefore asks, in connection with its requested extension of Exemption No. 

10740, that the exemption be formally amended to expressly encompass Section 

121.383(a)(2), as relief from Section 121.383(a)(2) is necessary to give meaningful 

operational effect to the previously-issued relief from Sections 61.3(a) and (c) and the 

special procedures established under Exemption l 0740. Additionally, the express 

inclusion of relief from Section 121.383(a)(2) in any extension of Exemption 10740 is 

consistent with previous exemptions routinely granted by the FAA in comparable 

settings, including, most particularly, an exemption issued to Airlines for America and its 

part 121 carrier members under circumstances similar in all material respects to those 

presented by Virgin America (Exemption No. 5487, as amended). 

6. Virgin America submits that the requested extension of and amendment to 

Exemption No. 10740 is not controversial. A summary of the request made herein is 

attached, as required under 14 C.F.R. § 11.81. Nevertheless, Virgin America submits that 

good cause exists for not publishing a summary of this petition in the Federal Register, as 

the requested extension and amendment of the exemption and is not precedential, and any 

delay in acting on this petition would be detrimental to Virgin America. 
Mr. John S. Duncan 

Director, Flight Standards 

Federal Aviation Administration 

January 29, 2015 

WHEREFORE, for the foregoing reasons, Virgin America Inc. respectfully requests 

that the FAA extend and amend Exemption No. 10740 for a period of not less than two 

years, as described more fully herein, and grant such other or additional relief as it deems 

consistent with this request and the public interest. 

Sincerely, 

Barbara Russell 

Associate General Counsel 

Enclosure 
Virgin America Inc. 

Regulations affected: 

Description of relief sought: 

SUMMARY OF PETITION 

14 C.F.R. § 61.3(a) and (c) 

14 C.F.R. § 121.383(a)(2) 

Virgin America Inc. (Virgin America) petitions for an extension of and amendment to 

Exemption No. 10740. The exemption permits Virgin America to establish special 

procedures that enable the carrier to issue to its pilot flight crewmembers, on a temporary 

basis, confirmation of any required crewmember certificates and photo IDs based on 

information contained in the carrier's approved record system, subject to certain 

conditions and limitations. 
U.S. Deportment 

of Transportation 

Federal Aviation 

Administration 

March 29,2013 

Barbara Russell, Esq. 

Associate General Counsel 

Virgin America, Inc. 

555 Airport Boulevard, Suite 500 

Burlingame, CA 9401 0 

Dear Ms. Russell: 

Exemption No. I 0740 

800 Independence Ave .. S W 

Washington. 0 C 2059 t 

Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2012-1061 

This Jetter is to inform you that we have granted your request for exemption. It transmits our 

decision, explains its basis, and gives you the conditions and limitations ofthe exemption, 

including the date it ends. 

The Basis for Our Decision 

By letter dated September 27, 2012, you petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration 

(FAA) on behalf of Virgin America, Inc. (Virgin America), for an exemption from 

§ 61.3(a) and (c) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR). That exemption, if 

granted, would allow Virgin America to establish special procedures to issue to its pilot flight 

crewmembers, on a temporary basis, confinnation of any required pilot and medical certificate 

and photo ID, based on information in the operator's approved record system. 

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 Virgin America. 

The FAA has issued a grant of exemption in circumstances similar in all material respects to 

those presented in your petition. In Grant of Exemption No. 5560, as amended (copy 

enclosed), the FAA found that although the FAA issues telegraphic replacement certificates 

on a 24-hour emergency basis, some airlines are not equipped to receive such certificates in a 

timely manner at various locations during non-business hours. The FAA finds that the 

AFS-13-003-E 
inability of an airline to receive telegraphic replacement certificates in a short time could 

result in substantial flight delays or even flight cancellations. 

The FAA notes that in Amendment 61-102, "Pilot, Flight Instructor, Ground Instructor, and 

Pilot School Certification Rules; Final Rule; Request for Comments" (62, FR 16220, 

April4, 1997), effective August 4, 1997, § 61.29 was revised to permit airmen who have lost 

an ainnan or medical certificate to obtain confirmation by facsimile rather than by telegram 

that the certificate was issued. 

The FAA found that pem1itting the air carrier to issue written confinnation of an FAA-issued 

flight crewmember certificate could preclude delays and cancellations and, therefore, would 

be in the public interest. The FAA also found that although there may be minor differences 

between the content of the records maintained by the FAA and those maintained by the 

carrier, granting the exemption with certain conditions and limitations would provide a level 

of safety equivalent to that provided by the affected regulations. Finally, the FAA stated that 

under section 1, chapter I, of annex 1 to the International Civil Aviation Organization 

International Standards and Recommended Practices, a license must be issued or rendered 

valid by a Contracting State, and therefore, operations under the exemption would be limited 

to flights conducted within the 48 contiguous United States and the District of Columbia. 

Having reviewed your reasons for requesting an exemption, I find that-

• they are similar in all material respects to relief previously requested in the enclosed 

Grant ofExemption No. 5560; 

• the reasons stated by the FAA for granting the enclosed Grant of Exemption No. 5560 

also apply to the situation you present; and 

• a grant of exemption is in the public interest. 

Our Decision 

Under the authority contained in 49 U.S.C. 40113 and 44701, which the FAA Administrator 

has delegated to me, I hereby grant Virgin America, Inc., an exemption from 14 CFR § 61.3(a) 

and (c) to the extent necessary to allow Virgin America to establish procedures to issue to its 

pilot flight crewmembers, on a temporary basis, confirmation of any required pilot and 

medical ce11ificate and photo lD, based on information in Virgin America's approved record 

system. That confirn1ation allows the individual pilot to serve as a pilot flight crewmember for 

any scheduled part 121 flight operation without having in his/her possession an FAA-issued 

pilot or medical certificate or photo ID, subject to the conditions and limitations described 

below. 

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Conditions and Limitations 

1. This exemption is issued for the purpose of preventing cancellation of air carrier 

flights in situations where a pilot flight crewmember's FAA pilot certificate, FAA 

medical certificate, and/or photo identification are valid but physically unavailable. 

The privileges of this exemption are intended for situations where pilots have no 

access to airman services at the faa.gov website tor receiving via fax or internet 

download FAA-issued documents containing temporary authority to exercise 

certificate privileges as described in§ 61.29(e). 

2. This exemption allows Virgin America to issue to a pilot flight crewmember a 

document confirming his/her FAA-issued pilot and medical certification. The 

document issued by Virgin America must be in the pilot flight crewmember's physical 

possession when exercising the privileges of the exemption and must contain the 

following information: 

a. The pilot flight crewmember's certification infonnation from his/her pilot and 

medical certificates 

b. The exact text or a photocopy of this exemption. 

c. The Virgin America confirmation document must include the following 

statements: 

1. "Issued under the authority of Exemption No. [XXXX]." 

11. "Expires [inse11 date/time 72 hours after issuance]." 

111. "The privileges of this exemption may be exercised only for flights 

within the District of Columbia and the 48 contiguous United States. 

1v. "The privileges of this exemption may be exercised for any flights that 

are under the operational control of Virgin America." 

3. Before conducting operations under this exemption, Virgin America must receive 

approval from its FAA principal operations inspector (POI) for the procedures Virgin 

America expects to employ in issuing a confi1mation document to pilot flight 

crewmembers who do not have in their personal possession the required pilot and/or 

medical certificate or photo identification. These procedures must include a method to 

ensure positive identification (such as a photocopy of a driver license or passport) of 

the pilot flight crewmember when the pilot no longer has photo identification. 

4. Each pilot flight crewmember who operates a flight under this exemption must: 

a. As soon as practicable, obtain from airman services at the faa.gov website a 

document containing temporary authority to exercise certificate privileges. 

b. If the pilot flight crewmemember's FAA pilot and medical certificate are 

permanently lost or destroyed, the pilot flight crewmember must comply with 

the requirements of§ 61.29 and ensure a request for replacement certificate 

from the FAA is made within 72 hours of the initiation of any flight conducted 

under this exemption. Virgin America is authorized to make this application to 

the FAA on behalf of the pilot flight crewmember. 

3 
c. The pilot flight crewmember must provide a copy ofF AA-issued documents 

containing temporary authority to exercise certificate privileges to Virgin 

America within 24 hours of the receipt of that document. 

This exemption tenninates on April 30, 2015, unless sooner superseded or rescinded. 

Sincerely, 

Is/ 

Michael J. Zenkovich 

Deputy Director, Flight Standards 

Service 

Enclosure 

4