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amSriCd 555 Airport Blvd., 4* Fl. 

Burlingame, CA 94010 

Direct Dial: (650) 762-7394 

Direct Fax: (650)648-0489 

barbara.russell@virginamerica.cotn 

June 14,2010 

Mr. John M. Allen 

Director, Flight Standards Service 

Federal Aviation Administration 

800 Independence Avenue, SW 

Washington, DC 20591 

Re: Petition for Exemption from 14C.F.R. § 121.434rcynrin 

Dear Mr. Allen: 

Pursuant to Part 11 of the Federal Aviation Regulation ("FAR"), Virgin America Inc. 

("Virgin America")(VQIA199L) petitions the Administrator for an exemption from 14 C.F.R. § 

121.434(c)(l)(ii). Grant of this exemption would permit Virgin America to substitute a qualified 

and authorized check airman or aircrew program designee ("APD") for an FAA inspector to 

observe a qualifying pilot in command ("PIC"), during at least one flight leg that includes a 

takeoff and landing. Virgin America would exercise this exemption only in accordance with the 

conditions the Administrator has attached to numerous similar requests.' 

Exemption Requested 

Virgin America seeks an exemption from 14 C.F.R. § 121.434(c)(l)(ii), which provides 

(in part) as follows: 

In addition, if a qualifying pilot in command is completing initial or upgrade training 

specified in §121.424, be observed in the performance of prescribed duties by an FAA 

inspector during at least one flight leg which includes a takeoff and landing. 

' See. e.g., Southwest Airlines Co. (Exemption 7132, Docket FAA FAA-2002-11485); Trans States Airlines, Inc. 

(Exemption 8054, Docket FAA-2002-12947); JetBlue Airways Corporation (Exemption 8099, Docket FAA-2003-

15446); and Alaska Airlines, Inc. (Exemption No. 8743, Docket FAA-2006-24996). 

555 Airport Boulevard T 650.762.7000 www.virginamerica.com 

Burlingame, CA 94010 F 650.762.7001 hello@virginamerica.com 
Relief Requested 

This petition requests relief from Section 121.434(c)(l)(ii) in those circumstances when 

an FAA inspector is unavailable to observe a qualifying pilot in command during any of the 

scheduled operating experience flights. The requested exemption would be subject to the 

following standard conditions and limitations: 

1. Virgin America vsdll submit to its POI an estimate of the number of PICs 

completing training and a plan as to how the initial operating experience ("lOE") observations 

are to occur. This plan would be approved by the POI prior to the initiation of lOE observations 

by qualified check airmen or APDs. 

2. Virgin America will nominate qualified check airmen or APDs to perform this 

lOE observation. The FAA (POI) will approve the qualified check airmen or APDs to conduct 

observation through a letter of authorization. 

3. Under the exemption the requirement of Section 121.434(c)( 1 )(ii) will be fiilfilled 

if the observation is performed by an FAA-qualified check airman or APD. The observation 

requirement v^dll be documented in the qualifying pilot's record. 

4. The qualified check airman or APD will always be other than the one who is 

conducting the operating experience of the qualifying pilot. 

Justification 

The original intent of Section 121.434(c)(l)(ii), issued almost 40 years ago, was to 

validate the training a pilot received in a flight simulator. Since that rule was adopted, the airline 

industry has had over a decade of experience with visual simulators followed by nearly two 

decades experience with highly advanced simulation. Domestic airlines have successfully 

trained thousands of pilots using sophisticated advanc^ed simulators. The combined experience 

of the airline industry and the FAA, using advanced simulation, has made the present rule 

partially obsolete. 

The FAA has the authority to observe any pilot at any time it wishes; and indeed the FAA 

routinely does so. However, the FAA conducts these routine observations on a schedule the 

local office sets without the burden of having to observe a particular pilot on specific flights 

necessitated by the airline's training and service schedule. Relieving FAA inspectors from 

Section 121.434(c)(l)(ii) will allow the FAA to focus its efforts on higher priority safety 

concems. 

Costly delays in qualifying PIC for line operations results when the airline is required to 

wait until the FAA can observe the qualifying PIC. In some instances, the FAA inspector may 

not be qualified on the airplane type being flown. By allowing a Virgin America check airman 

or APD who is highly qualified in the airplane, ana approved by the FAA for that duty, to 

complete the observation, a greater level of scrutiny arid objectiveness would be provided for the 

qualifying PIC. 
At Virgin America, we are poised for major growth in 2010 - with a projected fleet 

growth of one-third by the first quarter of 2011 and cbntinued growth thereafter. We anticipate 

that we will upgrade 25 more captains this year, and have approximately 76 new PICs 

completing training each year for 2011 and the foreseeable fiiture. 

Grant of this exemption would: 

1. Be wholly consistent with previous exemptions granted in similar circumstances ; 

2. Allow the FAA greater flexibility and better use of its inspector force by focusing 

on higher priority safety functions; 

3. Allow the use of qualified pilots ijmnediately after completing operating 

experience; 

4. Allow significantly increased use of qualified pilots and improve Virgin 

America's ability to provide dependable, on-time air service to the public; 

5. Reduce the uimecessary cost of wages and lost productivity for those qualified 

pilots awaiting FAA observation; and 

6. Allow the traveling public access to Virgin America's new low cost service at a 

pace consistent with the delivery of its additional A-319/A-320 aircraft; allow full utilization of 

Virgin America's fleet by insuring adequate qualified pilots; and allow increased service to 

previously underserved markets. 

Safety Impact 

Grant of this relief to Virgin America will not reduce the level of safety provided by the 

regulation, as the Administrator has previously determined in similar requests for relief 

1. The authorized check airman will be highly trained and experienced with the 

particular aircraft type and will be approved by the FAA; 

2. The check airman will only be used to fulfill Section 121.434(c)(l)(ii) when a 

qualified FAA inspector is not available; and, 

3. The FAA maintains the authority to observe any pilot any time during line 

observations. 

In summary, the requested exemption focuses on the timely and competent completion of 

the observation flight and better utilization of qualifying PICs. 

Seefn. I, supra. 
Request for Publication Waiver 

Virgin America respectfully requests that the Administrator promptly grant the relief 

requested herein and waive the 120 day advance filirig requirement of Section 11.63(d) of the 

Federal Aviation Regulations. This request is consistent with numerous similar requests {see, 

e.g., fn. 1) which the Administrator has previously granted as being in the public interest. 

In addition, pursuant to Section 11.87, Virgin America requests that publication of this 

exemption request in the Federal Register be waived because the grant of this exemption would 

not be precedent setting; the reason for and conditions proposed are identical to exemptions 

already granted; the delay would further disadvantage ^ startup carrier attempting to complete in 

highly competitive markets; and similar petitions hav^ been published in Federal Register with 

no comment received. 

If publication is, however, required, pursuant to Section 11.81(f), Virgin America 

provides the following summary: 

Summary 

Virgin America Inc. Petition for an Exemption From 14 CFR § 121.434(c)(l)(ii) 

Virgin America Inc. petitions for an exemption from 14 CFR § 121.434(c)(l)(ii), 

to permit it to substitute a qualified and authorized check airman or aircrew 

program designee for an FAA inspector to observe a qualifying pilot in command 

who is completing initial or upgrade training specified in Sec. 121.424 during at 

least one flight leg that includes a takeoff and a landing. 

If you have any questions or if you require additional information about this request, 

please do not hesitate to contact me. 

Sincerely, 

Barbara Russell 

Associate General Counsel