1

Hogan Lovells US LLP

Columbia Square

555 Thirteenth Street, NW

Washington, DC 20004

Direct phone +1 202 637 4999

www.hoganlovells.com

March 21, 2013

By Electronic Submission

U.S. Department of Transportation

Docket Management System

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE

Washington, DC 20590

Re: Petition of Republic Airline Inc. for Exemption from

14 C.F.R. §121.500- §121.505

Dear Sir or Madam:

Pursuant to 14 C.F.R. Part 11, Republic Airline Inc. (“Republic”) hereby petitions

the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) for an exemption from

14 C.F.R. §121.500 – §121.505 in order to permit Republic to operate supplemental

operations in accordance with the flight time limitations and rest requirements for

domestic operations under subpart Q of Part 121 (§121.471) instead of those applicable

to supplemental operations under subpart S. In addition, Republic requests that the

FAA issue the requested exemption as soon as possible in order to avoid undue

burdens, inconvenience, and significant costs on Republic, its crews, and passengers

by the requirement to operate under two different flight time/rest requirements pending

the new flightcrew member duty and rest regulations (14 C.F.R. Part 117) that are

scheduled to become effective on January 4, 2014.

As explained in detail below, the requested exemption is in the public interest,

would ensure an equivalent or greater level of safety, and is consistent with FAA

precedent.
U.S. Department of Transportation

Federal Aviation Administration

March 21, 2013

Page 2

Republic submits the following information in further support of this request for an

exemption:

I. Background and Exemption Request.

1. Republic is a Part 121 certificated air carrier based in Indianapolis,

Indiana, which currently operates 88 aircraft in scheduled commercial passenger air

transportation for US Airways Express, United Express, and Frontier Airlines: 10

Embraer E-190s (99 seats), 38 Embraer ERJ-175s (80 seats), 20 Embraer ERJ-170s

(69 seats), and 20 Bombardier Dash-8-Q400s (71 seats).

2. The overwhelming majority of Republic’s flights are scheduled flights

operated under the domestic operations rules under subpart Q. In addition to the

scheduled passenger service operations, Republic also conducts domestic and foreign

public charter flights for Caesars Entertainment, transporting passengers from a variety

of U.S. and Canadian cities to vacation/casino destinations in the United States. Public

charter operations are considered to be “supplemental” operations. 14 C.F.R. Part 110.

3. Under 14 C.F.R. §121.503(b), which governs supplemental operations,

“[e]ach pilot who has flown more than eight hours during any 24 consecutive hours must

be given at least 16 hours of rest before being assigned to any duty with the certificate

holder.”

4. All of Republic’s public charter flights are scheduled for less than 8 flight

hours per duty period with the crew typically scheduled for 10 or more hours of rest

before operating the return (or next) flight, consistent with the flight, duty, and rest time

regulations governing supplemental operations under subpart S of Part 121.

Occasionally, Republic will schedule a crew for more than 8 flight hours within a 24-hour
U.S. Department of Transportation

Federal Aviation Administration

March 21, 2013

Page 3

period consistent with the intervening rest requirement under subpart S of Part 121.

Periodically, however, the actual flight time for some of the charter flights (scheduled for

less than 8 flight hours) may exceed 8 hours in a 24-hour period for reasons beyond

Republic’s control such as severe weather, de-icing, and ATC/enroute/airport

congestion, among others. Under subpart S, the resultant rest period for the crew in

such cases is extended to 16 hours, substantially longer than would have been required

if the flight had operated as scheduled pursuant to the “domestic operations” regulations

under subpart Q. As a result of the extended rest requirement, the return (or next) flight

is unnecessarily delayed, passengers and crews are substantially inconvenienced, and

the costs of the operations are significantly increased.

5. An exemption from Section 121.500-Section 121.505 is fully warranted, is

in the public interest, and will ensure an equivalent or greater level of safety.

II. The Requested Exemption Is In The Public Interest And Will Provide An

Equivalent (or Greater) Level Of Safety.

6. The FAA has a long history of granting exemptions from Section 121.503

and related regulations in subpart S. For example, the FAA granted an exemption to

Emery Worldwide Airlines with respect to Section 121.503, as well as Sections 121.505

and 121.511, such that Emery could conduct all of its Part 121 operations in the

continental United States in accordance with the domestic rules set forth in Section

121.471. See Exemption No. 6184 (FAA No. 28260; October 6, 1995). In granting the

exemption, the FAA explained that supplemental operations conducted by ABX and

DHL pursuant to Exemptions Nos. 5167 and 5296, respectively, “for similar relief have

proven to be as safe as operations conducted without such an exemption from the

regulations.”

7. In addition, the FAA partially granted a similar exemption from Sections

121.503 through 121.509 to FedEx so that it could conduct its all-cargo operations in
U.S. Department of Transportation

Federal Aviation Administration

March 21, 2013

Page 4

the continental United States under Section 121.471. See Exemption No. 8693 (FAA2002-11619; March 16, 2006). The FAA granted FedEx authority to operate under the

domestic rules (instead of the supplemental rules), concluding that:

- “FedEx is capable of conducting its operations safely under §121.471”;

- The exemption “would facilitate FedEx’s operational needs and would be in the

public interest”;

- “Section 121.471 provides important safety protections that include: a maximum

flight time limit of 8 hours between rest periods; minimum pre-duty rest of 9 hours

received within 24 hours of the scheduled completion of each flight segment; and

timely compensatory rest when pre-duty rest is reduced.”

- “[T]he domestic rules of subpart Q are better than the supplemental rules under

subpart S.”

These same conclusions apply to Republic and the exemption being requested herein.

8. The FAA also granted a similar exemption to Executive Airlines (d/b/a

American Eagle) so that Executive could operate its passenger operations out of San

Juan, Puerto Rico, to Caribbean destinations pursuant to the FAA’s flight, duty, and rest

rules for domestic operations, rather than the flight, duty, and rest rules for flag

operations. See Exemption No. 8597 (FAA-2003-14802; August 10, 2005). The FAA

found that “[a]llowing all of Executive to operate under domestic flight and duty time

rules would simplify the operation, provide additional rest for pilots, and, as such, benefit

the airline and the public.” As the FAA acknowledged, Executive’s use of the FAA’s

domestic flight, duty, and rest rules (Subpart Q) “would be more conservative (i.e.,

safer) then [sic] the flag flight, duty, and rest rules” (Subpart R).

9. The FAA has also issued exemptions (in cases not involving the flight,

duty and rest time rules) that permitted supplemental carriers to operate under the

domestic rules. See, e.g., Exemption 10064 (FAA-2010-0408; May 10, 2010) (granting

exemption to Allegiant Air permitting it to conduct supplemental operations using the
U.S. Department of Transportation

Federal Aviation Administration

March 21, 2013

Page 5

“alternate airport” regulation and “fuel reserve” regulation applicable to domestic

operations).

10. Republic submits that the situation and circumstances it is facing do not

differ materially or substantively from those for which the FAA has previously granted

similar exemptions. Moreover, many of the FAA’s stated reasons for previously

granting similar exemptions to other air carriers like FedEx, Emery, ABX, DHL, and

Executive apply to the situation presented herein by Republic, and the requested

exemption would be in the public interest.

11. Indeed, the grounds for granting the requested exemption are even

stronger here than in the FedEx, Emery, ABX, and DHL cases. In this case, 97% of

Republic’s flying is domestic scheduled passenger service; only 3% of its flying is for

public charters. The same pilot group operates both types of service, and, as a result,

pilots are required to switch between the domestic rules and the supplemental rules,

which can create confusion. Moreover, unlike the all-cargo carriers, Republic’s

supplemental operations for Caesars Entertainment are flown during normal operational

hours, rather than all-night flying.

12. Failure to grant Republic the requested exemption would significantly

increase the costs and passenger/crew inconvenience for certain of Republic’s charter

operations that are delayed for reasons beyond Republic’s control.

a. For example, a charter trip from IFP (Laughlin) to DTW (Detroit) to LBL

(Liberal, KS) is scheduled for 7 flight hours with 14 hours of crew rest

before the next flight. If, due to adverse weather and enroute congestion

on a particular day, the same flights actually take 8.25 flight hours and

arrive 1 hour late, then, under subpart S, Section 121.503(b), the crew

would need 16 hours of rest (and the aircraft would remain idle for that
U.S. Department of Transportation

Federal Aviation Administration

March 21, 2013

Page 6

period) in Liberal before commencing the return (or next) flight. As a

result, instead of the return (next) flight with this crew departing as

scheduled at 0900 after 13 hours of rest, the passengers, crew, and

aircraft for that flight would be delayed until 1200. And, since many of the

cities with these casino/vacation charters have only limited or no other

commercial air transportation to the same destinations, there is no

alternative for re-booking passengers on another flight or carrier closer to

the original schedule and no opportunity for Republic to send another crew

to that location.

13. In the absence of the requested exemption, Republic would continue to

incur the additional costs and burdens of operating under two separate flight, duty, and

rest time regulations: subpart Q (domestic) for the overwhelming majority of its

operations, and subpart S (supplemental) for the subset of charter flights at issue here.

See, e.g., Exemption No. 8597 (granting exemption to American Eagle, in part, because

“[a]llowing all of Executive to operate under domestic flight and duty time rules would

simplify the operation, . . . , and, as such, benefit the airline and the public.”)

14. At the same time, the requested exemption would result in an equivalent

(or even greater) level of safety for Republic’s operations. See, e.g., Exemption No.

8693 (partially granting exemption to FedEx based on the equivalent level of safety

provided under the exemption); Exemption No. 5296 (granting exemption to DHL based

on the equivalent level of safety provided under the exemption).

a. As the FAA concluded in granting other air carriers similar exemptions to

the flight, duty, and rest time rules in subpart S:
U.S. Department of Transportation

Federal Aviation Administration

March 21, 2013

Page 7

 Republic “is capable of conducting its operations safely under

§121.471.” The overwhelming majority of Republic’s current scheduled

operations are operated under subpart Q;

 The exemption “would facilitate [Republic’s] operational needs” by

enabling Republic to maintain its crew/passenger schedules even if a

particular flight or set of flights (scheduled for less than 8 flight hours)

slightly exceeds 8 flight hours.

b. Republic’s crews would continue to receive sufficient rest time before

commencing the return (or next) flight under subpart Q (e.g., 2000 to

0900). Republic’s crews are aware of these flight schedules a month in

advance and can plan accordingly. As the FAA has explained:

 “[T]he domestic rules of subpart Q are better than the supplemental

rules under subpart S.”

 “Section 121.471 provides important safety protections that include: a

maximum flight time limit of 8 hours between rest periods; minimum

pre-duty rest of 9 hours received within 24 hours of the scheduled

completion of each flight segment; and timely compensatory rest when

pre-duty rest is reduced.”

 “Section 121.471 . . . would provide a level of safety equivalent to that

provided by the supplemental regulations.”

c. Republic has a strong track record of safety and no fatigue related

accidents or incidents operating its scheduled passenger service under

subpart Q.

d. Republic will have to comply with the new flight, duty, and rest time

requirements under Part 117 starting in January 2014, at which point there
U.S. Department of Transportation

Federal Aviation Administration

March 21, 2013

Page 8

will no longer be any distinctions or differences between domestic and

supplemental operations. Here, Republic is simply requesting that it be

able to operate under a single set of flight, duty, and rest rules (Section

121.471) for both its domestic and supplemental operations until the new

Part 117 goes into effect.

e. And, notably, the FAA has already determined that Republic’s operating

“supplemental” operations between the regular, provisional, and refueling

airports listed in Paragraph C070 under the rules governing “domestic”

operations is appropriate. In Paragraph A030, subparagraph (b), of

Republic’s Operations Specifications, it states:

“The certificate holder may conduct supplemental operations

between the regular, provisional and refueling airports listed in

paragraph C070 of these operations specifications in

accordance with the regulations applicable to domestic

operations or flag operations as appropriate to the kind of

operation being conducted.”1

Likewise, the FAA already permits Republic to operate its flag operations

to certain foreign airports under the rules governing “domestic operations”.

See Republic’s Operations Specifications, Paragraph A012.

15. It is also appropriate for the requested exemption to encompass not just

Section 121.503, but also more broadly Section 121.500 – Section 121.505, as this

Petition seeks. To this point, the FAA has previously determined that “it is not

appropriate to operate under isolated parts of Section 121.471 or Sections 121.503,

121.505, or 121.511. Therefore, all of [Emery’s] operations in the 48 contiguous states

1 Under this provision, Republic has authority from the FAA to operate supplemental operations “between

regular, provisional and refueling airports listed in [its] paragraph C070 . . . .” The requested exemption would cover

the flights servicing routes/airports that do not fit within the parameters of Republic’s Paragraph A030. There is

simply no justifiable reason from a safety or fatigue perspective to carve-out certain airports that Republic does not

serve regularly from Paragraph A030. The requested exemption seeks to bridge this gap.
U.S. Department of Transportation

Federal Aviation Administration

March 21, 2013

Page 9

must be conducted wholly under Section 121.471 . . . .” See Exemption No. 6184; see

also Exemption No. 5296 (same).

III. Republic Needs The Requested Exemption As Soon As Possible.

16. Republic requests that the FAA issue the requested exemption as soon as

possible. If the exemption is not issued expeditiously, Republic, its crews, and its

passengers will continue to incur the substantial costs, burdens, and inconveniences

resulting from the infrequent cases where a flight pattern of less than 8 hours, in fact,

exceeds 8 hours before reaching its destination for reasons beyond Republic’s control.

Such a result would be unfair and unjustified, particularly given that – as demonstrated

above – the exemption would result in an equivalent (or greater) level of safety and

would only be in effect for 8-9 months until the new Part 117 becomes effective.

17. Good cause exists for the FAA to act on this Petition without delay and

without publishing a summary in the Federal Register or awaiting comments pursuant to

14 C.F.R. §11.87. Given that similar exemptions to Section 121.503 and subpart S

have been granted in the past and that this exemption would only be in effect for about

8 – 9 months until the new flightcrew member duty and rest rules of Part 117 become

effective on January 4, 2014, granting the requested exemption would not establish any

new or longstanding precedent. Moreover, the delay resulting from publication in the

Federal Register and a comment period would only serve to exacerbate unnecessarily

the substantial costs, resources, and inconvenience being experienced by Republic, its

crews, and its passengers in these infrequent situations.

18. If the FAA nonetheless determines that publication in the Federal Register

is required, Republic respectfully requests expedited processing with no more than a

10-day comment period, and issuance of the requested exemption as soon as possible

thereafter. A summary of the exemption request is attached to this Petition.
U.S. Department of Transportation

Federal Aviation Administration

March 21, 2013

Page 10

WHEREFORE, for the foregoing reasons, Republic respectfully requests that

FAA issue an exemption, as requested herein.

Respectfully submitted,

Robert E. Cohn

Patrick R. Rizzi

Counsel for REPUBLIC AIRLINE INC.

202.637.4999

robert.cohn@hoganlovells.com

202.637.5659

patrick.rizzi@hoganlovells.com

Attachment – Federal Register Summary

cc: Bruce A. Montigney, Manager - Indianapolis FSDO

Jeff Davis, Director of Operations, Republic Airline Inc.

Patrick Gannon, Vice President, Republic Airways Holdings Inc.
ATTACHMENT

FEDERAL REGISTER SUMMARY

As stated in the foregoing Petition for Exemption, Republic Airline Inc. respectfully

requests a waiver of the publication and comment requirements under 14 C.F.R. § 11.87.

Nevertheless, in accordance with § 11.81(f), a summary of this Petition for an Exemption from

Section 121.500 – Section 121.505 for publication in the Federal Register is as follows:

Docket No.: FAA-2013-______

Petitioner: Republic Airline Inc.

Sections of the FAR Affected: Section 121.500 – Section 121.505

Description of Relief Sought: For an exemption from Section 121.500 – Section 121.505, in

order to permit Republic to operate supplemental operations in accordance with the flight, duty,

and rest time requirements for domestic operations instead of those applicable to supplemental

operations.