AFS-12-071-E 

December 21, 2011 

 Exemption No. 8653E 

 Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2005-22105 

Mr. Maurice J. Montgomery 

Manager – Flight Operations 

United Continental Holdings, Inc. 

233 South Wacker Drive 

Chicago, IL 60606 

Dear Mr. Montgomery: 

This letter is to inform you that we have granted your petition to extend Exemption 

No. 8653, as amended. It explains the basis for our decision, describes its effect, and lists the 

conditions and limitations. 

Please note that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has amended the conditions and 

limitations of this exemption to standardize it with those of other similarly situated operators. 

This exemption combines Exemption No. 8653 and Exemption No. 9621. This exemption 

also includes all of the provisions and limitations of Operations Specification C355 

(exemption to § 121.619 for domestic destination alternate airport requirements); therefore, 

the operations specification is no longer required and should be archived after the conditions 

of this exemption have been implemented. 

The Basis for Our Decision 

By letter dated November 3, 2011, you petitioned the FAA on behalf of United Continental 

Holdings, Inc. (CALA), for an extension of Exemption No. 8653, as amended. That 

exemption from § 121.619(a)(1) and (2) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations allows 

United Airlines (United) and Continental Airlines (Continental) and/or United and 

Continental, their certificated aircraft dispatchers, and their pilots in command (PIC) to 

dispatch flights to domestic airports at which for at least 1 hour before and 1 hour after the 
estimated time of arrival at the destination airport the appropriate weather reports or forecasts, 

or any combination of them, indicate the ceiling may be reduced from at least 2,000 feet to 

1,000 feet above the airport elevation and visibility may be reduced from at least 3 statute 

miles to 2 statute miles for Category (CAT) I approaches and 1 statute mile for CAT II and 

CAT III approaches. 

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In your petition, you indicate that there has been no change in the conditions and reasons 

relative to public interest and safety that were the basis for granting the original exemption. 

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

in the Federal Register because the requested extension of the exemption would not set a 

precedent, and any delay in acting on this petition would be detrimental to United and 

Continental and/or United and Continental. 

Our Decision 

The FAA has determined that the justification for the issuance of Exemption No. 8653, as 

amended, remains valid with respect to this exemption and is in the public interest. 

Therefore, under the authority provided by 49 U.S.C. 40113 and 44701, which the FAA 

Administrator has delegated to me, I grant your petition, subject to the following amended 

conditions and limitations. 

Conditions and Limitations 

1. Before conducting operations under this exemption, United and Continental and/or 

United and Continental must obtain an updated Operations Specification A005 

(Exemptions and Deviations) that provides for operations under this exemption. 

2. Operations under this exemption are limited to only those destination airports in the 

contiguous United States. 

3. Operations conducted under this exemption must use a current and qualified aircraft 

dispatcher. 

4. Operations under this exemption are limited to only those airports at which an operable 

instrument landing system (ILS) procedure is published. Alternate minimums are 

predicated on the following table: 

Table - Alternate Minimums (Ceiling and Visibility Required) 

Operable ILS Ceiling Required Visibility Required 

CAT I 1,000 feet above 

ground level (AGL) 

3 statute miles 

CAT II 1,000 feet AGL 2 statute miles 

CAT III 1,000 feet AGL 2 statute miles 
5.

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Before conducting operations under this exemption, United and Continental and/or United 

and Continental must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the FAA principal operations 

inspector (POI) assigned to the United Airlines Certificate Management Office that: 

a. Each United and Continental and/or United and Continental dispatcher has a 

system available to display the location of each flight within 3 minutes of real 

time; 

b. Each United and Continental and/or United and Continental dispatch facility 

has a system that provides its dispatchers with overlays of weather returns 

updated at least once every 5 minutes; 

c. Each United and Continental and/or United and Continental dispatch facility 

has a system that provides its dispatchers with a display of the specific aircraft 

routing as assigned by air traffic control (ATC) and actual filed flight plan 

routing;

d. Each United and Continental and/or United and Continental dispatcher must 

have the capability to expeditiously recompute projected arrival fuel from a 

“point aloft” to the intended destination in the event conditions, including 

those required to be reported in condition 8 below, occur that negatively 

impact the flight; 

e. Each United and Continental and/or United and Continental dispatcher must 

have data available that will show aircraft status, including the aircraft 

capability to conduct CAT I, CAT II, or CAT III operations as applicable to 

the exemption being used; 

f. Each United and Continental and/or United and Continental dispatcher has a 

system available to display locations of other airborne aircraft including 

aircraft of other operators; 

g. Each United and Continental and/or United and Continental dispatch facility 

has a system available that provides its dispatchers with a display of planned 

and actual fuel at regular intervals along the route and the difference between 

planned and actual fuel; 

h. Each United and Continental and/or United and Continental dispatch facility 

has a system available that automatically alerts its dispatchers to special 

weather updates, changes in weather reports, and forecasts and/or other 

significant weather-related reports and ensures that these can be relayed to 

flightcrews in an expeditious manner; 

i. Each United and Continental and/or United and Continental dispatcher is 

provided the capability to access the services of a qualified meteorologist 

approved by the POI whenever the dispatcher believes that consultation is 

necessary to ensure safety of operations under this exemption. The presence of 
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an approved Enhanced Weather Information System program satisfies this 

requirement; and 

j. Each dispatch release issued in accordance with this exemption will contain a 

statement such as “ALTERNATE WEATHER EXEMPTION APPLIED. 

REFERENCE (APPROPRIATE DOCUMENT SUCH AS FLIGHT 

OPERATIONS MANUAL, GENERAL OPERATONS MANUAL, ETC.).” 

The certificate holder may choose to use other wording, if desired, but the 

meaning must be clear. 

6. The reporting requirements of the flightcrews listed in condition 8, Mandatory Pilot 

Reports, below and the required dispatch flight planning and tracking systems in 

condition 5 above must be used to determine the feasibility of dispatching the flight under 

this exemption and/or continuing the flight after dispatch. 

7. Approved Procedures. If the use of these systems, reports, or the occurrence of other 

factors indicate that the conditions under which the flight was originally dispatched have 

changed and may negatively impact the flight, the dispatcher and flightcrew must reevaluate the continued operation of the flight using approved procedures, and if necessary, 

agree on an alternate plan as soon as practicable after the occurrence of any of the 

following: 

(1) En route holding or delaying vectors, airspeed changes, altitude changes, or 

re-routings; 

(2) Unplanned or sustained use of deicing and anti-icing systems or other factors 

directly relating to fuel consumption that may have a negative effect on trip fuel 

requirements; 

(3) The deterioration of destination weather below a 1,000-foot ceiling and 2-mile 

visibility if using an exemption that requires at least 3 statute miles visibility as listed 

in the Table above; and 

(4) The deterioration of destination weather below a 1,000-foot ceiling and 1-mile 

visibility if using an exemption that requires for at least 2 statute miles visibility as 

listed in the Table above. 

8. Mandatory Pilot Reports. Pilots will notify dispatch as soon as practicable in the event of 

any of the following: 

(1) Lateral deviation from the planned route by greater than 100 nautical miles; 

(2) Vertical deviation from the planned altitude by greater than 4,000 feet; 

(3) Estimated time of arrival will exceed planned by greater than 15 minutes; 

(4) Fuel consumption in excess of planned that may have a negative effect on trip fuel 

requirements; 

(5) Fuel system component failure or apparent malfunction that may have a negative 

effect on trip fuel requirements; 

(6) The flight encounters weather significantly different than forecast, to include 

turbulence; 

(7) The flight is assigned en route or arrival holding; and 
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(8) Unplanned or sustained use of deicing or anti-icing systems. 

9. United and Continental and/or United and Continental must maintain CAT I (Operations 

Specification C074)/CAT II/CAT III (Operations Specification C059) ILS approach 

authorization (as applicable) for those aircraft to which this exemption would apply, and 

each aircraft must have fully operating equipment needed for the appropriate CAT I/CAT 

II/CAT III ILS approach for that aircraft to operate under this exemption. 

10. At the time of dispatch, the flightcrew must be qualified to conduct a CAT I/CAT II/ 

CAT III ILS approach to published minimums (as applicable). PICs with less than the 

requisite minimum hours specified in § 121.652 cannot be used in operations under this 

exemption, unless the operator also holds Exemption No. 5549, the PIC has been trained 

in accordance with the requirements of that exemption, and all of the conditions specified 

by Exemption No. 5549 are met. 

11. Operations are not permitted under this exemption at any airport at which thunderstorms 

are reported or forecast from 1 hour before through 1 hour after the estimated arrival time 

if such reports or forecasts are in either or both the main body or the remarks section of 

the weather report or the weather forecast. Furthermore, United and Continental and/or 

United and Continental cannot use Exemption No. 3585 (as amended) issued to Air 

Transport Association of America, Inc., members (including United and Continental 

and/or United and Continental) or any subsequent exemption granting similar relief 

regarding any kind of forecast of thunderstorms at the destination airport in conjunction 

with any operation conducted under this exemption. 

12. Each certificated United and Continental and/or United and Continental dispatcher and 

PIC, who conducts operations under this exemption, must be provided with a copy of 

pertinent parts of this exemption. Operations under this exemption are permitted by 

United and Continental and/or United and Continental dispatchers and United and 

Continental and/or United and Continental PICs but are not required. 

13. Use of this exemption in operations to destinations outside the contiguous United States is 

prohibited. United and Continental and/or United and Continental is authorized to use this 

exemption in operations to airports within the 48 contiguous States and the District of 

Columbia from airports outside those boundaries provided United and Continental and/or 

United and Continental also holds Operations Specification A012 (Part 121 Domestic 

Operations to Certain Airports Outside the 48 Contiguous States and Alaska) and 

operations are conducted in accordance with the appropriate provisions of that operations 

specification as they pertain to operations from Alaska and/or the airports listed in the 

Table thereof. 

14. United and Continental and/or United and Continental must provide the Administrator, by 

the 15TH day of each month, reports that include the information listed below, during the 

preceding calendar month. The POI is authorized to delete this reporting requirement 

once United and Continental and/or United and Continental have conducted operations 

under this exemption satisfactorily for at least 24 continuous calendar months and 

sufficient data to thoroughly evaluate operational performance have been obtained. 
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Reports must contain the following information: 

a. The total number of flights operated by United and Continental and/or United 

and Continental under domestic rules to destinations within the 48 contiguous 

States and the District of Columbia; 

b. The total number of flights operated under this exemption, including those 

flights conducted under the appropriate provisions and limitations of Operations 

Specification A012. For each flight operated, the dates; airport pairs; flight 

numbers; aircraft make, model, and serial number; trended or graphical 

summary of flight planned fuel vs. actual arrival fuel; and contingency fuel 

must be listed. Report format shall be in chronological order by fleet type; 

c. The total number of flights that divert to an alternate airport; 

d. The total number of flights that divert to an alternate airport that are separated 

under this exemption, and the reason for each diversion, such as weather 

conditions, mechanical problem, fuel quantity, passenger problem, air traffic, 

crewmember, or any other reason. United and Continental and/or United and 

Continental must fully document each diversion; and 

e. The total number of United and Continental and/or United and Continental 

flights, operated under this exemption, that declare an emergency and the 

reason for such declaration, or during which flight a low fuel state occurs that 

results in actions being taken by ATC and/or dispatch to provide priority 

handling, even if no emergency is declared. 

The Effect of Our Decision 

Our decision extends the termination date of Exemption No. 8653, as amended, to 

January 31, 2014, unless sooner superseded or rescinded. 

Sincerely, 

/s/ 

John S. Duncan 

Acting Director, Flight Standards 

 Service