AFS-16-2088-E January 28, 2016

Exemption No. 8653H Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2005-22105

Ms. Ellen Birmingham Director, Flight Operations Regulatory Compliance & Quality Control United Airlines, Inc. 233 South Wacker Drive, 23 rd Floor WHQFO Chicago, IL 60606

Dear Ms. Birmingham:

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.

The Basis for Our Decision

By letter dated November 2, 2015, you petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on behalf of United Airlines, Inc. (United) 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, their certificated aircraft dispatchers, and their pilots in command (PICs) to dispatch aircraft to domestic airports without designating an alternate for the destination airport where 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 will be at least 1,000 feet above the airport elevation and visibility will be at least 3 statute miles for airports utilizing Category (CAT) I authorizations or the visibility will be at least 2 statute miles for airports utilizing CAT II or

CAT III authorizations.

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.2

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.

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. 106(f), 40113 and 44701, which the FAA Administrator has delegated to me, United Airlines, Inc., their certificated aircraft dispatchers, and their PICs to dispatch aircra ft to domestic airports without designating an alternate for the destination airport where 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 will be at least 1,000 feet above the airport elevation and visibility will be at least 3 statute miles for airports utilizing CAT I authorizations or the visibility will be at least 2 statute miles for airports utilizing CAT II or CAT III authorizations, subject to the following amended conditions and limitations.

Conditions and Limitations

1. Before conducting operations under this exemption, United must obtain an updated Operations Specification A005 (Exemptions a nd 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 miles3

5. Before conducting operations under this exemption, United must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the FAA principal operations inspector (POI) assigned to the United Airlines Certificate Management Office that:

a. Each United dispatcher has a system available to display the location of each flight within 3 minutes of real time;

b. Each United dispatch facility has a system that provides its dispatchers with overlays of weather returns updated at least once every 5 minutes;

c. Each United 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 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 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 dispatcher has a system available to display locations of other airborne aircraft including aircraft of other operators;

g. Each United 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 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 flight crews in an expeditious manner;

i. Each United 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 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.).”4

The certificate holder may choose to use other wording, if desired, but the meaning must be clear.

6. The reporting requirements of the flight crew s listed in Condition No. 8, Mandatory Pilot Reports, and the required dispatch flight pl anning and tracking systems in Condition No. 5 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 havechanged and may negatively impact the flight, the dispatcher and flight crew 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:

a. En route holding or delaying vectors, airspeed changes, altitude changes, or re-routings;

b. 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;

c. 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

d. 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 di spatch as soon as possible in the event of any of the following:

a. Lateral deviation from the planned route by greater than 100 nautical miles;

b. Vertical deviation from the planned altitude by greater than 4,000 feet;

c. Estimated time of arrival will exceed planned by greater than 15 minutes;

d. Fuel consumption in excess of planned that may have a negative effect on trip fuel requirements;

e. Fuel system component failure or apparent malfunction that may have a negative effect on trip fuel requirements;

f. The flight encounters weather significantly different than forecast, to include turbulence;

g. The flight is assigned en route or arrival holding; and5

h. Unplanned or sustained use of deicing or anti-icing systems.

9. United 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 mu st 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 ex emption, 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 cannot use Exemption No. 3585 (as amended) issued to Air Transport Association of America, Inc., members (including United) or any subsequent exemp tion 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 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 dispatchers and United PICs but are not required.

13. Use of this exemption in operations to destinations outside the contiguous United States is prohibited. United is authorized to use this exemption in operations to airports within the 48 contiguous States and the District of Colu mbia from airports outside those boundaries provided United also holds Operations Speci fication 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 must provide the Administrator, by the 15 TH 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 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.

Reports must contain the following information:6

a. The total number of flights operated by United 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 operate d, 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 must fully document each diversion;

and

e. The total number of United 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

This exemption terminates on January 31, 2018, unless sooner superseded or rescinded.

Sincerely,

/s/ John Barbagallo Deputy Director, Flight Standards Service