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 Exemption No. 10909 

 Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2013-1096 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION 

WASHINGTON, DC 20591 

 

In the matter of the petition of 

 

Delta Air Lines, Inc. 

 

for an exemption from § 117.3 

(Rest Facilities) of Title 14, Code of 

Federal Regulations 

 

GRANT OF EXEMPTION 

This letter grants Delta Air Lines Inc. (herein referred to as the certificate holder) an exemption 

from Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) § 117.3 (Rest Facilities) to collect data 

during flight operations as proposed in its Fatigue Risk Management System (FRMS) submission 

to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on 12/16/2013, subject to any conditions and 

limitations specified in this exemption. 

For augmented flightcrew member operations there are three elements that must be considered 

when determining a flightcrew member’s maximum applicable flight duty period (FDP) limit. 

These elements include the flightcrew member’s scheduled time of start (acclimated), the 

number of pilots assigned to the FDP, and the class of rest facility used. During an FAA 

evaluation of the certificate holder’s Airbus 330-200 class 1 rest facilities it was determined that 

one of the two installed rest facilities in each of the certificate holder’s Airbus 330-200 airplanes 

did not fully meet the criteria for a class 1 rest facility. The certificate holder seeks, through data 

collection and analysis, and subsequent FAA validation, to demonstrate that the non-compliant 

bunk (rest facility) provides an equivalent level of safety to that of the compliant bunk by 

demonstrating the quality of rest in the non-compliant bunk is equivalent to that quality of rest 

obtained in the compliant bunk. As such, the certificate holder will constantly monitor (through 

data collection and analysis) the affected rest facilities through fatigue report data and flightcrew 

member surveys and analyze this data and submit this analysis to the FAA for validation. To 

demonstrate an equivalence, both rest facilities must be considered equal. Therefore, the 

certificate holder seeks to have the non-compliant bunk considered an equivalent class 1 rest 

facility and use the class 1 FDP limits prescribed in Table C of part 117 to determine the 

flightcrew member’s maximum applicable FDP limit. 
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Conditions and Limitations: 

1) This exemption authorizes the certificate holder to conduct data collection pertinent to its 

Airbus 330-200 onboard rest facilities for the purpose of comparing a class 1 bunk 

compliant with part 117 to another bunk that is non-compliant. 

2) This exemption to collect data will have a unique number assigned to that exemption. 

The certificate holder, when conducting operations under this exemption, must designate 

this number on the dispatch/flight release for each flight segment operated under the 

exemption. 

3) While conducting operations under this exemption, the rest facility being monitored will 

be considered a class 1 rest facility. Accordingly, the applicable FDP limits for a class 1 

rest facility may be used to determine the flightcrew member’s maximum applicable FDP 

limit for augmented flightcrew member operations. 

4) Data, for the purpose of this exemption, will include fatigue reports and flightcrew 

member surveys analyzed by the certificate holder. This exemption is contingent on the 

certificate holder conducting data collection and analysis. The certificate holder must 

submit this data analysis to the FAA (AFS-200) at the end of each calendar month 

beginning on January 1, 2014 and continue this process until otherwise instructed by the 

FAA. The analysis will be submitted to the FAA no later than 30 days following the end 

of the calendar month in which the data was collected via e-mail at 9-AFS-200-FRMPFRMS/AWA/FAA@FAA. 

5) The certificate holder must collect and analyze data submitted by flightcrew members 

using the rest facilities installed on each airplane type listed in Condition and Limitation 

#1 of this exemption. The certificate holder will use the data from the compliant bunk as 

the baseline, and compare the data collected from the non-compliant bunk to the baseline 

bunk. 

6) The certificate holder must inform the affected flightcrew members using rest facilities 

under this exemption that the rest facilities are being monitored for data collection and 

analysis. 

7) The conditions and limitations associated with this exemption must be made available to 

all affected flightcrew members while operating under this exemption. 

8) The affected flightcrew member must consent to participate in a data collection under this 

exemption. If an effected flightcrew member does not provide voluntary informed 

consent prior to participating in the data collection, the effected flightcrew member may 

not participate in the data collection. 

9) The certificate holder must ensure the privacy and confidentiality of data provided by 

participating flightcrew members. Any data submitted to the FAA must be de-identified. 

In consideration of the foregoing, under the authority contained in 49 U.S.C. §§ 106(f), 40113, 

and 44701, which the FAA Administrator has delegated to me, I hereby grant Delta Air Lines 

Inc. an exemption from 14 CFR § 117.3 (Rest Facilities) to the extent necessary to conduct the 
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data collection approved under its proposed FRMS, subject to the conditions and limitations 

described above. This exemption expires on 06/30/2014, unless sooner superseded or rescinded. 

Issued in Washington, DC on December 27, 2013. 

/s/ 

Michael J. Zenkovich 

Deputy Director, Flight Standards Service