Order 2012

- 2

- 22 Served: February 29 , 2012

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

on the 29 th day of February

, 2012

A pplication of

UNIVERSAL JET AVIATION, INC.

for an e xemp tion from the provisions of 14 CFR

Part 298 Docket DOT

- OST

- 2011

- 0152

ORDER GRANTING EXEMPTION

Summary

By this order, we grant a renewal of the limited exemption to Universal Jet Aviation Inc

. (“ Universal Jet ”)

, from the provisions of 14 CFR Part 298 (“Part 298”) of the Department’s Economic Regulations

, to the extent necessary to allow the air carrier to operate through April 3

, 2012, a certain executive

- c onfigured Boeing 737 aircraft , commonly called a Boeing Business Jet (“BBJ”)

, in foreign on

- dema nd air transportation

.

Background

Universal Jet is a corporati on organized under the laws of the State of Florida. The air carrier, headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida

, has operated as an air taxi under Part 298 since 1999

, and

hold s a Part 135 Federal Aviation Regulation (“FAR”) operating certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) . It operates a fleet of 11 Gulfstream business jets, one Learjet,

and one Bell helicopter . Universal Jet is also authorized to operate a BBJ in interstate charter passenger operations. The air carrier is a U.S. citizen and its sole shareholder and President

, Mr. Michael McCauley, is a U.S. citizen.

On August 15, 2011, Universal Jet filed an application in the subject docket requesting a pendent e lite exemption from Part 298 to allow it to operate one executive configured BBJ

, 1

1 Normally, aircraft with only 16 seats would not require certificate authority since such aircraft generally qualify

as “small” aircraft that can be operated under the Part 298 air taxi exemption. However, the BBJ, which is a

modified B

- 737, and other similar sized aircraft are “large” aircraft

, i.e., aircraft originally designed to have a maximum passenger capacity of more than 60 seats or a maximum payload capacity of more than 18,000 pounds, which do not qualify for the air taxi exemption. Thus, Universal Jet applied for the exemption authority at issue

here.

U N I T E D S

T A T E S O F A

M E R I C A D E P A R T M E N T O F T R A N S P O R T A T

I O N2

registration number N920DS, in on

- demand charter operations pending the Department’s action on its contemporaneously filed application s for interstate and foreign passenger charter certificate authority

. 2 The Department granted the exemption on August 17, 2011, allowing the air carrier to operate through the end of November 2011. 3

On November 20, 2011, Univer sal Jet applied for a renewal to the above mentioned exemption in order to continue to meet ongoing commitments to its charter customers while its application for certificate authority was pending Department approval. 4 The Department renewed the

90

- day exemption on November 30, 2011, allowing the air carrier to operate until February 29,

2012.

By Order 2012

- 1

- 35

, issued January 31, 2012, the Department found the company fit to provide interstate and foreign passenger charter air transportation and issued to it a certificate of public

convenience and necessity to engage in interstate charter air transportation of persons, property,

and mail . In that order, the Department noted that the issuance of a foreign charter certificate is subject to Presidential review under 49 U.S.C. § 41307 and will be handle d in a separate order.

Request for Renewal

O n February 21, 2012, Universal Jet applied for a renewal of its limited exemption to the extent necessary to allow it to continue to provide foreign on

- demand air transportation using one BBJ. In support of its request, the company states that while the Department recently found Universal

Jet fit on January 31, 2012, to operate interstate and foreign charter air transportation , the issuance of its foreign certificate is subject to a mandatory 60

- day President ial review period, which is beyond the term of its current exemption . In addition, Universal Jet asserts that extending the relief requested is in the “public interests of preserving contract sanctity and providing service options for passengers

... ” 5 Moreo ver, Universal Jet states that absent a renewal of its current exemption, its authority to conduct foreign charter operations will expire on February 29, 2012.

Also in its renewal request, Universal Jet requested , in the alternative, that the Department either

shorten the period for answers to the subject application from March 7 to February 27, 2012 or act without waiting for answers

. 6 The air carrier notified the Department on February 23, 2012,

that it had polled and received non

- objections from inte rested parties.

2 See Dockets DOT

- OST

- 2011

- 0150 and DOT

- OST

- 2011

- 0151.

3 See Order 2011

- 8

- 19.

4 In the same docket, Universal Jet filed a Motion to shorten the answer period, requesting that answers to its exemption request be filed no later November 28, 20 11. By Notice dated November 22, 2011, the Department granted the air carrier’s request.

5 See Application of Universal Jet for Renewal of Pendente Lite Exemption and Motion to Shorten Answer Period, dated February 21, 2012, at 2.

6 In light of the fact that there are no objections to this request, and Universal’s prior requests were similarly unopposed, and the extension expires on Feb 29, we are acting without waiting for answers.3

Decision

W e have determined that it is consistent with the public interest to grant a renewal of the limited exemption to Universal Jet from the provisions of Part 298 so that it may continue to conduct foreign on

- demand charter operations using the BBJ previously accepted on its FAA Operations Specifications for a limited period

. 7 We have issued a final order finding Universal Jet fit to engage in interstate and foreign charter air transportation and t he renewal of this exemption is

meant to allow Universal Jet to continue to provide for eign charter air transportation pending the mandatory 60

- day Presidential review period

. We note that we received no objections to our earlier actions to provide Univer sal similar relief, and point out the temporary nature of this exemption and the fact that the exemption is limited to the specific aircraft involved, registration

number N920DS

. We also note that Universal Jet should not construe our grant of this renewal of its exemption as a decision to make final or effective the related application s for certificate s of public convenience and necessity or any aspect of those application s

.

ACCORDINGLY,

1. We grant Universal Jet Aviation , Inc.

, a renewal of its existing e xemption from the provisions of 14 CFR Part 298 to the extent necessary to enable it to operate through April 3

, 2012, an executive

- configured Boeing 737 aircraft

, registration number N920DS, in foreign on

demand operations

.

2. We may amend, modify, or revoke this order at any time and without hearing.

3. We will serve a copy of this order on th e persons listed in Attachment A

.

By:

SUSAN L. KURLAND Assistant Secretary

for Aviation and International Affairs

An electronic version of this document is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.regulations.gov

7 The grant of exemption in this case does not limit the number of small, non

- BBJ aircraft Universal Jet may use in its operations

.SERVI CE LIST FOR UNIVERSAL JET AVIATION, INC ATTACHMENT A

MR MICHAEL MCAULEY
PRESIDENT
UNIVERSAL JET AVIATION INC

3700 AIRPORT ROAD
SUITE 204
BOCA RATON FL 33431 MR JERRY PROENZA

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION
PRINCIPAL OPERATIONS INSPECTOR
SOUTH FLORIDA FSDO
2895 SW 145 TH STREET
SUITE 120

MIRAMAR FL 33027 REGIONAL COUNSEL
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION
SOUTHERN REGION

PO BOX 20636

ATLANTA GA 30320

MR GERALD F MURPHY
MS LOR R AINE B HALLOWAY
CROWELL & MORING LLP
1001 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE NW
WASHINGTON DC 20004 MR KEN DAY

AIRPORT MANAGER

3701 FAU BOULEVARD
SUITE 205
BOCA RATON FL 33431 MR PIERRE MURPHY
1200 NEW HAMPSHIRE AVE NW

SUITE 800
WASHINGTON DC 20036

MR MALCOLM BENGE
888 SEVENTEENTH ST NW
SUITE 700
WASHINGTON DC 20006 OFFICE OF AIRLINE INFORMATION
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
1200 NEW JERSEY AVE SE
WASHINGTON DC 20590 MR JAMES TELLO

PO BOX 66824
WASHINGTON SQUARE STATION
WASHINGTON DC 20035

MR MARSHALL SINICK
1201 PENNSYLVANI AVE NW

SUITE 500
WASHINGTON DC 20004 MR PETER LYNCH
ASST CHIEF COUNSEL FOR

ENFORCEMENT AGC

- 300
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION
800 INDEPENDENCE AVENUE SW
WASHINGTON DC 20591