U.S. Department 

of Transportation 

Office of the Secretary 

of Transportation 

GENERAl COUNSEl 

June 27, 2014 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

1·· ...... :. 

Via Email - Read Receipt Requested 

David M. Endersbee 

Zuckert, Scoutt & Rasenberger, L.L.P. 

888 Seventeenth Street, N. W. 

Washington, D.C. 20006 

Dear Mr. Endersbee: 

Re: 

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1"'-... ) 

Joint Applicants -Equivalent Alternative 

Determination Indefinite Extension Request: 

14 CFR 382.67 

On March 5, 2013, the Department approved a joint request by TACA International Airlines, 

S.A. ("TACA"), Trans American Airlines, S.A. d/b/a TACA Peru ("TACA Peru"), Lineas 

Aereas Costarricenses S.A.C'LACSA"), and Aerolineas Galapagos S.A. ("AeroGal") 

(collectively, the "Joint Applicants"), for an equivalent alternative determination (EAD) 

concerning the in-cabin priority stowage space for a passenger's manual folding wheelchair 

contained in 14 CFR 382.67 and 382.123 of the Department's Air Carrier Access Act 

(ACAA) regulation. The Department granted the EAD for the Joint Applicants' Airbus 

A319, A320, and A321 aircraft on a one-year trial basis, subject to certain conditions. 

In Paragraph 13 of our approval letter, we directed the Joint Applicants to provide this office 

"'with copies of all complaints, or a certification that there were no complaints,'' regarding 

the stowage of a passenger's wheelchair in the designated wheelchair cargo storage space 

every year. We further stated that the Joint Applicants' first report was due on January 28, 

2014, for complaints received during calendar year 2013. The Joint Applicants filed their 

first report on February 11,2014, with an explanation for the delay. 

In an email dated February 24, 2014, the Joint Applicants asked the Department to 

indefinitely extend their EAD approval. 1 The Joint Applicants stated that the original 

application was based on procedures that the Department has not only approved, but has 

indefinitely extended, for Avianca. The Joint Applicants also explained that Avianca and 

the Joint Applicants (except AeroGal) recently received authorization to engage in a 

common code and branding arrangement, which will require common operational 

procedures, training procedures, and equipment. The Joint Applicants contend that "a 

situation in which only A vianca holds an effective EAD for these procedures would be 

highly disruptive and would present enormous operational difficulties." 

1 The Department informed the Joint Applicants that they could continue using their alternative procedure 

while the Department considered the extension request. 
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By this letter, the Department grants the Joint Applicants' February 24, 2014, request for an 

indefinite extension of their EAD approval, with the following conditions: 

1) This approval is limited to the Joint Applicants' Airbus A319, A320, and A321 aircraft in 

the configurations described to the Department in the Joint Applicants' April 13, 2012, 

request. The Joint Applicants must obtain the Department's prior approval for any 

deviations from the method of stowing a passenger's manual folding wheelchair set forth 

in the Joint Applicants' requests; 

2) If during the period of indefinite extension or any point thereafter, the Department 

determines that the Joint Applicants' proposal is not providing the same or greater 

accessibility to passengers with a disability as provided by sections 382.67 and 382.123, 

the Department reserves the right to terminate this approval. If the approval is 

terminated, the Joint Applicants would be expected to expeditiously retrofit any aircraft 

ordered after May 13, 2009, or delivered after May 13, 2010, without a priority space in 

the passenger cabin, to include such a priority space as is currently required by section 

382.67; 

3) The Joint Applicants' designated wheelchair cargo stowage space must be capable of 

stowing at least two manual folding wheelchairs and each wheelchair must be placed in a 

protective stowage bag and secured horizontally to prevent unnecessary movement 

during flight; 

4) The Joint Applicants must ensure that up to two passengers with a disability who use a 

manual folding wheelchair and take advantage of the opportunity to preboard the aircraft 

can stow their manual folding wheelchairs in the Joint Applicants' designated wheelchair 

cargo stowage space with priority over all other items. For a passenger that does not take 

advantage of the opportunity to preboard the aircraft, the Joint Applicants must make a 

reasonable effort to stow the passenger's manual folding wheelchair in the designated 

wheelchair cargo stowage space; 

5) The Joint Applicants must ensure that no other items are stowed in their designated 

wheelchair cargo stowage space if one or more folding wheelchairs are being stowed in 

that space; 

6) The Joint Applicants must not limit their liability for a lost, damaged, or destroyed 

wheelchair stowed in the designated wheelchair cargo stowage space to the liability limit 

provided in the Montreal Convention, or any other applicable treaty or law. The Joint 

Applicants must calculate the compensation owed to a passenger for a lost, damaged, or 

destroyed wheelchair stowed in the designated wheelchair cargo stowage space, as the 

original purchase price of the device; 

7) In addition to stowing at least two passengers' manual folding wheelchairs in the 

designated wheelchair cargo stowage space, to the extent permitted by government safety 

standards, the Joint Applicants must also stow in the passenger cabin, passengers' manual 
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folding wheelchairs in the overhead compartments or other stowage areas if passengers 

make such requests and the devices can physically be stowed in such space. If the 

wheelchair exceeds the space while fully assembled but will fit if wheels or other 

components can be removed without the use of tools, the Joint Applicants must remove 

the applicable components and stow the wheelchair in the passenger cabin; 

8) The Joint Applicants must ensure that a passenger;s manual folding wheelchair stowed in 

the designated wheelchair cargo stowage space is the first item off the aircraft after 

landing and is delivered to the passenger at the door of the aircraft as soon as the 

passenger deplanes the aircraft, unless the passenger requests to reclaim the wheelchair at 

the Joint Applicants' baggage claim area; 

9) The Joint Applicants must allow a passenger to remain in his or her personal wheelchair 

up to the door of the aircraft, unless the passenger agrees to relinquish his or her 

wheelchair at a different location; 

1 0) The Joint Applicants must use their best efforts to prevent weather conditions from 

negatively impacting on the condition of the wheelchair when it is returned to the 

passenger (e.g., placing a cover on a wheelchair to prevent exposure to the rain or the hot 

sun); 

11) The Joint Applicants must use their best efforts to promptly provide a temporary 

replacement wheelchair of comparable kind and quality at no charge to the passenger if a 

passenger's wheelchair is delayed, lost, damaged, or destroyed while in the Joint 

Applicants' custody. The Joint Applicants must not limit their liability for providing a 

temporary replacement wheelchair to the liability limit provided in the Montreal 

Convention, or any other applicable treaty or law. These efforts must be documented, 

and the documentation retained for three years and made available to the Department 

upon request; 

12)The Joint Applicants must provide, or ensure the provision of, specialized training to 

their employees and contractors, as well as the employees and contractors of any other 

entity that will be involved with the stowing of a passenger's manual folding wheelchair 

in the designated wheelchair cargo stowage space. The specialized training must ensure 

training to proficiency in how to properly stow a passenger's manual folding wheelchair 

in the designated wheelchair cargo stowage space, pre-departure procedures to ensure the 

passenger's wheelchair is placed on the aircraft, post~landing procedures to ensure that 

the passenger's wheelchair is the first item removed from the aircraft, proper procedures 

to follow if a wheelchair is lost, damaged, or destroyed, and the proper procedures to 

obtain a temporary replacement wheelchair for a passenger. 

13)The Joint Applicants must provide to the Department an annual report, within the 

time frame set forth in 14 CFR 382.157( d), containing: (a) a copy of each complaint 

filed with the Joint Applicants regarding the stowage of a passenger's wheelchair in 

the designated wheelchair cargo storage space, or (b) a certification that no such 

complaints had been filed in the calendar year. 
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lf you have any questions about this matter, please contact Robert Gorman, Kathleen Blank 

Riether, or Maegan Johnson, of my staff, at (202) 366-9342. 

Sincerely, 

Livauglin Chapman, r. 

Chief, Aviation Civil Rights Compliance Branch