Petition of: 

DELTA AIR LINES, INC. 

BEFORE THE 

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION 

WASHINGTON D.C. 

OPERATING CERTIFICATE DALA026A Docket FAA-2016-

For exemption of certain requirements of 

14 CFR 121.46S(b)(1)-(2), 

PETITION OF DELTA AIR LINES, INC. 

FOR AN EXEMPTION 

January 20, 2016 

Delta Air Lines, Incorporated, operating certificate DALA026A, hereby petitions the Federal 

Aviation Administration (FAA), pursuant to 14 C.F.R. Part 11 for relief from Federal Aviation 

Regulation (FAR) §121.465(b){l)-(2), provided certain conditions and limitations are met. 

Section of the Federal Aviation Regulations Affected 

§ 121.465 -Aircraft Dispatcher Duty Time Limitations- Domestic and Flag Operations 

(b) Except in cases where circumstances or emergency conditions beyond the control of the 

certificate holder require otherwise-

(1) No certificate holder conducting domestic or flag operations may schedule a 

dispatcher for more than 10 consecutive hours of duty; 

(2) If a dispatcher is scheduled for more than 10 hours of duty in 24 consecutive 

hours, the certificate holder shall provide him or her a rest period of at least eight 

hours at or before the end of 10 hours of duty. 

Requested Relief 

Specifically, Delta Air Lines, Inc., is seeking relief from the requirements of 14 CFR 

121.46S(b)(1)·(2) as it applies to operating familiarization flights to allow scheduling on 

flights exceeding ten hours of block time to enable observations in all operational theaters. 

Background 

Dispatchers employed by Delta Air Lines, Inc., operate flights to and from six continents. 

Flight assignments are divided geographically, and a dispatcher will normally work the same 

theater for a period of one year. 14 CFR 121.463 requires that an operating familiarization 

flight be conducted at least annually. Section 3-1703 of the Flight Standards Information 

System (FSIMS) 8900.1 directs POls to ensure effective use is made of familiarization 

flights. Paragraph (A)(l) states, "The flights selected should take the aircraft dispatcher 

candidate through the representative areas in which the candidate is qualified." Paragraph 
Petition for Exemption~ 14 CFR 121.46S(b)(1)-(2) 

Delta Air Lines, Inc. 

January 20, 2015 

Page 2 

(A)(2) states, "POls should ensure that the aircraft dispatchers responsible for extended 

overwater routes are provided operational familiarization with those routes and with flight 

crew procedures, as well as with domestic routes. Aircraft dispatchers with responsibility for 

ETOPS and operations according to OpSpec paragraphs 8043 and 8044 should observe 

these operations." Compliance with this statement requires the conduct of operating 

familiarization flights exceeding ten (10) hours of block time given the route structure of 

Delta Air Lines, Inc. 

Under the provisions of 14 CFR 121.463, an aircraft dispatcher must complete an operating 

familiarization annually. Additional guidance provided to FAA inspectors in the FSIMS 

8900.1 encourages flights to be conducted in areas typically served by the dispatcher. 

Guidance material utilized by aud'ttors conducting the lATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) 

is similar to that found in FSIMS 8900.1. The Legal Interpretation issued by Mr. Mark M. 

Bury on March 17, 2015, makes an operating familiarization on most extended overwater 

flights a violation of 14 CFR 121.465(b)(1)-(2) making it impossible to observe operations 

to all locations in Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Middle East along with several in Europe. 

Specifically, 8900.1, Vol. 3, Chap. 22, Section 5, Aircraft Dispatcher Qualification Curriculum 

Segments and Recurrent and Requalification Curriculums 

3-1703, OPERATIONAL FAMILIARIZATION FLIGHTS. 

A. Training Objectives. POls wilt ensure that operators make effective use of initial 

and recurrent familiarization flights to achieve valid training objectives as follows: 

1) The flights selected should take the aircraft dispatcher candidate through the 

representative areas in which the candidate is to be qualified. The flights should 

transit a major terminal area within the region. For operational familiarization flights 

in succeeding years, the operator should have a plan to systematically expose an 

aircraft dispatcher to different routes and terminal areas in the aircraft dispatcher's 

area of responsibility. 

2) POls should ensure that the aircraft dispatchers responsible for extended 

overwater routes are provided operational familiarization with those routes and with 

flightcrew procedures, as well as with domestic routes. Aircraft dispatchers with 

responsibility forETOPS and operations according to OpSpec paragraphs 8043 and 

8044 should observe these operations. 

This exemption to the duty time limitations of§ 121.465 also meets the published guidance 

of the FAA Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee's Training and Qualification Issue Area, 

Air Carrier Working Group Task 3- Crew Resource Management. 
Petition for Exemption- 14 CFR 121.46S{b)(1)-(2} 

Delta Air Lines, Inc. 

January 20, 2015 

Page 3 

Under the Part N & 0 re-write NPRM published by the FAA, the proposed regulation was 

again reinforcing the need for dispatchers to be familiar with the geographic area into which 

they dispatch. Further, the NPRM does not reference a limit to the flight legs in reference to 

maximum time on duty throughout the discussion: 

§ 121.1413 

(d) Operating familiarization. The person has successfully completed operating 

familiarization every 12 months in accordance with § 121.1415. For domestic 

operations, the operating familiarization must be conducted within a geographic area 

into which the person dispatches. For flag operations, the operating familiarization 

must be conducted within a flag area of operation for which the person dispatches in 

accordance with the Aircraft Dispatcher QPS. 

(1) If the person dispatches in either domestic operations or flag operations, 

but not both, the person must have completed operating familiarization in the type 

of operation, domestic or flag, and in an aircraft type that the person dispatches 

within the preceding 12 months. 

(2) If the person dispatches in both domestic and flag operations, the person 

must have completed operating familiarization in both domestic and flag operations 

in an aircraft type that the person dispatches within the preceding 24 months. 

§ 121.1415 

Aircraft dispatcher: Operating familiarization. 

{a) Except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, the operating 

familiarization required by§ 121.1413(d) must consist of at least 5 hours of 

observing operations under this part from the flight deck. This observation must be 

made from the flight deck or, for airplanes without an observer seat on the flight 

deck, from a forward passenger seat with headset or speaker. This requirement may 

be reduced by one hour for each additional takeoff and landing, but the reduction 

must not exceed 2 1/2hours. 

Per company policy outlined in the Flight Control Operations Manual (FCOM), dispatchers 

employed by Delta Air Lines, Inc., are granted a positive space cabin seat on all segments 

exceeding nine hours of block time. 

Additionally, Delta company policy clearly defines all training days, operating familiarization 

flights, and special projects as duty time and requires a rest period of at least eight hours 

between those and other duty periods. 

Delta stipulates that the requested exemption from the limitations in §121.465 will only be 

applied to operating familiarization flights for which the duty assignment exceeds 10 hours. 

Delta further stipulates that the exemption will not be applied to classroom or dispatch 

desk-related training, nor will it be applied to performance of traditional Aircraft Dispatcher 

duties of flight planning, flight release, exercise of operational control, or flight monitoring. 
Petition for Exemption- 14 CFR 121.46S(b)(l)-(2) 

Delta Air Lines, Inc. 

January 20, 2015 

Page 4 

Request for Expedited consideration 

DAL is also requesting that, as part of this Petition for Exemption request, the public 

comment phase be waived as per Title 14 CFR Part 11.87(a), which states: 

"The FAA may not publish a summary of your petition tor exemption and request 

comments if you present or we find good cause why we should not delay action on your 

petition. The factors we consider in deciding not to request comment include: 

(a) Whether granting your petition would set a precedent ... 

It is the opinion of DAL that since the mitigating actions are already in place and the 

operation requested has been demonstrated to and approved by the FAA as Delta's means 

of compliance with 121.465, there is no precedent being set with our request. 

The purpose of this exemption is to continue to provide the Delta dispatchers with the 

observations that represent Delta's route structure as provided in FSIMS and as required by 

14 CFR. 

No Adverse Effect on Public Safety 

Relief from the requirements of§ 121.465(b)(l)-(2) solely as it applies to operating 

familiarization flights will not have an effect on public safety because a dispatcher on an 

operating familiarization flight is not involved directly in the operation of the aircraft or any 

decisions related to the operation of the aircraft. Thus, any fatigue experienced by that 

dispatcher will not have an effect on the safety of flight. Additionally, the dispatcher will 

receive a minimum of 8 hours free of duty prior to the next opportunity to exercise any 

operational control. 

Public Benefit 

Delta Air Lines, Inc. believes a Grant of Exemption would be in the public interest for the 

following reasons: 

• The requirements of 14 CFR 121.463 give dispatchers a unique perspective on 

aircraft operations that can only be obtained through experience in live operations. 

This experience forms a better educated airman which benefits safety. 

• Operating familiarization flights present an opportunity for joint CRM/DRM training to 

take place. This benefits safety. 

• The guidelines found in FSIMS 8900.1 and the IOSA Standards Manual were created 

because they benefit safety. While compliance is not mandatory, dispatchers gain 

important experience by observing in the theaters in which they are qualified and 

operate flights routinely. 

• The exemption promotes dispatcher proficiency and protects against dispatcher 

fatigue, both dearly in the public interest. 
Petition for Exemption- 14 CFR 121.465(b)(1)-(2) 

Delta Air Lines, Inc. 

January 20, 2015 

Page 5 

Conclusion 

Based on the information provided in this petition, Delta Air Lines, Inc., believes it is 

prudent for the FAA to grant the sought after relief from 14 CFR 121.465(b)(1)-(2), solely 

as they pertain to the completion of operating familiarization flights with block times 

exceeding ten (10) hours. 

Please contact Chris Schwartz, Supervisor- Flight Control Standards at 

christopher.schwartz@delta.com, 404-715-1120 (office), 404-769-6938 (mobile), or Chuck 

Schramek, Director- Quality Assurance, Compliance, and Business Support at 404-715-

1112 (office) if you have questions or require additional information. 

Sincerely, 

=1£'f!/4Y 

Senior Vice President Flight Operations 

Delta Air Lines, Inc. 
Petition for Exemption - 14 CFR 121.465(b)(l)-(2) 

Delta Air lines, Inc. 

January 20, 2015 

Page 6 

Summary for Federal Register 

Petitioner: Delta Air Lines, Inc. 

Affected Regulations: 14 CFR 121.465(b)(l)-(2) 

summary of Relief Sought: 

Delta Air Lines, Inc., Operating Certificate DALA026A, petitions the Administrator for relief 

from 14 CFR 121.465(b)(1)-{2), solely as they perta·m to the completion of operating 

familiarization flights with block times exceeding ten {10) hours. This petition seeks to allow 

dispatchers to continue to complete operating familiarization on extended overwater flight 

operations to gain exposure to world-wide theaters served by Delta Air Lines, Inc.