July 26, 2010 

John M. Allen 

Director, Flight Standards Service 

Federal Aviation Administration PETITION FOR EXEMPTION 

800 Independence Avenue, SW 

Washington, DC 20591 

Dear Mr. Allen: 

Pursuant to section 11.61 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 C.F.R.), JetBlue 

Airways Corporation (“JetBlue”), a Part 121-certificated air carrier, petitions the Administrator 

for an exemption from 14 C.F.R. § 119.3 to the extent necessary to permit JetBlue to operate 

flights between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico as domestic operations rather than flag 

operations. 

Impacted Sections of the FAR: 

Section § 119.3, Definition of “Domestic Operation” reads in pertinent part: 

Domestic operation means any scheduled operation conducted by any person 

operating any airplane described in paragraph (1) of this definition at locations 

described in paragraph (2) of this definition: 

(1) Airplanes: 

(i) Turbojet-powered airplanes; 

(ii) Airplanes having a passenger-seat configuration of more than 9 passenger 

seats, excluding each crewmember seat; or 

(iii) Airplanes having a payload capacity of more than 7,500 pounds. 

(2) Locations: 

(i) Between any points within the 48 contiguous States of the United States or the 

District of Columbia; or 

(ii) Operations solely within the 48 contiguous States of the United States or the 

District of Columbia; or 

(iii) Operations entirely within any State, territory, or possession of the United 

States; or
Federal Aviation Administration 

July 26, 2010 

Page 2 of 5 

(iv) When specifically authorized by the Administrator, operations between 

any point within the 48 contiguous States of the United States or the District 

of Columbia and any specifically authorized point located outside the 48 

contiguous States of the United States or the District of Columbia. 

(Emphasis added). 

Relief Requested: 

JetBlue requests relief from section 119.3, Definition of Domestic Operation, to allow the 

Administrator authority to permit JetBlue to operate flights between Puerto Rico and the 

Dominican Republic (which currently are operated under the rules applicable to flag operations) 

under the rules applicable to domestic operations. 

Discussion: 

JetBlue is a major carrier operating throughout the continental United States and the 

Caribbean. JetBlue operates six hundred and fifty (650) flights per day with a fleet of Airbus 

A320 and Embraer E190 aircraft serving sixty one (61) destinations. Pursuant to the definition 

of “Domestic Operation” set forth in section 119.3, JetBlue’s flights between the contiguous 

States of the United States and Puerto Rico and flights between the contiguous States of the 

United States and the Dominican Republic currently operate under the rules applicable to 

domestic operations, as permitted under section A012 of JetBlue’s Operations Specifications. 

JetBlue’s flights between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, however, currently operate 

under the rules applicable to flag operations. This classification is because of the definition 

applicable to that routing and not because of the international nature of or long stage length 

associated with the routing – characteristics usually associated with flag operations. 

Specifically, section 119.3 currently allows the Administrator the flexibility to determine 

whether a routing outside the continental United States must be conducted under “domestic” or 

“flag” rules. Section 119.3(b)(iv) defines a “domestic operation” as it applies to operations 

outside the contiguous 48 States to include “(iv) [w]hen specifically authorized by the 

Administrator, operations between any point within the 48 contiguous States of the United States 

or the District of Columbia and any specifically authorized point located outside the 48 

contiguous States of the United States or the District of Columbia.” While flights from the 

contiguous United States to the Dominican Republic have been authorized by the Administrator, 

JetBlue’s flights between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic are not eligible for the 

Administrator to exercise his discretion to allow those operation as “domestic” because Puerto 

Rico is a possession of the United States. JetBlue believes this is a consequence of an 

unintended drafting anomaly. JetBlue seeks an exemption to the definition of “domestic 

operation” that would effectively add “or Puerto Rico” in subsection (iv) after “District of 

Columbia,” thereby permitting JetBlue, with the Administrator’s approval, to operate flights 

between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic as “domestic.” 
Federal Aviation Administration 

July 26, 2010 

Page 3 of 5 

With the requested change section (iv) would read as follows: 

“(iv) [w]hen specifically authorized by the Administrator, operations between any point 

within the 48 contiguous States of the United States, the District of Columbia or Puerto Rico and 

any specifically authorized point located outside the 48 contiguous States of the United States, 

the District of Columbia or Puerto Rico.” 

The rules applicable to flag operations are intended for long haul carriers, where 

crewmembers are frequently scheduled for more than eight (8) hours of flight during a twenty 

four (24) hour period due to the nature and route structure of the airline. By contrast, the nature 

of JetBlue’s operations, route structure and stage lengths are such that its operations between 

Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic (which currently are operated under the rules 

applicable to flag operations) are actually shorter in duration than its flights between the 

contiguous States of the United States and both Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic (which 

are operated under the rules applicable to domestic operations). Indeed, JetBlue’s flights 

between the contiguous States of the United States and destinations outside the United States are 

often over 3 hours in duration, while JetBlue’s flights between Puerto Rico and the Dominican 

Republic are only one hour in duration with an actual flight time of less than one hour. JetBlue’s 

operations from within the contiguous United States to Puerto Rico are over 4 hours in length. It 

is JetBlue’s belief that these short flights between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic 

simply are not the intended target of the rules applicable to flag operations, and therefore JetBlue 

petitions the Administrator to amend the definition of domestic operation to permit the 

Administrator to have the discretion to allow flights on this route to be operated pursuant to the 

rules applicable to domestic operations. Such flexibility would rationalize the flight operations 

of a carrier such as JetBlue, potentially eliminating the present anomalous situation of a short 

duration flight operating under flag rules and other much longer flights to the same destination 

operating under domestic rules. 

Safety Will Not Be Impacted: 

Granting this exemption would not adversely affect safety and would provide more than 

an equivalent level of safety. In fact, JetBlue strongly believes that granting this exemption 

would increase safety by providing consistency in the rules that apply in this theatre of operation 

and avoiding confusion in constantly transitioning between domestic and flag operations in 

flights to the Caribbean. Moreover, the flights operated by JetBlue between Puerto Rico and the 

Dominican Republic are not materially different than the flights it operated within the contiguous 

States of the United States, or between the contiguous States of the United States and 

destinations in the Caribbean. And there is no question that the domestic operations rules 

provide for consistent, safe operations in the areas in which it applies. Here, permitting the 

application of domestic operations rules to JetBlue’s flights between Puerto Rico and the 

Dominican Republic will provide for safe operations in an area (the Caribbean) that is not 

substantially different than JetBlue’s flights that are operated within the contiguous States of the 

Unites States. 
Federal Aviation Administration 

July 26, 2010 

Page 4 of 5 

Public Interest: 

 Granting this exemption would be in the public interest in the following ways: 

1. Under the rest requirements applicable to flag operations, a pilot may be repeatedly 

scheduled for as little as 8 hours of rest without any compensatory rest requirement, 

provided that flying does not exceed 8 hours in any 24-hour period. By contrast, 

under the rest requirements applicable to domestic operations, if a pilot receives less 

than 9 hours of rest, compensatory rest must be provided. Thus, by granting this 

exemption, pilots who conduct JetBlue’s flights between Puerto Rico and the 

Dominican Republic will become eligible for compensatory rest under the domestic 

operations rules. 

2. Under domestic rules, JetBlue is required to designate what the industry refers to as 

“reserve availability periods” for pilots assigned to reserve duty. This scheduling 

requirement establishes defined rest periods for reserve pilots. No such requirement 

exists for JetBlue’s operations under flag rules. By granting this exemption, the 

“reserve availability periods” will apply to JetBlue’s flights between Puerto Rico and 

the Dominican Republic, thereby increasing the defined rest periods for JetBlue’s 

pilots who conduct flights on that route. 

3. Under domestic rules, a duty day is limited to 16 hours. No such limitation exists 

under flag rules. In addition, under flag rules, duty days may be extended for reasons 

beyond JetBlue’s control, such as maintenance or weather delays. Granting this 

exemption would make the duty day limitation set forth in the domestic rules 

applicable to JetBlue’s flights between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, 

thereby providing an additional restriction for JetBlue where its pilots typically fly 

several legs during one duty period. 

4. JetBlue’s flights between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic are substantively 

identical to its flights under domestic rules. Despite Puerto Rico’s status as a U.S. 

territory (similar to the District of Columbia, to which the domestic rules apply), 

because of the inter-island nature of this route, different operating requirements 

apply. Here, permitting JetBlue to operate its flights between Puerto Rico and the 

Dominican Republic under a set of rules that are consistent with its other operations 

to the Caribbean (from the contiguous States of the United States) would ensure 

consistency in JetBlue’s operations in this area. 

5. JetBlue’s flights between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic would not 

adversely affect safety, because the amount of fuel required for flights between 

Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, when calculated using both the 

requirements of flag operations and domestic operations, results in a different of less 

than two hundred pounds. Accordingly, granting this exemption so that the fuel 

requirements for domestic operations applies to JetBlue’s flights between Puerto Rico 
Federal Aviation Administration 

July 26, 2010 

Page 5 of 5 

and the Dominican Republic would not result in any substantial difference in the 

amount of fuel carried on those flights. 

Summary of Petition of Publication in Federal Register: 

Pursuant to FAR 11.81(f), a summary of this petition is set forth immediately below: 

SUMMARY

 JetBlue Airways Corporation Petition for an Exemption to FAR § 119.3. 

“JetBlue Airways Corporation petitions for an exemption from Sections 119.3 to allow 

the Administrator the discretion to permit air carriers to operate flights between Puerto Rico and 

the Dominican Republic under the rules applicable to domestic operations.” 

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. If you have any questions or require 

further information, please do not hesitate to contact me at (718) 709-2264. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Joseph D. DeVito 

Manager Flight Standards Compliance 

JetBlue Airways Corporation 

118-29 Queens Blvd 

Forest Hills, NY 11375 

Tel.: (718) 709-2264 

Fax: (718) 709-2280 

Email: Joseph.Devito@jetblue.com