Harper-SWA 2008

Page 1

U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration AUG 12 2008 Mr. Brent Harper Office of the Chief Counsel Inflight Standards - Manager, Regulatory Compliance Southwest Airlines P .O. Box 36611- HDQ 9TR Dallas, Texas 75235-1611

Dear Mr. Harper:

800 Independence Ave., S.W.

Washington. O.C. 20591 This responds to your letter dated July 1, 2008 requesting an FAA legal interpretation concerning the use of off-duty, qualified Flight Attendants, traveling on a Southwest flight, to volunteer as a substitute for a working Crewmember during boarding and deplaning phases. Specifically, you ask:

"The question arose re·garding whether this short, voluntary period would be considered duty time."

The FAA has detennined that a person used by an air carrier for the purpose of continuing a flight is on duty. In this case, the volunteer flight attendant is being asked to substitute for a working crewmember during boarding and deplaning phases, which are included in a duty period.

Whether or not such work by the volunteer flight attendant was "scheduled" is not dispositive, nor whether such work needs to be associated with flight time. The courts have rejected attempts to narrowly define the term "scheduled" . See Air Transport Ass'n of America, Inc. v. F.A.A., 292 F.3d 49 (C.A.D.C. 2002). The FAA has also included pre- and post-flight duties in its definition of a duty period. See Legal Interpretafion 2005-6, Letter to Scott Morris dated April 29, 2005.

This response was prepared by Bruce Glendening, Attorney in the Regulations Division of the Office of the Chief Counsel and has been coordinated with the Air Transportation Divi ~ io_n of f.lig4t. ~tc:tn~<1:r<!s_ Service. If you have additional questions regarding this matter, please contact us at your convenience at (io2) ;2"67 ~3-013~ - - . . . - . . .

Sincerely,

e::i-:~Assistant Chief Counsel, Regulations Division (AGC-200)