Legal Interpretations
Glazier-PinnacleAirlines 2012
Summary
The Question
Must pilots moving among Pinnacle Airlines Corp.'s separately certificated carriers during a certificate merger be treated as new hires under the Pilot Records Improvement Act (PRIA)?
Background
Pinnacle Airlines Corp. integrated the pilots of Mesaba, Colgan, and Pinnacle Airlines, Inc., each holding its own certificate, under one collective bargaining agreement, and pilots routinely transfer between certificates. It sought to rely on each carrier's PRIA records while merging the Mesaba and Pinnacle certificates.
The FAA’s Interpretation
No. The FAA found that Mesaba, Colgan, and Pinnacle Airlines had each independently satisfied PRIA's safety intent, and the records of the required background checks are on file and available for FAA inspection. It would not consider currently employed pilots at those entities to be new hires and viewed Pinnacle's merger-plan proposal as compliant with PRIA.
- Requester
- Glazier
- Organization
- PinnacleAirlines
- Issued
- November 28, 2012
- Subject
- General
Regulations Cited
- 49 CFR Part 40
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U.S. Department
of Transportation
Federal Aviation
Administration
No·; ! 3 ?.n12
Keith Glazier
Vice President, Safety, Security and Regulatory Compliance
Pinnacle Airlines Corp.
One Commerce Square
40 S. Main St.
Memphis, TN 38103
Dear Mr. Glazier
This letter is in response to your July 10, 2012 letter to John Duncan asking whether Pinnacle Airlines, Corp. (Pinnacle) is able to rely on the Pilot Records Improvement Act of 1996 (PRIA) records maintained by Mesaba, Colgan and Pinnacle Airlines, Inc., each of which continues to hold its own certificate. Pinnacle has integrated the pilots of these three entities under one collective bargaining agreement. Pilots will routinely transfer from one certificate to the other as the result of each vacancy award bid. Your position is that pilots currently employed at these Pinnacle entities should not be considered to be "new hires" under the PRIA for purposes of completing the certificate merger of Mesaba Airlines and Pinnacle Airlines.
In prior merger plans, the FAA has allowed for current employment records to be transferred to an acquiring carrier as part of a larger-scale merger. Pinnacle states that all records are currently maintained by the separate airlines in accordance with the requirements set forth by 49 C.F.R part 40 and will be available for inspection at a single location upon completion of the merger.
The FAA believes that the safety intent of PRIA has been satisfied by Mesaba, Colgan and Pinnacle Airlines independently. The records of the required background checks are on file and available for inspection by the FAA. Therefore, the FAA would not consider currently employed pilots at these entities to be "new hires" under PRIA and would view the Pinnacle proposal, developed as part of the merger plan, as compliant with the requirements of PRIA.
We appreciate your patience and trust that the above responds to your concerns. If you need further assistance, please contact my staff at (202) 267-3073. This letter has been prepared by Robert H. Frenzel, Manager, Operations Law Branch, Office of the Chief
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Counsel and coordinated with the Air Transportation Division of Flight Standards Service.
Sincerely,
R~P:rso-71'.J'.__
Assistant Chief Counsel for International
Law, Legislation and Regulations, AGC-200
Snapshot retrieved August 6, 2026.