UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
OFFICE OF AVIATION ENFORCEMENT AND PROCEEDINGS
WASHINGTON, DC

This letter is being sent to U.S. Major and National air carriers, air transport organizations, and certain disability organizations. It concerns the Department of Transportation’s rule on air travel by passengers with disabilities, 14 CFR Part 382.

On March 4, 1998, the Department published amendments to Part 382. These amendments establish procedures for providing seating accommodations required by passengers with certain disabilities, provide for cabin stowage of collapsible electric wheelchairs, and clarify the general nondiscrimination obligation of carriers. I have enclosed a copy of the document that contains these amendments; I would appreciate it if you would direct this letter and the enclosure to the individual in your organization who deals with airline passenger disability issues. The enclosure is unstapled and one-side-only to facilitate further reproduction.

Pursuant to §382.45(d), all air carriers must have a copy of Part 382 at each airport that the carrier serves and must make it available for inspection by persons with disabilities upon request. Since the previous version of the rule has been superseded by the rule as revised by the enclosure, carriers must ensure that the current (i.e., revised) version of Part 382 will be available at all airports. We will shortly be sending you a re-issued Part 382 that incorporates these new amendments into the regulation; you may wish to use that version for placement at airports. Upon request we will be happy to furnish an electronic version of these documents to you via diskette or e-mail in word processor or ASCII text format.

We would appreciate it if the air carriers receiving this letter would send a copy of the letter and enclosure to their U.S.‑carrier code-sharing partners and to any low-cost or shuttle subsidiary. (As indicated above we are sending this letter to all U.S. Majors and Nationals, so you do not need to forward a copy to any carriers in that group.) Please note that most of the provisions of Part 382 apply to charter flights and to small-aircraft commercial service; the rule is not limited to scheduled-service jet operations.

Thank you for your cooperation. If you have any questions, please let us know.

Sincerely,
Hoyte B. Decker, Jr.
Assistant Director for
Aviation Consumer Protection, C-75
Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings

Enclosure:

Ms. Valerie Svilarich Director, Consumer Affairs Alaska Airlines Box 68900 Seattle, WA 98168	Ms. Jill Vicchy Manager-Customer Relations America West Airlines 4000 East Sky Harbor Blvd. Phoenix, AZ 85034
Ms. MaryAnne McCabe Managing Director, Consumer Relations American Airlines, Inc. M.D. 2400 P.O. Box 619612 DFW Airport, TX 75261-9612	Ms. Judy Mensinger Director, Customer Care Continental Airlines, Inc. 3663 North Sam Houston Pkwy, Suite 500 Houston, TX 77032
Ms. Patricia J. Robinette Director of Consumer Affairs Delta Air Lines Hartsfield Int’l Airport Atlanta, GA 30320	Ms. Cindy Scheer Director, Customer Relations Northwest Airlines 5101 Northwest Drive Dept. C5270 St. Paul, MN 55111
Mr. Jim Ruppel Director, Customer Relations Southwest Airlines P.O. Box 33647 Love Field Dallas, TX 75235	Ms. Susan Yancey Mgr./Corp. Comm. Southwest Airlines 2702 Love Field Drive Dallas, TX 75235
Ms. Susan Ahl Staff VP/ Customer Relations Trans World Airlines, Inc. 1415 Olive Street Suite 100 St. Louis, MO	Ms. Denise Harvill Director, Customer Relations United Airlines P.O. Box 66100 Chicago, IL 60666
Ms. Deborah Thompson Director, Consumer Affairs US Airways P.O. Box 1501 Winston-Salem, NC	Mr. Martin Goldman C.E.O. Air Transport International 3800 Rodney Parham Road Little Rock, AR 72212
Hermn Bethel Managing Director, Customer Service Air Wisconsin Corp. W6390 Challenger Drive Suite 203 Appleton, WI 54915	Mr. Tommy Kalil Senior VP, Customer Service/Operations AirTran Airlines 9955 Airtran Blvd. Orlando, FL 32827
Ms. Denise Yates Customer Relations Manager Aloha Airlines, Inc. P.O. Box 30029 Honolulu, HI 96820	Mr. Connie Kalitta President and C.E.O. American International Airways, Inc. P.O. Box 842 842 Willow Run Airport Ypsilanti, MI 48198
Mr. Ellis Fawcett Manager, Customer Services:p> American Trans Air 7337 W. Washington Street Indianapolis, IN 46231	Mr. John Batchelor President and C.E.O. Arrow Air P.O. Box 026062 Miami International Airport Miami, FL 33102-6062
Mr. Samuel Watts V.P., Sales & Customer Service Atlantic Southeast Airlines 100 Hartsfield Center Parkway Suite 800 Atlanta, GA 30354	Mr. Bill Reynolds Director, Customer Service Business Express 14 Aviation Ave. Portsmouth, NH 03801
Ms. Jane Steed Admin. Assistant Continental Micronesia Old Terminal Bldg. P.O. Box 8778-G Tamuning, GU 96931-8778	Mr. Thomas Del Valle President Executive Airlines P.O. Box 38082 Luis Muñoz Marin Int’l Airport Carolina, PR 00979
Ms. Nancy White Mgr., Customer Relations Frontier Airlines 12015 East 46th Ave. Denver, CO 80239	Ms. Crystal Ching Manager, Consumer Affairs Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. P.O. Box 30008 Honolulu, HI 96820
Mr. Jerry Sinclair Supervisor, Customer Relations Horizon Air P.O. Box 48309 Seattle, WA 98148	Mr. Jerry Murphy President & C.E.O. Kiwi International Airlines Hemisphere Center U.S. 1 and 9 South Newark, NJ 07114
Mr. Dennis Barry V.P., Customer Service Mesa Airlines 1140 W. Navajo Farmington, NM 87401	Mr. David H. Thomas Manager - Scheduling Midway Airlines 300 West Morgan Street Suite 1200 Durham, NC 27701
Ms. Christine Baranoucky Schedule Coordinator Midwest Express Airlines 6744 South Howell Avenue HQ 23 Oak Creek, WI 53154-1402	Ms. Brenda Rowan Legal Assistant Reno Air, Inc. P.O. Box 30059 Reno, NV 89520--3059
Mr. Ralph Richardi President Simmons Airlines P.O. Box 612527 1700 W. 20th Street Dalls/Ft. Worth Airport, TX 75261	Mr. J. Baggar Operations Manager Sky Courier 1851 Alexander Bell Dr. Reston, VA 22091
Ms. Karen Erazo Mgr.-Legal Affairs Sun Country Airlines 2520 Pilot Knob Rd. Mendota Heights, MN 55120	Ms. Pamela Buoncontri Assistant to the Chairman Tower Air JFK International Airport Hangar 17 Jamaica, NY 11430
Mr. William R. Mishk Vice President, Marketing Trans States Airlines 9275 Genaire Drive St. Louis, MO 63134	Mr. Chuck Pollard President & C.E.O. World Airways 13873 Park Center Road Suite 490 Herndon, VA 22071
Mr. David Berg Air Transport Association 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20004-1707	Mr. Walt Coleman President Regional Airline Association 1200 19th St. N.W., Suite 300 Suite 300 Washington, DC 20036-2422
Mr. Edward Driscoll President & C.E.O. National Air Carrier Association 1730 M Street, N.W. Suite 806 Washington, DC 20036	Mr. Ed Faberman Executive Director Air Carrier Association of America 1747 Pennsylvania Ave, N.W. Suite 900 Washington, DC20006
Mr. Ray Greenly VP, Consumer Affairs American Society of Travel Agents 1101 King Street Alexandria, VA 22314	Shawn McDermott Project Coordinator Paralyzed Veterans of America 801 18th Street NW Washington, DC 20006
Mr. David Capozzi Director, Office of Tech. & Info. Svcs. A.T.B.C.B. 1331 F Street, NW Washington, DC 20004-1107