Regulation of Fractional Aircraft Ownership Programs and On-Demand Operations

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is updating and revising the regulations governing operations of aircraft in fractional ownership programs. The FAA has determined that the current regulations do not adequately define fractional ownership programs and do not clearly allocate responsibility and authority for safety and compliance with the regulations. This final rule defines fractional ownership programs and their various participants, allocates responsibility and authority for safety of flight operations for purposes of compliance with the regulations, and ensures that fractional ownership program aircraft operations will maintain a high level of safety. These regulations provide a level of safety for fractional ownership programs equivalent to certain regulations that apply to on-demand operators. The rule also revises some requirements that apply to on-demand operators that meet certain criteria. The revisions permit these operators to follow an alternate means of compliance for certain commercial operations.