§ 10 — Functional Classification—Operating Expenses of Group I Air Carriers

Section 10 Functional Classification—Operating Expenses of Group I Air Carriers 5100 Flying Operations.

(a) This function shall include expenses incurred directly in the in-flight operation of aircraft and expenses attaching to the holding of aircraft and aircraft operational personnel in readiness for assignment to an in-flight status.

(b) This function shall not include expenses incurred in repairing, servicing or storing aircraft, expenses incurred on the ground in protecting and controlling the inflight movement of aircraft, or the compensation of ground personnel and other expenses incurred in scheduling or preparing aircraft or aircraft operational personnel for flight assignment. Such expenses shall be included in function 5400 Maintenance or function 6900 General Services and Administration.

5400 Maintenance.

(a) This function shall include all expenses, both direct and indirect, specifically identifiable with the repair and upkeep of property and equipment as may be required to meet operating and safety standards; in inspecting or checking property and equipment in accordance with prescribed operational standards; and in polishing or cleaning property and equipment when such polishing or cleaning is not an incidental routine in connection with the normal productive use of property and equipment.

(b) This function shall include the cost of direct labor, materials, and outside services and maintenances overhead or other costs specifically associated with maintenance operations regardless of the location at which incurred.

(c) This function shall not include costs incurred in the construction, improvement, or modification of property and equipment even when necessitated to meet new or changed operating or safety standards. Such costs shall be charged to appropriate property and equipment accounts.

(d) Costs incurred by aircraft handling personnel in visual inspection, minor check and servicing of aircraft, while in line service, shall not be included in this function when performed as an incidental routine during the normal productive use of aircraft but shall be included in function 6900 General Services and Administration.

(e) Each Group I air carrier shall maintain the following subfunctions:

5200 Direct Maintenance.

a. This subfunction shall include the costs of labor, materials and outside services consumed directly in periodic maintenance operations and the maintenance and repair of property and equipment, of all types and classes, regardless of the location at which incurred, exclusive of costs specifically identified with maintenance property and equipment expenses in balance sheet accounts 1630 Equipment, 1639 Improvements to Leased Buildings and Equipment, and 1640.1 Maintenance Buildings and Improvements which shall be included in subfunction 5300 Maintenance Burden.

b. The cost of direct labor, materials and supplies, as well as outside repairs, used in the maintenance and repair of property and equipment shall be recorded on running job orders or tickets covering repairs and periodic inspections except servicing. Where a number of like items are maintained on a group basis, it will be necessary to maintain only one job order for each group.

c. When supervisory personnel such as crew chiefs, inspectors and foremen are engaged in direct labor in connection with equipment maintenance, a proportionate part of their salaries and wages shall be charged to the appropriate direct labor accounts. The cost of transporting property to and from shops for repair and maintenance shall be included as a part of the cost of the materials and supplies used in the repair or maintenance of such property and equipment. Transportation charges, customs and duties, etc.; shall be included in the cost of repairs and maintenance operations when made by outside parties.

5300 Maintenance Burden.

a. This subfunction shall include all overhead or general expenses which are specifically identified with activities involved in periodic maintenance operations and the maintenance and repair of property and equipment of all types and classes, including the cost of direct labor, materials and outside services identified with the maintenance and repair of maintenance property and equipment included in balance sheet accounts 1630 Equipment, 1639 Improvements to Leased Buildings and Equipment, and 1604.1 Maintenance Buildings and Improvements. It shall include expenses specifically related to the administration of maintenance stocks and stores, the keeping of pertinent maintenance operations records, and the scheduling, controlling, planning and supervision of maintenance operations.

b. This subfunction shall not include expenses related to financial accounting, purchasing or other overhead activities which are of general applicability to all operating functions. Such expenses shall be included in function 6900 General Services and Administration.

c. This subfunction shall include only those expenses attributable to the current air transport operations of the air carrier. Maintenance burden associated with capital projects of the air carrier, other than overhauls of airframes and aircraft engines shall be allocated to such projects. Maintenance burden incurred in common with services to other companies and operating entities shall be allocated to such services on a pro rata basis unless the services are so infrequent in performance or small in volume as to result in no appreciable demands upon the air carrier's maintenance facilities. When overhauls of airframes or aircraft engines are as a consistent practice accounted for on an accrual basis instead of being expensed directly, maintenance burden shall be allocated to such overhauls on a pro rata basis. Standard burden rates may be employed for quarterly allocations of maintenance burden provided the rates are reviewed at the close of each calendar year. When the actual burden rate for the year differs materially from the standard burden rate applied, adjustment shall be made to reflect the actual cost incurred for the full accounting year. Allocations of maintenance burden to capital projects, and service sales to others shall be made through the individual maintenance burden objective accounts, except that the air carrier may make such allocations by credits to profit and loss account 77 Uncleared Expense Credits provided that use of that account will not undermine the significance of the individual maintenance burden objective accounts in terms of the expense levels associated with the air carrier's air transport services. Maintenance burden allocated to overhauls shall be credited to profit and loss subaccounts 5372.1 or 5372.6 Airworthiness Allowance Provisions.

[ER-755, 37 FR 19726, Sept. 21, 1972, as amended by ER-980, 42 FR 36, Jan. 3, 1977; ER-1027, 42 FR 60128, Nov. 25, 1977; ER-1188, 45 FR 48870, July 22, 1980; Amdt. 241-58, 54 FR 5595, Feb. 6, 1989] 6900 General Services and Administration.

This function shall include expenses incurred on the ground in controlling and protecting the in-flight movement of aircraft; landing, handling, or servicing aircraft on the ground; selling transportation; servicing and handling traffic of all classes; promoting the development of traffic; administering operations generally; and all other expenses not otherwise provided for in functions 5100 Flying Operations, 5400 Maintenance and 7000 Depreciation and Amortization.

7000 Depreciation and Amortization.

This function shall include all charges to expense to record losses suffered through current exhaustion of the serviceability of property and equipment due to wear and tear from use and the action of time and the elements, which are not replaced by current repairs, as well as losses in serviceability caused by obsolescence, supersession, discoveries, change in demand or actions by public authority. It shall also include charges for the amortization of capitalized developmental and preoperating costs, leased property under capital leases and other intangible assets applicable to the performance of air transportation. (See sections 6-1696, 1830 and 1890.)

[Amdt. 241-58, 54 FR 5595, Feb. 6, 1989] 7100 Transport-Related Expenses.

(a) This function shall include all expense items applicable to the generation of transport-related revenues included in section 9, Function 4800.

(b) Such expense related to services of a magnitude or scope beyond an incidental adjunct to air transportation services shall not be included in this function (see section 1-6(b)). Expenses applicable to the generation of such revenues shall be included in profit and loss classification 8100, Nonoperating Income and Expense-Net, and the accounting modified to conform with that of a nontransport division whether or not the service is organized as a nontransport division.

(c) This function shall also include expenses representing increases in costs incurred in common with the air transport service, to the extent such increases result from the added transport-related services, as well as a pro rata share of the costs incurred by the air carrier in operating facilities which are used jointly with others. As a general rule, this function shall not include those expenses, other than joint facilities costs, which would remain as an essential part of the air transport services if the transport-related services were terminated.

[ER-841, 39 FR 11997, Apr. 2, 1974, as amended by ER-1401, 50 FR 243, Jan. 3, 1985]