(3) Mail in excess of normal must be given priority over all other traffic except revenue passengers with space confirmed prior to knowledge that additional mail would be available. Mail aboard a plane must not be reduced below normal to accommodate local boarding passengers. (4) Air carriers in the Alaskan Service must provide adequate weight space on all flights to accommodate the normal or expected volume of mail. (5) In loading, unloading, transferring mail to connecting planes, and delivering mail to the designated postal representative, mail must be given preference over all other cargo (including baggage). (c) For protecting mail. (1) Air carriers are held strictly responsible and accountable for mail in their custody. Mail must not be left exposed on trucks or otherwise subjected to depredation or weather. Every precaution must be taken to protect the mail from fire. Mail handlers must be identified by badges or by distinguishing caps or clothing or must be prepared to exhibit their airline identification cards on request of postal employees concerned. (2) When an air carrier discovers a pouch damaged so that loss or depredation could result, the air carrier will turn the pouch in to the first possible postal unit for repouching and redispatch. Form 2734, "Airmail Exception Record," must accompany the damaged pouch to the postal unit. (d) For cooperating with postal inspectors. Postal inspectors are special representatives of the Postmaster General. All employees of air carriers engaged in the transportation of mail are required to cooperate with and assist inspectors in the performance of their duties which may include the opening of pouches and sacks and the examination of mail therein. (e) For providing quarters—(1) At air stops. Air Carriers must furnish adequate and suitable quarters at air stops where necessary for the receipt, dispatch, distribution, and transfer of mail, unless and until otherwise provided by the Post Office Department. (2) Location of quarters. Quarters must be located so as to provide expeditious handling of mail to and from planes. They must also be conveniently accessible to all mail-carrying vehicles. (3) Requests for changes in quarters. Requests by air carriers or by officials of the Postal Service for changes in existing quarters or for the establishment of new quarters must be made through the distribution and traffic manager in the area concerned. (f) For obtaining routing from postal unit-(1) Interrupted transportation. When the planned routing of mail is interrupted, the air carrier having possession of the mail will contact the postal unit and obtain routing instructions. (2) Overload situations. When all available mail cannot be transported on the intended flight, the air carrier confronted with the overload situation must promptly inform postal personnel at the airport mail facility or air stop post office and obtain instructions concerning the priority to be given in loading the mail that can be accommodated. Potential overload situations should be anticipated as much in advance of flight time as possible. Off-loading of mail already on board in order to carry mail for destinations of greater postal service advantage will not be required if this would entail unreasonable delay in the departure of the flight. (g) For preparing and submitting schedules-(1) Preparation. Air carriers shall prepare schedules as follows: (i) Schedules shall be arranged north to south and east to west, with flights listed in chronological order left to right. (ii) All restrictions on the transportation of mail shall be shown on related schedules and when an air carrier holds certificates for more than one route with parallel service between certain points, any restrictions which apply against one route and not the other must be so identified. (2) Submission. (i) Air carriers shall submit with proposed new schedules a brief explanatory letter or cover sheet detailing proposed changes. (ii) Copies of changes to existing schedules must be filed with the Post Office Department, Washington 25, D.C., not less than 10 days prior to effective date. The date of filing will be the date of receipt by the Air Transportation Branch, Bureau of Transportation, Washington 25, D.C. (iii) Air carriers shall distribute copies of proposed new schedules or changes to existing schedules as follows: (a) Three copies to Air Transportation Branch, Bureau of Transportation, Post Office Department, Washington 25, D.C. (b) One copy to distribution and traffic manager in each region concerned. (c) States-Alaska and Intra-Alaska air carriers must send one copy to the Distribution and Traffic Manager, Post Office Department, Seattle 24, Washington. (3) Designation of service. The Regional Director will advise the Air Transportation Branch, Bureau of Transportation, of local service carrier flights that are not needed for the transportation of mail. The Air Transportation Branch will notify the air carriers of flights designated for transportation of the mail, by publishing Post Office Department schedules. (h) For answering correspondence. Air carriers must answer promptly all correspondence from officials of the Postal Service. Correspondence concerning the operation of the Alaskan airmail service must be channeled through the Regional Director, Post Office Department, Seattle 24, Washington. [26 F.R. 12218, Dec. 21, 1961] § 96.2 Flight operations. (a) Notification of plane movement. Air carriers must operate designated trips as nearly as practicable at times shown in filed schedules. In the event of irregular operation, as much advance notice as possible must be given to the airport mail facility or post office at the initial terminal. When a plane is operating 30 minutes or more late, dispatching offices en route should be notified as to the approximate arrival and departure. (b) Originating sections, resumed flights, and delayed operations. Delayed scheduled trips may operate with available mail from the initial terminal or intermediate points. When a scheduled trip has been canceled at the initial terminal or at some intermediate point, a section may be originated at any intermediate point on the route. (c) Omissions of service. If a scheduled stop will not be made by a trip, the air carrier must immediately notify the local postal representative. If service is to be suspended for 1 week or more, the air carrier must immediately notify the Air Transportation Branch, Bureau of Transportation, Washington 25, D.C.; the distribution and traffic manager, in the regions concerned; and the postal units concerned. The same offices must be notified when service is to be resumed. (d) Emergency trips and extra sections. Emergency trips and extra sec tions operated by the air carrier may be used for the transportation of mail. It may be placed on the plane at an unscheduled stop when offered for dispatch by the local postal representative, except that mail will not be accepted if the air carrier is not authorized to serve that city. In Alaska, air carriers must obtain postal authority for the transportation of mail on emergency trips and extra sections. (e) Holding orders. In unusual situations, the Air Transportation Branch, Bureau of Transportation, may require the holding of planes at junction points for the connection of mail. If any air carrier desires to take exception to a holding order, a complete statement giving the particulars will be submitted by the carrier promptly to the Assistant Postmaster General, Bureau of Transportation. § 96.3 Handling of mail. (a) Delivery to air carriers—(1) Authorized location. Mail for outgoing trips shall be delivered to the air carrier at the time and place authorized by the distribution and traffic manager in the region. (2) Dispatch lists required. (i) The postal unit delivering mail to air carriers for transportation shall prepare Form 2729, "Airmail Dispatch Record," showing weights of mail for each destination and listing mail for off-line points of transfer. (ii) On receipt of mail from the local postal units, the air carrier must check entries and weights on the pouch labels against entries in the dispatch list. (iii) Mail received from mail messengers or vehicle service at airports without a mail facility must correspond with mail listed on Form 2729; or air carrier must make corrections. If pouches are listed but not received, cross out the individual listing, destination subtotal, station Insert correct total, and grand total. adjacent totals. If mail is received but not listed, insert weight of each pouch in the proper destination column and amend totals as instructed. In either event, note facts prominently on Form 2729 in any blank space. Advise messenger of any discrepancy. (iv) In the Intra-Alaskan Service, Form 2713-A, "Alaskan Airmail Dispatch Record," is used instead of Form 2729 At non-post-office points on Alaskan routes where it has not been possible to arrange for the preparation of Form 2713-A, the carrier shall prepare Form 2713-A and make claim for the service in the usual manner. (v) Air carriers must obtain a receipt on Form 2753-A, “Mail Delivery Receipt," for mail delivered to airport mail facilities. Form 2753, "Receipt to Airline," must be obtained by the air carriers for all mail delivered to postal units other than airport mail facilities. In the latter case, receipt must be prepared by the air carrier for signature of either the mail messenger or motor vehicle service driver. To (b) Direct transfer between planes(1) Air carrier responsibility. Air carriers must make transfers according to service ordered by the dispatching postal unit and as shown on pouch labels. facilitate transfers, air carriers are responsible for concluding mutually agreeable local arrangements regarding the point of exchange between air carriers. These arrangements are subject to approval by the distribution and traffic manager to assure that they are adequate for postal needs. In addition, air carriers shall comply with the following: (i) Arriving (delivering) air carriers. (a) All transfers are based on normal operations and, under normal conditions, should be made as authorized. (b) When the arriving air carrier is late, he shall ascertain whether the intended connection can be made. If the intended trip cannot be connected, the arriving air carrier should obtain new routing instructions from local postal personnel, prepare Form 2734, verify mail with related entries on Form 2734, and deliver the mail to an alternate air carrier, or to a postal representative, as instructed. (ii) Departing (receiving) air carriers. (a) A departing air carrier, due to receive transfer mail from an incoming air carrier, shall inform his ramp personnel of any delays in scheduled departure so that scheduled transfers may be maintained when the minimum transfer time is available regardless of arrival time of the incoming trip. (b) The receiving air carrier must accept mail tendered by transfer, unless the mail is not properly coded on pouch label or is not routed for delivery or transfer at a point on its routes. When an irregularity occurs and Form 2734 is presented with the mail by the delivering air carrier, the receiving air carrier must check mail with related data on Form 2734. (c) After acceptance of transferred mail, if the trip of the receiving air carrier to which the mail was routed (1) is delayed more than one hour, (2) is canceled, or (3) for any other reason cannot provide the ordered service, the receiving air carrier shall obtain new routing instructions from local personnel and for transferring the mail as required. (2) Failures to transfer. Postal personnel shall prepare Forms 2759, "Report of Irregular Handling of Airmail (RSTR-3)", to report failures to transfer mail to intended connections. All pertinent facts relating to actual arrival and departure times of trips involved must be shown. Where the prescribed connection time was available and responsibility for failure to connect the mail cannot be conclusively established, fines may be assessed against both air carriers for failure to cooperate in providing proper service. (c) Delivery to postal representative. Upon arrival of the plane at the stop point, air carrier representatives must immediately unload the mail and deliver it to the authorized postal representative at such point as may be designated. Maximum unloading time may be specified by the distribution and traffic manager, in the region concerned. Mail for outgoing trips must be delivered to the air carrier at the time and place authorized by the distribution and traffic manager, in the region concerned. (d) Disposition of mail; canceled or irregular flights. (1) When a trip is to be canceled at the initial terminal or any point en route, the air carrier must promptly notify the local post office concerned. (Dispatch forms covering mail not enplaned must be voided if no mail is dispatched.) (2) Disposition of mail will be in accordance with instructions of the local postal unit. If unable to obtain instructions, the air carrier will reroute the mail on the basis of the best available information. The air carrier must observe current procedures in preparing necessary forms to accomplish any rerouting and to provide for the accounting adjustments required. (3) When it became necessary to transport mail to the local post office or railroad station, available regular scheduled trips of the mail messenger Air or vehicle service may be used. carriers will not be required to transport to the post office local destination mail which is received from trips operating off schedule. However, carriers are responsible for transporting to the post office or railroad station, as directed, local origin mail being returned or through mail received from canceled trips, mail dispatched to the airport for a trip which overflies the local air stop, and mail dispatched to the airport for a trip which is to overfly a scheduled downline air stop. (4) Mail from canceled trips arriving by train to connect a resumed trip must be transported to the airport by the air carrier whose service was canceled, unless otherwise instructed by the Postal Transportation Service. (e) Refusals and removals of mail. Refusals and removals of mail by an air carrier (except as provided in § 96.1(a)) may result in diversion of the mail to another air carrier and in the imposition of fines. (f) Form 2734, air-mail exception record. See § 96.22. § 96.4 Reports. or removal (a) Refusal report. When an air carrier cannot accommodate all mail offered for a trip or when mail already on board is removed, the air carrier concerned must submit Form 2760, "Refusal or Removal Report," in duplicate, to the distribution and traffic manager in whose area the refusal or removal occurs. The report must give the reason for the refusal or removal. It must contain detailed information on the mail refused, removed, and transported, and information relative to the number of passengers and other cargo, aboard the plane on departure. (b) Irregularly-handled mail report. Form 2734, "Airmail Exception Record," properly completed and endorsed by the air carrier, must be used to record any mail not handled by the air carriers concerned in accordance with the routing as originally planned. An irregular handling is termed as an off loading short of or beyond the scheduled destination, and the mail is forwarded via another air carrier or turned in to the post office for redispatch, removals en route, refusals after mail is accepted by the air carrier, and transfers to an air carrier other than as ordered in dispatch forms. (c) Accident report. Air carriers must make an immediate telegraph or telephone report of any accident resulting in possible damage to or loss of mail. The report must be made to the distribution and traffic manager in the area concerned. Mail should not be disturbed, except to prevent further damage. It must be guarded until the arrival of a postal official. § 96.5 Submission of claims. (a) Domestic-(1) Forms used. All air carriers operating within and between the 50 United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands and between the United States and terminal points in Canada shall use the following forms to document air transportation bills: Form 2703, Carrier's Claim for Airmail Transportation; Form 2729, Airmail Dispatch Record; Form 2733, Interline Airmail Record; Form 2734, Airmail Exception Record; Form 2730, U.S. Airmail Billing Card-Domestic; Form 2732, Monthly Summary of Airmail Carried. Note: Air carriers must provide their own supply of Forms 2703, 2730, 2732, and 2734. Samples of these forms can be obtained from the Director, Air Transportation Branch, Bureau of Transportation. (2) Preparation of bills. Separate Forms 2703 shall be prepared for each postal accounting period, or for such lesser period as may be agreed to by an air carrier and the Air Transportation Branch, and must include all airmail transported during that period. Trunkline, local service, helicopter, intraHawaiian, and States-Alaska air carriers must prepare and submit Form 2703 according to the procedures outlined in subchapter 360 of Handbook F-15. Intra-Alaska and Territorial air carriers must prepare and submit air transportation bills according to the instructions agreed to by the air carriers and the Air Transportation Branch. (b) States; Alaska and intra-Alaska and States-Hawaii and intra-Hawaii. Air carriers operating over States-Alaska and intra-Alaska and States-Hawaii and intra-Hawaii routes (except NWA) must prepare and submit Form 2703 in accordance with CAB rate orders and specific instructions issued by the Department. (c) Designated regional controllers. (1) Domestic air carriers, other than as provided in subparagraphs (2) and (3) of this paragraph, will be paid for the carriage of domestic airmail by the re |