Elan Express’ authority to operate under a LODA is allowed under § 125.3. A Leasing Company Specific LODA, as described in Advisory Circular 120-116, is a recent concept and considered operationally unique. The FAA has determined that such operations, conducted by airplanes with a seating configuration of 20 or more passengers or a maximum payload capacity of 6,000 pounds or more, may be authorized a deviation from § 125.1 applicability, and allowed to conduct all operations in accordance with part 91.

The Elan Express A510 OpSpec SFA authorization is temporary and time-limited. The 500-series authorization grants temporary authority to a certificate holder, air operator, or program manager based on a particular situation or event.

Flight Standards policy allows the FSDO to issue an SFA to Elan Express on a case-by-case basis for specific flights. The FSDO issues the SFA under FAR Part 91 where a particular operation is infrequent or involves short periods of time--usually two weeks or less. FSDO's issue SFA's when an operation can be conducted safely, and the circumstances do not warrant the issuance of a letter of deviation authority.