Quote:
Originally Posted by MidlifeFlyer  IMO, this is one of the true "gray areas" in the FAR. |
Not really. Private carriage is carriage for compensation or hire of a limited set of customers and requires an operating certificate. The interpretation quote says that if it's a small airplane, then Part 135 applies.
Furthermore, from the regs,
§ 119.5 Certifications, authorizations, and prohibitions.
(b) A person who is not authorized to conduct direct air carrier operations, but who is authorized by the Administrator to conduct operations as a U.S. commercial operator, will be issued an Operating Certificate.
And a commercial operator, from Part 1 is
Commercial operator means a person who, for compensation or hire, engages in the carriage by aircraft in air commerce of persons or property, other than as an air carrier or foreign air carrier or under the authority of Part 375 of this title. Where it is doubtful that an operation is for “compensation or hire”, the test applied is whether the carriage by air is merely incidental to the person's other business or is, in itself, a major enterprise for profit.