tomgoodman

I agree. By putting the number in the "limitations" section of their FAA-approved Flight Manual, companies have done just that, even if they use the manufacturer's phrase "max demonstrated". It now becomes a limitation.

A similar example involves gross weight. If I remember correctly from the Douglas ground school 20 years ago, Delta bought an MD-88 version which had been certified at about 160k MTOW, but had our certificate state just under 150k (for lower landing fees), so the lower number became totally binding on us. Delta (or, if the airplanes are sold, the new owner) could re-certify up to the higher MTOW (for a fee, of course), and then that would become the limitation.