Mateo

This appeal raises primarily a question relating to the scope of coverage of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended, 29 U.S.C.A. § 201 et seq. The District Court held that appellants were not employees “engaged in commerce” within the meaning of the Act. Accordingly, it denied recovery on appellants’ alleged claim for overtime compensation and attorney’s fees under Section 16(b) of the Act and dismissed the action.

Appellants were all employed by appellee, Auto Rental Inc., Ltd., during the period in controversy as drivers of so-called “airporter” vehicles in Honolulu, Hawaii. The airporter is an eleven passenger “stretchout” limousine, converted from a standard automobile chassis to provide accommodations for additional passengers. Appellants were engaged principally in transporting airline and steamship passengers to and from the Honolulu International Airport or the Port of Honolulu and the downtown and Waikiki districts. In addition, they occasionally drove the airporters on sightseeing tour trips. By far the major portion of appellants’ work was the servicing of airline passengers. These passengers can be classified broadly into four general categories.

First,…