14 CFR Part 399, Subpart F - Policies Relating to Rulemaking Proceedings

This SNPRM proposes to require air carriers, foreign air carriers, and ticket agents to clearly disclose to consumers at all points of sale customer-specific fee information, or itinerary-specific information if a customer elects not to provide customer-specific information, for a first checked bag, a second checked bag, and one carry-on bag wherever fare and schedule information is provided to consumers. This SNPRM further proposes to require each covered carrier to provide useable, current, and accurate (but not transactable) baggage fee information to all ticket agents that receive and distribute the carrier's fare and schedule information, including Global Distribution Systems and metasearch entities. On covered carrier and ticket agent Web sites, the SNPRM would require the baggage fee information to be disclosed at the first point in a search process where a fare is listed in connection with a specific flight itinerary, adjacent to the fare. The SNPRM would permit carriers and ticket agents to allow customers to opt-out of receiving the baggage fee information when using their Web sites.

The Department of Transportation is issuing a third “Enhancing Airline Passenger Protections” final rule to enhance protections for air travelers and to improve the air travel environment as follows: Expanding the pool of reporting carriers for service quality data; requiring reporting carriers to include service quality data for their domestic scheduled flights operated by their code-share partners; enhancing the Department's code-share disclosure regulation to codify the statutory requirement that carriers and ticket agents must disclose any code-share arrangements on their Web sites on the first display presented in response to a search of a requested itinerary for each itinerary involving a code-share operation; and prohibiting undisclosed biasing based on carrier identity by carriers and ticket agents in any electronic displays of the fare, schedule or availability information of multiple carriers. The amendments to the reporting requirements in this rule will ensure that the Department obtains and provides to the public expanded and enhanced service quality data from the airlines. The provision to strengthen the Department's code-share disclosure rule will also enhance air travel consumer protection. Additionally, this final rule corrects certain drafting errors and makes minor changes to the Department's second Enhancing Airline Passenger Protections rule to better reflect the Department's intent. Other topics covered by the proposed rule that are not addressed by this final rule will be addressed in two separate rulemakings. Specifically, the Department will be issuing a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNPRM) to seek additional information on the disclosure of fees for basic ancillary services to consumers at all points of sale. The remaining topics discussed in the 2014 notice of proposed rulemaking ( e.g., customer service commitments by large ticket agents, prohibition on post-purchase price increases for ancillary services) will be addressed in another final rule that the Department plans to issue at a later date.

This action reopens the comment period for a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on transparency of airline ancillary fees and other consumer protection issues that was published in the Federal Register on May 23, 2014. We are extending the end of the comment period from September 22, 2014, to September 29, 2014. Open Allies for Airfare Transparency and the Travel Technology Association (Travel Tech) have noted the delay in posting the summary of a meeting attended by DOT staff with representatives of Airlines for America (A4A), the Regional Airline Association (RAA), and several of their member airlines on August 7, 2014. The reopening of the comment period is intended to provide all interested parties sufficient time prior to the close of the comment period for this rulemaking to review the summary of the August 7 meeting that DOT posted in the rulemaking docket.

This action extends the comment period for an NPRM on transparency of airline ancillary fees and other consumer protection issues that was published in the Federal Register on May 23, 2014. The Department of Transportation is extending the period for interested persons to submit comments on this rulemaking from August 21, 2014, to September 22, 2014. This extension is a result of a joint petition filed by a number of airline associations to extend the comment period for the proposal.

The Department is seeking comment on a number of proposals to enhance protections for air travelers and to improve the air travel environment, including a proposal to clarify and codify the Department's interpretation of the statutory definition of “ticket agent.” By codifying the Department's interpretation, the Department intends to ensure that all entities that manipulate fare, schedule, and availability information in response to consumer inquiries and receive a form of compensation are adhering to all of the Department's consumer protection requirements that are applicable to ticket agents such as the full-fare advertising rule and the code-share disclosure rule. This NPRM also proposes to require airlines and ticket agents to disclose at all points of sale the fees for certain basic ancillary services associated with the air transportation consumers are buying or considering buying. Currently, some consumers may be unable to understand the true cost of travel while searching for airfares, due to insufficient information concerning fees for ancillary services. The Department is addressing this problem by proposing that carriers share real-time, accurate fee information for certain optional services with ticket agents. Other proposals in this NPRM to enhance airline passenger protections include: Expanding the pool of “reporting” carriers; requiring enhanced reporting by mainline carriers for their domestic code-share partner operations; requiring large travel agents to adopt minimum customer service standards; codifying the statutory requirement that carriers and ticket agents disclose any airline code-share arrangements on their Web sites; and prohibiting unfair and deceptive practices such as undisclosed biasing in schedule and fare displays and post-purchase price increases. The Department is also considering whether to require ticket agents to disclose the carriers whose tickets they sell in order to avoid having consumers mistakenly believe they are searching all possible flight options for a particular city-pair market when in fact there may be other options available. Additionally, this NPRM would correct drafting errors and make minor changes to the Department's second Enhancing Airline Passenger Protections rule to conform to guidance issued by the Department's Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings (Enforcement Office) regarding its interpretation of the rule.