Notice2022-11567
Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee Matters
Primary source
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Published
June 1, 2022
Issuing agencies
Transportation Department
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Transportation (Department) announces that the public meeting of the Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee (ACPAC) which was originally scheduled to be held on March 21 and 22, 2022 is rescheduled to June 28 and 29, 2022. In addition, one of the topics planned for discussion at the rescheduled meeting has changed from Airline Ticket Refunds to Airline Ancillary Service Fees.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 105 (Wednesday, June 1, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 105 (Wednesday, June 1, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33303-33304]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-11567]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary
[Docket No. DOT-OST-2018-0190]
Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee Matters
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary (OST), Department of Transportation
(DOT).
ACTION: Notice of public meeting.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Transportation (Department) announces
that the public meeting of the Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory
Committee (ACPAC) which was originally scheduled to be held on March 21
and 22, 2022 is rescheduled to June 28 and 29, 2022. In addition, one
of the topics planned for discussion at the rescheduled meeting has
changed from Airline Ticket Refunds to Airline Ancillary Service Fees.
DATES: The meeting, which was originally scheduled to be held on March
21 and 22, 2022, will now be held from 9:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. (ET) on June
28 and 29, 2022.
ADDRESSES: The June 28 and 29 meeting will take place in-person at the
DOT headquarters building, at 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE in Washington,
DC, and will be livestreamed. Attendance is open to the public, up to
the room's capacity. A detailed agenda will be available on the ACPAC
website at least one week before the meeting.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To register for the next in-person
meeting, please contact the Department by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#53121003121013373c277d343c25"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3f7e7c6f7e7c7f5b504b11585049">[email protected]</span></a>.
Attendance is open to the public subject to any capacity limitations.
For further information, contact Kimberly Graber, Deputy Assistant
General Counsel, by telephone at (202) 366-1695 or by email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6a010307080f180613440d180b080f182a0e051e440d051c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0c6765616e697e6075226b7e6d6e697e4c686378226b637a">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The ACPAC evaluates current aviation consumer protection programs
and provides recommendations to the Secretary for improving them, as
well as recommending any additional consumer protections that may be
needed.
On November 11, 2021, the Department issued a Federal Register
notice announcing two meetings of the ACPAC, the first to be held on
December 2, 2021 and the second to be held on March 21 and 22, 2022.
The ACPAC held the December 2, 2021 meeting as planned. One of the
topics discussed at the December 2, 2021 meeting was Airline Ticket
Refunds. The Department planned to continue discussion of the Airline
Ticket Refunds topic at the March 21 and 22, 2022 meeting concurrently
with the projected date of the public comment period for the Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Airline Ticket Refund and Consumer
Protections (RIN 2105-AF04). However, due to delays associated with the
rulemaking process and the
[[Page 33304]]
availability of the ACPAC members, the meeting originally scheduled for
March 21 and 22, 2022 will now be held on June 28 and 29, 2022.
II. Agenda
As previously indicated, the Department intended to use the June 28
and 29, 2022 meeting to continue the discussion on Airline Ticket
Refunds and to discuss Enhancing Consumer Access to Airline Flight
Information. While the NPRM on Airline Ticket Refunds was submitted to
the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for its review,
the NPRM is not expected to be issued before the date of this ACPAC
meeting. As a result, the Department will schedule a meeting at a
future date to discuss the NPRM on Airline Ticket Refunds.
The Department still plans to discuss Enhancing Consumer Access to
Airline Flight Information at the June meeting. The Executive Order on
Promoting Competition in the American Economy, issued on July 9, 2021
(Competition Executive Order), directed the Department to take action
to protect consumers and promote competition. Specifically, the
Department is directed, among other things, to ``promote enhanced
transparency and consumer safeguards, as appropriate and consistent
with applicable law, including through potential rulemaking,
enforcement actions, or guidance documents, with the aims of: (1)
Enhancing consumer access to airline flight information so that
consumers can more easily find a broader set of available flights,
including by new or lesser known airlines . . . .'' The ACPAC will
consider the topic of enhancing access to airline flight information,
including examining what is meant by airline flight information and how
best to ensure that consumers can more easily find a broader set of
available flights.
The Competition Executive Order also directs the Department to
consider initiating a rulemaking to ensure that consumers have
ancillary fee information, including baggage fees, change fees, and
cancellation fees at the time of ticket purchase. The Department has
announced that it has initiated such a rulemaking and plans to issue a
notice of proposed rulemaking on transparency of airline ancillary
service fees this calendar year. The Department, after consultation
with the ACPAC members, has decided to discuss enhancing airline
ancillary service fees at the June 28 and 29, 2022 meeting. The ACPAC
will consider how best to ensure the disclosure of ancillary service
fee information to consumers and whether the sharing of information
between airlines and ticket agents is needed to ensure that consumers
have access to ancillary fee information when they purchase air
transportation from ticket agents.
III. Public Participation
The meetings will be open to the public; however, attendance may be
limited due to constraints of the physical meeting space. To register,
please send an email to the Department at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5617150617151632392278313920"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="35747665747675515a411b525a43">[email protected]</span></a> as set forth in
the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. The Department is
committed to providing equal access to this meeting for all
participants. If you need alternative formats or services because of a
disability, such as sign language interpreter or other ancillary aids,
please contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section.
Members of the public may also present written comments at any
time. The docket number referenced above (DOT-OST-2018-0190) has been
established for committee documents including any written comments that
may be filed. At the discretion of the Chairperson or Designated
Federal Officer, after completion of the planned agenda, individual
members of the public may provide oral comments time permitting. Any
oral comments presented must be limited to the objectives of the
committee and will be limited to five (5) minutes per person.
Individual members of the public who wish to present oral comments must
notify the Department of Transportation via email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#31707261707271555e451f565e47"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0746445746444763687329606871">[email protected]</span></a> that
they wish to attend and present oral comments no later than Friday,
June 21, 2022.
Speakers are requested to submit a written copy of their prepared
remarks for inclusion in the meeting records and for circulation to
ACPAC members by June 21, 2022. All prepared remarks submitted on time
will be accepted and considered as part of the meeting's record.
IV. Viewing Documents
You may view documents mentioned in this notice at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. After entering the docket number (DOT-OST-2018-
0190), click the link to ``Open Docket Folder'' and choose the document
to review.
Issued in Washington, DC, on or around this 25th day of May
2022.
John E. Putnam,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2022-11567 Filed 5-31-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P
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