Proposed Rule2022-27416
Enhancing Transparency of Airline Ancillary Service Fees
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
December 20, 2022
Issuing agencies
Transportation Department
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Transportation (Department or DOT) is extending through January 23, 2023, the period for interested persons to submit comments to its proposed rule on Enhancing Transparency of Airline Ancillary Service Fees.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 243 (Tuesday, December 20, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 243 (Tuesday, December 20, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 77765-77766]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-27416]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary
14 CFR Part 399
[Docket No. DOT-OST-2022-0109]
RIN 2105-AF10
Enhancing Transparency of Airline Ancillary Service Fees
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary (OST), Department of Transportation
(DOT or the Department).
ACTION: Extension of comment period.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Transportation (Department or DOT) is
extending through January 23, 2023, the period for interested persons
to submit comments to its proposed rule on Enhancing Transparency of
Airline Ancillary Service Fees.
DATES: Comments should be filed by January 23, 2023. Late-filed
comments will be considered to the extent practicable. Petitions for a
hearing pursuant to 14 CFR 399.75(b)(1) must also be filed by January
23, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may file comments identified by the docket number DOT-
OST-2022-0109 by any of the following methods:
<bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: go to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and follow
[[Page 77766]]
the online instructions for submitting comments.
<bullet> Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, West Building Ground Floor,
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
<bullet> Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building Ground Floor, Room
W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5
p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. Commenters
using this method of delivery should contact Docket Services at 202-
366-9826 or 202-366-9317 before delivery to ensure staff is available
to receive the delivery.
<bullet> Fax: (202) 493-2251.
Instructions: You must include the agency name and docket number
DOT-OST-2022-0109 or the Regulatory Identification Number (RIN 2105-
AF10) for the rulemaking at the beginning of your comment. All comments
received will be posted without change to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>,
including any personal information provided.
Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all
comments received in any of our dockets by the name of the individual
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). For information on
DOT's compliance with the Privacy Act, please visit <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/privacy">https://www.transportation.gov/privacy</a>.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents and
comments received, go to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> or to the street
address listed above. Follow the online instructions for accessing the
docket.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ryan Patanaphan or Blane Workie,
Office of Aviation Consumer Protection, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20590, 202-366-
9342 (phone), <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7a08031b14540a1b0e1b141b0a121b143a1e150e541d150c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="681a1109064618091c09060918000906280c071c460f071e">[email protected]</span></a> or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1b79777a757e356c746970727e5b7f746f357c746d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="37555b565952194058455c5e527753584319505841">[email protected]</span></a> (email).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 26, 2022, the Department of
Transportation (Department) publicly announced and posted to its
website a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that proposed several
disclosure requirements to enhance the transparency of ancillary
service fees that consumers pay for when they purchase airline tickets.
(See 87 FR 63718; October 20, 2022). In the NPRM, the Department
proposed to require U.S. air carriers, foreign air carriers, and ticket
agents to clearly disclose passenger-specific or itinerary-specific
baggage fees, change fees, and cancellation fees to consumers whenever
fare and schedule information is provided to consumers for flights to,
within, and from the United States. The Department also proposed
requiring similar disclosures for fees for a child 13 or under to be
seated adjacent to an accompanying adult, as well as the
transactability of such seating fees. The proposed rule would require
carriers to provide useable, current, and accurate information
regarding fees to ticket agents that sell or display the carrier's fare
and schedule information. The NPRM provided for a comment period of 60
days after publication of the NPRM in the Federal Register, i.e.,
December 19, 2022.
Since the publication of the NPRM, several commenters have
requested that the Department extend the comment period given the
complexity of the proposals. Airlines for America (A4A) and
International Air Transportation Association (IATA) filed a joint
request for the Department to extend the comment period by 60 days
given the expansive scope and complexity of the NPRM. The Travel
Technology Association, the American Society of Travel Advisors, and
Global Business Travel Association also filed a joint request asking
for a 60-day extension primarily because of the complexity of the
issues and noted that developing fully responsive comments that the
Department will find most useful will take more time. The National Air
Carrier Association and Sabre Corporation also separately requested an
additional 60 days. Further, on December 8, 2022, during a public
meeting of the Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee (ACPAC)
to discuss this rulemaking, the consumer representative of the ACPAC
stated that he does not oppose the requests for an extension. A4A and
IATA have also asked for clarification on various issues in the NPRM.
The Department's responses to the questions raised by airlines will be
posted in the rulemaking docket at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, docket
DOT-OST-2022-0109.
The Department has reviewed the requests for extension of the
comment period and has determined to extend the comment period for the
proposed rule from December 19, 2022, to January 23, 2023. The
Department believes that granting a 35-day extension of the original
comment period is sufficient to allow stakeholders to conduct a
thorough and careful consideration of all potential impacts, including
the Department's responses to the airlines' clarification requests, and
prepare comments.
Signed in Washington, DC, on or about this 13th day of December
2022, under authority delegated at 49 U.S.C. 1.27(n).
John E. Putnam,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2022-27416 Filed 12-19-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P
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