Proposed Rule2023-05165
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
March 14, 2023
Issuing agencies
Transportation Department
Abstract
This Notice announces a virtual public hearing on certain issues related to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Enhancing Transparency of Airline Ancillary Service Fees. By this Notice, the virtual public hearing on this rulemaking, originally scheduled for March 16, 2023, is rescheduled to March 30, 2023. Through this notice, the Department also reopens the comment period for the rulemaking and will accept comments through April 6, 2023.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 49 (Tuesday, March 14, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 49 (Tuesday, March 14, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 15622-15624]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-05165]
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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), U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Public hearing. Reopen comment period.
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SUMMARY: This Notice announces a virtual public hearing on certain
issues related to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking on Enhancing Transparency of Airline Ancillary
Service Fees. By this Notice, the virtual public hearing on this
rulemaking, originally scheduled for March 16, 2023, is rescheduled to
March 30, 2023. Through this notice, the Department also reopens the
comment period for the rulemaking and will accept comments through
April 6, 2023.
DATES: The virtual hearing will be held on March 30, 2023, from 9 a.m.
to 5 p.m. Eastern Time. The hearing is open to the public, subject to
any technical and/or capacity limitations. Requests to attend the
hearing must be submitted to <a href="https://usdot.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_MSHu2poARNCKM8vI4-q5mQ">https://usdot.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_MSHu2poARNCKM8vI4-q5mQ</a>. We encourage interested parties to
register by Monday, March 27, 2023. Communication Access Real-time
Translation (CART) and sign language interpretation will be provided
during the hearing. Requests for additional accommodations because of a
disability must be received at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c6b4bfa7a8e8b6a7b2a7a8a7b6aea7a886a2a9b2e8a1a9b0"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a8dad1c9c686d8c9dcc9c6c9d8c0c9c6e8ccc7dc86cfc7de">[email protected]</span></a> by Monday, March
27, 2023.
[[Page 15623]]
ADDRESSES: The virtual hearing will be open to the public and held via
the Zoom Webinar Platform. Virtual attendance information will be
provided upon registration. An agenda will be available on the
Department's Office of Aviation Consumer Protection website at <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/latest-news">https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/latest-news</a> in advance of the
hearing.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To register and attend this virtual
hearing, please use the link: <a href="https://usdot.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_MSHu2poARNCKM8vI4-q5mQ">https://usdot.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_MSHu2poARNCKM8vI4-q5mQ</a>. Attendance is open to the public
subject to any technical and/or capacity limitations. For further
information, please contact Ryan Patanaphan, Senior Trial Attorney, by
email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2c5e554d42025c4d584d424d5c444d426c484358024b435a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="285a5149460658495c49464958404946684c475c064f475e">[email protected]</span></a> or by phone at (202) 366-9180.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On October 20, 2022, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT or
Department) published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed
rulemaking (NPRM) that proposed several disclosure requirements to
enhance the transparency of ancillary service fees so consumers know
the true cost of air travel early in the purchasing process. (87 FR
63718). 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. To ensure
ticket agents could provide the proposed disclosures, the NPRM proposed
requiring 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 also proposed an
implementation and compliance period of six months from the date of a
potential final rule.
The NPRM provided for a comment period of 60 days after publication
of the NPRM in the Federal Register, i.e., December 19, 2022. In
response to a request for additional opportunity to comment, the
Department extended the comment period for an additional 35 days to
January 23, 2023.\1\ The Department subsequently received a request to
further extend the comment period on the basis that the requestor was
not able to view the January 12, 2023, meeting of the Aviation Consumer
Protection Advisory Committee meeting when it occurred and that as of
the time the request for extension was submitted, the meeting materials
had not been posted to the docket. The Department declined to extend
the comment period based on that request. (88 FR 4923 (Jan. 26, 2023)).
The Department received another request for additional time to provide
comments on the NPRM, based primarily on technological and interface
issues identified by the petitioner. The Department posted a notice
stating that it was considering whether to grant that request and would
publish its determination in the Federal Register (See <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/AncillaryFeeNPRM-Procedural-Information-January23-2023">https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/AncillaryFeeNPRM-Procedural-Information-January23-2023</a>.) As discussed in Section V. of this notice,
the Department has determined to grant the Travelers United request for
additional time to submit comments.
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\1\ 87 FR 77765 (Dec. 20, 2022).
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On January 23, 2023, multiple commenters petitioned the Department
for a public hearing on the NPRM pursuant to the Department's
regulation on rulemakings relating to unfair and deceptive practices,
14 CFR 399.75.\2\ Airlines for America raised two questions in its
petition: whether consumers are or are likely to be substantially
injured or are misled by airlines' current disclosures of ancillary
service fees; and whether disclosures of itinerary-specific ancillary
fees at the time of first search will result in the display of
incomplete or inapplicable ancillary fee information, cause consumer
confusion, and distort the marketplace. The Travel Technology
Association (Travel Tech) states in its petition that there is a
fundamental disputed factual issue as to whether the proposed display
requirements would benefit or harm consumers. Travel Tech also believes
that the proposed disclosures are technically infeasible and has
requested a hearing to discuss these concerns as well as the
Department's proposed time frame for compliance. In its comment on the
NPRM, Google LLC also requested a hearing based on its assertion that
the Department's analysis was flawed and that it was deficient in
providing its complaint-based evidence justifying the rulemaking. In
arguing that a hearing is in the public interest pursuant to 14 CFR
399.75, Airlines for America and Travel Tech assert that the underlying
proposed rule depends on conclusions concerning one or more specific
scientific, technical, economic, or other factual issues that are
genuinely in dispute; the ordinary public comment process is unlikely
to provide an adequate examination of the issue to permit a fully
informed judgement; the resolution of the disputed factual issues would
likely have a material effect on the costs and benefits of the proposed
rule; the requested hearing on the issue would advance the
consideration of the proposed rule and the General Counsel's ability to
make the rulemaking determinations required by the Department's
regulation; and a hearing will not unreasonably delay completion of
this rulemaking.
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\2\ See, e.g., petitions for hearing from Airlines for America,
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov/comment/DOT-OST-2022-0109-0091">https://www.regulations.gov/comment/DOT-OST-2022-0109-0091</a>, the
Travel Technology Association, <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/comment/DOT-OST-2022-0109-0239">https://www.regulations.gov/comment/DOT-OST-2022-0109-0239</a>, and Google LLC, <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/comment/DOT-OST-2022-0109-0088">https://www.regulations.gov/comment/DOT-OST-2022-0109-0088</a>.
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By a notice dated March 3, 2023, the Department granted the
requests for a public hearing and originally scheduled the hearing for
March 16, 2023.\3\ The Department noted that the scope of the hearing
would be limited to the factual issues specified in the March 3 notice.
On March 6, 2023, Airlines for America (A4A) and the Travel Technology
Association (Travel Tech) requested that the public hearing be
rescheduled and for additional explanation of the hearing procedures.
Both organizations requested that the hearing be postponed for one
month until April 17, 2023, stating that the fifteen days' notice (or
ten business days, per A4A's request) provided for the hearing was
insufficient to identify speakers and to compile data responsive to the
subjects presented in the March 3 notice. A4A also stated that it would
have difficulty finding participants due to the hearing being scheduled
during the Spring Break season. Both organizations also noted that a
public hearing on the Airline Ticket Refunds and Consumer Protections
NPRM had been scheduled for March 14,\4\ giving them inadequate time to
prepare for the March 16 hearing on the NPRM on ancillary fees.
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\3\ 88 FR 13389.
\4\ 88 FR 13387.
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A4A also reiterated its request for a neutral hearing officer to
preside over the hearing, expressing its disagreement with the
appointment of Blane Workie, the Department's Assistant General Counsel
for the Office of Aviation Consumer Protection and the Department's
designated Aviation Consumer Advocate. On March 8, 2023, the
International Air Transport
[[Page 15624]]
Association (IATA) wrote to express support for A4A and Travel Tech's
requests.
II. Rescheduling of Public Hearing
After careful consideration of the points raised by A4A and Travel
Tech, the Department has decided to reschedule its public hearing on
the Enhancing Transparency of Airline Ancillary Service Fees NPRM to
March 30, 2023. While the Department was surprised to learn that the
parties that had requested the public hearing were unprepared to
present views on the topics for which they had requested the hearing,
the Department wants to ensure that stakeholders, including the
petitioners, have an adequate opportunity to be heard on this
rulemaking and for this reason, has determined that a 14-day extension
to assist with preparation for the hearing is reasonable. As part of
this rescheduling, the length of the hearing will also be extended to
ensure adequate time is afforded to those who wish to comment. The
hearing will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET. As noted in Section IV
of this notice, if all participants have expressed their views prior to
the scheduled 5 p.m. end time, the Department may end the hearing prior
to 5 p.m.
III. Agenda, Hearing Officer, and Post-Hearing Actions
The Department has considered A4A's request for the appointment of
a different hearing officer and has decided to retain the appointment
of Blane Workie as the designated Hearing Officer. The Department notes
that the Hearing Officer's role is to preside over the hearing. In that
regard, Ms. Workie's appointment is appropriate because: (1) she is a
career civil servant who will execute this role in a neutral, fair, and
professional manner; (2) her responsibilities as an Aviation Consumer
Advocate are those that she has had as an Assistant General Counsel of
the Office of the Aviation Consumer Protection and such
responsibilities do not make her biased; and (3) the Hearing Officer's
role is to conduct the meeting using generally accepted meeting
management techniques and to not serve as a decisionmaker. As stated in
the Department's regulations in 14 CFR 399.75, the General Counsel
considers the record of the hearing and makes a reasoned determination
whether to terminate the rulemaking, proceed with the rulemaking as
proposed, or modify the proposed rule.
The regulations further require the General Counsel to explain, in
an appropriate rulemaking document published in the Federal Register,
the rationale for the post-hearing decision made by the General
Counsel. The rationale for the post-hearing decision made by the
General Counsel will be explained in any final rule or other
appropriate rulemaking document issued by the Department for this
action.
IV. Public Participation and Procedures
The March 30, 2023, hearing will begin at 9 a.m. ET, and the
Department will provide time for opening remarks by the Hearing
Officer. The meeting will then transition to public comments and
presentations. Any oral comments presented should be limited to the
subjects described in the March 3 Notice and be brief so that all
participants will have an opportunity to speak. If a meeting
participant wishes to speak on a particular topic identified in the
March 3, 2023 notice,\5\ the participant must register in advance to
speak on that topic. We ask individuals requesting to speak to specify
the length of time that they would like to have allotted to them. Based
on the number of participants who register to speak on a particular
topic, the Department will allot time to individual speakers in a way
that maximizes each speaker's ability to present their views and to
ensure a wide variety of perspectives. The Hearing Officer may ask
clarifying questions during the hearing but will otherwise reserve
speaking time after opening remarks for meeting participants. The
intent of the hearing is to ensure that the Department is able to hear
from petitioners and other interested parties regarding the issues
raised in the petition. If the volume of requests for oral comments
received and any additional comments, responses, and/or presentations
that participants may wish to make is such that all participants have
expressed their views prior to the scheduled 5 p.m. end time, the
Department may end the hearing prior to 5 p.m.
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\5\ 88 FR 13389, available at <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/03/03/2023-04510/enhancing-transparency-of-airline-ancillary-service-fees">https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/03/03/2023-04510/enhancing-transparency-of-airline-ancillary-service-fees</a>.
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Individual members of the public who wish to present oral comments
must notify the Department of Transportation, no later than Monday,
March 27 via the meeting's registration link and specify in the
registration those topics on which they wish to provide comments. All
written materials (e.g., PowerPoint presentations) presented at the
hearing will be made part of the meeting's record.
As discussed in Section V. of this notice, and consistent with the
requirement of 14 CFR 399.75, the Department plans to reopen the
comment period for this rulemaking. The comment period will remain open
through April 6, 2023. Interested parties who wish to file statements
or comments that are specifically related to the subject(s) discussed
at the hearing may submit their written comments electronically to the
NPRM Docket (DOT-OST-2022-0109).
After the hearing and after the record of the hearing is closed,
the hearing officer will place on the rulemaking docket minutes of the
hearing reflecting the evidence and arguments presented on the issues.
V. Reopening of Public Comment Period
Consistent with the procedural requirement under section 14 CFR
399.75, which provides that interested parties shall be given an
opportunity to file statements or comments after a hearing on the
proposed regulation, and in granting the Travelers United request for
additional time to submit comments, the Department is reopening the
comment period for the NPRM from March 14, 2023 through April 6, 2023.
The Department will consider any comments received from publication of
the NPRM through April 6, 2023 to be timely filed. New comments
submitted to the Docket may include, but need not be limited to,
subjects discussed in the petition for hearing and during the March 30,
2023 hearing.
VI. Viewing Documents
Documents associated with the NPRM on Enhancing Transparency of
Airline Ancillary Service Fees may be accessed in the rulemaking Docket
(DOT-OST-2022-0109). Dockets may be accessed at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. After entering the relevant docket number click
the link to ``Open Docket Folder'' and choose the document to review.
Signed in Washington, DC, on this 9th day of March 2023.
John E. Putnam,
General Counsel, U.S. Department of Transportation.
[FR Doc. 2023-05165 Filed 3-13-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P
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