Requirements Regarding Flights to College Bowl Games and Other Special Events, 76017-76019 [06-9772]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 243 / Tuesday, December 19, 2006 / Notices example, intra-day prices for treasury securities and agency securities are available from Bloomberg, TradeWeb, ABS and TRACE. Intra-day prices of callable agency securities are available from TradeWeb. Intra-day prices of corporate bonds are available from ABS, and TRACE. In addition, intraday prices for these securities are available by subscription or otherwise to Authorized Participants and clients of major U.S. broker-dealers. If the Underlying Index values or IOPV is not disseminated as described, the Exchange may halt trading during the day in which the interruption occurs. If the interruption persists past the trading day in which it occurred, the Exchange will halt trading no later than the beginning of the trading day following the interruption. The Commission believes that the trading halt rules, together with the NAV dissemination requirements, will facilitate transparency, reduce the potential for an unfair informational advantage with respect to the Shares, and diminish the potential for manipulation. C. Listing and Trading The Commission finds that the Exchange’s rules and procedures for the listing and trading of the Shares are consistent with the Act. The Shares will be subject to NYSE rules governing the trading of equity securities, including, among others, rules governing trading halts, customer suitability requirements, and the election of stop and stop limit orders. In addition, the Shares are subject to the criteria for initial and continued listing of ICUs in Section 703.16 of the NYSE Manual. The Commission believes that the listing and delisting criteria for the Shares of the Funds should help to maintain a minimum level of liquidity and, therefore, minimize the potential for manipulation of the Shares. Finally, the Commission notes that the Information Memo will inform members about the terms, characteristics, and risks in trading the Shares, including their prospectus delivery obligations. hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with NOTICES Accelerated Approval NYSE has requested that the Commission find good cause for approving the proposed rule change, as amended, prior to the thirtieth day after the date of publication of notice thereof in the Federal Register. The Commission notes that the proposal is consistent with the NYSE’s listing and trading standards, and the Commission has previously approved similar VerDate Aug<31>2005 17:07 Dec 18, 2006 Jkt 211001 products.41 Based on the above, the Commission finds good cause to accelerate approval of the proposed rule change, as amended. It is therefore ordered, pursuant to Section 19(b)(2) of the Act 42 that the proposed rule change, as amended, (SR– NYSE–2006–70) is hereby approved on an accelerated basis. For the Commission, by the Division of Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated authority.43 Nancy M. Morris, Secretary. [FR Doc. E6–21585 Filed 12–18–06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8011–01–P SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Disaster Declaration #10748 and #10749 Pennsylvania Disaster #PA– 00006 Small Business Administration. Notice. AGENCY: ACTION: This is a notice of an Administrative declaration of a disaster for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania dated 12/11/2006. Incident: Severe storm and flooding Incident Period: 11/16/2006 through 11/17/2006 Effective Date: 12/11/2006 Physical Loan Application Deadline Date: 02/09/2007. Economic Injury (EIDL) Loan Application Deadline Date: 09/11/2007. ADDRESSES: Submit completed loan applications to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A. Escobar, Office of Disaster Assistance, U.S. Small Business Administration, 409 3rd Street, SW., Suite 6050, Washington, DC 20416. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is hereby given that as a result of the Administrator’s disaster declaration, applications for disaster loans may be filed at the address listed above or other locally announced locations. SUMMARY: 41 See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 48881 (December 4, 2003), 68 FR 69739 (December 15, 2003) (SR–NYSE–2003–39) (relating to the iShares Lehman U.S. Aggregate Bond Fund and iShares Lehman TIPS Bond Fund); and 46299 (August 1, 2002), 67 FR 51907 (August 9, 2002) (SR–NYSE–2002–26) (relating to the iShares 1–3 Year Treasury Index Fund, iShares 7–10 Year Treasury Index Fund, iShares 20+ Year Treasury Index Fund, iShares Treasury Index Fund, iShares Government/Credit Index Fund, iShares Lehman Corporate Bond Fund, and iShares Goldman Sachs Corporate Bond Fund). 42 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2). 43 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). PO 00000 Frm 00086 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 76017 The following areas have been determined to be adversely affected by the disaster: Primary County: Luzerne. Contiguous Counties: Pennsylvania; Carbon; Columbia; Lackawanna; Monroe; Schuylkill; Sullivan; Wyoming. The Interest Rates are: Percent Homeowners with Credit Available Elsewhere ................................... Homeowners without Credit Available Elsewhere ........................... Businesses with Credit Available Elsewhere ................................... Businesses & Small Agricultural Cooperatives without Credit Available Elsewhere .................... Other (Including Non-Profit Organizations) with Credit Available Elsewhere ................................... Businesses and Non-Profit Organizations without Credit Available Elsewhere ................................... 6.000 3.000 8.000 4.000 5.250 4.000 The number assigned to this disaster for physical damage is 10748 6 and for economic injury is 10749 0. The Commonwealth which received an EIDL Declaration # is Pennsylvania. (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Numbers 59002 and 59008) Dated: December 11, 2006. Steven C. Preston, Administrator. [FR Doc. E6–21576 Filed 12–18–06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8025–01–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Office of the Secretary Requirements Regarding Flights to College Bowl Games and Other Special Events Office of the Secretary, Department of Transportation. ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: SUMMARY: The Department is publishing the following notice providing guidance to colleges and other organizations wishing to arrange charter flights to football bowl games, NCAA basketball playoff games, or other special events. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dayton Lehman, Jr., Deputy Assistant General Counsel, or Lisa SwaffordBrooks, Senior Attorney, Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings (C–70), 400 7th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590, (202) 366–9342. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice of Department of Transportation Requirements Regarding Flights to E:\FR\FM\19DEN1.SGM 19DEN1 76018 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 243 / Tuesday, December 19, 2006 / Notices hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with NOTICES College Bowl Games and other Special Events. This notice is to provide guidance to colleges and other organizations wishing to arrange charter flights, including flights to football bowl games, NCAA basketball playoff games, or other special events. The notice is also intended to provide information regarding the economic licensing and operational certification of air carriers by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). It is important that colleges and other entities are fully aware of this information since they often charter aircraft to travel to events and we wish to avoid instances of organizations (1) contracting with entities that hold no DOT economic authority; (2) unknowingly chartering aircraft from entities that are not subject to the most stringent safety standards and oversight of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a DOT operating administration; or (3) reselling seats on a charter flight without their first having obtained proper authority to do so. There are generally two primary avenues whereby a college or other entity may seek to sponsor air transportation to a college bowl game or other special event. The organization may choose to (1) contract directly with a carrier to provide the air transportation to the bowl game or other special event or (2) contract with a Public Charter Operator or an air charter broker, who would, in turn, locate a direct air carrier to provide the air transportation. Contracting Directly With an Air Carrier If the college or other entity chooses to contract with the air carrier directly, they should be aware of the economic requirements that govern the carrier’s operations. Before any U.S. aircraft operator can hold itself out to the public as providing interstate scheduled or charter service, it must have DOT economic authority. In general, such authority is granted to large aircraft operators in the form of an air carrier certificate issued under 49 U.S.C. 41101. Prior to granting such authority, this Department must find a carrier to be ‘‘fit’’, which entails a determination that the carrier has adequate financial resources, a competent management team and a proper compliance disposition. This fitness requirement is a continuing one and we monitor certificated carriers to ensure their compliance with the requirement. In addition, certificated carriers must meet certain DOT economic rules such as minimum liability insurance requirements (see, 14 CFR part 205) and VerDate Aug<31>2005 17:07 Dec 18, 2006 Jkt 211001 escrow requirements to protect charterers (see, 14 CFR part 212). Likewise, the FAA requires that any U.S. aircraft operator providing scheduled or charter service with large aircraft must comply with the safetyrelated certification and operating rules of part 121 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR part 121). Those regulations are the most detailed and stringent of any of the FAA’s aircraft operating rules and the FAA provides heightened safety surveillance of carriers subject to part 121. There are, however, operators of large, jet-powered passenger aircraft that are not required to have DOT economic authority or to comply with 14 CFR part 121. These operators are regulated under the safety standards of part 125 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR Part 125). While these aircraft operators may conduct ‘‘private’’ air services for a few entities for compensation or hire, they do not have authority to transport the general public by engaging in common carriage (e.g., holding out to the general public, or a segment of the general public such as colleges, through advertisements or telephone listings or through agents or brokers, or otherwise acquiring a reputation for common carriage). Since carriers operating under part 125 are not authorized to hold out to the general public, part 125 does not contain safety standards as stringent as part 121. Likewise, carriers lawfully operating under part 125 hold no economic license from DOT and are not required to comply with DOT’s insurance or monetary escrow requirements. You should therefore inquire about the specific authority under which the carrier you will be using will operate. In addition to determining whether the air carrier has appropriate authority, any organization that contracts with an air carrier directly and wishes to resell seats on the charter flight to the public (for example, to its students or alumni, to the press, or to its club members), whether or not as a profit-making venture, should understand its own role as an ‘‘indirect air carrier,’’ whose reselling of the air transportation must be licensed under the Department’s Public Charter regulations. Public Charter operators must comply with the requirements of 14 CFR Part 380. Among the most important requirements of 14 CFR Part 380 are the rules designed to prevent economic harm to charter passengers, including the requirements that (1) before any sales of seats takes place there is in place an approved Public Charter prospectus based upon a contract between the charter operator and a PO 00000 Frm 00087 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 direct air carrier covering the transportation to be sold and (2) all payments by charter participants to charter operators be covered in full by a security agreement or in part by a security agreement with the payments themselves being placed directly into an escrow account. There are other specific rules governing Public Charter solicitation and the content of the charter contract between the Public Charter operator and the charter participants, including provisions on the cancellation of trips and a participant’s right to a refund. Exemptions From the Public Charter Requirements We recognize that organizations may have only a short time after learning of an event in which to organize participation in a charter flight, such as might occur with a bowl game or NCAA basketball playoff appearance. The Department has always been willing to work with organizations that can show that an exemption from certain of its rules is in the public interest. While such matters are reviewed on a case-bycase basis, in seeking such relief, an organization should be prepared to show, at a minimum, that it has a contract with a carrier holding appropriate authority for the flight and that appropriate financial arrangements are in place to protect consumer payments. Using a Public Charter Operator or an Air Charter Broker Organizations may contract with a Public Charter operator to organize a charter flight. Any organization that does so should assure itself that the Public Charter operator has complied with the requirements of part 380, as described above (and part 381, where applicable, as described below). Organizations may also contract directly with an air carrier through an ‘‘air charter broker.’’ An air charter broker cannot misrepresent itself as an air carrier and, because it does not hold authority from the Department, it cannot in its own right contract to sell air transportation. Therefore, it must generally have authority to act either (1) as the agent of a chartering organization in contracting with an air carrier or (2) as the agent of the air carrier in contracting with a chartering organization. Air charter brokers also may act merely as a ‘‘go-between’’ without being involved in the actual contract between the carrier and the charter customer, e.g., by locating a customer for an air carrier and being paid a finder’s fee by the carrier, but this is a rare occurrence. E:\FR\FM\19DEN1.SGM 19DEN1 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 243 / Tuesday, December 19, 2006 / Notices Organizations using air charter brokers should be aware that, since the Department does not license air charter brokers, there is no DOT-required financial security in place to protect an organization’s payments to a broker that is the lawful agent of the organization or who acts in a ‘‘go-between’’ function. With respect to air charter brokers that state that they are acting as the agent of one or more air carriers, prior to signing a contract for air services organizations should take steps to assure themselves of the agency relationship and that the carrier represented is properly licensed by DOT and FAA to provide the air transportation.1 hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with NOTICES Tickets to a Game or Other Special Event Sold in Conjunction With a Flight It is also important to note that specific rules apply to situations where tickets to a game or other special event are being offered in conjunction with a flight, whether it is a charter flight or a regularly scheduled flight. Under 14 CFR Part 381, an entity that offers special event or game tickets in connection with a flight must be in physical possession of a sufficient number of tickets or have a written contract for the tickets, which must be directly traceable to the actual sponsor of the game or other special event. Failure to meet Part 381’s requirements can entitle a participant to a full refund, including the price of the air fare. We seek the chartering public’s cooperation and assistance to ensure that they arrange an enjoyable and secure traveling experience. If you have any questions or desire additional information, please contact Dayton Lehman, Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings, or Lisa Swafford-Brooks, Senior Attorney in that office, at (202) 366–9342. If you wish to ascertain whether a particular aircraft operator has DOT air carrier economic authority, you may contact Bill Bertram, Chief of the Air Carrier Fitness Division at (202) 366–1062. An unofficial electronic version of this document is available on the World Wide Web at https://dms.dot.gov/reports and at https://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/ rules/guidance.htm 1 On October 8, 2004, this office issued a notice regarding the lawful role of air charter brokers in the provision of air transportation and our enforcement policy covering such operations. The notice, which was published in the Federal Register, provides information on a variety of topics involving air charter brokers, including contracting procedures and marketing. 69 FR 61429, Oct. 18, 2004; erratum published 69 FR 62321, Oct. 25, 2004. The notice may be found on the office’s website at: https://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/rules/ BrokerNoticeFinal.pdf. VerDate Aug<31>2005 17:07 Dec 18, 2006 Jkt 211001 Dated: December 13, 2006. Samuel Podberesky, Assistant General Counsel for Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings. [FR Doc. 06–9772 Filed 12–14–06; 4:01 pm] BILLING CODE 4910–9X–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Highway Administration [FHWA Docket No. FHWA–2006–24902] Final List of Nationally and Exceptionally Significant Features of the Federal Interstate Highway System Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT. ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: SUMMARY: The FHWA is issuing this notice to announce the final list of nationally and exceptionally significant features of the Federal Interstate Highway System. The list is available at https://www.environment.fhwa.dot.gov/ histpres/highways.asp. In developing the final list, the FHWA considered public comments received on the preliminary list of exceptional elements, which was published in the Federal Register on June 16, 2006 (71 FR 34988). This notice summarizes those comments. Exemptions of the Interstate Highway System from consideration as historic property under the provisions of section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act of 1966 1 will not apply to the elements on this list. DATES: The final list of nationally and exceptionally significant features of the Federal Interstate Highway System is effective December 19, 2006. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: MaryAnn Naber, HEPE, (202) 366–2060; Federal Highway Administration; 400 7th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590; Harold Aikens, Office of the Chief Counsel, HCC–30, (202) 366–0791; Federal Highway Administration, 400 7th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590– 0001. Office hours are from 7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 1 Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act of 1966 was technically repealed in 1983 when it was codified without substantive change and 49 U.S.C. 303. A provision with the same meaning is found at 23 U.S.C. 138 and applies only to FHWA actions. We continue to refer to section 4(f) as such because it would create needless confusion to do otherwise; the policies section 4(f) engendered are widely referred to as ‘‘Section 4(f)’’ matters. PO 00000 Frm 00088 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 76019 Electronic Access and Filing Internet users may access all comments received by the U.S. DOT Dockets, Room PL–401, by using the universal resource locator (URL) for the Document Management System (DMS) at https://dms.dot.gov. The DMS is available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. An electronic copy of this document may be downloaded by using the Internet to reach the Office of the Federal Register’s home page at https:// www.archives.gov and the Government Printing Office’s Web site at https:// www.access.gpo.gov/nara. I. Background As the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways (Interstate System) approached its 50th Anniversary, the potential for vast sections of highway to reach the mark at which resources are often evaluated for historic significance raised the issue of an overwhelming administrative burden for the myriad routine undertakings affecting the Interstate System. Accordingly, on February 18, 2005, the Section 106 Exemption Regarding Effects to the Interstate Highway System was adopted by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) to minimize the administrative burden on agencies responsible for highway maintenance and improvements.2 This exemption effectively excluded the majority of the 46,700-mile Interstate System from consideration as a historic property under section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). In addition, the recently enacted Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA–LU) reauthorization legislation (Pub. L. 109–59, August 10, 2005) included a provision (Section 6007) that exempts the bulk of the Interstate System from consideration as an historic property under section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act. With these two exemptions in place, all Federal agencies are no longer required to consider the vast majority of the Interstate System as historic property under Section 106 and Section 4(f) requirements. Interstate improvement projects are still subject to these respective processes with regard to those resources listed on or eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places that are not integral parts of the Interstate System. 2 The ACHP’s approved exemption was published in the Federal Register on March 10, 2005, at 70 FR 11928. E:\FR\FM\19DEN1.SGM 19DEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 243 (Tuesday, December 19, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76017-76019]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-9772]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary


Requirements Regarding Flights to College Bowl Games and Other 
Special Events

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Department is publishing the following notice providing 
guidance to colleges and other organizations wishing to arrange charter 
flights to football bowl games, NCAA basketball playoff games, or other 
special events.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dayton Lehman, Jr., Deputy Assistant 
General Counsel, or Lisa Swafford-Brooks, Senior Attorney, Office of 
Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings (C-70), 400 7th Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20590, (202) 366-9342.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice of Department of Transportation 
Requirements Regarding Flights to

[[Page 76018]]

College Bowl Games and other Special Events.
    This notice is to provide guidance to colleges and other 
organizations wishing to arrange charter flights, including flights to 
football bowl games, NCAA basketball playoff games, or other special 
events. The notice is also intended to provide information regarding 
the economic licensing and operational certification of air carriers by 
the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). It is important that 
colleges and other entities are fully aware of this information since 
they often charter aircraft to travel to events and we wish to avoid 
instances of organizations (1) contracting with entities that hold no 
DOT economic authority; (2) unknowingly chartering aircraft from 
entities that are not subject to the most stringent safety standards 
and oversight of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a DOT 
operating administration; or (3) reselling seats on a charter flight 
without their first having obtained proper authority to do so.
    There are generally two primary avenues whereby a college or other 
entity may seek to sponsor air transportation to a college bowl game or 
other special event. The organization may choose to (1) contract 
directly with a carrier to provide the air transportation to the bowl 
game or other special event or (2) contract with a Public Charter 
Operator or an air charter broker, who would, in turn, locate a direct 
air carrier to provide the air transportation.

Contracting Directly With an Air Carrier

    If the college or other entity chooses to contract with the air 
carrier directly, they should be aware of the economic requirements 
that govern the carrier's operations. Before any U.S. aircraft operator 
can hold itself out to the public as providing interstate scheduled or 
charter service, it must have DOT economic authority. In general, such 
authority is granted to large aircraft operators in the form of an air 
carrier certificate issued under 49 U.S.C. 41101. Prior to granting 
such authority, this Department must find a carrier to be ``fit'', 
which entails a determination that the carrier has adequate financial 
resources, a competent management team and a proper compliance 
disposition. This fitness requirement is a continuing one and we 
monitor certificated carriers to ensure their compliance with the 
requirement. In addition, certificated carriers must meet certain DOT 
economic rules such as minimum liability insurance requirements (see, 
14 CFR part 205) and escrow requirements to protect charterers (see, 14 
CFR part 212).
    Likewise, the FAA requires that any U.S. aircraft operator 
providing scheduled or charter service with large aircraft must comply 
with the safety-related certification and operating rules of part 121 
of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR part 121). Those 
regulations are the most detailed and stringent of any of the FAA's 
aircraft operating rules and the FAA provides heightened safety 
surveillance of carriers subject to part 121.
    There are, however, operators of large, jet-powered passenger 
aircraft that are not required to have DOT economic authority or to 
comply with 14 CFR part 121. These operators are regulated under the 
safety standards of part 125 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 
CFR Part 125). While these aircraft operators may conduct ``private'' 
air services for a few entities for compensation or hire, they do not 
have authority to transport the general public by engaging in common 
carriage (e.g., holding out to the general public, or a segment of the 
general public such as colleges, through advertisements or telephone 
listings or through agents or brokers, or otherwise acquiring a 
reputation for common carriage). Since carriers operating under part 
125 are not authorized to hold out to the general public, part 125 does 
not contain safety standards as stringent as part 121. Likewise, 
carriers lawfully operating under part 125 hold no economic license 
from DOT and are not required to comply with DOT's insurance or 
monetary escrow requirements. You should therefore inquire about the 
specific authority under which the carrier you will be using will 
operate.
    In addition to determining whether the air carrier has appropriate 
authority, any organization that contracts with an air carrier directly 
and wishes to resell seats on the charter flight to the public (for 
example, to its students or alumni, to the press, or to its club 
members), whether or not as a profit-making venture, should understand 
its own role as an ``indirect air carrier,'' whose reselling of the air 
transportation must be licensed under the Department's Public Charter 
regulations.
    Public Charter operators must comply with the requirements of 14 
CFR Part 380. Among the most important requirements of 14 CFR Part 380 
are the rules designed to prevent economic harm to charter passengers, 
including the requirements that (1) before any sales of seats takes 
place there is in place an approved Public Charter prospectus based 
upon a contract between the charter operator and a direct air carrier 
covering the transportation to be sold and (2) all payments by charter 
participants to charter operators be covered in full by a security 
agreement or in part by a security agreement with the payments 
themselves being placed directly into an escrow account. There are 
other specific rules governing Public Charter solicitation and the 
content of the charter contract between the Public Charter operator and 
the charter participants, including provisions on the cancellation of 
trips and a participant's right to a refund.

Exemptions From the Public Charter Requirements

    We recognize that organizations may have only a short time after 
learning of an event in which to organize participation in a charter 
flight, such as might occur with a bowl game or NCAA basketball playoff 
appearance. The Department has always been willing to work with 
organizations that can show that an exemption from certain of its rules 
is in the public interest. While such matters are reviewed on a case-
by-case basis, in seeking such relief, an organization should be 
prepared to show, at a minimum, that it has a contract with a carrier 
holding appropriate authority for the flight and that appropriate 
financial arrangements are in place to protect consumer payments.

Using a Public Charter Operator or an Air Charter Broker

    Organizations may contract with a Public Charter operator to 
organize a charter flight. Any organization that does so should assure 
itself that the Public Charter operator has complied with the 
requirements of part 380, as described above (and part 381, where 
applicable, as described below). Organizations may also contract 
directly with an air carrier through an ``air charter broker.'' An air 
charter broker cannot misrepresent itself as an air carrier and, 
because it does not hold authority from the Department, it cannot in 
its own right contract to sell air transportation. Therefore, it must 
generally have authority to act either (1) as the agent of a chartering 
organization in contracting with an air carrier or (2) as the agent of 
the air carrier in contracting with a chartering organization. Air 
charter brokers also may act merely as a ``go-between'' without being 
involved in the actual contract between the carrier and the charter 
customer, e.g., by locating a customer for an air carrier and being 
paid a finder's fee by the carrier, but this is a rare occurrence.

[[Page 76019]]

    Organizations using air charter brokers should be aware that, since 
the Department does not license air charter brokers, there is no DOT-
required financial security in place to protect an organization's 
payments to a broker that is the lawful agent of the organization or 
who acts in a ``go-between'' function. With respect to air charter 
brokers that state that they are acting as the agent of one or more air 
carriers, prior to signing a contract for air services organizations 
should take steps to assure themselves of the agency relationship and 
that the carrier represented is properly licensed by DOT and FAA to 
provide the air transportation.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ On October 8, 2004, this office issued a notice regarding 
the lawful role of air charter brokers in the provision of air 
transportation and our enforcement policy covering such operations. 
The notice, which was published in the Federal Register, provides 
information on a variety of topics involving air charter brokers, 
including contracting procedures and marketing. 69 FR 61429, Oct. 
18, 2004; erratum published 69 FR 62321, Oct. 25, 2004. The notice 
may be found on the office's website at: https://
airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/rules/BrokerNoticeFinal.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tickets to a Game or Other Special Event Sold in Conjunction With a 
Flight

    It is also important to note that specific rules apply to 
situations where tickets to a game or other special event are being 
offered in conjunction with a flight, whether it is a charter flight or 
a regularly scheduled flight. Under 14 CFR Part 381, an entity that 
offers special event or game tickets in connection with a flight must 
be in physical possession of a sufficient number of tickets or have a 
written contract for the tickets, which must be directly traceable to 
the actual sponsor of the game or other special event. Failure to meet 
Part 381's requirements can entitle a participant to a full refund, 
including the price of the air fare.
    We seek the chartering public's cooperation and assistance to 
ensure that they arrange an enjoyable and secure traveling experience. 
If you have any questions or desire additional information, please 
contact Dayton Lehman, Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Aviation 
Enforcement and Proceedings, or Lisa Swafford-Brooks, Senior Attorney 
in that office, at (202) 366-9342. If you wish to ascertain whether a 
particular aircraft operator has DOT air carrier economic authority, 
you may contact Bill Bertram, Chief of the Air Carrier Fitness Division 
at (202) 366-1062.
    An unofficial electronic version of this document is available on 
the World Wide Web at https://dms.dot.gov/reports and at https://
airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/rules/guidance.htm

    Dated: December 13, 2006.
Samuel Podberesky,
Assistant General Counsel for Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings.
[FR Doc. 06-9772 Filed 12-14-06; 4:01 pm]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P

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