Agency Information Collection; Activity Under OMB Review; Report of Passengers Denied Confirmed Space-BTS Form 251, 43272 [2013-17281]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
• Research & Innovative Technology Administration

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 139 (Friday, July 19, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Page 43272]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-17281]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Research & Innovative Technology Administration

[Docket ID Number RITA 2008-0002]


Agency Information Collection; Activity Under OMB Review; Report 
of Passengers Denied Confirmed Space--BTS Form 251

AGENCY: Research & Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), Bureau 
of Transportation Statistics (BTS), DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
Bureau of Transportation Statistics invites the general public, 
industry and other governmental parties to comment on the continuing 
need for and usefulness of BTS collecting reports on the number of 
passengers holding confirmed reservations that voluntarily or 
involuntarily give up their seats when the airline oversells the 
flight. Comments are requested concerning whether (a) the collection is 
still needed by the Department of Transportation, (b) BTS accurately 
estimated the reporting burden; (c) there are other ways to enhance the 
quality, utility and clarity of the information collected; and (d) 
there are ways to minimize reporting burden, including the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted by September 17, 2013.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cecelia Robinson, Office of Airline 
Information, RTS-42, Room E34-410, RITA, BTS, 1200 New Jersey Avenue 
SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001, Telephone Number (202) 366-4405, Fax 
Number (202) 366-3383 or EMAIL cecelia.robinson@dot.gov.

COMMENTS: Comments should identify the associated OMB approval 
2138-0018 and Docket ID Number RITA 2008-0002. Persons wishing 
the Department to acknowledge receipt of their comments must submit 
with those comments a self-addressed stamped postcard on which the 
following statement is made: Comments on OMB  2138-0018, 
Docket--RITA 2008-0002. The postcard will be date/time stamped and 
returned.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    OMB Approval No.: 2138-0018.
    Title: Report of Passengers Denied Confirmed Space.
    Form No.: BTS Form 251.
    Type of Review: Reinstatement of an expired approved collection.
    Respondents: Large certificated air carriers.
    Number of Respondents: 16.
    Number of Responses: 64.
    Total Annual Burden: 640 hours.
    Needs and Uses: BTS Form 251 is a one-page report submitted four 
times per year, on the number of passengers denied seats either 
voluntarily or involuntarily, whether these bumped passengers were 
provided alternate transportation and/or compensation, and the amount 
of the payment. U.S. air carriers that account for at least 1 percent 
of domestic scheduled-service passenger revenues must report oversales 
on all operations with 30 seats or larger aircraft that depart a U.S. 
airport.
    Carriers do not report data from inbound international flights to 
the United States because the protections of 14 CFR part 250 Oversales 
do not apply to these flights. The report allows the Department to 
monitor the effectiveness of its oversales rule and take enforcement 
action when necessary. The involuntarily denied-boarding rate has 
decreased from 4.38 per 10,000 passengers in 1980 to 0.71 for the 
quarter ended December 2011. Without Form 251, determining the 
effectiveness of the Department's oversales rule would be impossible. 
The publishing of the carriers' individual denied boarding rates has 
diminished the need for more intrusive regulation. The rate of denied 
boarding can be examined as a continuing fitness factor. This rate 
provides an insight into a carrier's customer service practices. A 
rapid sustained increase in the rate of denied boarding may indicate 
operational difficulties. Because the rate of denied boarding is 
released quarterly, travelers and travel agents can select carriers 
with lower incidences of bumping passengers. This information is 
available in the Air Travel Consumer Report at: https://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/reports/index.htm. The Air Travel Consumer 
Report is also sent to newspapers, magazines, and trade journals. The 
public availability of this information deters carriers from setting 
unreasonable overbooking rates--a market-based mechanism that is more 
efficient than direct regulation of those rates.
    The Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency 
Act of 2002 (44 U.S.C. 3501 note) requires a statistical agency to 
clearly identify information it collects for non-statistical purposes. 
BTS hereby notifies the respondents and the public that BTS uses the 
information it collects under this OMB approval for non-statistical 
purposes including, but not limited to, publication of both 
Respondent's identity and its data, submission of the information to 
agencies outside BTS for review, analysis, and possible use in 
regulatory and other administrative matters.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on July 12, 2013.
Patricia Hu,
Director, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Research and Innovative 
Technology Administration.
[FR Doc. 2013-17281 Filed 7-18-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-HY-P