Transparency of Airline Ancillary Fees and Other Consumer Protection Issues, 45731-45732 [2014-18525]
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45731
Proposed Rules
Federal Register
Vol. 79, No. 151
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER
contains notices to the public of the proposed
issuance of rules and regulations. The
purpose of these notices is to give interested
persons an opportunity to participate in the
rule making prior to the adoption of the final
rules.
Manager, Building Technologies Office,
Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE), 950 L’Enfant Plaza SW.,
Washington, DC 20024. Phone: 202–
586–6590; Email: asrac@ee.doe.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Purpose of Meeting
[Docket No. EERE–2011–BT–CE–0077]
10 CFR Part 460
Appliance Standards and Rulemaking
Federal Advisory Committee
(ASRAC)—Regional Standards
Enforcement Working Group
Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy, Department of
Energy.
ACTION: Notice of open meeting.
AGENCY:
This notice announces an
open meeting for the Regional Standards
Enforcement Working Group (RSE
Working Group). The purpose of the
working group will be to discuss and, if
possible, reach consensus on a proposed
rule for the energy efficiency of
requirements of enforcement of regional
standards, as authorized by the Energy
Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) of
1975, as amended.
DATES: A two-day, open meeting will be
held on:
Wednesday, August 13; 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
(EDT) and
Thursday, August 14; 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
(EDT).
Foreign nationals wishing to
participate in the meeting must respond
by email to asrac@ee.doe.gov as soon as
possible, to initiate the necessary
security screening procedures.
ADDRESSES: Wednesday: U.S.
Department of Energy, Forrestal
Building, 1000 Independence Avenue
SW., Washington, DC 20585, Room 8E–
089. Thursday: 950 L’Enfant Plaza
Washington, DC 20024, room 6097/8/9.
Individuals will also have the
opportunity to participate by webinar.
Webinar: To register for the webinar
and receive call-in information, please
register for Wednesday, August 13 at
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/
831773864 and for Thursday, August 14
at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/
register/916598880.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Ashley Armstrong, Lead Project
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The purpose of the working group
will be to discuss and, if possible, reach
consensus on a proposed rule for the
enforcement of regional energy
efficiency standards for split-system
central air conditioners and singlepackage central air conditioners, as
authorized by the Energy Policy and
Conservation Act (EPCA) of 1975, as
amended.
Tentative Agenda: (Subject to change):
• Overview of Working Group’s Task
• Discussion and formation of a work
plan for the RSE Working Group to
accomplish its objectives.
Public Participation
Members of the public are welcome to
observe the business of the meeting and,
if time allows, may make oral
statements during the specified period
for public comment. To attend the
meeting and/or to make oral statements
regarding any of the items on the
agenda, email asrac@ee.doe.gov. In the
email, please indicate your name,
organization (if appropriate),
citizenship, and contact information.
Please note that foreign nationals
visiting DOE Headquarters are subject to
advance security screening procedures.
Any foreign national wishing to
participate in the meeting should advise
ASRAC staff as soon as possible by
emailing asrac@ee.doe.gov to initiate
the necessary procedures, as soon as
possible. Anyone attending the meeting
will be required to present a government
photo identification, such as a passport,
driver’s license, or government
identification. Due to the required
security screening upon entry,
individuals attending should arrive
early to allow for the extra time needed.
Members of the public will be heard
in the order in which they request to
make a statement at the public meeting.
Time allotted per speaker will depend
on the number of individuals who wish
to speak but will not exceed five
minutes. Reasonable provision will be
made to include the scheduled oral
statements on the agenda. The co-chairs
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of the Committee will make every effort
to hear the views of all interested parties
and to facilitate the orderly conduct of
business.
Participation in the meeting is not a
prerequisite for submission of written
comments. ASRAC invites written
comments from all interested parties
during the course of the negotiations. If
you would like to file a written
statement with the committee, you may
do so either by submitting a hard or
electronic copy before or after the
meeting. Electronic copy of written
statements should be emailed to asrac@
ee.doe.gov.
Minutes: All notices, public
comments, public meeting transcripts,
and supporting documents associated
with this working group are included in
Docket No. EERE–2011–BT–CE–0077.
Issued in Washington, DC, on July 31,
2014.
Kathleen B. Hogan,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy
Efficiency, Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy.
[FR Doc. 2014–18567 Filed 8–5–14; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary
14 CFR Parts 234, 244, 250, 255, 256,
257, 259, and 399
[Docket No. DOT–OST–2014–0056]
RIN 2105–AE11
Transparency of Airline Ancillary Fees
and Other Consumer Protection Issues
Office of the Secretary (OST),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Extension of comment period on
proposed rule.
AGENCY:
This action extends the
comment period for an NPRM on
transparency of airline ancillary fees
and other consumer protection issues
that was published in the Federal
Register on May 23, 2014. The
Department of Transportation is
extending the period for interested
persons to submit comments on this
rulemaking from August 21, 2014, to
September 22, 2014. This extension is a
result of a joint petition filed by a
number of airline associations to extend
the comment period for the proposal.
SUMMARY:
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45732
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 151 / Wednesday, August 6, 2014 / Proposed Rules
Comments must be received by
September 22, 2014. Comments received
after this date will be considered to the
extent practicable.
ADDRESSES: You may file comments
identified by the docket number DOT–
OST–2014–0056 by any of the following
methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: go to
https://www.regulations.gov and follow
the online instructions for submitting
comments.
• Mail: Docket Management Facility,
U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200
New Jersey Ave. SE., Room W12–140,
Washington, DC 20590–0001.
• Hand Delivery or Courier: West
Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140,
1200 New Jersey Ave. SE., between
9:00a.m. and 5:00p.m. ET, Monday
through Friday, except Federal
Holidays.
• Fax: (202) 493–2251.
Instructions: You must include the
agency name and docket number DOT–
OST–2014–0056 or the Regulatory
Identification Number, RIN No. 2105–
AE11, for the rulemaking at the
beginning of your comment. All
comments received will be posted
without change to https://
www.regulations.gov, 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, a
business, a labor union, etc.). You may
review DOT’s complete Privacy Act
statement in the Federal Register
published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR
19477–78), or you may visit https://
Docketslnfo.dot.gov.
Docket: For access to the docket to
read background documents or
comments received, go to https://
www.regulations.gov or to the street
address listed above. Follow the online
instructions for accessing the docket.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Kimberly Graber or Blane A. Workie,
Office of the Assistant General Counsel
for Aviation Enforcement and
Proceedings, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave.
SE., Washington, DC 20590, 202–366–
9342 (phone), 202–366–7152 (fax),
Kimberly.graber@dot.gov or
blane.workie@dot.gov (email).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May
23, 2014, the Department published a
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM)
on transparency of airline ancillary fees
and other consumer protection issues,
including clarifying and codifying the
Department’s interpretation of the
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DATES:
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statutory definition of ‘‘ticket agent;’’
expanding the pool of ‘‘reporting’’
carriers; requiring enhanced reporting
by mainline carriers for their domestic
code-share partner operations; requiring
large travel agents to adopt minimum
customer service standards; codifying
the statutory requirement that carriers
and ticket agents disclose any airline
code-share arrangements on their Web
sites; and prohibiting unfair and
deceptive practices such as undisclosed
biasing in schedule and fare displays
and post-purchase price increases.
Additionally, this NPRM would correct
drafting errors and make minor changes
to the Department’s second Enhancing
Airline Passenger Protections rule to
conform to guidance issued by the
Department’s Office of Aviation
Enforcement and Proceedings
(Enforcement Office) regarding its
interpretation of the rule. See 79 FR
29970 (May 23, 2014). Comments on the
matters proposed were to be received 90
days after publication of the NPRM, or
by August 21, 2014.
We received a joint petition for a 90day extension of the comment period for
this rulemaking by Airlines for America
(A4A), the International Air
Transportation Association (IATA), and
the Regional Airline Association (RAA).
According to this petition, the extension
is appropriate because the NPRM
proposes significant new regulations on
U.S. and foreign carriers and ticket
agents, in addition to requesting
information and views on dozens of
topics that could materially alter the
proposal. The petitioners also state that
the proposed rule would expand the
regulated community by covering
previously unregulated entities and
commercial relationships. Further, the
petitioners point out that the Regulatory
Impact Analysis (RIA) accompanying
the NPRM requests information on a
number of proposals and alternatives
and more time is needed to provide the
Department with the extensive
information it requests.
We received four comments generally
in support of this joint petition. Spirit
Airlines supports the joint petition and
its underlying rationale. Airline Tariff
Publishing Company (ATPCO) also
agrees with the petition particularly
because of the complex technical
questions raised by the NRPM in
relation to implementing the proposal of
enhancing transparency in airline
ancillary fees. Open Allies for Airfare
Transparency urges the Department not
to prolong the adoption of a rule that
would enhance airline pricing
transparency but also recognizes the
complexity of the proposals in this
NPRM. Therefore, it supports a
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‘‘reasonable extension’’ period of less
than 90 days. Travelers United opposes
any extension to the comment period for
the proposal to enhance transparency of
ancillary fees and states that this topic
has been debated and commented for
three years. It also opposes an extension
to the comment period proposals related
to reporting issues. Also recognizing the
complexity of the NPRM, Travelers
United supports a limited extension to
the comment period for other topics
such as codifying the definition of ticket
agent, requiring large travel agents to
adopt customer service standards,
transparency of codeshare operations,
and disclosure of biasing in schedule
and fare displays.
While we concur with the requests for
an extension of the comment period, we
believe that a 90-day extension would
be excessive. We have decided to grant
an extension of 30 days, or until
September 22, 2014, for the public to
comment on the NPRM. We believe this
extension is appropriate in balancing
the need for additional time for
comments and the need to proceed
expeditiously with this important
rulemaking. We note that the proposal
to enhance airline ancillary fee
transparency, which is the proposal in
this NPRM that involves the most
technical complexities, was one of the
proposals in the Department’s 2010
Enhancing Airline Passenger Protection
rulemaking. In the final rule of that
rulemaking, we deferred final action on
this matter to a future rulemaking.
Therefore, the interested parties have
been on notice that we intended to
further explore this topic in a
subsequent rulemaking. We further note
that with this additional 30 days we are
granting here, interested parties will
have total of 120 days to comment on
the proposals, which we believe is
adequate time for analysis and
coordination regarding the proposals.
Accordingly, the Department finds
that good cause exists to extend the time
for comments on the proposed rule from
August 21, 2014, to September 22, 2014.
We do not anticipate any further
extension of the comment period for
this rulemaking.
Issued this 31st day of July, 2014, in
Washington, DC.
Kathryn B. Thomson,
General Counsel, Office of Regulation and
Enforcement, U.S. Department of
Transportation.
[FR Doc. 2014–18525 Filed 8–5–14; 8:45 am]
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 151 (Wednesday, August 6, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 45731-45732]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-18525]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary
14 CFR Parts 234, 244, 250, 255, 256, 257, 259, and 399
[Docket No. DOT-OST-2014-0056]
RIN 2105-AE11
Transparency of Airline Ancillary Fees and Other Consumer
Protection Issues
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary (OST), Department of Transportation
(DOT).
ACTION: Extension of comment period on proposed rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This action extends the comment period for an NPRM on
transparency of airline ancillary fees and other consumer protection
issues that was published in the Federal Register on May 23, 2014. The
Department of Transportation is extending the period for interested
persons to submit comments on this rulemaking from August 21, 2014, to
September 22, 2014. This extension is a result of a joint petition
filed by a number of airline associations to extend the comment period
for the proposal.
[[Page 45732]]
DATES: Comments must be received by September 22, 2014. Comments
received after this date will be considered to the extent practicable.
ADDRESSES: You may file comments identified by the docket number DOT-
OST-2014-0056 by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: go to https://www.regulations.gov and follow the online instructions for submitting
comments.
Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE., Room W12-140, Washington, DC
20590-0001.
Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building Ground Floor, Room
W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE., between 9:00a.m. and 5:00p.m. ET,
Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays.
Fax: (202) 493-2251.
Instructions: You must include the agency name and docket number
DOT-OST-2014-0056 or the Regulatory Identification Number, RIN No.
2105-AE11, for the rulemaking at the beginning of your comment. All
comments received will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov, 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, a business, a labor union, etc.). You may review
DOT's complete Privacy Act statement in the Federal Register published
on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-78), or you may visit https://Docketslnfo.dot.gov.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov or to the street
address listed above. Follow the online instructions for accessing the
docket.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kimberly Graber or Blane A. Workie,
Office of the Assistant General Counsel for Aviation Enforcement and
Proceedings, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave.
SE., Washington, DC 20590, 202-366-9342 (phone), 202-366-7152 (fax),
Kimberly.graber@dot.gov or blane.workie@dot.gov (email).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 23, 2014, the Department published a
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on transparency of airline
ancillary fees and other consumer protection issues, including
clarifying and codifying the Department's interpretation of the
statutory definition of ``ticket agent;'' expanding the pool of
``reporting'' carriers; requiring enhanced reporting by mainline
carriers for their domestic code-share partner operations; requiring
large travel agents to adopt minimum customer service standards;
codifying the statutory requirement that carriers and ticket agents
disclose any airline code-share arrangements on their Web sites; and
prohibiting unfair and deceptive practices such as undisclosed biasing
in schedule and fare displays and post-purchase price increases.
Additionally, this NPRM would correct drafting errors and make minor
changes to the Department's second Enhancing Airline Passenger
Protections rule to conform to guidance issued by the Department's
Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings (Enforcement Office)
regarding its interpretation of the rule. See 79 FR 29970 (May 23,
2014). Comments on the matters proposed were to be received 90 days
after publication of the NPRM, or by August 21, 2014.
We received a joint petition for a 90-day extension of the comment
period for this rulemaking by Airlines for America (A4A), the
International Air Transportation Association (IATA), and the Regional
Airline Association (RAA). According to this petition, the extension is
appropriate because the NPRM proposes significant new regulations on
U.S. and foreign carriers and ticket agents, in addition to requesting
information and views on dozens of topics that could materially alter
the proposal. The petitioners also state that the proposed rule would
expand the regulated community by covering previously unregulated
entities and commercial relationships. Further, the petitioners point
out that the Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) accompanying the NPRM
requests information on a number of proposals and alternatives and more
time is needed to provide the Department with the extensive information
it requests.
We received four comments generally in support of this joint
petition. Spirit Airlines supports the joint petition and its
underlying rationale. Airline Tariff Publishing Company (ATPCO) also
agrees with the petition particularly because of the complex technical
questions raised by the NRPM in relation to implementing the proposal
of enhancing transparency in airline ancillary fees. Open Allies for
Airfare Transparency urges the Department not to prolong the adoption
of a rule that would enhance airline pricing transparency but also
recognizes the complexity of the proposals in this NPRM. Therefore, it
supports a ``reasonable extension'' period of less than 90 days.
Travelers United opposes any extension to the comment period for the
proposal to enhance transparency of ancillary fees and states that this
topic has been debated and commented for three years. It also opposes
an extension to the comment period proposals related to reporting
issues. Also recognizing the complexity of the NPRM, Travelers United
supports a limited extension to the comment period for other topics
such as codifying the definition of ticket agent, requiring large
travel agents to adopt customer service standards, transparency of
codeshare operations, and disclosure of biasing in schedule and fare
displays.
While we concur with the requests for an extension of the comment
period, we believe that a 90-day extension would be excessive. We have
decided to grant an extension of 30 days, or until September 22, 2014,
for the public to comment on the NPRM. We believe this extension is
appropriate in balancing the need for additional time for comments and
the need to proceed expeditiously with this important rulemaking. We
note that the proposal to enhance airline ancillary fee transparency,
which is the proposal in this NPRM that involves the most technical
complexities, was one of the proposals in the Department's 2010
Enhancing Airline Passenger Protection rulemaking. In the final rule of
that rulemaking, we deferred final action on this matter to a future
rulemaking. Therefore, the interested parties have been on notice that
we intended to further explore this topic in a subsequent rulemaking.
We further note that with this additional 30 days we are granting here,
interested parties will have total of 120 days to comment on the
proposals, which we believe is adequate time for analysis and
coordination regarding the proposals.
Accordingly, the Department finds that good cause exists to extend
the time for comments on the proposed rule from August 21, 2014, to
September 22, 2014. We do not anticipate any further extension of the
comment period for this rulemaking.
Issued this 31st day of July, 2014, in Washington, DC.
Kathryn B. Thomson,
General Counsel, Office of Regulation and Enforcement, U.S. Department
of Transportation.
[FR Doc. 2014-18525 Filed 8-5-14; 8:45 am]
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