Updates to the Origin-Destination Survey of Airline Passengers, 6145-6164 [2022-28535]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
• Office of the Secretary

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 20 (Tuesday, January 31, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 6145-6164]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-28535]



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Rules and Regulations
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Federal Register / Vol. 88 , No. 20 / Tuesday, January 31, 2023 / 
Rules and Regulations

[[Page 6145]]



DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

14 CFR Parts 241 and 298

[Docket No. DOT-OST-2018-0132]
RIN 2105-AE45


Updates to the Origin--Destination Survey of Airline Passengers

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary of Transportation (OST), U.S. 
Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Final rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: DOT finalizes amendments to update the collection and 
processing of aviation traffic data in the Origin--Destination Survey 
of Airline Passenger Traffic (O&D). As part of this action, DOT is 
expanding the number of reporting air carriers, the sample size 
collected, and the scope of the data collected. Additionally, DOT is 
changing the timing of the release of the Form 41, Schedule T100 ``Air 
Carrier Traffic and Capacity Data by Nonstop Segment and On-Flight 
Market'' and Schedule T100(f) ``Foreign Air Carrier Traffic Data by 
Nonstop Segment and On-flight Market.'' These changes will align the 
current O&D with modern industry business and accounting practices, 
enable cost savings, reduce burden through automation, and provide 
enhanced utility for users of the data.

DATES: This rule is effective March 2, 2023. Compliance with the 
reporting provisions specified in 14 CFR part 241, Sec. 19-8 is 
required for air transportation taking place on or after July 1, 2025.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin Bryan, Office of Aviation 
Analysis, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Room W86-107, Washington, DC 20590-
0001, 202-380-5294 (phone) or [email protected] (email).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Executive Summary

Purpose of the Regulatory Action

    This final rule enhances the utility of the publicly available 
aviation data in the Origin--Destination Survey of Airline Passengers 
(O&D), which will provide significant benefits to a variety of data 
users. The rule enhances the quality of the data by: (1) reducing the 
long-term reporting burden on the O&D Reporting Carriers; (2) making 
the O&D more relevant and useful to airlines, aviation policy makers, 
researchers, and stakeholders; (3) obtaining more accurate ticket data 
from a broader group of air carriers and markets; (4) reducing the time 
it takes to disseminate the O&D and the international Schedule T100(f); 
and (5) increasing the statistical correlation between the O&D and the 
Schedule T100 and Schedule T100(f) (T100/T100(f)) for data validation 
purposes. These actions are taken under the statutory authorities in 49 
U.S.C. 329(b)(1), which requires the Department to collect and 
disseminate information on the origin and destination of airline 
passengers including, at a minimum, information on: (1) the origin and 
destination of passengers in interstate air transportation, and (2) the 
number of passengers traveling by air between any two points in 
interstate air transportation. In addition, 49 U.S.C. 40101(a)(7) 
states that in carrying out economic regulatory activities, the 
Secretary shall consider as being in the public interest a regulatory 
system that responds to the needs of the public and in which decisions 
are reached promptly to make it easier to adapt the air transportation 
system to the present and future needs of, among other things, the 
commerce of the United States. In fulfillment of these 
responsibilities, DOT collects data submitted under:
     14 CFR part 217: Reporting Traffic Statistics by Foreign 
Air Carriers in Civilian Scheduled, Charter, and Nonscheduled Services, 
whereby foreign air carriers authorized by DOT to provide scheduled 
passenger services to or from the U.S. must file Form 41 Schedule 
T100(f), which includes the data elements prescribed in Sec.  217.5.
     14 CFR part 241: Uniform System of Accounts and Reports 
for Large Certificated Air Carriers, under which all large, 
certificated air carriers must report their traffic movements by filing 
Form 41 Schedule T100, Financials Information, and O&D fare 
information.
     14 CFR part 298: Exemptions for Air Taxi and Commuter Air 
Carriers, whereby air taxi operators and commuter air carriers, which 
are provided certain exemptions from some of the economic regulatory 
provisions of Subtitle VII of Title 49 of the United States Code, are 
required to submit simplified Financials and T100 traffic.
    In this rulemaking, the Department finalizes updates to its method 
of collecting and processing O&D fare information under Part 241 to: 
(1) allow full automation of the reporting of the O&D by aligning 
reporting with current airline passenger accounting practices; and (2) 
enhance the accuracy and usefulness of DOT's collection of aviation 
traffic data. The Department also makes a corresponding change to Part 
298 to reflect removal of the reporting exemptions for U.S.-based air 
carriers and commuter air carriers with a business model that limits 
them to flying aircraft with fewer than 60 seats. DOT does not make any 
changes to the regulatory text of Part 217 in this final rule.

Summary of Major Provisions

    In this final rule, the Department amends 14 CFR part 241 to create 
Section 19-8 to classify all certificated air carriers and commuter air 
carriers holding out scheduled passenger service as O&D Reporting 
Carriers by removing the exemptions from reporting given to U.S.-based 
air carriers and commuter air carriers with a business model that 
limits them to flying aircraft with fewer than 60 seats. DOT further 
requires those Reporting Carriers to submit certain data items as part 
of this data collection: Reporting Carrier, Reporting Month and 
Reporting Year, Record Identification Number (RIN), Issuing Carrier, 
Total Amount, Tax Amount, Airport Code, Operating Carrier Code, 
Marketing Carrier Code, Scheduled Flight Year, Scheduled Flight Month, 
Dwell Time, Via Airport, and Purchase Window Group. In addition, this 
rule changes who is responsible for submitting data to the O&D from the 
air carrier using the first flight coupon (first lift) to the air 
carrier that issues the ticket. For air travel taking place on or after 
July 1, 2025 (See DATES section), upon successful implementation of 
Section 19-8, air carriers must collect

[[Page 6146]]

data pursuant to Section 19-8, and such data will constitute the data 
of record for the Passenger Origin--Destination Survey. The July 2025 
data will be due to be reported to the DOT on September 15th, 2025. 
Reporting pursuant to section 19-7 will no longer be required for air 
travel taking place on or after July 1, 2025, and DOT intends to remove 
Section 19-7 from 14 CFR part 241 at that time for clarity.

I. Background

    DOT issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to improve the 
collection of aviation traffic data in the Origin--Destination Survey 
of Airline Passenger Traffic (O&D). (86 FR 5032; Jan. 19, 2021). The 
NPRM solicited public comments on the following matters: (1) changing 
the reporting carrier from first lifted carrier to issuing carrier; (2) 
increasing the sample size to 40 percent; (3) requiring all carriers 
who conduct scheduled service to report O&D data; (4) whether to 
require all foreign air carriers providing scheduled service to the 
United States to submit O&D data; (5) whether smaller air carriers 
would need further accommodation beyond the proposed methods for 
reporting O&D data to DOT; (6) changes to the set of data elements--
specifically, adding ``Reporting Year'', ``Reporting Month'' of travel, 
all Airports in the itinerary including ``Via Point'' airports, ``Dwell 
Time'', ``Exchanged Ticket Indicator'', ``Frequent Flyer Program Ticket 
Indicator'', ``Total Amount'', ``Tax Amount'', and ``Record 
Identification Number'', as well as removing ``Fare Basis Code''; (6) 
whether users of the O&D would find utility in including ``Cabin 
Class'' as a replacement data element to Fare Basis Code; (7) whether 
optional or ancillary ticket purchase fees collected from most tickets 
should be included in the Total Amount of a ticket; (8) the appropriate 
amount of time to withhold O&D data from dissemination; (9) adding the 
descriptor ``citizens and non-citizens'' to those other persons 
eligible to receive itineraries with foreign origin and destination 
points in the O&D if they have a specifically identified need to do so; 
(10) whether to replace the phrase ``specifically identified need'' 
with a defined list of permissible, specifically identified needs that 
would be codified in the regulation and, if so, what the defined list 
should include; (11) shortening the time that T100(f) data is withheld 
from six months to three months; (12) a reasonable compliance date to 
begin no earlier than one year from the publication of the final rule; 
(13) reporting data under Sec. 19-7 until such time that data reported 
pursuant to Sec. 19-8 replaces data reported pursuant to Sec. 19-7 as 
the statistics of record; (14) the utility to users and additional 
burden to O&D reporting carriers of reporting individual tax and fee 
amounts instead of reporting both as an aggregate amount and; (15) 
comments related to the annual burden estimate for reporting carriers 
to collect and submit O&D data.
    In response to this NPRM, the Department received comments from the 
following entities: Ailevon Pacific Aviation Consulting (APAC), Cirium, 
Airports Council International--North America (ACI-NA), the Regional 
Airline Association (RAA), Airlines for America (A4A), Airline Tariff 
Publishing Company (ATPCO), Airbus Americas, Inc. (Airbus), and Airline 
Data Inc., (ADI).

Summary of Regulatory Analysis

    The Final Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) examined the economic 
impact, in terms of all benefits accruing to producers of the data (air 
carriers) and users of the data, by subtracting the estimated cost of 
not taking regulatory action from the estimated costs of implementing 
regulatory action through this final rulemaking. We applied this same 
principle to the government, by illustrating the estimated costs to the 
public of not taking regulatory action and subtracting estimated costs 
of implementing regulatory action. Combined, the annualized benefit of 
the regulatory changes totals $10,367,702 over ten years, which amounts 
to an annualized savings $1,476,128, when discounted using a seven 
percent rate. As such, the Department believes that the rule is in the 
public interest as it will provide both producers and users of the O&D 
with a more robust data set of passenger activity in our national air 
transportation system.

Discussion of Comments

    The Department has carefully reviewed and considered comments 
received from commenting parties. The Department sought further 
clarification of comments by A4A and received supplemental information 
in a letter dated December 16, 2021, which was placed in the docket.\1\ 
This section details the comments received on the topics raised in the 
NPRM, and addresses some additional comments received in relation to 
topics applicable to the O&D.
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    \1\ All comments are located at https://www.regulations.gov, 
under docket DOT-OST-2018-0132.
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    (1) Changing the reporting carrier from first lifted carrier to 
issuing carrier.
    In the NPRM: 14 CFR part 241 Sec. 19-7(a) states that all U.S. 
large, certificated air carriers conducting scheduled passenger 
operations (except helicopter carriers) shall participate in a 
Passenger Origin-Destination (O&D) Survey covering domestic and 
international operations. Regardless of which carrier issues the 
ticket, the carrier who provides the first reportable lift as defined 
in Sec. 19-7 is required to report the data in the ticket to DOT. In 
the NPRM, DOT proposed changing this requirement so that each reporting 
carrier as defined in proposed Sec. 19-8 will only report tickets it 
issues, with a provision for Category Two tickets as discussed later.
    Comments: RAA stated that it believes the proposed changes will 
foster better data quality and reduce the burden for the airlines. A4A 
stated that it supports the transfer of responsibility for reporting a 
ticket to the issuing carrier rather than the current practice of 
reporting by the first lifting O&D reporting carrier, except in the 
case of Category Two tickets. ACI-NA stated that it generally supports 
shifting the reporting requirement on the issuing carrier, as it 
believes it would ``probably result in more accurate data reporting and 
reduce confusion as to who should report a particular itinerary.'' ACI-
NA also states that foreign carriers, regardless of whether they are 
immunized, should be required to report O&D data, as it believes there 
could be a loss of information where the issuing carrier is a non-
immunized foreign carrier that sold tickets on a U.S. codeshare partner 
who is the operator of the flight.
    DOT Response: After careful consideration of the comments provided, 
DOT has determined that shifting the reporting responsibility from the 
air carrier providing first reportable lift to the issuing air carrier 
of the ticket is best aligned with current air carrier revenue 
accounting practices and will simplify the burden on the reporting air 
carriers. DOT will not require foreign air carriers to be included as 
reporting air carriers for the O&D. Foreign air carriers covered by a 
grant of anti-trust immunity under 49 U.S.C. 41308 and 41309 (Immunized 
carriers) will continue to report data similar to O&D data pursuant to 
the conditions of their immunity, but under new requirements identical 
to the requirements of this rule. ACI-NA's concern regarding loss of 
information associated with non-immunized foreign carriers issuing 
tickets where a U.S. code-share partner operates the flight is

[[Page 6147]]

an example of a Category 2 ticket reporting event.\2\ In this case, the 
first U.S. carrier that is also an O&D reporting carrier in the ticket 
sequence would be responsible for reporting the ticket. DOT recognizes 
it may be an additional burden, or not possible, for reporting carriers 
to obtain data elements from the carrier that issues the ticket as is 
the case with the current 19-7 system, the new rule will, however, 
serve to minimize the number of tickets that must be reported in this 
manner. DOT has also prescribed in the regulatory text which data 
elements are mandatory and which data elements may be omitted for 
Category 2 tickets of the type ACI-NA has described. (See Sec. 19-8.4--
Reporting of O&D Data). This will enable data users to have access to 
the full detail of data available under the new rule when it is 
provided while also allowing data users to identify those tickets that 
may not be a complete record. DOT recognizes the concern expressed in 
the comments that requiring all carriers that serve the United States 
to report O&D could result in similar efforts on the part of other 
governments, which could remove any potential cost savings of the new 
rule.
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    \2\ A Category 1 reporting event is defined as a case where the 
carrier that issues the ticket is the reporting carrier. A Category 
2 reporting event is defined as a case where the carrier that issues 
the ticket is not a reporting carrier and is not an immunized 
carrier but at least one coupon from the ticket is operated by a 
carrier that is a reporting carrier or an immunized carrier. A 
ticket submitted as the result of a Category 1 reporting event is 
known as a Category 1 ticket and a ticket submitted as the result of 
a Category 2 reporting event is known as a Category 2 ticket. 
Category 2 tickets will be reported based on the first reporting 
carrier rule which means the reporting carrier or immunized carrier 
that is first in the operating sequence of the ticket will be 
responsible for reporting the ticket.
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    Final Rulemaking Text: DOT adopts its proposal to change the 
reporting carrier from first lifted carrier to issuing carrier. See 
Sec.  19-8.3(a)--Applicability.
    (2) Increasing the sample size to 40 percent.
    In the NPRM: 14 CFR part 241 Sec 19-7(c) states that a 
statistically valid sample of flight coupons shall be selected for 
reporting purposes and shall consist of at least one percent of the 
total lifted ticket flight coupons for all large domestic markets 
listed in the Instructions and 10 percent for all others, inclusive of 
domestic and international markets. DOT proposed increasing this sample 
size to 40 percent and removing the one percent and 10 percent 
requirements, explaining that this increase was necessary for increased 
dataset utility, and to capture activity in smaller markets where a 10 
percent sample often produces few to no lifted, reported tickets. 
Studies cited in the NPRM validated a 40 percent sample size as 
sufficient to capture data related to smaller markets, which, under 
current reporting, have a statistically insufficient number of tickets 
to represent true market activity.\3\
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    \3\ Statistical analyses by Michael Wittman (Michael D. Wittman, 
A Note on the Use of U.S. DB1B Passenger Ticket Data for Estimating 
Airfares in Thin Airline Markets or Small Airports, Massachusetts 
Institute of Technology), and Eric Amel (Eric Amel, Report on the 
Results of Different Sampling Rates on the Reliability of the US DOT 
O&D Survey, Compass Lexecon, May 18, 2015) are available in the 
Docket.
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    Comments: RAA generally supports increasing the random sample size 
to 40 percent and agrees that a sample size of 40 percent is both 
necessary and sufficient to ensure statistical accuracy for measuring 
smaller aviation markets. RAA also states that the sample size should 
not exceed 40 percent. A4A supports the proposed increase in the random 
sample size to 40 percent for the reasons we articulated in the NPRM. 
A4A states in its comments that exceeding the 40% threshold was proven 
to be unnecessary to achieve the goals of the O&D reporting and, given 
the additional workload associated with the new fields combined with 
reporting twelve times per year instead of four times per year, would 
create unnecessary burden for little, if any, benefit. ACI-NA 
recommends expanding the sample size from 10 percent to 100 percent. 
ACI-NA points to a 2005 NPRM on the O&D data which proposed to increase 
the reporting to 100%, noting that DOT indicated it would improve the 
accuracy and comprehensiveness of the dataset.
    DOT Response: DOT concludes that the 40 percent sample size is 
sufficient to achieve the objective of the rulemaking, to provide a 
dataset that is comprehensive, useful to its users, and ensure that the 
burden placed on the reporters of the data is reasonable. The 
conclusions of the MIT study cited in the NPRM validated a 40% ticket 
reporting threshold to achieve the purpose of the rulemaking, 
particularly when coupled with the removal of the minimum aircraft size 
requirement of 60 seats, as discussed in Issue 3. DOT further believes 
that, at this time, collecting a higher percentage of ticket data than 
what is validated as sufficient by the MIT study to support the 
objectives of the final rule is unnecessary. Therefore, DOT will set 
the sample size reporting requirement to 40 percent of eligible tickets 
to be submitted by reporting air carriers.
    The primary ticket's right-most digit of the standard ticket 
document number forms the basis for the random sample size. Any 
Reporting Carrier that does not assign ticket numbers to passenger 
journeys or does not assign ticket numbers such that the final, right-
most digit is not randomly assigned must develop an alternative method 
of creating a valid 40 percent sample for DOT approval.
    Final Rulemaking Text: DOT adopts its proposal to increase the 
sample size for reporting to 40 percent. See Sec.  19-8.4(b)--Reporting 
of O&D Data.
    (3) Requiring all carriers who conduct scheduled service to report 
O&D data.
    In the NPRM: 14 CFR part 241 Sec. 19-7(a) states that that all U.S. 
large, certificated air carriers conducting scheduled passenger 
operations (except helicopter carriers) shall participate in a 
Passenger Origin--Destination (O&D) Survey covering domestic and 
international operations. In the NPRM, DOT proposed changing this 
requirement so that all U.S. certificated air carriers who conduct 
scheduled passenger service, regardless of aircraft size or seat count, 
would be designated as a reporting carrier for the O&D.
    Comments: RAA and A4A support the broadening of U.S. carrier O&D 
reporting to include all carriers who conduct scheduled passenger 
service. ACI-NA supports the change in aircraft size reporting 
requirements to eliminate the 60-seat threshold for reporting O&D data.
    DOT Response: DOT has concluded that expansion of the reporting 
pool of carriers for the O&D to all U.S. certificated air carriers is 
critical for a properly representative sample of market activity at 
small, medium-, and large-hub airports. Under the existing data 
collection, a 10 percent sample size by carriers operating at least one 
aircraft with more than 60 seats often omits small communities that are 
served by smaller aircraft, or that have relatively low enplanement 
counts. Therefore, we require in this final rule that all U.S. 
certificated air carriers providing scheduled service be included in 
the reporting carrier pool for the O&D.
    Final Rulemaking Text: DOT adopts its proposal to require all U.S. 
certificated air carriers who conduct scheduled service to report O&D 
data. See Sec.  19-8.3(a)--Applicability.
    (4) Whether to require all foreign air carriers providing scheduled 
service to the United States to submit O&D data.
    In the NPRM: 14 CFR part 241 Sec 19-7 does not require foreign air 
carriers providing scheduled service to the United States to submit 
data to the O&D. Foreign air carriers required by a grant of anti-trust 
immunity under 49 U.S.C. 41308 and 41309 to report data similar to O&D 
data will continue to do so but

[[Page 6148]]

under new requirements that are identical to the requirements of this 
rule.
    Comments: A4A believes that the costs of requiring all foreign air 
carriers to report O&D data are far outweighed by the benefits of doing 
so, and also believes that foreign governments may seek reciprocal 
reporting requirements of U.S. certificated air carriers, significantly 
increasing the data-reporting burden on those carriers. A4A also 
believes that requiring all foreign carriers to report, especially 
those not involved in immunized joint ventures, could provide 
unbalanced information to carriers, thus conferring a competitive 
advantage. Furthermore, A4A questions the ability of non-immunized 
carriers to provide timely Survey reporting, which could delay 
Department reporting and possibly generate data inaccuracies. ACI-NA 
and ADI are in favor of requiring foreign air carriers to provide the 
same data as U.S. carriers. ADI believes that domestic users of the 
Survey data have had trouble identifying foreign traffic itineraries 
and that by having foreign carriers submit to the O&D, users will be 
closer to having a fully inclusive Survey that provides greater insight 
into the domestic traveler.
    DOT Response: DOT understands that there are potential challenges 
and repercussions in requiring all foreign air carriers to report O&D 
data. Specifically, foreign air carriers may not collect the same type 
of data that has long been required by DOT. While the collection of 
this data could create a more complete O&D record, enacting this 
requirement would be burdensome to the foreign airlines and cause 
substantial risks as stated by A4A. Therefore, we will not require 
foreign air carriers to report O&D data under this rule. Our practice 
to require immunized carriers to submit data is independent of this 
rulemaking and will continue. See DOT's response on Issue 1, changing 
the reporting carrier to the issuing carrier, for additional detail 
related to reporting tickets that involve foreign air carriers.
    Final Rulemaking Text: DOT does not require O&D reporting by 
foreign carriers in this final rule. See Sec.  19-8.3(a)--
Applicability.
    (5) Whether smaller air carriers would need further accommodation 
beyond the proposed methods for reporting O&D data to DOT.
    In the NPRM: DOT understands that including a larger pool of 
reporting air carriers to the O&D may create new burdens on smaller air 
carriers not previously included as reporting air carriers. The NPRM 
asked whether further accommodations were necessary for the successful 
submission of O&D data by smaller air carriers.
    Comments: RAA supports the option of using outside third-party 
vendors to make data collection and reporting services available to all 
O&D Reporting Carriers. RAA stated that this would be helpful to small 
carriers even when these third parties may need to undertake 
development work to support the changes envisioned in this NPRM. A4A 
strongly supports allowing any reporting air carrier to engage outside 
companies to assist with the reporting of O&D data to DOT, if it should 
choose to do so. A4A comments that the Department should utilize a 
secure file transfer protocol methodology to allow reporting air 
carriers to transmit data through an automated process. ATPCO states 
that a third-party fee-for-service provider could develop and implement 
a centralized solution for collecting and processing airline data, and 
states that this type of service has been offered in the airline tariff 
space, and could also be used for data collection for the O&D. ADI 
states that it believes the processing and distribution of the DOT 
Survey data needs to stay entirely within the DOT to ensure neutrality 
of the O&D, and if some outsourcing is used in the processing of this 
data, a competitive bid process open to wholly-owned domestic entities 
with expertise in the airline data realm should be initiated.
    DOT Response: In this final rule, DOT does not outsource the 
responsibility of combining and distributing O&D data to a third party. 
This will maintain the continued neutrality in the distribution of the 
data. In the NPRM, DOT discussed whether use of a third-party provider 
could assist air carriers in collecting and organizing ticket data 
prior to transmission to DOT for combining and dissemination. DOT 
expects any third-party who offers such services to reporting air 
carriers to closely adhere to any instructions and directives published 
regarding the O&D data, reducing the burden on reporting air carriers, 
particularly small air carriers, by giving them options to comply with 
the requirements of the rule. The use of a third-party provider does 
not remove the responsibility of the reporting carrier to ensure and 
certify that its data is reported accurately and on schedule, nor does 
it remove the role of DOT in combining the data from the reporting 
carriers, validating and quality testing the data before publication. 
DOT will also explore enhancements to the existing data submission 
portal to enable automated transfers of data (``SFTP'', ``FTPS'', 
``API's''), as well as alternatives to allow air carriers to submit O&D 
data using methods that DOT expects will require minimal, if any, 
software development on the part of the air carrier. This may further 
reduce the reporting burden imposed by the rule.
    Final Rulemaking Text: Under the final rule, third-party vendors 
could make data collection and reporting services available to O&D 
Reporting Carriers who choose to utilize such services. See Sec.  19-
8.7--Submission of Data.
    (6) Changes to the set of data elements: Expanded to include 
scheduled year and month of travel, all airports in the itinerary 
including ``via'' airports, dwell time, exchanged ticket indicator, 
frequent flyer program tickets, total amount, tax amount, currency and 
fractions of a dollar, and record identification number, Fare Basis 
Code removed.
    In the NPRM: DOT asked for comment regarding the proposed set of 
data elements under Sec. 19-8, to better ascertain any challenges in 
collecting such data. Using input from commenters (included in the 
rulemaking docket) and considering how data users might benefit from 
various data elements collected and disseminated, DOT determined the 
following data elements would be useful, and in most cases necessary, 
for various stakeholders using the data to understand market trends and 
make informed decisions. These data elements also strike a balance 
between more detailed information and the cost of collecting such 
information.
Scheduled Year and Month of Travel
    Comments: A4A and ACI-NA expressed support for the inclusion of 
Scheduled Year and Month of Travel as data elements in the O&D, while 
A4A specifically objected to the reporting of the scheduled date of 
departure of each flight coupon, citing concerns regarding the 
dissemination of commercially sensitive information. ACI-NA stated that 
it does not support eliminating the date of the ticket purchase.
    DOT Response: DOT views inclusion of Scheduled Year of Travel and 
Scheduled Month of Travel as critical to the utility of the dataset 
because these elements allow users of the data to analyze trip 
information for specific time periods even when components of the trip 
span multiple quarters or months. Therefore, DOT will include these 
data elements in the O&D. It should be noted that the O&D currently 
does not collect the date of ticket purchase or provide the date of 
each flight associated with an itinerary. DOT does not require 
collection of these

[[Page 6149]]

ticket purchase and flight date elements in this final rule because of 
the commercially sensitive nature of date-specific ticket information. 
Date of ticket purchase could allow carriers to determine individual 
market dynamics such as ticket booking curves.
    Final Rulemaking Text: DOT adopts its proposal to require reporting 
of the ``Scheduled Month of Travel'' and ``Scheduled Year of Travel''. 
See Sec.  19-8.4(c)--Reporting of O&D data, 19-8.2--Definitions. DOT 
also adds definitions of ``Scheduled Flight Month'' and ``Scheduled 
Flight Year'' in the rule for clarity. These terms are defined using 
their commonly understood meaning and as described in the NPRM, as 
follows: Scheduled Flight Month means month for a departure from an 
airport in the sequence of travel for a ticket. Scheduled Flight Year 
means year for a departure from an airport in the sequence of travel 
for the ticket.
Via Airports
    Comments: A4A and ACI-NA support reporting Via Airports as a data 
element in the O&D. A4A advises the Department to recognize that 
carriers may need time to build the infrastructure to link revenue 
accounting systems to other data sources. ATPCO states that this data 
element will be difficult to derive exclusively from the reported sales 
data, but that this data is available at the time of ticket purchase 
and can be calculated from schedule and flight status at that time.
    DOT Response: DOT views inclusion of Via Airports as a necessary 
data element in the O&D, particularly to give visibility to flights 
that appear to be nonstop on a coupon basis but are flights containing 
more than one flight segment. This will allow users of the data to 
better determine true nonstop O&D market share and price, versus all 
other travel types including one-stop and ``through'' flights in which 
both segments have the same flight number but for which only a single 
coupon is submitted to the O&D. DOT notes that, although ATPCO may have 
concerns about including this information in their sales data, A4A 
member carriers stated that inclusion of this element represented an 
acceptable burden particularly when taking into account other 
efficiencies made possible by other components of the rule.\4\ For 
these reasons, DOT will include Via Airports as a data element in the 
O&D.
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    \4\ On September 24, 2021, DOT staff members met with A4A's 
Chief Economist to clarify comments from A4A on the NPRM related to 
the definition of Total Amount, industry capabilities with respect 
to data transfer (SFTP), the purpose of the A4A proposed industry 
working group, challenges associated with reporting an exchange 
ticket indicator, frequent flyer program indicator reporting, zip 
code/postal code reporting, and fare basis code alternatives. A4A 
documented the discussion in a written supplemental response, 
https://www.regulations.gov, DOT-OST-2018-0132 Ex Parte 
Communication with Airlines for America (A4A), 12-16-21 A4A 
Supplemental Comments on OD Modernization NPRM 2021.
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    Final Rulemaking Text: DOT adopts its proposal to require reporting 
of ``Via Airports.'' See Sec.  19-8.4(c)--Reporting of O&D data, 19-
8.2--Definitions DOT also adds a definition of Via Airport (Point(s)) 
in the final rule for clarity. The term is defined using its commonly 
understood meaning and as described in the NPRM, as follows: Via 
Airport (Point(s)) means any point(s) of stopover at intermediate 
airports as part of a ``direct'' or ``through'' flight. These are 
points that are not usually recorded on a ticket as the passenger does 
not generally deplane from the aircraft at the intermediate point.
Dwell Time
    Comments: A4A supports the inclusion of the Dwell Time data element 
in the O&D, so long as it reflects scheduled times rather than actual 
operated times, and in minutes rather than in one-hour increments. A4A 
also stated in their comments that using dwell time minutes:
    (i) eliminates the need for carriers to round the number to the 
nearest hour; (ii) greatly increases the utility of the data to air 
carriers, DOT, and other users (for purposes of their own preferred 
logic to break trips and determine true O&D); and, (iii) makes it much 
easier to review and audit records wherein, for example, a ``2'' could 
otherwise indicate any dwell time between 61 and 120 minutes. ACI-NA 
supports including this data element in the O&D. ATPCO states this will 
be difficult to derive exclusively from the reported sales data, 
similar to its argument of capturing Via Airports.
    DOT Response: DOT views Dwell Time (in minutes) as critical to 
proper determination of a flight journey. Including Dwell Time as a 
reported data element will enable DOT and other data users to determine 
a flight journey, true O&D, more accurately. DOT intends to combine the 
dwell time information with the existing travel routing evaluation 
process to provide the most reliable estimate of a flight journey, or 
true O&D; therefore, DOT includes Dwell Time as a required data element 
in the O&D. DOT also requires reporting of Dwell Time as scheduled 
times, in minutes rather than in one-hour increments, consistent with 
industry practice. This will enable users of the data to determine 
intended destination of travel with greater consistency. DOT will also 
require carriers to report Dwell Time in excess of an entire day 
(1,440) minutes as ``9999'' and allow carriers to insert a ``B'' (for 
``Break'') where the carrier recommends the trip be broken (according 
to internal business logic) for segments not issued by the reporting 
carrier should Dwell Time be unavailable.
    Final Rulemaking Text: DOT adopts its proposal to require reporting 
of ``Dwell Time'', except that Dwell Time is reported in minutes rather 
than rounded to the nearest whole hour to add specificity to the 
recorded data, as suggested by commenters. See Sec.  19-8.4(c)--
Reporting of O&D data, 19-8.2--Definitions. DOT also adds a definition 
of Dwell Time in the final rule for clarity. The term is defined using 
its commonly understood meaning and as discussed in the NPRM but with 
additional specificity, as follows: Dwell Time means scheduled elapsed 
time (in minutes) between each ticketed coupon. Dwell Time is not 
required to be reported at Via Airport stops. When Dwell Time exceeds 
1,440 minutes, or 24 hours, report ``9999''.
Exchanged Ticket Indicator
    Comments: A4A urges the Department not to include Exchanged Ticket 
Indicator on the list of elements collected, stating that it is 
extremely cumbersome and fraught with unavoidable challenges when 
trying to calculate the total and tax amounts to be reported. 
Furthermore, it stated that partial ticket reissues constitute a small 
proportion of tickets but would constitute a substantial proportion of 
O&D reporting workload. ACI-NA states that it is supportive of 
including this data element in the O&D. ATPCO states that a requirement 
to provide an Exchanged Ticket Indicator would lead to inaccurate or 
inconsistent data submissions resulting from some exchanged/reissued 
tickets containing data reflecting the original sale of the exchange 
ticket or a carrier not having access to the original ticket 
information when provided that original ticket number with the exchange 
ticket.
    DOT Response: In light of the comments received on the inclusion of 
an Exchanged Ticket Indicator, DOT has determined that the inclusion of 
this element is unlikely to aid accurate reporting and would therefore 
unnecessarily increase the reporting burden on the reporting carriers. 
Therefore, we will not require this data element be reported in the 
O&D.

[[Page 6150]]

Frequent Flyer Program Ticket Indicator
    Comments: A4A states that its member carriers oppose the inclusion 
of a Frequent Flyer Program Ticket Indicator, citing that this 
information is commercially sensitive, and that even if the reporting 
air carrier is the issuing air carrier, the information about FFP 
redemption is not always known, and if known, may reside in a separate 
database, creating additional burden to air carriers to research and 
report the information. A4A also stated this would be extremely hard to 
ascertain on Category Two tickets. A4A further states in a letter dated 
December 16, 2021 \5\ to DOT that it believes this information lies 
beyond the scope of what is needed by the Department and other users to 
accurately measure passenger traffic and fares in O&D markets. APAC is 
in favor of including this data element for more comprehensive market 
analysis. Cirium states that the inclusion of this element would be 
beneficial for detailed fare analysis. ACI-NA states that it supports 
the inclusion of this data element. ATPCO states that it would be 
difficult for air carriers to report this data, as each airline has its 
own methodology of identifying these tickets, and the proposal would 
require a third-party service provider to create mapping tables for 
each air carrier to be able to identify such tickets. ADI supports a 
flag to denote frequent flyer tickets but has concerns with placing 
this burden on airlines because it is possible to identify the majority 
of this type of ticket using the fields currently reported in the 
Survey. Given the complexities associated with this proposal, ADI 
believes the retention of Fare Class/Cabin Class is a higher priority.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ The A4A letter can be found in the docket at https://www.regulations.gov, DOT-OST-2018-0132 Ex Parte Communication with 
Airlines for America (A4A), 12-16-21 A4A Supplemental Comments on OD 
Modernization NPRM 2021.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    DOT Response: In light of the comments received on the Frequent 
Flyer Program Ticket Indicator, we believe that requiring this data 
element in the O&D would be difficult for air carriers to provide on a 
consistent basis and lead to inaccuracy and agree that Frequent Flyer 
Program Ticket Indicator information would be especially difficult to 
include for Category Two tickets. Therefore, we will not require this 
data element to be reported in the O&D.
Total Amount
    Comments: A4A supports reporting the Total Amount collected by the 
air carrier via the passenger ticket document, but opposes reporting 
amounts captured on other documents or in databases separate from where 
the passenger ticket value resides, as doing so could create a 
significant amount of extra work and provide misleading indicators of 
the amounts paid for transportation. Cirium supports including any 
mandatory fee collected by the carrier in the Total Amount to provide 
more accuracy for the purchase price paid by travelers. ATPCO believes 
that using the total amount from the reportable sales would be a more 
reliable option and would generate more consistent results than 
attempting to determine for each transaction whether it contains 
optional or ancillary charges that are not required to board the plane.
    DOT Response: The Department has long interpreted the ``Total 
Dollar Value of Ticket,'' under 14 CFR part 241 as the sum of the 
passenger fare plus all taxes, fees, and charges for the entire 
ticketed itinerary.\6\ The changes in this final rule to specify what 
carriers are required to report as the Total Amount of the ticket are 
consistent with this interpretation. Total Amount is defined in this 
final rule as the gross total of funds collected on a ticket by the 
Issuing Carrier for the transportation of a passenger, inclusive of 
taxes and fees imposed by non-carrier entities or air carriers, and 
exclusive of ancillary fees not required to board the plane charged by 
the air carrier.\7\
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    \6\ See Accounting and Reporting Directive Number 336 and number 
335 which can be found at www.bts.gov, select the Topics and 
Geography link, select Airlines, Airports, and Aviation, select 
Accounting and Reporting Directives under Forms and Regulations. 
https://www.bts.dot.gov/sites/bts.dot.gov/files/2021-10/Directive-No-335-O-D-Total-Dollar-Value.pdf and https://www.bts.gov/sites/bts.dot.gov/files/2022-03/Directive%20No%20%20336%20Total%20Dollar%20Value%20Clarification.pdf.

    \7\ DOT notes that O&D reporting of Total Amount has a different 
scope and purpose from reporting under the full fare requirements 
(14 CFR 399.84). Full fare reporting is focused on advertised 
pricing of prospective air service and that those advertised prices 
are what is charged to the consumer. The O&D Total Amount is 
intended to align a common and standardized definition of O&D Total 
Amount across all reporting carriers for the purpose of economic 
analysis.
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    Carriers are required under this final rule to include as part of 
the Total Amount charges required to board the aircraft (domestic and 
international) that are recognized as revenue at the time of purchase 
of the ticket up to the time of first lift of the ticket.\8\ Where a 
fee or charge assessed at the time of purchase of the ticket is 
associated with a choice, such as seat assignment, where the consumer 
must pay the fee or charge regardless of the choice made, the fee or 
charge is considered part of the Total Amount. When a fee is assessed 
and there is a no cost option, that fee is considered an optional, or 
ancillary, fee that is not included in the Total Amount. The Total 
Amount does not include charges for optional services (services offered 
which the consumer may choose not to utilize and thus not incur the fee 
or charge) such as baggage fees, seat upgrade fees, or ticket change 
fees. DOT does not consider booking fees optional when a passenger 
purchases through an outlet where a booking fee is imposed. When there 
is no other reasonable option for the purchase it should be considered 
a fee required to be board the aircraft. However, call center fees 
where the passengers could have used a reasonable alternative at no 
extra charge should be considered optional. Fees for a service that 
consumers can select that provides something distinct from the air 
travel product are also optional, or ancillary, fees that are not 
included in the Total Amount.
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    \8\ It is common practice that tickets sold in advance of the 
flight date are initially recorded as an air traffic liability on 
the company's consolidated balance sheet. In this case, fare revenue 
is only recognized in passenger revenue within the statement of 
operations at the time of departure when the transportation is 
provided. O&D Total Amount requires the capture of associated fare, 
taxes, and fees when recognized by the accounting system at any 
point from the initial purchase date up to the point of first 
departure.
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    The following is a non-exhaustive list of carrier-imposed fees and 
charges that must be reported as part of the Total Amount of the 
ticket: fuel surcharges, carrier usage charges, carrier interface fees, 
check-in fees, electronic usage charges, peak/holiday travel fees, 
transaction processing charges, and credit card surcharge fees. When a 
customer is assessed, a fee based on how the customer acquires a ticket 
to board the aircraft, a booking fee, the fee is included in the Total 
Amount. Being required to pay a fee or charge for electronic or phone 
booking where there is no fee for purchase at the counter is an example 
of a fee that would still need to be reported in the Total Amount. DOT 
has determined that the booking fee is included in the Total Amount 
because, as noted in the preceding paragraph, if a passenger purchases 
through an outlet where a booking fee is imposed, that fee is required 
to be paid to board the aircraft. In addition, purchase at the counter 
is conducted by a very small percentage of consumers and, as a result, 
this required fee is paid by the vast majority of consumers when 
purchasing air travel. Carriers must also include all taxes and fees 
imposed by the U.S. or a foreign government, such as, but not limited 
to, Federal excise taxes, flight segment taxes, U.S. passenger facility 
surcharges, September 11 security fees, U.S. or international

[[Page 6151]]

departure and arrival charges, and immigration charges. Carriers must 
also include taxes and mandatory fees charged by other foreign 
authorities, such as passenger service charges and airport taxes.
    Unaccompanied minor fees are charges for services to assist an 
unaccompanied minor, for example, in navigating security and getting to 
the correct gate to catch a flight and ensuring that the unaccompanied 
minor arrives at the correct destination. DOT does not include these 
fees as part of the Total Amount in this final rule. Unaccompanied 
minor fees are currently a very small percentage of airline revenue and 
are not included on the standard passenger ticket document for 
reporting purposes, and thus may require additional unreasonable effort 
for reporting on behalf of the airline. The Department does not include 
frequent flyer program redemption fees as part of Total Amount in this 
final rule because such fees also make up a relatively small portion of 
airline revenue and are not included on the standard passenger ticket 
document for reporting purposes, and thus may require additional 
unreasonable effort for reporting on behalf of the airline.\9\ As a 
result, the term Total Amount should align with standard passenger 
ticket documents. For air carriers that do not follow such standards or 
have created new fees that may not be included in the standard 
passenger ticket document and yet are required to be paid to board the 
aircraft, these must also be included in Total Amount. DOT may also 
reexamine exclusion of unaccompanied minor and frequent flyer program 
redemption fees if it is determined that air carrier revenue derived 
from such fees increases significantly.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \9\ To the extent that frequent flyer program redemption fees 
are imposed on the purchase of a ticket, those fees would be 
required to be included in the advertisements pursuant to the 
Department's full fare rule (14 CFR 399.84).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Final Rulemaking Text: DOT adopts its proposal to require reporting 
of ``Total Amount.'' See Sec.  19-8.4(c)--Reporting of O&D data, 19-
8.2--Definitions. DOT also adds a definition of Total Amount in the 
final rule for clarity. The term is defined as discussed in the NPRM, 
as follows: Total Amount means gross total of funds collected on a 
ticket by the Issuing Carrier for the transportation of a passenger, 
inclusive of taxes and fees imposed by non-carrier entities or air 
carriers, and exclusive of ancillary fees not required to board the 
plane charged by the air carrier. Factors considered in determining 
what should be included in the Total Amount are as follows:
    (a) Total Amount includes charges required to board the aircraft 
(domestic and international) that are recognized as revenue at the time 
of purchase of the ticket and up to the time of first lift of the 
ticket.
    (b) Where a charge assessed at the time of purchase of the ticket 
is associated with a choice, such as seat assignment, where the 
consumer must pay the fee or charge regardless of the choice made, the 
charge is considered part of the Total Amount.
    (c) The Total Amount does not include charges for optional services 
(services offered which the consumer may choose not to utilize and thus 
not incur the fee or charge) such as baggage fees, seat upgrade fees, 
or ticket change fees. When a fee is assessed and there is a no cost 
option, that fee is considered an ancillary fee. When a fee is assessed 
for a service that provides something distinct from the air travel 
product then that fee is considered an ancillary fee.
    (d) The term Total Amount should align with standard passenger 
ticket documents; however, for air carriers that do not follow such 
standards or have, or may have, created new fees that may not be 
included in the standard passenger ticket document and yet are required 
to be paid to board the aircraft, these must also be included in Total 
Amount.
    Based on the criteria above, the following is a non-exhaustive list 
of carrier-imposed fees and charges that must be reported as part of 
the Total Amount of the ticket: fuel surcharges, carrier usage charges, 
carrier interface fees, check-in fees, electronic usage charges, peak/
holiday travel fees, transaction processing charges, and credit card 
surcharge fees. When a customer is assessed a fee based on how the 
customer acquires a ticket to board the aircraft, a booking fee, the 
fee is included in the Total Amount. Being required to pay a fee or 
charge for electronic or phone booking where there is no fee for 
purchase at the counter must be reported in the Total Amount. Being 
charged a call center fee for booking by phone when the customer could 
have booked online at no charge is not an example of a booking fee that 
must be reported. Carriers must also include all taxes and fees imposed 
by the U.S. or a foreign government, such as, but not limited to, 
Federal excise taxes, flight segment taxes, U.S. passenger facility 
surcharges, September 11 security fees, U.S. or international departure 
and arrival charges, and immigration charges. Carriers must also 
include taxes and mandatory fees charged by other foreign authorities, 
such as passenger service charges and airport taxes. Carriers are not 
required to include unaccompanied minor fees and frequent flyer 
redemption program fees.
    Note that in the NPRM, DOT stated that ``if there is an outlet for 
which there is no ticket fee (e.g., online purchases) and the only 
additional purchase fees are for tickets purchased via the airline's 
disfavored outlets, such as telephone or in-person sales, then the fee 
is not mandatory and would not need to be included in the Total Amount 
reported to the Department.'' DOT's final rule is essentially 
consistent with the preamble discussion in the NPRM because airlines 
typically impose the booking fee when consumers purchase tickets using 
the airlines' favored outlets (i.e., online purchases)--not disfavored 
ones as posited in the NPRM. Telephone and in-person sales make up a 
much smaller percentage of ticket purchases. In addition, on further 
consideration and as explained previously in this section, DOT 
considers booking fees as fees that the consumer must pay to board the 
aircraft.
Tax Amount
    Comments: A4A supports reporting the aggregate of fees and taxes 
imposed by external governmental entities and paid by the passenger as 
the Tax Amount. A4A opposes the inclusion of any air carrier-imposed 
fees in the Tax Amount because such inclusion would defeat the purpose 
of adding this data element. ACI-NA supports the proposed new items for 
total taxes. It also recommends that DOT consider requiring a full 
breakdown of government-imposed taxes and user fees. ATPCO supports a 
similar approach to representing Total Tax as it does with Total 
Amount, thereby ensuring consistent and reliable information.
    DOT Response: DOT has determined that reporting the Tax Amount paid 
will provide the necessary information to achieve the goals of the data 
collection, to identify the total tax burden on a per ticket basis and 
will not require a full breakout of all taxes paid on a ticket. DOT has 
determined that requiring carriers to report a full breakdown of 
government-imposed taxes and user fees would add burden and complexity 
to the point that the collection would no longer be cost effective 
while adding little utility to the mission of the collection. DOT also 
recognizes that, in the case of Category Two tickets, it would be 
especially difficult, if not impossible, for the reporting carrier to 
report a breakout of these taxes and fees for all tickets rendering 
such a reporting

[[Page 6152]]

requirement burdensome, incomplete, and inadequate. For this 
rulemaking, Tax Amount means all aggregated taxes and fees imposed by 
the U.S. government, a foreign government, or a government entity such 
as, but not limited to, Federal excise taxes, flight segment taxes, 
U.S. passenger facility surcharges, September 11 security fees, U.S. or 
international departure and arrival charges, and immigration charges. 
Taxes and mandatory fees charged by other foreign authorities, such as 
passenger service charges and airport taxes, are also considered part 
of Tax Amount.
    Final Rulemaking Text: DOT adopts its proposal to require reporting 
of ``Tax Amount.'' See Sec.  19-8.4(c)--Reporting of O&D data, 19-8.2--
Definitions. DOT also adds a definition of Tax Amount in the final rule 
for clarity. The term is defined using the commonly understood meaning 
of ``taxes'' as government-imposed fees or other charges, and as 
discussed in the NPRM, as follows: Tax Amount means all aggregated 
taxes and fees imposed by the U.S. or a foreign government, such as, 
but not limited to, Federal excise taxes, flight segment taxes, U.S. 
passenger facility surcharges, September 11 security fees, U.S. or 
international departure and arrival charges, and immigration charges. 
Taxes and mandatory fees charged by other foreign authorities, such as 
passenger service charges and airport taxes, are also considered part 
of Tax Amount.
Currency and Fractions of a Dollar
    Comments: A4A supports the proposed approach to report all amounts 
in United States Dollars, rounded to two decimal places.
    DOT Response: Consistent with other DOT data collection 
requirements, monetary amounts reported in the O&D shall be reported in 
United States Dollars (USD), rounded to two decimal places. Reporting 
Air Carriers should use their internal revenue accounting practices to 
determine proper currency conversion rates if their ticket data 
includes non-USD amounts.
    Final Rulemaking Text: DOT adopts its proposal to require reporting 
of all amounts in USD, rounded to two decimal places. Sec.  19-8.4(c)--
Reporting of O&D data, 19-8.2--Definitions.
Record Identification Number
    In the NPRM: The NPRM proposed the creation of a unique Record 
Identification Number (RIN) generated by the O&D Reporting Carrier for 
each Eligible Ticket submitted to the O&D. This would allow the 
Department to communicate precisely to the O&D Reporting Carrier any 
records that may have missing or incomplete data elements or are 
otherwise flagged for review. The Department sought comment on how to 
standardize the format of the RIN by incorporating helpful elements, 
such as the month and year of travel, plate code of the O&D Reporting 
Carrier, ticket number, or origin/destination, while at the same time 
preserving the number as a unique record identifier. No comments were 
received on the specific format.
    Comments: A4A supports the creation of a Record Identification 
Number for each eligible ticket submitted for the reasons stated in the 
NPRM.
    DOT Response: In this final rule, DOT requires air carriers to 
assign a Record Identification Number (RIN) to each ticket deemed 
eligible for submission to the O&D, facilitating easier record 
identification by the Reporting Carrier when correcting tickets 
reported with errors. Refer to the Instructions to Air Carriers for 
Collecting and Reporting Passenger Origin-Destination Survey Data.\10\
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    \10\ Instructions are available from the Bureau of 
Transportation Statistics Office of Airline Information. Please 
visit https://www.bts.gov/ or call 800-853-1351.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Final Rulemaking Text: DOT adopts its proposal to require reporting 
of a ``Record Identification Number'' (RIN). DOT also provides a 
definition of RIN for clarity, as follows: Record Identification Number 
(RIN) means an air carrier assigned number that uniquely identifies 
each ticket within each reporting period. See Sec.  19-8.4(c)--
Reporting of O&D data, 19-8.2--Definitions.
Removal of Fare Basis Code
    Comments: A4A strongly supports removal of the fare basis code for 
the reasons stated in the NPRM, and notes that ceasing to report fare 
basis codes will substantially decrease the burden on the reporting air 
carriers. APAC is in favor of minimizing the burden on O&D reporting 
carriers while still collecting fare class, or at the very least, cabin 
class in lieu of the fare basis code. ADI is opposed to the removal of 
the fare class and cabin class from the collected data. ADI further 
states that continuing to include these two components in the submitted 
data should not create any undue burden and that removal of this data 
would reduce the robustness of the data. Cirium recommends including 
fare class or the directly assigned booking code values to facilitate 
``meaningful'' fare analysis. A4A, however, expresses concerns with the 
availability, ease of reporting, or reliability/consistency of using 
directly assigned booking code values. A4A notes that airlines often 
deviate from standard booking code values. A4A also notes that while 
booking code could conceivably be used as an indicator of passenger 
segmentation because cabin use has some correlation with passenger 
segmentation, A4A considers it to be an imperfect indicator as there is 
no uniformity across air carriers in the definition of aircraft cabin 
configurations or products included within cabin classes. Lastly, A4A 
states that it is more common for a passenger to mix cabin classes on 
multi-leg itineraries, which creates difficulty in determining whether 
the passenger was truly intending to travel as a business or leisure 
customer, or simply purchased available cabin class inventory to secure 
intended dates of travel. A4A therefore argues that its member carriers 
do not support using booking codes for passenger segmentation. A4A 
proposed the use of Advanced Purchase Window (APW) as a less burdensome 
and more accurate indicator of the leisure/business travel split. A4A 
cites that this indicator is applicable to the entire itinerary 
regardless of how many segments are flown, is a far less burdensome and 
a more accurate indicator of travel as the indicator is not tied to the 
row or seat a passenger occupies, which airline is flown, or whether 
the purchase is one-way or round-trip.
    DOT Response: DOT has collected fare basis code data in the O&D 
under 19-7, but since inception of this data element requirement, 
airline revenue accounting practices have evolved with increasing 
complexity. This data element has been primarily used for the purpose 
of segmenting market demand into similar categories of service or 
product categories for more discrete pricing analysis of air carrier 
product market segments. This has required the carriers and then the 
users of the data to ``map'' individual carriers' fare basis codes in 
an attempt to standardize codes across carriers and across time. The 
evolution of air fare products across air carrier business models and 
time, with the gradual replacement of many First Class products by lie-
flat Business Class products--some of which feature suite 
characteristics, the introduction of Premium Economy Class, and the 
bifurcation of traditional Economy Class into separate discrete product 
types makes any standardization system based on such characteristic 
burdensome and expensive to implement and always subject to inaccuracy 
given the limited set of information available to DOT and to individual 
data users. A4A

[[Page 6153]]

commented that the use of advance purchase window would provide a 
better solution for ticket segmentation. A4A contends that the best 
metric for passenger segmentation is the advance purchase window, which 
indicates how far in advance a ticket was purchased from date of 
travel. A4A further states that airline network planners and revenue 
management analysts use advance purchase metrics to segment traffic, 
including estimating the share of premium travelers. Given that Advance 
Purchase metrics are an integrated part of the same sales and revenue 
accounting systems that serve as a source for O&D information and for 
the other reasons provided in comments, DOT will no longer require fare 
basis code to be reported in the O&D. Instead, DOT will add the data 
element Purchase Window Group to the list of elements collected in this 
Rulemaking, with each ticket demarcated by the following categories:
    (1) ``21AP'': Less than or equal to 21 days prior to departure;
    (2) ``2290'': 22 to 90 days prior to departure; and
    (3) ``91UP'': More than 90 days prior to departure.
    A4A maintains the above suggested buckets strike an appropriate 
balance between shielding more granular and therefore competitively 
sensitive information and enabling O&D users to evaluate product 
segment attributes such as the business versus leisure split of the 
market. A4A further states that the 21 days or less purchase bucket is 
a commonly accepted industry approach to determining the leisure and 
business demarcation. Airlines must determine the appropriate category 
by subtracting the date of ticket purchase from the date of scheduled 
travel in the itinerary.
    Final Rulemaking Text: DOT adopts its proposal to no longer require 
reporting of fare basis code. Instead, for the reasons explained in the 
preceding discussion, DOT requires reporting of ``Purchase Window 
Group.'' In the NPRM, the Department sought alternatives to fare basis 
code, stating that DOT could instead collect ``fare class or a 
replacement data element instead.'' 86 FR 5052, 5058 (Jan. 19, 2021). 
A4A responded to the NPRM recommending that DOT instead require 
reporting of Purchase Window Group. A4A provided in its comments its 
reasoning for recommending reporting of Purchase Window Group, which 
DOT considered in adopting the requirement in this final rule. DOT also 
adds a definition of Purchase Window Group for clarity, as follows. 
Purchase Window Group means one of three groups indicating the advance 
purchase window of the ticket. ''21AP'' is less than or equal to 21 
days prior to departure, ``2290'' is 22 to 90 days prior to departure, 
and ``91UP'' is more than 90 days prior to departure. See Sec.  19-
8.4(c)--Reporting of O&D data, 19-8.2--Definitions.
Cabin Class
    Comments: A4A opposes the inclusion of ticketed or flown cabin 
information primarily because it would add complexity and costs to the 
reporting process without providing consistent, meaningful, comparable 
data. A4A also states that there is no uniformity across airlines on 
airline cabins, products within each cabin, or cabin configurations. 
APAC commented that it is in favor of minimizing the burden on O&D 
reporting carriers while still collecting fare class, or at the very 
least, cabin class in replacement of the fare basis code. ACI-NA does 
not support eliminating the cabin class the passenger uses on each of 
the flights.
    DOT Response: In light of the comments received on cabin 
information, similar to Fare Basis Code, DOT has determined requiring 
carriers to report cabin class would add burden, complexity, and not 
improve data quality. Although the existing Fare Basis Code includes 
elements related to First, Business, and Economy class service, 
continued reporting of this type of information would no longer be cost 
effective in the new system given all the other changes being 
introduced. DOT also recognizes that, in the case of Category Two 
tickets, it would be especially difficult to include cabin class 
information to the point where such reporting would not be useful due 
to lack of accurate information available to the reporting carrier. DOT 
concludes that the key analytical value of such information is to 
segment the product market and the purchase window group enables an 
analyst to do so to a certain extent. DOT further recognizes that other 
data sources such as schedule data can be used to determine the types 
of onboard products available in a market, and when combined with O&D 
analysis utilizing advance purchase window, will enable users to obtain 
a picture of the pricing situation by market segment. DOT will not 
require the reporting of cabin class as a data element in the O&D.
    (7) Whether optional ticket purchase fees collected from most 
tickets should be included in the total amount of a ticket.
    In the NPRM: Airlines' revenue accounting of tickets purchased has 
evolved significantly since the inception of the O&D. How air carriers 
sell their services has changed, including a larger adoption of fees 
for various services related to air travel, including fees for booking 
a ticket through telephonic means and pre-selection of a seat at the 
time of ticket purchase, among many other fees. DOT asked for comments 
related to the inclusion of those fees with base fare and tax amount, 
as part of the total amount of a ticket.
    Comments: These comments are described in the ``Total Amount'' 
discussion.
    DOT Response: These comments are addressed in the ``Total Amount'' 
discussion.
    (8) The appropriate amount of time to withhold O&D data from 
dissemination.
    In the NPRM: In the NPRM, we state that reducing the amount of time 
to withhold O&D data from dissemination from 90 days to 60 days would 
balance the value of providing timely information to stakeholders while 
still protecting the business confidentiality of the reporting air 
carriers.
    Comments: A4A supports reducing DOT's minimum data withholding 
period for O&D and T100/T100(f) from 90 days to 60 days. RAA supports 
the position of A4A. ACI-NA supports shortening of Schedule T100(f) 
from six months to three months and recommends that DOT develop 
internal administrative procedures to ensure the data is available to 
stakeholders with minimal delay and potentially coordinate the release 
time with the Schedule T100.
    DOT Response: O&D is currently released approximately 80 days after 
the end of the reporting period. The 80 days is made up of a 45-day 
period for reporting carriers to submit and approximately a 35-day 
period for DOT to load, validate, quality test, and resolve any 
identified quality issues with the reporting carrier(s). The actual 
amount of time required to complete the data processing varies based on 
the specifics of each processing cycle. In any given quarter, one or 
more carriers may have complex data quality problems that could require 
more than 35 days to correct. The majority of the 35-day processing 
cycle is made up of interactions with reporting carriers to correct 
data quality issues. At times, multiple iterations of communications 
between DOT and the reporting carrier(s) are required to resolve the 
issue. The reporting requirement that is most often attributed to data 
quality problems is the first reporting carrier rule. The current rule 
requires the carrier that did not issue the ticket to bring together 
ticket information from all carriers that participate in an

[[Page 6154]]

itinerary. This new rule will have the carrier that issues the ticket, 
which has all the necessary information about the ticket, be the 
carrier responsible for submitting the ticket information. This will 
eliminate a major source of error, reduce the amount of time reporting 
carriers spend searching for missing information, and reduce the number 
of interactions with DOT. DOT will build in greater automation to the 
data processing system that will be developed to accommodate the data 
changes required by this rule which will contribute to faster 
production. There is uncertainty about the total production impact of 
the new rule, however, given that the reporting will go from quarterly 
to monthly and there will be an expansion of reporting carriers. DOT 
will continue to ensure that only complete data of the highest quality 
is published as soon as possible. The target publication date will 
initially be 75 days from the end of the data reporting period. As the 
reporting carriers and DOT prove the processing cycle is robust, the 
publication window may be reduced to the greatest extent possible while 
still meeting data quality and completeness goals. This reduction and 
any future reductions will be accomplished by: (1) improving the 
submission rules to reduce quality errors, (2) automation improvement 
in the processing cycle, and (3) coordination and cooperating between 
DOT and reporting carriers to resolve any data quality issues as 
expeditiously as possible. This approach will strike a balance between 
providing timely data while protecting the quality of the data 
provided. DOT reserves the right to withhold incomplete data until it 
can be corrected but recognizes the need to accelerate production to 
the maximum extent possible.
    (9) and (10) Adding the descriptor ``citizens and non-citizens'' to 
the other persons offered an opportunity to obtain domestic carrier-
submitted itineraries with foreign origin and destinations points in 
the O&D. Replacing the phrase ``specifically identified need'' with a 
defined list of permissible, specifically identified needs that would 
be codified in the regulation, and if so, what that defined list should 
include.
    In the NPRM: Under 14 CFR part 241, Sec. 19-7(d), international 
itinerary data in the O&D is not generally disclosed because of the 
potential damaging competitive impact on U.S. carriers and the adverse 
effect upon the public interest that would result from unilateral 
disclosure of data related to foreign markets. The disclosure policy 
identifies exceptions for government interests and for air carriers 
contributing data to the O&D. DOT proposed adding the descriptor 
``citizens and non-citizens'' to the other persons offered an 
opportunity to obtain the data based on specifically identified needs 
that are consistent with U.S. interests. We also sought comment on 
whether to replace the phrase ``specifically identified need'' with a 
defined list of permissible, specifically identified needs that would 
be codified in the regulation, and, if so, what that defined list 
should include.
    Comments: A4A states that it is critical that the Department take 
all precautions in the final rule to ensure that air carriers 
registered outside the United States, foreign governments, consultants, 
or others when working on behalf of said parties, not be granted access 
to data on international markets contained in the O&D. A4A further 
stated, however, that U.S.-based business units of foreign-based 
aircraft manufacturers (e.g., Airbus Americas, Embraer) should be 
granted access to such data, subject to the same obligations to protect 
against unauthorized disclosure, for purposes of marketing their 
services to, or performing analyses request by, U.S.-based air 
carriers. Airbus strongly supports the Department's proposed changes to 
the dissemination of this data, particularly the addition of ``citizens 
and non-citizens'' to the other persons offered an opportunity to 
obtain the data based on specifically identified needs and consistency 
with U.S. interests. It believes that by expanding access to the 
international O&D data, the Department will allow Airbus and other 
U.S.-based civil aircraft manufacturers with a significant presence in 
the U.S. market the opportunity to better tailor product offerings to 
better serve U.S. airlines and the U.S. aviation market.
    DOT Response: DOT did not receive comments expressing concern with 
the inclusion of the term ``non-citizens'' in the group of persons 
eligible to have access to international itineraries as long as that 
access is for a purpose that supports U.S. Government (USG) efforts or 
those of carriers required to report the data. This will enable the USG 
or carriers required to report the data greater access to global 
analytical capabilities from third parties that may be non-citizens. 
DOT will add the term ``non-citizens'' while maintaining the same 
policy framework for the release and use of international O&D data 
enabling non-citizen analysis of the O&D that meets the criteria 
outlined above. There were no comments directly addressing the DOT 
question related to a defined list of permissible, specifically 
identified needs that would be codified in the regulation.
    Final Rulemaking Text: DOT adopts its proposal to add the 
descriptor ``citizens and non-citizens'' to the other persons offered 
an opportunity to obtain domestic carrier-submitted itineraries with 
foreign origin and destinations points in the O&D. DOT does not replace 
the phrase ``specifically identified need'' with a defined list of 
permissible, specifically identified needs at this time. See Sec.  19-
8.6--Dissemination.
    (11) Shortening the time that Schedule T100(f) data is withheld 
from 6 months to 3 months.
    In the NPRM: In the NPRM, we solicited comment on whether 
shortening the time that DOT withholds public release of the T100(f) 
from six months to three months would provide increased utility of the 
data.
    Comments: RAA believes that timely traffic and fare information is 
critical to both industry and government analysis considering the 
importance of aviation to the U.S. and world economy. A4A asks that DOT 
reduce the withholding periods for both T100 and T100(f) to 60 days to 
align with the proposed withholding period for O&D data. ACI-NA asks 
that DOT reduce the withholding periods for both T100 and T100(f) to 60 
days to align with the proposed withholding period for O&D data.
    DOT Response: Aligning the release of various aviation datasets is 
advantageous to the users of the data, so long as it: (1) does not 
produce any concerns of infringing on business confidentiality by 
shortening the release of such data, and (2) does not compromise data 
quality or completeness. Given the comments we have received, DOT will 
shorten the period that T100(f) data is withheld from six months to 
what will be approximately 70 days depending on the month. Currently, 
T100/T100(f) data are due 30 days after the end of a reporting period. 
In the case of Schedule T100/T100(f), DOT takes approximately 45 days 
to load, validate, quality test, and resolve any identified quality 
issues with the over 200 operating carrier(s) that report each month. 
This change will align the processing and release of Schedule T100(f) 
with that of Schedule T100 while also reducing the DOT processing cycle 
for T100/T100(f) to approximately 40 days. The result will be that 
T100/T100(f) will be published approximately 70 days after the end of a 
reporting period. This will include T100/T100(f) that contains domestic 
only points and one domestic point and one international point. O&D 
processing is dependent on Schedule T100 data for validation and rather 
than hold T100/

[[Page 6155]]

T100(f) while awaiting O&D validation, DOT will release T100/T100(f) 
data as soon as it is validated and complete. DOT will publish T100/
T100(f) data as soon as practicable while maintaining quality 
standards. DOT has determined that this change will not lead to any 
business confidentiality concerns because technological advances in 
market intelligence data collection give air carriers more insight into 
foreign and domestic routes much sooner than in decades past. This 
reduction in the publication cycle is in line with current market 
intelligence and analytics products available today, thereby 
ameliorating previous concerns of business confidentiality.
    (11) A reasonable compliance date to begin no earlier than one year 
from the publication of the final rule.
    In the NPRM: In the NPRM, we proposed that the compliance date for 
the improvements to the O&D would be no earlier than one year from the 
publication of any final rule, giving reporting air carriers sufficient 
time to implement information technology solutions to transmit data in 
conformity with the final rulemaking.
    Comments: A4A agrees with DOT that air carriers and others should 
be afforded at least 12 months to modify their systems and procedures 
to comply with a final rule. A4A further requests that the date for 
implementation and compliance coincide with the beginning of a 
reporting quarter under Section 19-7 and not be earlier than January 
2023 because of the lingering resource constraints on air carriers 
stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. ATPCO believes a solution can be 
in place within one year to start parallel testing of O&D data under 
Sec. 19-7 and Sec. 19-8.
    DOT Response: DOT affirms that the compliance date for the changes 
to the O&D will be no earlier than one year from the publication from 
the final rule. DOT has provided for a compliance date in the final 
rule of July 1, 2025. If air carriers are ready to report their data 
using Section 19-8 prior to that date, and DOT has determined that air 
carrier reporting pursuant to 19-8 is sufficient for such data to 
become the O&D system of record, DOT may consider authorizing 
discontinuance of reporting pursuant to Section 19-7, but not earlier 
than January 1, 2025, to ensure that air carriers have time to 
implement the new Section 19-8. This also ensures the 19-8 data 
compliance occurs at the beginning of a new quarter and the 19-7 
quarterly data will be complete for the last full quarter it is 
collected. For air transportation taking place on or after April 1, 
2024, and each reporting month after, reporting carriers may submit O&D 
data to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Office of Airline 
Information (BTS/OAI) that conforms to Sec. 19-8 as test data.
    Final Rulemaking Text: DOT adopts its proposal to establish a 
compliance date no earlier than one year from the date of publication 
of the final rule. Specifically, air carriers must report O&D data 
pursuant to the new Sec. 19-8 for all air travel occurring on or after 
July 1, 2025. This means that the first data collection using Sec. 19-8 
as the statistics of record will be due to DOT by September 15th, 2025. 
See Sec.  19-8.3(c)--Applicability.
    (12) Reporting data under Sec. 19-7 until such time that Sec. 19-8 
replaces Sec. 19-7 as the statistics of record.
    In the NPRM: In the NPRM, DOT stated that air carriers would 
continue to report O&D data under Sec. 19-7 until DOT determines 
testing and validation of data submitted under Sec. 19-8 is complete 
and suitable to replace data collected under Sec. 19-7 as the 
statistics of record. The Department also stated that it envisioned the 
submission of 12 months of data under Sec. 19-8 for testing and 
validation as sufficient to resolve any problems that may arise in the 
submission and processing of data.
    Comments: A4A states that its members are concerned about the 
manpower required to support dual reporting for an extended length of 
time, and therefore asks the Department to shorten the proposed dual-
reporting period from 12 months to six months. A4A further noted, 
``Should the Department identify issues with a particular carrier's 
compliance, it should work with that specific carrier to extend the 
dual-reporting period, but not require that all carriers extend the 
period to 12 months.''
    DOT Response: DOT recognizes that dual reporting of O&D data will 
require additional resources but must balance this with the assurance 
that the new datasets created under Sec. 19-8 are robust, accurate, and 
suitable to replace data collected under Sec. 19-7 as the statistics of 
record. DOT will work with reporting air carriers to minimize the 
number of months whereby carriers must submit data under Sec. 19-7 and 
Sec. 19-8. DOT highly recommends reporting carriers develop the 
necessary systems and processes to enable reporting of O&D test data as 
prescribed by this section starting with April 2024 data, 17 months 
from the date of this rule's publication. DOT will accept test data as 
prescribed by section 19-8 on May 1st, 2024, one day after the end of 
the first reporting period for test data. DOT recommends reporting 
carriers submit the first period of test data within 45 days of the end 
of the first test period, which will mirror the submission schedule 
after the compliance date. Each subsequent monthly period after May 
2024, DOT will continue to accept test data so that reporting carriers 
and DOT can validate the reporting process and reported data. During 
this time, reporting carriers subject to part 19-7 will continue to 
report 19-7 as the system of record for O&D data. To the extent 
possible, DOT will terminate overlap reporting of 19-7 system of record 
data and 19-8 test data after two cycles of 19-7 data are compared to 
the corresponding overlapping six cycles of 19-8 test data should there 
be no quality problems. This corresponds to six months of overlap data 
being reported as requested by A4A. Should DOT determine overlap 
reporting can be terminated after the six months of overlap reporting 
are compared and validated, DOT may terminate the dual reporting 
requirement as of the earliest possible date that corresponds with the 
beginning of a quarterly submission period which would be January 1st, 
2025. DOT will make every effort to assist each carrier with compliance 
so the dual-reporting period can be shortened to the six months of 
overlap. To validate the 19-8 data, DOT will compare it to 19-7 O&D 
data, T100 data, and schedule data for the same periods. The final 
decision setting the compliance date to six months of dual reporting 
will depend on the scope of any deficient carrier(s) operations and the 
degree to which the problem carrier(s) may codeshare with other 
carriers which will impact DOT's ability to obtain the full sample of 
data necessary for comparison.
    (13) The utility to users and additional burden to O&D reporting 
carriers of reporting individual tax and fee amounts instead of 
reporting the aggregate amount of taxes and fees.
    In the NPRM: In the NPRM, we asked whether there would be utility 
to users and additional burden to O&D reporting carriers of reporting 
individual tax and fee amounts instead of reporting the aggregate 
amount of taxes and fees.
    Responses: A4A strongly opposes reporting taxes and non-air carrier 
fees on a disaggregated (itemized) basis. ATPCO states that an attempt 
to require the submission of more detailed tax information will 
introduce inaccuracy into the survey data because the information is 
not provided in the sales data, and that a total tax value similar to 
the total amount value would provide a more consistent and reliable 
figure

[[Page 6156]]

base on their experience with the reported sales data.
    DOT Response: DOT has determined that any additional utility in 
requiring reporting air carriers to submit disaggregated, itemized 
taxes and non-air carrier fees is outweighed by the complexity and 
burden that such reporting would entail. Refer to Issue 6 Tax Amount 
for further related discussion. DOT will therefore require reporting 
air carriers under Sec. 19-8 to submit taxes and non-air carrier fees 
only on an aggregated basis.
    Final Rulemaking Text: See Issue 6 Tax Amount. Sec.  19-8.4(c)--
Reporting of O&D Data, 19-8.2--Definitions.
    (14) Comments related to the annual burden estimate for reporting 
carriers to collect and submit O&D data.
    In the NPRM: DOT solicited comments to: (1) evaluate whether the 
proposed information requirement is necessary for the proper 
performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the 
information will have practical utility for stakeholders; (2) evaluate 
the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden; (3) enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; and, (4) 
minimize the burden of collecting information on those who must report, 
including by using appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or 
other technological collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Responses: ACI-NA comments that the current rules for the O&D were 
established in the 1960s and technology and data storage were 
significant limiting factors. Airlines now have different business 
models, reporting, and accounting practices due to technological 
advancements, including sophisticated revenue management systems. ATPCO 
states it does not have adequate information to comment specifically on 
the cost savings published in the NPRM, but it does believe that a 
centralized solution provided by an industry organization does offer 
the opportunity for meaningful cost savings over the current method for 
collecting the survey.
    DOT Response: In establishing this final rule, the Secretary of 
Transportation must consider as being in the public interest and 
consistent with public convenience and necessity ``placing maximum 
reliance on competitive market forces and on actual and potential 
competition.'' \11\ Accurate and timely information is a necessary 
predicate to evaluating markets. DOT concludes, based on the RIA, and 
as discussed in the NPRM and this final rule, that the O&D Survey 
remains justified, that there are issues of objectivity, integrity, and 
utility with the current collection, and that the changes necessary to 
correct the issues as finalized in this rule will result in a net 
reduction in burden to the public when compared to taking no action. 
The changes in the final rule simplify the reporting process by 
aligning reporting rules with current carrier revenue reporting systems 
which will drastically minimize the potential for errors compared to 
current reporting, clarify definitions, and make available a more 
diverse set of data elements relevant to the analysis of contemporary 
aviation markets. We therefore affirm that the changes to the O&D under 
Sec. 19-8 are necessary for the proper execution of the agency's 
aviation policy making functions and will enhance the quality, utility, 
and clarity of the information collected, and that we have attempted to 
minimize the burden of collecting information to the maximum extent 
possible on those who are required to submit that information to the 
O&D.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \11\ 49 U.S.C. 40101(a)(6).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (15) Implementation and establishing a permanent working group of 
O&D reporting airlines.
    Responses: A4A and RAA request that DOT establish a permanent 
working group of O&D reporting air carriers to work with the Department 
on an ongoing basis to identify issues that arise and review and 
recommend appropriate changes to BTS/OAI Directives and/or 
Instructions. RAA also states the group should include representatives 
from data reporters and data users and consider including at least one 
representative from RAA or RAA members. ATPCO encourages the 
establishment of an industry meeting or working group involving the 
airlines, industry organizations and the Department to ensure 
consistent and accurate data submission guidelines.
    DOT Response: DOT recognizes the importance of involving 
stakeholders in the development and implementation of data collection 
efforts and has worked diligently to facilitate discussion and 
encourage collaboration in data modernization efforts. DOT will 
continue to engage stakeholders and other interested parties to 
implement this rule as efficiently and effectively as possible and to 
respond to the issue and concerns of both the reporting carriers and 
data users. DOT encourages air carriers and any other interested 
parties with questions concerning implementation of the final rule to 
contact DOT, so that DOT can consider those implementation questions 
and determine the most appropriate means to communicate a response to 
all affected carriers and the public. DOT will ensure compliance with 
the Federal Advisory Committee Act and other relevant requirements in 
its engagement with the public.

Other Changes From the NPRM

Retention of Section 19-7 and Relevant Provisions From the Current 
Appendix A to Section 19-7
    In the NPRM regulatory text, DOT included an amendatory instruction 
to remove Sec. 19-7. DOT determined that such an instruction is 
inappropriate given the dual reporting envisioned by DOT in Section VI 
of the NPRM and discussed in this final rule. DOT therefore retains the 
regulatory text for Sec. 19-7 to assist air carriers in conducting the 
overlap reporting necessary before reporters are required to report 
only pursuant to Sec. 19-8. In addition, DOT has retained in the 
regulatory text sections on Waiver Requests, Quantity and Quality 
Controls, Editing Data, and Control of Sample Section and Data 
Recording. These appear unchanged from the Appendix A to Sec. 19-7 and 
have been included for clarity of the regulatory requirements of Sec. 
19-8. While DOT did not include these sections in the regulatory text 
in the NPRM, DOT did not intend to change these regulatory requirements 
and did not discuss any proposed changes to these requirements in the 
NPRM. DOT also retained certain definitions and terms with adjustments 
to align them in a more consistent manner with current industry 
understanding and recordkeeping. These amendments are intended to 
update the outdated terms in the 19-7 regulations with minimal, if any, 
change in reporting/meaning intended. These terms include: Connecting 
Point, Destination, Coupon Stage, Flight Coupon, International Ticket, 
Operating Carrier, Origin, Reporting Carrier, Routing, and Scheduled 
Service. DOT included new terms that are relevant to only the new 
regulations to further clarify for carriers the proper interpretation 
of the regulations for accurate reporting. These terms include: 
Commuter Air Carrier, Dwell Time, Eligible Ticket, First Reporting 
Carrier Rule, Flown Lift Usage, Issuing Carrier, Marketing Carrier, 
Purchase Window Group, Record Identification Number, Reporting Event, 
Reporting Carrier List, Reporting Month, Reportable Ticket, Reporting 
Year, Revenue Passenger, Scheduled Flight Month, Scheduled Flight Year, 
Tax Amount, Ticket, Total Amount, USD, Via Airport (Point(s)). As 
discussed in the section of the preamble explaining DOT's responses to

[[Page 6157]]

comments on the NPRM, DOT defined these terms using their commonly 
understood meanings and as described in the NPRM, with additional 
clarification as necessary and as suggested by commenters.

VIII. Regulatory Analysis and Notices

A. E.O. 12866 (Regulatory Planning and Review), E.O. 13563 (Improving 
Regulation and Regulatory Review), and DOT Regulatory Policies and 
Procedures (49 CFR Part 5)

    This rulemaking is not considered a significant regulatory action 
under section 3(f) of E.O. 12866,\12\ as supplemented by E.O. 
13563.\13\ The impact of the rule on the economy is less than $100 
million; the rule does not create conflicts with actions taken by other 
agencies; alter budgetary impacts of entitlements, grants, fees, or 
loans; or raise any novel legal or policy issues.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \12\ 58 FR 51735; September 30, 1993.
    \13\ 76 FR 3821; January 21, 2011.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    This regulatory action modifies an existing regulation and is 
expected to result in cost savings to producers and users of the data 
as well as to the Federal government. This action is also expected to 
result in benefits to users of the data, including the O&D Reporting 
Carriers.
1. Cost and Benefits
    The Final Regulatory Impact Analysis estimates the total discounted 
savings that could be monetized over a 10-year period. Savings could be 
robustly estimated only for the reporting requirements and may not 
include some other potential costs which the Department expects to have 
minimal impact. The cost savings of the reporting requirements are 
estimated to total $10,367,702 over ten years, which will result in an 
annualized system cost of $1,476,128, when discounted using a seven 
percent rate. Given these estimates, the rule is not economically 
significant. The net costs of the final rule were determined by 
comparing the costs of the existing system to the projected costs with 
the proposed modification. The Department's analysis identified three 
primary categories of potential cost reductions:
     Cost reductions to data producers: the reduction in the 
costs of producing information for government reporting, due to 
technological simplification of data processing and submission.
     Cost reductions to the government: the reduction in costs 
to edit, manipulate, and validate the O&D data for release.
     Cost reductions to the public/users of the data: the 
reduction in time that users must spend applying specialized analytical 
skills to manipulate and adjust the data to account for current 
deficiencies in the O&D Survey.
    Cost reductions to data producers include costs for accounting and 
auditing clerks, computer systems analysts, and computer programming 
analysts that are part of the ongoing production of data by the air 
carriers. Labor rates were taken based on Bureau of Labor Statistics 
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) and hours were estimated 
based on industry input for current operations. Average cost per 
airline based on the labor rates and estimated hours was then 
calculated, and this was multiplied by the expected number of carriers 
that will report over a 10-year timeframe. The ``as is'' costs were 
then compared to the ``to be'' costs that would be achieved under the 
rule. The ``to be'' costs include the transition costs from the current 
system to the new system as well as an ongoing cost estimate for the 
processing of the data by a third-party fee-for-service provider. 
ATPCO, the leading distributor of airline fares and airline fare 
information, notified DOT that it can create software to assemble the 
O&D report for any air carrier that exchanges ticket information using 
their services. ATPCO is a non-profit industry consortium that provides 
tariff and other ticket-related services to air carriers and foreign 
air carriers ``at-cost.'' ATPCO's shared software would relieve air 
carriers from the cost of maintaining separate systems, each of which 
carries attendant secondary expenses for training and technical 
maintenance. This option would not only simplify the information 
technology operations, but also amortize the cost of creating and 
maintaining the software. Therefore, upfront costs resulting from this 
proposed action are expected to include the expenses related to 
developing, installing, and maintaining an automated reporting system. 
These upfront costs have been accounted for as ongoing payments to a 
third-party provider.
    Cost reductions to the government include systems investment costs 
and ongoing production costs. Labor rates were taken based on Bureau of 
Labor Statistics Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) and hours 
were based on estimates provided by the BTS. The ``as is'' comparison 
assumed the use of existing infrastructure while the ``to be'' assumed 
a two-year development and implementation window, as well as ongoing 
production costs.
    Cost reductions to the public/users were estimated for the ``as 
is'' total hours users of the data spend on computer systems. The total 
``as is'' hours include analysts that further prepare the data and 
those that perform final data quality procedures that must be done to 
ensure clean data for final analysis outputs. The comparison ``to be'' 
calculation includes an estimated investment cost for creating 
processes for the new data prior to its release to public/users. All 
costs were estimated over 10 years and discounted at a 7 percent rate. 
This analysis finds that the final rule would result in annualized cost 
savings of approximately $1.5 million at a 7 percent discount rate.
2. Implementation and Transition Costs
    To comply with the revised O&D, certain investment is likely 
necessary by data producers. This investment will be required to 
accommodate the increase in: new reporting carriers, the reporting 
frequency, the percentage of tickets reported, and the new data 
elements. In addition, these changes will result in additional burden 
on the government for more frequent processing and faster turnaround 
time for publication. The final rule streamlines and simplifies the 
design of the O&D, allowing for a much greater degree of process 
automation. The rule also allows for third-party providers to create 
fee-for-service software that would produce the Survey reporting 
records for all air carriers as an alternative to the carrier doing the 
processing.
3. Benefits to Users of the Data
    Users of the data include air carriers and industry-related 
entities, such as airports, manufacturers, researchers, and investors, 
who often cite the O&D as one of the most critical datasets used to 
formulate short- and long-term business plans and forecast industry 
trends. Other USG agencies such as the Federal Aviation Administration 
(FAA), Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), Department of Justice (DOJ), 
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Government 
Accounting Office (GAO) as well as educational institutions use the 
data for research purposes as well. Improving the quality of the O&D 
data yields several other unquantified benefits to users of the data, 
including:
     Reporting the Dwell Time between flights reduces the 
difficulties and potential errors associated with determining when a 
passenger has reached a destination (``Trip Break'') and when the 
passenger is simply waiting for a connecting flight to the intended 
destination.
     Reporting all the cities in the itinerary better aligns 
O&D data with the T100, removing much of the uncertainty

[[Page 6158]]

in market validation analysis. This would allow the T100 to facilitate 
validation of O&D data submissions.
     Reporting a larger sample size to capture small and rural 
markets with the statistically significant equivalence of larger 
markets reduces the need to make much less accurate manual statistical 
adjustments as well as increase the accuracy of data available for the 
analysis of small markets.
     Differentiating the amount of tax collected from the 
amount of total fare collected removes uncertainty in determining the 
actual passenger revenue retained by the airlines.
     Reporting the month and year of travel enables the 
determination of market trends that are not discernable inside the 
quarterly data reports and allows direct cross-validation to other 
datasets such as the T100.
     Having the issuing carrier report the itinerary will 
enable better identification of the operating carrier of each segment. 
The comparison of O&D to T100 by market will be easier for both the DOT 
and the user.
4. Cost-Benefit Analysis Summary

------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Major provisions of this                              10-Year costs
      regulatory action              Benefit         (discounted at 7%)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Change sample size to 40%...  Enables more          The estimated total
                               effective oversight   reduction in cost
                               of Congressional      over 10 years
                               programs designed     discounted at 7%
                               to help small         for all the major
                               communities and       provisions would
                               provide more          provide a reduction
                               accurate market       of $10,367,702 from
                               information for a     the cost of
                               wide variety of       continuing the
                               research and          current
                               industry uses.        methodology.*
Report each ticket as a       Simplifies reporting
 single record.                and improves
                               quality assurance.
Designate all certificated    Simplifies the
 air carriers and commuter     reporting
 air carriers holding out      procedures to
 scheduled passenger service   enable full
 as O&D Reporting Carriers     automation of
 and require reporting the     reporting, which
 tickets issued.               enhances efficiency
                               and accuracy; and
                               eliminates
                               loopholes in
                               collection; and
                               secures integrity
                               of the sample of
                               tickets.
Move to monthly reporting...  Creates more useful
                               and timely economic
                               information; and
                               aligns the
                               reporting process
                               with the
                               corresponding
                               industry accounting
                               process.
Report the month/year of      Creates more useful,
 travel.                       timely economic
                               information; and
                               aligns reporting
                               process with the
                               corresponding
                               industry accounting
                               process.
Report all airports in the    Provides clarity and
 itinerary.                    completeness in
                               passenger movements.
Report Dwell Time as the      Allows accurate
 number of minutes between     determination of
 each arrival and the next     the passenger's
 departure in the itinerary    intended
 according to the schedule.    destination based
                               on industry
                               standard practice.
Add Advanced Purchase Window  Removes sensitive
 (APW) reporting instead of    business
 Fare Basis Code reporting.    information that is
                               burdensome to
                               report. Includes
                               information more
                               relevant to product
                               segmentation in a
                               less burdensome
                               manner.
Report taxes paid on the      Informs tax policy
 ticket.                       and allows data
                               users to separate
                               taxes paid from the
                               total fare.
Report a Record               Enables
 Identification Number.        communication
                               between O&D
                               reporting carriers
                               and DOT regarding
                               data quality.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* The industry requests to align the regulation with current accounting
  practices, which means that the system is to be restructured, so all
  new provisions can be included in a one-time programming cost.

    As is described in the discussion of the cost-benefit analysis 
conducted for the proposed rule, this action is expected to result in 
annualized cost savings (to producers and users of the data and the 
Federal Government) of approximately $1.5 million per year, while also 
yielding additional unquantified benefits to users of the data through 
improved data quality and utility.

B. The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

    The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 \14\ requires Federal 
agencies to prepare a written assessment of the costs, benefits, and 
other effects of proposed or final rules that include a Federal mandate 
likely to result in expenditures by State, local, or tribal 
governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of more than 
$100 million (adjusted annually for inflation) in any one year. As 
described elsewhere in the preamble, this final rule to update and 
improve the Department's aviation data collections would have no such 
effect on State, local, and tribal governments or on the private 
sector. Therefore, the Department has determined that no assessment is 
required pursuant to UMRA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \14\ 2 U.S.C. 1531-1538.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act \15\ requires an agency to assess 
the impacts of proposed and final rules on small entities unless the 
agency determines that a rule is not expected to have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The 
reclassification of reporting carrier from large, certificated carriers 
conducting scheduled passenger service operations to all certificated 
air carriers and commuter air carriers holding out scheduled passenger 
service will result in a net increase in total reporting carriers. The 
number of small entities that must report is therefore expected to 
increase. For purposes of rules

[[Page 6159]]

promulgated by the Office of the Secretary of Transportation regarding 
aviation economic and consumer matters, an airline is a small entity 
for purposes of the Regulatory Flexibility Act if it provides air 
transportation only with aircraft having 60 or fewer seats and no more 
than 18,000 pounds payload capacity. The Department has evaluated the 
effects of this action on small entities and anticipates that the 
action will not have a significant economic impact on small entities. 
DOT finds that if all carriers were to use the proposed ATPCO service 
to submit data, the cost is likely to range from 0.0% to 1.70% of 
annual revenue, with a median cost of 0.03% of annual revenue. Only two 
identified reporting carriers were expected to spend above 1.0% of 
annual revenue to comply with this rulemaking. Pricing was estimated by 
taking the number of passengers for each small air carrier and 
multiplying that by the estimated per record charge for processing O&D 
data and assumed one O&D itinerary record per passenger.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \15\ 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    For any small entities required to begin reporting the data 
collected under this rule, DOT also notes that this data is routinely 
collected in a normal course of business, as a necessity to common 
industry accounting practices. DOT also notes that air carriers, 
including those that qualify as small businesses, can use third-party 
vendors to assist in the required reporting, to the extent that it is 
cost effective for them to do so. DOT will also assist all carriers, 
including those that qualify as small businesses, in successful 
implementation of the new 19-8, to minimize the period of overlap 
reporting under Sec. 19-7 and 19-8. The Department did not receive 
comments on the certification or potential economic impacts of the rule 
in response to the NPRM. The Department hereby certifies that this 
action would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities.

D.E.O. 13132 (Federalism)

    D. E.O. 13132 \16\ requires agencies to ensure meaningful and 
timely input by State and local officials in the development of 
regulatory policies that may have a substantial, direct effect on the 
States, on the relationship between the National Government and the 
States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the 
various levels of government. The Department has analyzed this action 
in accordance with the principles and criteria contained in E.O. 13132. 
This rule does not include any provision that substantially directly 
affects the States, the relationship between the National Government 
and the States, or the distribution of power and responsibilities among 
the various levels of government. It imposes no direct compliance costs 
on State and local governments, nor does it preempt State law. States 
are already preempted from regulating in this area by the Airline 
Deregulation Act.\17\ Therefore, the consultation and funding 
requirements of E.O. 13132 do not apply.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \16\ 64 FR 43255; August 10, 1999.
    \17\ 49 U.S.C. 41713.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

E. E.O. 13175 (Consultation and Coordination With Indian Tribal 
Governments)

    DOT has analyzed this final rule in accordance with the principles 
and criteria contained in Executive Order 13175 (``Consultation and 
Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments''). The changes to the O&D 
will not have tribal implications, impose substantial direct compliance 
costs on Indian tribal governments, or preempt tribal law. Therefore, 
this final rulemaking is exempt from the consultation requirements of 
E.O. 13175, ``Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal 
Governments.'' \18\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \18\ 65 FR 67249; November 9, 2000.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

F. Paperwork Reduction Act

    The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) \19\ requires that the 
Department consider the impact of paperwork and other information 
collection burdens imposed on the public and obtain approval from the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of 
information it conducts or sponsors.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \19\ 44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    This action contains the following proposed amendments to the 
existing information collection requirements previously approved under 
OMB Control Number 2139-0013. As required by the PRA, DOT submitted 
these proposed information collection amendments to OMB for its review. 
OMB approved the revisions under OMB control number 2139-0014.
    Summary: Origin-Destination Survey of Airline Passenger Traffic 
(O&D), which collects information on the origin and destination of 
passengers including, at a minimum, information on: (1) the origin and 
destination of passengers in interstate air transportation, and (2) the 
number of passengers traveling by air between any two points in 
interstate air transportation. Modifications to the existing 
requirements include making the air carrier that issues the ticket 
primarily the carrier responsible for submitting the ticket, reporting 
each ticket as a single record, expanding the O&D Reporting Carrier 
threshold, changing the period of reporting to monthly, increasing the 
sample size to 40 percent, reducing the lag time for release of 
T100(f), adding Dwell Time, adding a Via Airport data element, adding a 
Total Tax element, adding Travel Year and Travel Month as recorded 
elements, adding a Reporting Record Identifier, adding a Purchase 
Window Group element, and removing the requirement to record the Fare 
Basis Code.
    Use: The Department is obligated by statute to collect and 
disseminate information on the origin and destination of airline 
passengers including, at a minimum, information on: (1) the origin and 
destination of passengers in interstate air transportation, and (2) the 
number of passengers traveling by air between any two points in 
interstate air transportation. There are many private and public 
stakeholders that depend on this data to make decisions on aviation 
business and policy. For example, this data is used by the industry to 
plan air services, develop commercial aviation infrastructure, measure 
the economic impact of passenger flows, and create business plans for 
start-up airlines. The O&D is also a primary source of information used 
to quantify and evaluate the effectiveness of Federal aviation policy 
and programs, as well as develop and implement new policies and 
infrastructure initiatives.
    Respondents (including number of): All certificated air carriers 
and commuter air carriers holding out scheduled passenger service. The 
Department currently estimates approximately 27 air carriers will 
qualify to submit data to the O&D as envisioned by this rulemaking.
    Frequency: Monthly.
    Annual Burden Estimate: The Department estimated an investment cost 
for each of the 27 carriers that will report at $9,598 per carrier or 
$259,146 annually. Most of the cost of this data collection is embedded 
in the normal administrative costs normally incurred by the carriers, 
including personnel expenses and computer time. The following 
categories of hourly costs were taken from the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics (BLS) site: ``Accounting and Auditing Clerks,'' wage scale 
for 43-031 (bookkeeping personnel), $20.65; median pay per hour for 
``Computer Systems Analyst'' of $43.71, according to 15-1211 Computer 
Systems Analyst; median pay per hour for ``Computer Programming 
Analyst'', $40.52, according to 15-1131 Computer

[[Page 6160]]

Programmers. The Department further estimated Accounting and Auditing 
Clarks time at 30 annual hours, Computer System Analysts at 20 annual 
hours, and Computer Programmer Analysts at 200 annual hours for a total 
investment burden of $9,598 per year per carrier. The Department 
further estimated the reporting burden per carrier at 30 hours per 
response at 12 times per year for a total of 324 annual responses which 
for the 27 reporting carriers is a total annual burden of 9,720 hours.

G. National Environmental Policy Act

    The Department has analyzed the environmental impacts of this 
action pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) 
(42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq.) and has determined that it is categorically 
excluded pursuant to DOT Order 5610.1C, Procedures for Considering 
Environmental Impacts (44 FR 56420, Oct. 1, 1979). Categorical 
exclusions are actions identified in an agency's NEPA implementing 
procedures that do not normally have a significant impact on the 
environment and therefore do not require either an environmental 
assessment (EA) or environmental impact statement (EIS). The purpose of 
this rulemaking is to update the method of collecting and processing 
aviation traffic data, as well as expanding the number of reporting air 
carriers, the sample size collected, and the scope of the data reported 
in the O&D. The Department does not anticipate any environmental 
impacts, and there are no extraordinary circumstances present in 
connection with this rulemaking.

List of Subjects

14 CFR Part 241

    Air carriers, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Uniform 
system of accounts.

14 CFR Part 298

    Air taxis, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on December 19, 2022.
Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg,
Secretary of Transportation.

Final Rule

    Accordingly, the Department amends 14 CFR parts 241 and 298 as 
follows:

PART 241--UNIFORM SYSTEM OF ACCOUNTS AND REPORTS FOR LARGE 
CERTIFICATED AIR CARRIERS

0
1. The authority citation for 14 CFR Part 241 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 329, 41101, 41708, 41709.


0
2. Section 19-6(b) is amended by revising the first sentence of 
paragraph (b) to read as follows:

Sec. 19-6 Public Disclosure of Traffic Data

* * * * *
    (b) Detailed international on-flight market and nonstop segment 
data in Schedule T-100 and Schedule T-100(f) reports, except military 
data, shall be publicly available immediately following the 
Department's determination that the database is complete.* * *
* * * * *

0
3. Section 19-8 is added to read as follows:

Sec. 19-8 Passenger Origin--Destination


19-8.1  Purpose.

    The purpose of this part is to set forth required data that certain 
air carriers must submit to the Department, either themselves or via 
third party vendors, so that information on air carriers' ticket 
pricing, passenger volumes, and trip routings can be made available to 
consumers of air transportation.


19-8.2  Definitions.

    For purposes of this part:
    Airport see Origin or Destination.
    As Sold means to report ticket information as it appears on the 
ticket at the time the ticket was issued or reissued just prior to 
first known flown lift usage. For purposes of this part, any change to 
an existing ticket prior to the first segment being flown that results 
in a change to the ticket amount should be considered as requiring the 
ticket to be reissued. Any changes made to the ticket after the first 
segment is flown or that are incidental to the ticket value should not 
be considered as requiring the ticket to be reissued. For example, a 
last-minute schedule change by the carrier to an itinerary before first 
known flown lift usage that does not result in a change in the amount 
paid and does not change the intended trip destination should not be 
considered as a reissued ticket in this context. Partial reissued 
tickets shall not be included in the collection.
    Commuter Air Carrier means a commuter air carrier as defined in 14 
CFR 298.2.
    Connecting point means an intermediate point in a sequence of 
travel at which the passenger deplanes from one flight and boards 
another flight, either on the same carrier or from the flight of one 
carrier to a flight of another carrier, for continuation of the 
journey.
    Coupon Stage (See Flight-Coupon).
    Destination means the airport code or terminus in the ticket 
sequence of travel where a passenger deplanes from a flight stage. 
Qualifying airports or terminus will be specified periodically in 
accounting and reporting directives issued by the OAI. Airport, or 
terminus, codes are most commonly assigned by the International Air 
Transport Association (IATA) and occasionally by the International 
Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) or the Federal Aviation 
Administration (FAA) depending on the jurisdiction of the airport. A 
common private industry source of these industry designator codes is 
3rd party schedule products and OAI will use one of these products as a 
source where possible. Where none exists, OAI will furnish a code upon 
request.
    Dwell Time means scheduled elapsed time (in minutes) between each 
ticketed coupon. Dwell time is not required to be reported at Via 
Airport stops. When dwell time exceeds 1,440 minutes, or 24 hours, 
report ``9999''.
    Eligible Ticket means a ticket that meets the 40% sampling criteria 
where the right-most digit is equal to ``0'' (zero), ``2'' (two), ``7'' 
(seven) or ``9'' (nine) when following the standard sampling procedure. 
For ad-hoc procedures, an eligible ticket is any ticket that meets the 
approved sampling procedure selected.
    Flight Coupon means a defined origin and destination for a single 
stage of flight provided by a single Operating Carrier. Tickets are 
composed of one or more flight stages, also known as coupons or coupon 
stages.
    First Reporting Carrier Rule means a rule applied during the 
Reporting Event Evaluation. The rule states that the first Reporting 
Carrier in the sequence of travel for a Category Two ticket is 
designated as the carrier responsible for reporting the ticket.
    Flown Lift Usage is a record or indicator in the accounting system 
of the issuing carrier that represents a passenger ticket coupon that 
has been used by the passenger for travel on a flight.
    International Ticket means a ticket that involves an international 
point and is submitted by a Reporting Carrier, or a ticket submitted 
under 49 U.S.C. 41308 and 41309 for certain foreign air carriers 
granted antitrust immunity that includes a Reporting Carrier (or 
affiliate) operated leg in an itinerary. An international point is a 
point that resides outside of the 50 States. U.S.

[[Page 6161]]

possessions are considered International Points.
    Issuing Carrier means an air carrier or foreign air carrier that 
issues an air travel ticket.
    Marketing Carrier means the air carrier that markets the seat on 
the aircraft, regardless of whether it operates the flight segment.
    Operating Carrier means the carrier that has operational control 
over the aircraft that is scheduled to depart from an airport. Under a 
code-share arrangement, the air carrier whose flight crew are used to 
perform a flight segment.
    Origin means an airport or terminus in the ticket sequence of 
travel where a passenger boards a flight stage. Qualifying airports or 
terminus will be specified periodically in accounting and reporting 
directives issued by the Office of Airline Information. Airport, or 
terminus, codes are most commonly assigned by the International Air 
Transport Association (IATA) and occasionally by the International 
Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) or the Federal Aviation 
Administration (FAA) depending on the jurisdiction of the airport. A 
common private industry source of these industry designator codes is 
3rd party schedule products and OAI will use one of these products as a 
source where possible. Where none exists, OAI will furnish a code upon 
request.
    Purchase Window Group means one of three groups indicating the 
advance purchase window of the ticket. ``21AP'' is less than or equal 
to 21 days prior to departure, ``2290'' is 22 to 90 days prior to 
departure, and ``91UP'' is more than 90 days prior to departure.
    Record Identification Number (RIN) means an air carrier assigned 
number that uniquely identifies each ticket within each reporting 
period.
    Reporting Carrier means the U.S. Certificated Air Carrier or 
Commuter Air Carrier that is required to report O&D data and reported a 
given itinerary to the Department.
    Reporting Event means the occurrence of a Reporting Carrier 
recognizing that a ticket has been flown and evaluating the ticket to 
determine if it should be reported to the O&D.
    Reporting Carrier List means a list maintained and published by the 
Office of Airline Information (OAI). Carriers report O&D data 
consistent with these regulations, but a carrier is not required to 
report until OAI adds the carrier to the Reporting Carriers List. 
Carriers must also determine the responsible reporting carrier for 
Category Two tickets using the first reporting carrier rule and should 
use the Reporting Carriers List to determine the responsible reporting 
carrier.
    Reporting Month means the month applicable to the ticket 
submission.
    Reportable Ticket means that the combination of flown lift usage, 
sampling process criteria, and the Category One and Category Two ticket 
evaluation determines if a ticket is reportable.
    Reporting Year means the year applicable to the ticket submission.
    Revenue Passenger has the same meaning as the definition in 14 CFR 
241 Section 03--Definitions for Purposes of This System of Accounts and 
Reports--Passenger, Revenue.
    Routing means the sequence of travel for each flight stage 
including all intermediate points of routing stopover or connection 
(interline or intraline) in the movement of the passenger from the 
first airport in the sequence of travel to the last airport in the 
sequence of travel for the ticket.
    Scheduled Flight Month means month for a departure from an airport 
in the sequence of travel for a ticket.
    Scheduled Flight Year means year for a departure from an airport in 
the sequence of travel for a ticket.
    Scheduled Service means transport service held out and operated on 
a certificated air carrier or commuter carrier's routes pursuant to 
published flight schedules, including extra sections of scheduled 
flights.
    Tax Amount means all aggregated taxes and fees imposed by the U.S., 
government entity, or a foreign government, such as, but not limited 
to, Federal excise taxes, flight segment taxes, U.S. passenger facility 
surcharges, September 11 security fees, U.S. or international departure 
and arrival charges, and immigration charges. Taxes and mandatory fees 
charged by other foreign authorities, such as passenger service charges 
and airport taxes, are also considered part of Tax Amount.
    Ticket means a legal contract between an Issuing Carrier and a 
Revenue Passenger for transportation.
    Total Amount means:
    (1) Gross total of funds collected on a ticket by the Issuing 
Carrier for the transportation of a passenger, inclusive of taxes and 
fees imposed by non-carrier entities or air carriers, and exclusive of 
ancillary fees not required to board the plane charged by the air 
carrier. Factors considered in determining what should be included in 
the Total Amount are as follows:
    (i) Total Amount includes charges required to board the aircraft 
(domestic and international) that are recognized as revenue at the time 
of purchase of the ticket and at the time of first lift of the ticket.
    (ii) Where a charge assessed at the time of purchase of the ticket 
is associated with a choice, such as seat assignment, where the 
consumer must pay the fee or charge regardless of the choice made, the 
charge is considered part of the Total Amount.
    (iii) The Total Amount does not include charges for optional 
services (services offered which the consumer may choose not to utilize 
and thus not incur the fee or charge) such as baggage fees, seat 
upgrade fees, or ticket change fees. When a fee is assessed and there 
is a no cost option, that fee is considered an ancillary fee. When a 
fee is assessed for a service that provides something distinct from the 
air travel product then that fee is considered an ancillary fee.
    (iv) The term Total Amount should align with standard passenger 
ticket documents; however, for air carriers that do not follow such 
standards or have, or may have, created new fees that may not be 
included in the standard passenger ticket document and yet are required 
to be paid to board the aircraft, these must also be included in Total 
Amount.
    (2) Based on the criteria, the following is a non-exhaustive list 
of carrier-imposed fees and charges that must be reported as part of 
the Total Amount of the ticket: fuel surcharges, carrier usage charges, 
carrier interface fees, check-in fees, electronic usage charges, peak/
holiday travel fees, transaction processing charges, and credit card 
surcharge fees. When a customer is assessed a fee based on how the 
customer acquires a ticket to board the aircraft, a booking fee, the 
fee is included in the Total Amount. Being required to pay a fee or 
charge for electronic or phone booking where there is no fee for 
purchase at the counter must be reported in the Total Amount. Being 
charged a call center fee for booking by phone when the customer could 
have booked online at no charge is not an example of a booking fee that 
must be reported. Carriers must also include all taxes and fees imposed 
by the U.S. or a foreign government, such as, but not limited to, 
Federal excise taxes, flight segment taxes, U.S. passenger facility 
surcharges, September 11 security fees, U.S. or international departure 
and arrival charges, and immigration charges. Carriers must also 
include taxes and mandatory fees charged by other foreign authorities, 
such as passenger service charges and airport taxes.

[[Page 6162]]

    USD means United States Dollars.
    Via Airport (Point(s)) means any point(s) of stopover at 
intermediate airports as part of a ``direct'' or ``through'' flight. 
These are points that are not usually recorded on a ticket as the 
passenger does not generally deplane from the aircraft at the 
intermediate point.


Sec.  19-8.3  Applicability.

    (a) All U.S. certificated and commuter air carriers conducting 
scheduled passenger services (except helicopter carriers) shall 
participate in a Passenger Origin-Destination (O&D) Survey covering 
domestic and international air carrier operations, as prescribed by the 
Department's Office of Airline Information (OAI) in the instructions 
manual entitled, Instructions to Air Carriers for Collecting and 
Reporting Passenger Origin-Destination Survey Statistics and in 
Passenger Origin-Destination Directives issued by OAI. Copies of these 
Instructions and Directives are available on the BTS web page and will 
be provided to each reporting carrier at the time it becomes a 
reporting carrier.
    (b) Air carriers are not required to begin reporting O&D until 
placed on the Reporting Carrier List that will be published by BTS/OAI 
75 days prior to the beginning of each period of reporting. The 
Reporting Carrier List will identify each U.S. Certificated and 
Commuter Air Carrier required by this part to report O&D as designated 
by BTS OAI. Carriers may be added to this list as a result of 
consideration under this part or under 49 U.S.C. 41308 and 41309 for 
certain Foreign Air Carriers granted antitrust immunity. Foreign Air 
Carriers granted antitrust immunity under 49 U.S.C. 41308 and 41309 are 
not considered Reporting Carriers under this part but do report the 
same data under different legal authority.
    (c) This section applies for air transportation taking place on or 
after July 1, 2025. Reporting pursuant to section 19-7 of this part is 
not required for air travel taking place on or after April 1, 2025.


Sec.  19-8.4  Reporting of O&D data.

    (a) Each reporting carrier must file O&D data with the Bureau of 
Transportation Statistics Office of Airline Information (BTS/OAI) on a 
monthly basis for each of its reportable O&D tickets as follows. 
Collect the ticket information once there is an indication that the 
ticket has been flown, i.e. first known Flown Lift Usage. Report 
routing (and other ticket information) As Sold. Reporting carriers must 
determine the points ticketed and integrate the ticketed information 
required for reporting. It is at each reporting carrier's discretion 
whether to use a third-party provider to manage their O&D data 
submissions. The use of a third-party provider will not remove the 
responsibility of the reporting carrier to ensure that their data is 
reported accurately and on schedule.
    (b) A statistically valid sample of flight coupons must be selected 
for reporting purposes. Flight coupons should only be sampled from 
tickets:
    (1) issued for scheduled service itineraries;
    (2) issued to revenue passengers who are individually ticketed 
(i.e. no group tickets, no infants flying without their own tickets); 
and
    (3) that involve a U.S. airport or a U.S. air carrier operation at 
some point in the scheduled itinerary. The sample must consist of 40 
percent of the total lifted ticket flight coupons for all domestic and 
international markets. Partially reissued tickets, which are tickets 
issued for changes to an itinerary after the first segment is flown, 
should not be included in the total lifted ticket flight coupons for 
all domestic and international markets from which the sample is drawn.
    (c) The data recorded and reported from selected lifted flight 
ticket coupons must include the following information elements:
    (1) Reporting Carrier,
    (2) Reporting Month and Reporting Year,
    (3) Record Identification Number (RIN),
    (4) Issuing Carrier,
    (5) Total Amount,
    (6) Tax Amount,
    (7) Airport code,
    (8) Operating Carrier code,
    (9) Marketing Carrier code,
    (10) Scheduled Flight Year,
    (11) Scheduled Flight Month,
    (12) Dwell Time,
    (13) Via Airport (if any),
    (14) Purchase Window Group.
    (d) Report Total Amount and Tax Amount in United States Dollars 
(USD) rounded to two decimal places.
    (e) A Reporting Event evaluation occurs when a Reporting Carrier's 
revenue accounting system recognizes that any portion of a ticket has 
been flown, i.e., first known lift usage. This evaluation will inform 
the Reporting Carrier if a ticket in their system has been recognized 
that meets criteria that may require the ticket be reported. Situations 
may occur where the Reporting Carrier's revenue accounting system 
identifies a ticket from a flight that occurs after the first flight in 
the ticket sequence. This may occur when the first flight in the ticket 
sequence is not used for travel, or the Reporting Carrier's revenue 
accounting system does not recognize the first flight in the ticket for 
some other reason. When this occurs, the second (or subsequent) flight 
is the first known lift usage and becomes the Reporting Event. The 
Reporting Carrier is responsible for reporting the complete ticket 
information as it appears at the time of the Reporting Event which 
should correspond with the information at the time the ticket was sold. 
Reporting carriers should not report ticket information as flown if the 
ticket information changes after first known lift usage.
    (f) Ticket reporting. (1) A ticket will be reported when:
    (i) The criteria of the sampling process are met, and
    (ii) The ticket meets either the criteria of a Category One or 
Category Two ticket.
    (A) Category One ticket reporting process. Tickets issued by a 
Reporting Carrier are known as Category One tickets. These tickets will 
be reported by the Reporting Carrier if the sampling process criteria 
conditions are satisfied. The carrier that issues the ticket remains 
the Reporting Carrier regardless of which flight from the ticket is 
first recognized by the revenue accounting system as the first flown 
lift usage.
    (B) Category Two ticket reporting process. Tickets issued by 
carriers that do not appear on the published Reporting Carrier List but 
are recognized by a carrier that participates on the ticket and is on 
the Reporting Carrier List are known as Category Two tickets. The 
examining Reporting Carrier must apply the ``First Reporting Carrier'' 
rule: The first carrier in a ticket's sequence of travel that also 
appears on the Reporting Carrier List is responsible for submitting the 
ticket to the O&D if the sampling criteria are also met. The first 
Reporting Carrier in the sequence of a Category Two ticket remains the 
Reporting Carrier regardless of which flight from the ticket is first 
recognized by the revenue accounting system. For the purposes of the 
First Reporting Carrier Rule, any carrier that appears on the Reporting 
Carrier List is considered a Reporting Carrier.
    (iii) Additional provisions for Category Two tickets. Reporting 
Carriers should use all reasonable efforts to determine the required 
information from Category Two tickets. If the information for Operating 
Carrier, Via Airports, Dwell Time, Tax Amount, and Purchase Window 
Group is unavailable to the Reporting Carrier, however, then leave the 
fields for which information is

[[Page 6163]]

unavailable blank. In cases where a carrier is unable to determine 
Dwell Time between coupons insert a ``B'' (for Break) in the 
appropriate dwell time slot where the reporting carrier provides an 
estimate of where in the itinerary the trip break occurs. Record a 
surface segment indicator (--, dash dash) where two consecutive stops 
within the itinerary have no air carrier operator. Record surface 
segments at the beginning and end of itineraries when the segments are 
designated with an airline flight number, appear on the ticket, and 
have a designator code that appears in an airline schedule source.
    (g) The primary ticket's right-most digit of the standard ticket 
document number forms the basis for the random sample size. All 
required information associated with a primary ticket must be reported, 
which may include information from a related conjunction ticket. A 
conjunction ticket is a ticket that is a continuation of a primary 
ticket itinerary. Conjunction tickets should not be included in the 
sample process on their own. Any Reporting Carrier that does not assign 
ticket numbers to passenger journeys, does not assign ticket numbers 
such that the final, right-most digit is not randomly assigned, or 
otherwise seeks to use an alternative method must develop an 
alternative method of creating a valid 40 percent sample. Those 
Reporting Carriers would need to submit their alternative sample 
methods to DOT for approval within 90 days of the date that the 
Reporting Carrier recognizes that it must make use of the alternative 
sample selection method to comply with the proposed reporting 
regulation for determining a Reportable Ticket.


Sec.  19-8.5  Form of reports.

    Reporting carriers should report individual tickets as separate 
records where the Record Identifier Number (RIN) uniquely identifies 
each record in a submission. Except where otherwise noted, all reports 
required by this part shall be filed within 45 days of the end of the 
month for which data are reported. The reports should be submitted to 
the Office of Airline Information in a format specified in the 
Instructions to Air Carriers for Collecting and Reporting Passenger 
Origin-Destination Survey Data or accounting and reporting directives 
issued by BTS/OAI.
    (a) Each Reporting Carrier shall maintain its prescribed reportable 
records in a manner and at such locations as will permit ready 
accessibility for examination by representatives of DOT. The record 
retention requirements are prescribed in part 249 of this chapter.
    (b) [Reserved]


Sec.  19-8.6  Dissemination.

    Any Ticket that is submitted that involves a Reporting Carrier and 
an International Point providing service in whole or in part under this 
part are generally not available to the Department, the U.S. carriers, 
or U.S. interests. Therefore, because of the damaging competitive 
impact on U.S. carriers and the adverse effect upon the public interest 
that would result from unilateral disclosure of international ticket 
survey data that involves a Reporting Carrier, the Department will not 
disclose international ticket data that involves a Reporting Carrier in 
the Passenger Origin-Destination Survey to citizens or non-citizens 
except:
    (a) To an air carrier directly participating in and contributing 
input data to the Survey under this part or to a legal or consulting 
firm designated by a directly participating air carrier to use on its 
behalf and in connection with a specific assignment by such carrier;
    (b) To parties to any proceeding before the Department to the 
extent that such data are relevant and material to the issues in the 
proceeding upon a determination to this effect by the Administrative 
Law Judge or by the Department's decision-maker. Any data to which 
access is granted pursuant to this section may be introduced into 
evidence subject to the normal rules of admissibility of evidence;
    (c) To agencies and other components of the U.S. Government;
    (d) To other persons upon a showing that the release of the data 
will serve specifically identified needs of U.S. users which are 
consistent with U.S. interests; and
    (e) To foreign governments and foreign users as provided in formal 
reciprocal arrangements between the foreign and U.S. Governments for 
the exchange of comparable O&D data.


Sec.  19-8.7  Submission of data.

    (a) Period of coverage by submission. Reporting carriers must file 
data for each calendar month as shown in Table 1 to paragraph (a).

                        Table 1 to Paragraph (a)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Data report                      Time period covered
------------------------------------------------------------------------
January..............................  Jan 1 through Jan 31.
February.............................  Feb 1 through Feb 28/29.
March................................  Mar 1 through Mar 31.
April................................  Apr 1 through Apr 30.
May..................................  May 1 through May 31.
June.................................  Jun 1 through Jun 30.
July.................................  Jul 1 through Jul 29.
August...............................  Aug 1 through Aug 31.
September............................  Sep 1 through Sep 30.
October..............................  Oct 1 through Oct 31.
November.............................  Nov 1 through Nov 30.
December.............................  Dec 1 through Dec 31.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (b) Filing date for data. Reporting carriers must file data with 
the Department on or before the dates listed below, 45 days after the 
end of each reporting period. Reporting carriers must file all data 
through BTS approved channels as specified in accounting and reporting 
directives issued by BTS/OAI.

                        Table 2 to Paragraph (b)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  Report                            Due date \1\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
January...................................  March 17.
February..................................  April 15.
March.....................................  May 16.
April.....................................  June 15.
May.......................................  July 16.
June......................................  August 15.
July......................................  September 15.
August....................................  October 16.
September.................................  November 15.
October...................................  December 16.
November..................................  January 15.
December..................................  February 15.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Due dates falling on Saturday, Sunday or national holiday will
  become effective the first following workday.

    (c) Waiver requests. Requests for permission to depart from the 
required O&D Survey procedures should include a procedural statement 
describing the process the carrier proposes to employ in examining, 
selecting, and editing the data from reportable flight coupons for the 
O&D Survey, as well as a flow chart diagramming the proposed 
procedures.
    (d) Quantity and quality controls. Carriers are expected to 
establish and maintain continuous quantity and quality controls on the 
flow of all lifted flight coupons through their system processes to 
determine the total number of coupons handled and the number of 
reportable coupons selected. Such data controls and tests have not been 
specified by the Department, and necessarily must be developed by each 
carrier. Each participating carrier shall develop and use on a 
continuous basis such control tests as are necessary to ensure that all 
reportable coupons are being selected, recorded, and reported as 
intended by these regulations, the Instructions to Air Carriers for 
Collecting and Reporting Passenger Origin--Destination Survey Data, and 
any related accounting and reporting directives. (Instructions and 
accounting

[[Page 6164]]

and reporting directives are available from the Bureau of 
Transportation Statistics Office of Airline Information. Please visit 
https://www.bts.gov/ or call 800-853-1351 for more information.) Such 
controls should extend over all ADP processing, both in-house and that 
from third-party service providers.


Sec.  19-8.8  Editing data.

    (a) City and airport, or terminus, codes. Prior to submission of 
O&D, each carrier is to edit the recorded data to validate city and 
airport or terminus codes. This edit is to verify that the codes 
recorded are valid official codes, and it is independent of whether the 
carriers shown operated into or out of the airport or terminus shown. 
Any questions about airport or terminus codes should be addressed to 
the Director, Office of Airline Information.
    (b) Edit responsibility of carriers. Each carrier is responsible 
for developing edit procedures and internal controls over its data 
entry and processing procedures so that valid and reliable data are 
captured in the O&D inputs. Since the carriers have many different 
statistical systems, it is not practicable for the Department of 
Transportation to prescribe specific controls in this area, and each 
carrier is responsible for developing the appropriate internal control 
procedures to edit the O&D data and ensure the integrity of these data. 
The Department will control the accuracy of its processing of the 
sampled data upon receipt from the carriers or their third-party 
providers.
    (c) System documentation of edits. Carriers are required to 
maintain written O&D procedural statements and flow charts.


Sec.  19-8.9  Control of sample selection and data recording.

    Sample accuracy and reliability. To maximize the accuracy and 
reliability of the sample selection and data recording, each carrier is 
to:
    (a) Develop a written statement describing the procedures it will 
employ in examining and selecting reportable flight coupons and in 
recording, summarizing, editing, and testing the Survey data;
    (b) Submit any proposed changes in the procedures specified in 
paragraph (a) of this section to the Department's Office of Airline 
Information, prior to implementation of such changes;
    (c) Establish continuous quantity controls on the flow of all 
lifted flight coupons through the carrier's accounting processing to 
determine the total number of coupons handled, and the number of 
reportable coupons selected. Tests are to be made continuously to 
assure that all reportable coupons are being selected and the data 
recorded. Such tests should be completed while the ``lifted'' flight 
coupons (representing earned passenger revenues for flight segments 
operated) remain in the possession of the carrier. Establish such other 
internal control procedures as are necessary for supervising and 
monitoring the accuracy of the recording of data from reportable flight 
coupons.


Sec.  19-8.10  Staff review.

    The OAI staff will review the carrier procedures and practices and 
may request modifications or the use of special procedures necessary to 
improve the sample or to bolster the controls for accuracy and 
reliability.

PART 298--EXEMPTIONS FOR AIR TAXI AND COMMUTER AIR CARRIER 
OPERATIONS

0
4. The authority citation for 14 CFR part 298 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority:  49 U.S.C. 329 and chapters 401, 411, and 417.


0
5. Section 298.60 is amended by revising paragraph (a) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  298.60  General reporting instructions.

    (a) Each commuter air carrier and each small certificated air 
carrier shall file the applicable schedules of Form 298-C, ``Report of 
Financial and Operating Statistics for Small Aircraft Operators,'' 
Schedule T-100, ``U.S. Air Carrier Traffic and Capacity Data by Nonstop 
Segment and On-Flight Market,'' and the ``Passenger Origin-- 
Destination Survey'' prescribed in part 241, Sec. 19-8, of this 
subchapter.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2022-28535 Filed 1-30-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P