**REGULATORY EVALUATION**

**Revision of Airline Service Quality Performance Reports**

**\[Docket No. OST 2007-28522\]**

**RIN Number 2139-AA13**

**COLLECTION OF NEW AVIATION DATA ELEMENTS**

The U.S. Department of Transportation (Department) is proposing to
collect additional data elements when flights are cancelled, diverted,
or experience gate returns. These additional data elements would close
aviation data gaps thereby giving consumers and the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) a more accurate portrayal of arrival and tarmac
delays. In addition, the Department is proposing to clarify the
reporting requirements for a flight that returns to the departure gate
and thus, there are multiple gate departure times.

**REPORTING AIR CARRIERS**

Air carriers that account for at least one percent of domestic scheduled
passenger revenue are required to submit the monthly Airline Service
Quality Performance (ASQP) Reports. The following air carriers submit
the ASQP reports:

> AirTran
>
> Alaska

#### America West

> American
>
> American Eagle
>
> Atlantic Southeast
>
> Comair
>
> Continental
>
> Delta

# ExpressJet Airlines 

Frontier

JetBlue

Mesa Airlines

Northwest

Pinnacle Airlines d/b/a Northwest Airlink

SkyWest

Southwest

United

US Airways

Also, Aloha and Hawaiian Airlines report voluntarily.

**NEW AVIATION DATA ELEMENTS:**

**Diverted Flights (reported on a per flight basis)**

1.  Three letter airport code for the diverted airport

2.  Wheels-on Time at the diverted airport

3.  Gate Arrival Time at the diverted airport

4.  Gate Departure Time at the diverted airport

5.  Wheels-off Time at the diverted airport

**Cancellations and Gate/Air Returns (reported on a per flight basis)**

1.  For gate/air returns, first gate-departure time at origin airport

2.  Total ground time away from gate for all gate/air returns at origin
    airport, including cancelled flights -- actual minutes

3.  Average ground time away from gate for all gate/air returns at
    origin airport, including cancelled flights -- actual minutes

**COSTS**

Following a June 20, 2007, public meeting, some of the reporting air
carriers commented that the new data elements are available but it would
require an expenditure of between \$10,000 and \$60,000 to program their
computer systems to produce the data in a standardized format for the
Department. Using the higher cost estimate of \$60,000 per air carrier,
the reprogramming cost for the industry as a whole would be
approximately \$1.2 million.

Based on previous air carrier comments, we estimate a first year
increase in reporting burden of 900 hours per carrier or an industry
increase of 18,000 hours. The increase in reporting burden is the time
spent reprogramming the individual systems. The new data items are items
that the carriers already capture in their ACARS, on-board computer
system. The reprogramming effort is need to transfer the data elements
into the fixed file format required by BTS for reporting purposes. After
the carriers have revised their information systems, the reporting
burden should be reduced to the pre-rulemaking level. We are requesting
that air carriers provide estimates of what they perceive as increased
costs and burdens from this proposed action.

**BENEFITS**

Assigning a dollar value to the rule's benefits is a difficult task, as
most of the benefits are intangible. Consumers will have more accurate
data for making their transportation decisions. The FAA and airport
management will have complete data on long tarmac delays, which should
assist them assessing infrastructure needs and improvements.
Additionally, this proposal addresses congressional concerns over
limited data pertaining to long tarmac delays, diverted and cancelled
flights. Congress has proposed that the Department expand the aviation
reporting system to capture all operational data on gate returns,
cancelled and diverted flights (see H.R. 2881, the FAA Reauthorization
Act of 2007.)

Presently, the data collected for long tarmac delays is incomplete and,
as alleged by some consumer groups, misleading because long tarmac
delays experienced before a flight is cancelled and tarmac delays
occurring at alternate airports on diverted flights are not reported.
This hampered the Department's review of the delays at JFK International
Airport on February 14, 2007. In a separate rulemaking, the Department
is proposing that airlines provide customer service action plans for
instances of long tarmac delays. Without the additional data for
cancelled and diverted flights, the Department would lack the necessary
data for monitoring airline compliance.

The non-quantified benefits of the proposed new data items outweigh the
one-time programming cost and minimal increase in monthly reporting.

**REGULATORY FLEXIBILITY ACT ANALYSIS**

We have analyzed the economic impact of the proposed regulatory changes
on small entities. The air carriers that would be required to report
these new data elements are all Major or National air carriers with
annual operating revenues exceeding \$600 million. Thus, this proposal,
if adopted, will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities.