BEFOR E TH E U.S
. DEPARTMEN T O F TRANSPORTATIO N

WASHINGTON , D.C
. I n th e matte r

of : Fina l Rul e Enhancin g Airlin e Passenge r Protection s
COMMENT S O F FLYERSRIGHTS.OR G

O N REQUES T O F AIRLIN E ASSOCIATION S T O EXTEN D EFFECTIV E DAT E O F CERTAI N DISCLOSUR E REQUIREMENT S I N 1 4 CF R234.11(b ) FlyersRights.org , representin g th e interest s o f airiin e passengers , ha s reviewe dth e Januar y 22 , 2010 , reques t

o f certai n association s o f

U.S
. airline s fo

r th e Department

o f Transportatio n (DOT ) t o exten dfo r ninet y day s fromApri l 29 , 2010 , th e effectiv e date o f certai n disclosur e requirement s in 1 4 CF R234.11(b ) a s detaile din DOT' s importan t ne w regulation , Enhancin g Airlin e Passenge r Protections , 7 4 P

R6898 3 (December

30 , 2009)
. Th e airlin e association s asser t tha t certai n ne w requirement s mandate din tha t regulatio n wil l requir e thei r membe r airline s to make syste man dprotoco l changes , desig n work , programming , an dtestin g o f th e ne w procedure s to ensure dat a integrit y tha t cannot , i n thei r

judgment , b e adequatel y complete db y Apri l 29 , 2010
. Thes e ne w requirement s includ e publishin g o n thei r We b sites , includin g fo

r domesti c code-shar e flights , th e percentag e o f arrival s tha

t were more tha

n 3 0 minute s late , special highlightin g i f th e fligh t were more than 3 0 minute s late more than 5 0 percen t

o f th e time , an dth e percentag e o f fligh t cancellation s i f

5 percen t o r more o f th e flight' s operation s were cancele di n th e mont h covered
. Th e airlin e association s asser t tha t th e curren t

deadlin e woul dno t

provid e sufficien t tim e fo r th e affecte dairline s to thoroughl y tes t an daudi t any require d informatio n tha

t mus t b e publicl y displayed
.FlyersRights.or g ha s n o independen t ability t o asses s th e accurac y o f th e associations ' conclusio n tha t th e regulation' s curren t

effectiv e date i s to o restrictive
. However , airlin e passenger s an dthei r airline s share th e objectiv e o f wantin g accurate , verifie dinformatio n abou t th e timelines s o r

cancellatio n rat e o f fligh t operation s t o b e availabl e to passengers . Fo r thi s reason , FlyersRights.or g doe s no t oppos e DOT' s grantin g th e requeste dextension
. Tha t said , w e woul d hop e individual airline s migh t provid e th e require dinformatio n o n thei r We b site s a s soo n a s accurat e informatio n i s availabl e to the man dtha t the y jus t no t dela y implementatio n unti l any ne w DO T effectiv e date
. Further , a n up-to-90-day extensio n o f th e curren t

Apri l 2 9 deadlin e woul dallo w Congres s additional opportunity t o complete actio n o n th e FAA Reauthorizatio n Ac t o f 2010
. Currentl y include di n version s o f tha t legislatio n to b e considere dthi s sprin g b y aHouse-Senat e Conferenc e Committee , o r possibl e amendment s thereto , are provision s that

woul dimpos e more stringen t requirement s o n th e airline s fo r publicizin g chroni c delay s an dcancellation s than i s no w include din th e curren t DO T regulation
. Allowin g th e airline s t o no t loc k i n change s t o thei r

compute r program s unti l Congres s ha s extr atim e t o complet e final actio n o n thi s issu e coul d minimiz e airlin e duplicatio n o f effor t an dcost . FlyersRights.org , however , i s concerne dthat airline s ca

n nullif y th e intende d purpose s o f

th e DO T regulatio n ~ an dan y Congressional tightenin g o f it s requirement s ~ b y "paddin g thei r schedules " t o mas k

poo r operatin g performance
. A recent articl e i n th e Wal l Stree t

Journal , "Ho w aSix-Hour N
. Y
. t o L.A
. Fligh t Gre w t o Seve n Hours " Februar

y 4 , 2010 , a

t pag e D-1 , documente dho w airline s hav e bee n increasin g departure-to-arriva l "bloc k time " solel y to boos t

thei r apparen t on - tim e performance. ' We as k tha t DO T tak e notic e o f

tha t article
. We ca n understan dthat

bloc k tim e coul dreasonabl y b e increase dbecaus e o f syste mcongestion
. However , increasin g bloc k tim e to nullif

y th e ne w DO T regulation' s publicatio n o f chronicall y delaye dflight s shoul db e considere da violatio n o f

4 9 U.S.C
. 41712 , a s a

n unfair an ddeceptiv e practice
. Thank yo u fo r considerin g FlyersRights.or g view s o n thi s matter .

"AM RCorp' s American adde dsignificant chunk s o f

bloc k tim e in late 200 8 an dearl y 200 9 a s par t o f a n effor t to boos t th e airline' s 'on-time ' performance
. Othe r carrier s sa

y they hav e don e muc h th e same. " Id. , a t pag e D2
.Respectfull y submitted ,

.espcciiuu y suuiiimcu ,

Kate Hanni , Executiv e Directo r FlyersRights.or g 15 9 Silverad o Spring s Driv e Napa , C A 9455 8
Februar y 26 , 201 0