Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 198 / Thursday, October 14, 2004 / Notices 61079

Street, NW., Suite 225, Washington, DC 

20005. 

Board decisions and notices are 

available on our Web site at 

www.stb.dot.gov.

Decided: October 7, 2004.

By the Board, David M. Konschnik, 

Director, Office of Proceedings. 

Vernon A. Williams, 

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 04–23048 Filed 10–13–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Bureau of Transportation Statistics 

Agency Information Collection; 

Activity Under OMB Review; Airline 

Service Quality Performance—Part 234

AGENCY: Bureau of Transportation 

Statistics (BTS), DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 

Public Law 104–13, the Bureau of 

Transportation Statistics invites the 

general public, industry and other 

governmental parties to comment on the 

continuing need for and usefulness of 

DOT requiring large certificated air 

carriers to file ‘‘On-Time Flight 

Performance Reports’’ and 

‘‘Mishandled-Baggage Reports’’

pursuant to 14 CFR 234.4 and 234.6. 

These reports are used to monitor the 

quality of air service that major air 

carriers are providing the flying public.

DATES: Written comments should be 

submitted by December 13, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be 

directed to: Office of Airline 

Information, K–14, Room 4125, Bureau 

of Transportation Statistics, 400 Seventh 

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590–

0001, FAX NO. 366–3383 or E-MAIL 

bernard.stankus@bts.gov.

Comments: Comments should identify 

the OMB # 2138–0041. Persons wishing 

the Department to acknowledge receipt 

of their comments must submit with 

those comments a self-addressed 

stamped postcard on which the 

following statement is made: Comments 

on OMB # 2138–0041. The postcard will 

be date/time stamped and returned.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Bernie Stankus Office of Airline 

Information, K–14, Room 4125, Bureau 

of Transportation Statistics, 400 Seventh 

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590–

0001, (202) 366–4387.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

OMB Approval No.: 2138–0041. 

Title: Airline Service Quality 

Performance—Part 234. 

Form No.: BTS Form 234. 

Type of Review: Extension of a 

currently approved collection. 

Respondents: Large certificated air 

carriers that account for at least 1 

percent of the domestic scheduled 

passenger revenues. 

Number of Respondents: 18. 

Total Burden Per Response: 20 hours. 

Total Annual Burden: 4,380 hours. 

Needs and Uses:

Consumer Information 

Part 234 gives air travelers 

information concerning their chances of 

on-time flights and the rate of 

mishandled baggage by the eleven 

largest scheduled domestic passenger 

carriers. 

Reducing and Identifying Traffic Delays 

The Federal Aviation Administration 

uses Part 234 data to pinpoint and 

analyze air traffic delays. Wheels-up 

and wheels-down times are used in 

conjunction with departure and arrival 

times to show the extent of ground 

delays. Actual elapsed flight time, 

wheels-down minus wheels-up time, is 

compared to scheduled elapsed flight 

time to identify airborne delays. The 

reporting of aircraft tail number allows 

the FAA to track an aircraft through the 

air network, which enables the FAA to 

study the ripple effects of delays at hub 

airports. The data can be analyzed for 

airport design changes, new equipment 

purchases, the planning of new runways 

or airports based on current and 

projected airport delays, and traffic 

levels. The identification of the reason 

for delays allows the FAA, airport 

operators, and air carriers to pinpoint 

delays under their control. 

The Confidential Information 

Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act 

of 2002 (44 U.S.C. 3501 note), requires 

a statistical agency to clearly identify 

information it collects for non-statistical 

purposes. BTS hereby notifies the 

respondents and the public that BTS 

uses the information it collects under 

this OMB approval for non-statistical 

purposes including, but not limited to, 

publication of both Respondent’s 

identity and its data, submission of the 

information to agencies outside BTS for 

review, analysis and possible use in 

regulatory and other administrative 

matters.

Issued in Washington, DC, on October 7, 

2004. 

Donald W. Bright, 

Assistant Director, Airline Information.

[FR Doc. 04–23080 Filed 10–13–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–FE–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Bureau of Transportation Statistics 

Agency Pilot Program; Activity Under 

Review; T–100 Traffic Reporting by 

Alaskan Mail Air Carriers

AGENCY: Bureau of Transportation 

Statistics (BTS), DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: At a September 15, 2004, joint 

meeting, representative Alaskan air 

carriers, the United States Postal Service 

(USPS), and the Department of 

Transportation’s (DOT) Bureau of 

Transportation Statistics (BTS) and 

Office of Secretary, agreed to develop a 

pilot program for collecting weekly T–

100 data, in an effort to reduce air 

carrier reporting burden. 

Currently, air carriers transporting 

non-priority bypass mail pursuant to the 

Rural service Improvement act (RSIA) 

are required to submit monthly T–100 

traffic reports to BTS and daily activity 

reports to USPS, which uses the daily 

report to monitor air carrier compliance 

with RSIA’s requirements that air 

carriers provide service at least three 

days a week and exhibit adherence to 

those scheduled flights. Some carriers 

hired additional staff to complete the 

daily activity reports. If BTS adds two 

new data elements to the T–100 report 

and requires weekly submissions (due 

within 7 days after weeks end), both 

DOT’s and USPS’’ data needs can be 

met. The two new data elements are: (1) 

Actual Day of Flight: the numeric day of 

the month in which the flight was 

flown; and (2) Aircraft Certification: A 

code to identify the type of mail 

operation, i.e., Bush Part 121, Bush Part 

135, Bush Amphibious or Mainline. 

The pilot program will start on 

November 1, 2004. The carriers that 

participate in the pilot program will be 

relieved of the requirement to submit 

daily activity reports to USPS. If all 

parties are satisfied with the new data 

reporting, the pilot program will end 

with respect to data for December 31, 

2004, and thereafter all Alaskan air 

carriers will be required to submit the 

weekly T–100 reports in lieu of the 

USPS daily activity reports. 

A representative sample of Alaskan 

air carriers (anticipated to comprise no 

more than nine) will be selected from 

those who volunteer. Carriers may 

volunteer for the program by contacting 

Ms. Jennifer Fabrizi at 

Jennifer.fabrizi@bts.gov or (202) 366–

8513 no sooner than the publication 

date of this notice and no later than 

October 29, 2004.