Order 2010-12-20

 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

 DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

 OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

 WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

On the Fifteenth day of December, 2010 

 The COMM Group, Inc., Cheap

Caribbean, Inc.

Docket DOT-OST 2010-0005

 

Violations of 49 U.S.C. § 41712 and

 14 CFR 399.84 Served December 15, 2010

CONSENT ORDER

This consent order concerns advertisements by The COMM Group, Inc., and 

Cheap Caribbean, Inc.1 (collectively “Cheap Caribbean”) that violate the 

Department’s advertising requirements specified in section 399.84 of the 

Department’s regulations (14 CFR 399.84) and constitute unfair and deceptive 

trade practices and unfair methods of competition in violation of 49 U.S.C. 

§ 41712. This order directs Cheap Caribbean to cease and desist from future 

violations and assesses the company compromise civil penalties of $65,000. 

Cheap Caribbean, as a ticket agent selling air tour packages, including air and 

hotel packages, is subject to the advertising requirements of Part 399 of the 

Department’s rules. Under 14 CFR 399.84, any advertising that states a price for 

air transportation or an air tour is considered to be an unfair or deceptive 

practice in violation of 49 U.S.C. § 41712 unless the price stated is the entire price 

to be paid by the customer to the air carrier or ticket agent for such air 

 1

 Cheap Caribbean is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The COMM Group. 
2

transportation, tour or tour component. However, as a matter of enforcement 

policy, the Department has permitted air carriers and agents to state separately 

from the advertised price taxes and fees imposed by a government on a perpassenger basis, such as passenger facility charges, so long as their amounts 

appear or are indicated clearly in the advertisement so that the consumer can 

determine the full price to be paid.2 Similar notice must be provided when air 

fares are held out as “free,” but government-imposed taxes and fees or other 

charges or surcharges must be paid by a passenger in order to utilize the “free” 

fare. Taxes and fees imposed on an ad valorem basis, however, must be included 

in the advertised price, lest consumers be confused about the total amount that 

must be paid. On the other hand, carrier- or agent-imposed surcharges, e.g., 

fuel, insurance, and service charges, or other such costs, also must be included 

in the advertised price. With respect to airfares and air tours advertised on the 

Internet, taxes and fees that are permitted to be excluded from the advertised 

price may be noted in a prominent link, placed adjacent to the stated price the 

first time the price is shown, that takes the viewer to the bottom of the screen, or 

to a place on a separate screen, where the nature and amount of such taxes and 

fees are displayed. 3 

Cheap Caribbean specializes in offering travel packages, which include airfares, 

hotel accommodations, guided tours, and related amenities, particularly to the 

Caribbean Islands, Mexico, and Bermuda. Cheap Caribbean has promoted its 

airfares and air travel packages in the United States through e-mail solicitations, 

subscriptions, and advertisements that are published on its web sites, including 

www.CheapCaribbean.com,4 and related web sites. 

 2 See, e.g., Costa Cruise Lines, N.V., Order 2009-9-3. 

3 See, e.g., Unique Vacations, Inc., Order 2010-11-7, Prestige Cruise Holdings, Inc., 

Order 2010-4-1, JTB Corporation, Order 2008-12-24, Trafalgar Tours West, Order 2007-

8-24, Grand Circle Travel Corp, Order 2006-7-23, JetBlue Airways, Inc., Order 2004-2-4, 

and orders cited therein, and the notice entitled: Disclosure of Additional Fees, 

Charges and Restrictions on Air Fares in Advertisements, Including “Free” Airfares, 

which is dated September 4, 2003, as well as guidance letters to the industry which can 

be found at: http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/ rules/guidance.htm. 

4 The Department’s investigation revealed that during this time period, The COMM 

Group has maintained numerous other web sites, including www.commgroupinc.com, 

www.caribbeanido.com, www.caribbeanhotdeals.com, www.interislandtours.com,

www.hawaiianhotdeals.com, www.doorlando.com and www.cheapusagetaway.com. 

Customers on each of these sites are transferred to www.CheapCaribbean.com when 

they seek to purchase an advertised air tour package. 
3

An investigation by the Department’s Office of Aviation Enforcement and 

Proceedings (“Enforcement Office”) disclosed that for a period of time, certain 

air fares and air tours promoted by Cheap Caribbean in its electronic 

solicitations and on its web sites did not comply with Department 

requirements. Specifically, the listed prices for the complete air packages failed 

to include all service surcharges, and appropriate notice of the existence, nature 

or amount of additional taxes and fees that are permitted to be stated 

separately from the base fare was not provided. 

For example, in an Internet advertisement by Cheap Caribbean entitled “Ends 

Sunday, Villa Resorts All-inclusive Sale -- Los Cabos & Puerto Vallarta. 

Packages with Air from $499,” the text below the advertised fare described 

weather insurance and a $100 back coupon, but no additional information was 

offered. Not until the investigating Enforcement Office staff member selected a 

hotel from a choice of three did she learn that the stated starting price of $499 

per person, was plus “applicable taxes and service.”5 

Further similar violations were found by Enforcement Office staff in other 

Cheap Caribbean promotions, e-mail solicitations, newsletters placed on the 

Internet, and web sites advertising its services. 

Accordingly, the prices advertised on Cheap Caribbean’s web site did not 

meet Department requirements. Failure to (1) provide appropriate notice on 

the screen or page where the cost of the overall trip is first revealed of the 

amount of government taxes and fees that are permitted to be broken out of 

the price that is displayed, and failure to (2) include service surcharges 

imposed by ticket agents, or other surcharges collected by Cheap Caribbean,

in the advertised price of an air ticket or air tour package when it was first 

listed, violate the Department’s regulations and enforcement case precedent. 

In addition to violating the requirements of section 399.84 and related 

Department precedent and enforcement policies, such practices constitute an 

unfair and deceptive trade practice in violation of 49 U.S.C. § 41712. 

Once a firm quotes through its advertising a specific price for a flight, tour or 

tour component, which properly includes all charges and surcharges, the firm 

must charge that price to the consumer. When an air tour seller advertises a 

 5 The listed prices did not include all surcharges, nor was the existence, nature or 

amount of additional taxes and fees properly disclosed in these solicitations. The 

additional text, when reached by a link, was in smaller, fine print appended to the 

package price, and stated “Final tax and service amounts at check-out include all 

applicable airline, hotel tax and service fees . . . .” 
4

specific price for a flight, tour or tour component, it must have available a 

reasonable inventory at the advertised price for a reasonable time period. 

Fares and tour prices held out on the Internet, in newspapers or orally must 

be current and available. 

In mitigation and explanation, The COMM Group, Inc., and Cheap 

Caribbean, Inc. state that they have fully cooperated in the investigation by 

the Department. Cheap Caribbean recalls that they instituted immediate 

action to correct those advertisements of fares on their many web sites that 

were not displayed in accordance with Department guidelines. The firm 

recounts that Cheap Caribbean's compliance efforts have also included 

instituting procedures and training their staff to ascertain before publication 

that all advertising fully meets Department rules and guidelines on an ongoing basis. The violations cited in this consent order, Cheap Caribbean 

notes, constitute the first offense by Cheap Caribbean. Clearly, the firm 

asserts, there was no intent to defraud. Moreover, the firm recounts that it 

has not received any complaints from consumers regarding The COMM 

Group’s Internet advertisements. 

Since this matter has come to the attention of Cheap Caribbean's 

management, the firm explains, the company has worked promptly and 

diligently to revise the content of its web site and other electronic 

advertisements, instituting certain internal oversight procedures to ensure 

fare advertising is now displayed and will be displayed in the future in 

complete accordance with the Department’s regulations, enforcement 

precedent and guidelines. 

The Enforcement Office has carefully considered all of the information 

available to it, including that provided by The COMM Group and Cheap 

Caribbean, but continues to believe that enforcement action is warranted. In 

this connection and in order to avoid litigation, the Enforcement Office and 

Cheap Caribbean have reached a settlement in this matter. While neither 

admitting nor denying the above allegations, Cheap Caribbean accepts the 

findings and conclusions stated herein in order to avoid potential litigation. 

Under this order, Cheap Caribbean is assessed $65,000 in compromise of 

potential penalties otherwise assessable under the provisions of 49 U.S.C. 

§ 46301. Of this total penalty amount, $32,500 shall be due and payable 

within 30 days of the date of issuance of this order. The remaining $32,500 

amount shall become due and payable immediately if The COMM Group and 

Cheap Caribbean violate this order’s cease and desist provisions within one 

year following the date of issuance of this order, or fail to comply with the 

order’s payment provisions. Failure to pay the assessed penalty may subject 

Cheap Caribbean to additional enforcement action for the failure to comply 
5

with this order. The Enforcement Office believes that the assessment of a civil 

penalty of $65,000 is appropriate in light of the nature and extent of the 

violations in question and will provide an effective deterrent to unlawful 

conduct in the future by Cheap Caribbean and other sellers of air 

transportation. 

This order is issued under the authority contained in 49 CFR 1.57a and 14 

CFR 385.15. 

ACCORDINGLY,

1. Based on the above discussion, we approve this settlement and the 

provisions of this order as being in the public interest;

2. We find that The COMM Group, Inc., and Cheap Caribbean, Inc. 

violated 14 CFR 399.84, as described above, by causing to be published 

advertisements that failed to state the entire price to be paid by the 

passenger to the firm for certain air transportation;

3. We find that by engaging in the conduct described in paragraph 2, 

above, The COMM Group, Inc., and Cheap Caribbean, Inc., engaged 

in an unfair and deceptive practice and an unfair method of 

competition in violation of 49 U.S.C. § 41712; 

4. We order The COMM Group, Inc., and Cheap Caribbean, Inc. and 

all other entities owned and controlled by, or under common 

ownership and control with The COMM Group, Inc., and Cheap 

Caribbean, Inc., and their successors and assignees, to cease and desist 

from future violations of 14 CFR 399.84 and 49 U.S.C. § 41712;

5. The COMM Group, Inc., and Cheap Caribbean, Inc. is assessed 

$65,000 in compromise of civil penalties that might otherwise be 

assessed for the violations found in ordering paragraphs 2 and 3 of this 

order. Of this total penalty amount, $32,500 shall be due and payable 

within 30 days of the date of issuance of this order. The remaining 

$32,500 shall become due and payable immediately if The COMM 

Group, or Cheap Caribbean violates this Order’s cease and desist 

provisions within one year following the date of issuance of this order, 

or fail to comply with the order’s payment provisions; 
6

6. Failure to pay the compromise assessment as ordered shall subject 

The COMM Group, Inc., and Cheap Caribbean, Inc. to the assessment 

of interest, penalty, and collection charges under the Debt Collection 

Act, and to possible enforcement action for failure to comply with this 

order; 

7. Payment shall be made by wire transfer through the Federal Reserve 

Communications System, commonly known as “Fed Wire,” to the 

account of the U.S. Treasury. The wire transfer shall be executed in 

accordance with the instructions contained in the Attachment to this 

order; and

8. We order The COMM Group, Inc., and Cheap Caribbean, Inc. to 

submit to the Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings copies of 

(a) all advertisements of air tours or air tour components they cause to 

be published in printed or electronic format or circulates as current 

during the last 20 days of the one-year period following the issuance of 

this order; and (b) printouts of screen displays advertising air tour 

prices on Internet sites within their control for the 15th day of each 

month during the one-year period following issuance of this order. 

This material shall be submitted within 15 days of the conclusion of the 

referenced one-year period. 

This order will become a final order of the Department 10 days after its service 

unless a timely petition for review is filed or the Department takes review on 

its own motion.

BY:

ROSALIND A. KNAPP

Deputy General Counsel

(SEAL

An electronic version of this document is available

at www.regulations.gov