Who exactly is guarding the flying chicken coop?

All of us who live in Alaska are intimately familiar with air travel. It’s how we get from point A to point B. Many Alaskans are very frequent flyers and skilled at navigating the complex world of shopping for airfares, using the many avenues available to them. Drastic changes are underway, however, that could greatly limit that ability.

Sally Huntley and I own Alaska Travel Source and have been selling travel in Anchorage for over 3 0 years. We value our clients and have stood up for them many times over the years In 2005 we were instrumental in a suit against T SA over privacy concerns in regards to the information TSA was going to mandate from travelers before allowing them to travel. We prev ailed in that lawsuit and TSA was forced to change their policy.

Today we (you) are facing yet another offensive aimed directly at the flying public.

The Change:

The International Air Transport Association (IATA

– which is the trade association for
airline s) has filed an application with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for approval of its Resolution 787. The resolution proposes a New Distribution Capability (NDC) that incorporates a new worldwide business model for the pricing and sale of
airline tickets Under this model, airlines would have the right to demand personal information from customers such as :

 Name/Age/Marital Status,

 Contact Details,

 Frequent Flyer Number or Profile number,

 Customer Type (e.g. adult/child),

 Travel History,

 Nationality,

 Shopping History,

 Previously Purchased Services.

And demand this a ll before they would give a fare quote!

Th e problem :

Today, fares are published and publicly available for comparison shopping by all

consumers. Whether it be from your travel agent or online booking sites, consumers can see a listing of the available fares and book what they believe is the best value to
them. The NDC model is designed to terminate today’s transparent model for the pricing of tickets.Who would benefit from this shift in airline pricing? No one but the airlines. Airfares

would no longer be publicly filed and available on a non

- discriminatory basis for the public to comparison

- shop and then purchase. Instead, each price would be “unique” depending on the profile of the consumer. This personal information can be us ed to extract higher prices from less price

- sensitive consumers

- such as business travelers.

What we think:

 We believe a change in this direction, made to the current, well established airfare distribution system may have huge cost implications and potentially harm downstream buyers.

 We believe this resolution eliminates comparison shopping and purchase by
anyone on a non

- discriminatory basis.

 We are concerned that planned airline “profiling” could disadvantage the consumer resulting in differentiated pricing.

 We believe that this is an intrusion into an individual’s right to privacy and that it will enable predatory pricing by the airlines.

We have succeeded in persuading DOT to extend the comment period to May 1, 2013.

DOT has the authority to deny NDC. Given its anti

- competitive effects, and the unprecedented invasion of privacy, DOT should reject it unconditionally.

That is the mess age we all need to send.

What to do:

We strongly encourage you to let your voice be heard. Make it a point to get involved.

Comments may be filed at : http://www.regulations.gov/#!submitComment;D=DOT

- OST

- 2013

- 0048

- 0001

.
It is a simple form and would only take a minute to request

. What to type into the Comment box?

UNCONDITIONALY DENY IATA ’S APPLICATION FOR RESOLUTION 787

William Beck Alaska Travel Source 1236 E 72 nd Ave Anchorage, AK 99518 907

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