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 30 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 TSA over privacy 

concerns in regards to the information TSA was going to mandate from travelers before 

allowing them to travel. We prevailed 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 

airlines) 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 all before they would give a fare quote!

The 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 used 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 message 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 72nd Ave

Anchorage, AK 99518

907-522-1299