Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

Final Rule on 

Accessible Kiosks and Web Sites

Contract No.:

GS-10F-0269K

Order No.:

DTOS59-09-F-10094

Project No.:

1030-000

Submitted To:

Office of the Assistant General Counsel

Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings

U.S. Department of Transportation

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE

West Building

Washington, DC 20590

Submitted By:

Econometrica, Inc.

7475 Wisconsin Avenue

Suite 1000

Bethesda, Maryland 20814

October 23, 2013
Economic Analysis of Final Rule on Accessible Kiosks and Web Sites 1030-000/DTOS59-09-F-10094

ii

Econometrica, Inc. October 23, 2013

Table of Contents

Introduction and Summary ......................................................................................................... 1

1. Need for the Rule .............................................................................................................. 2

2. Comments Received on the SNPRM Relating to Small Entity Impact........................ 3

3. Number and Type of Affected Small Entities................................................................. 4

3.1. U.S. and Foreign Carriers .................................................................................................... 4

3.2. Travel Agencies and Tour Operators................................................................................... 4

3.3. Airports................................................................................................................................ 5

4. Nature and Impact of the Rule on Affected Small Entities........................................... 6

5. Steps Taken to Mitigate the Impact of the Rule on Affected Small Entities............... 6

List of Tables

Table 1–Number of U.S. Carriers by Size Class, 2011 .................................................................. 4

Table 2–Travel Agencies and Tour Operators, 2007...................................................................... 5

Table 3–Passenger Enplanements by Size of Airport, 2011........................................................... 5
Economic Analysis of Final Rule on Accessible Kiosks and Web Sites 1030-000/DTOS59-09-F-10094

Page 1 of 6 Pages

Econometrica, Inc. October 23, 2013

Introduction and Summary

The U.S. Department of Transportation has developed additional regulatory requirements that 

will help to ensure nondiscrimination on the basis of disability in air travel. The requirements in 

the accompanying Rule address widespread problems with the accessibility of automated airport 

kiosks and air travel Web sites to passengers with disabilities who need assistance or 

accommodation in one or more of the following areas:

 Hearing

 Vision

 Mobility

 Fine-motor dexterity

 Cognition

The Department proposed requirements in each of these areas in the supplemental notice of 

proposed rulemaking (SNPRM) published on September 26, 2011. Econometrica, Inc., provided 

a preliminary regulatory analysis (PRA) and initial regulatory flexibility analysis (IRFA) to 

accompany the SNPRM. The Department is now issuing a Final Rule that:

 Retains the technical standards that ensure accessibility for automated airport kiosks and 

air travel Web sites proposed in the SNPRM.

 Provides a longer period of time after the effective date of the Rule before accessible 

kiosks must be installed (3 years in the Rule versus 60 days in the SNPRM).

 Eliminates the proposed requirements for small carriers to bring their primary Web sites 

into compliance with the accessibility requirements in the Rule.

IRFA Assessment of the Impact on Small Entities

In the IRFA, we were not able to identify any small carriers or small airport authorities that 

owned or operated kiosks that would be covered by the proposed accessibility requirements. 

There were no comments from small carriers, small airport authorities, or other stakeholders on 

this issue. Accordingly, we did not conduct any new analysis of the impact of the kiosk 

accessibility requirements on small entities in connection with the publication of the Final Rule.

In the IRFA, we indicated that small carriers will incur potentially significant costs to develop 

accessible Web sites. In addition to the direct costs associated with programming and site 

redesign for greater accessibility, small carriers may incur indirect costs related to program 

management and training, as well as potential opportunity costs in applying technical resources 

toward accessibility, rather than other Web-based business strategies (e.g., social networking).

We also noted that while small carriers have staff members or contractors with the professional 

skills to publish and maintain their current Web sites, it is not clear that these employees or 

contractors have the specific expertise and professional skills that may be required to ensure that 

air travel Web sites comply with the accessibility requirements proposed in the SNPRM. The 

Department did not include Web site accessibility requirements for small carriers in the Rule.
Economic Analysis of Final Rule on Accessible Kiosks and Web Sites 1030-000/DTOS59-09-F-10094

Page 2 of 6 Pages

Econometrica, Inc. October 23, 2013

The Rule requires large ticket agents make discounted Web-based fares and other Web-based 

amenities available upon request to passengers who are unable to use the agent’s Web site due to 

their disability. Small ticket agents are not covered by this Rule requirement.

Regulatory Flexibility Act Requirements

The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended, requires Federal agencies to conduct a 

separate analysis of the economic impact of rules on small entities. The Regulatory Flexibility

Act requires that Federal agencies take small entities’ particular concerns into account when 

developing, writing, publicizing, promulgating, and enforcing regulations. To this end, the Act 

requires that agencies detail how they have met these concerns by including a regulatory 

flexibility analysis (RFA). The Final RFA (FRFA) must include the following five elements:

1. A succinct statement of the need for, and objectives of, the rule.

2. A summary of the significant issues raised by the public comments in response to the 

IRFA, a summary of the assessment of the agency of such issues, and a statement of any 

changes made in the proposed rule as a result of such comments.

3. A description and an estimate of the number of small entities to which the rule will apply,

or an explanation of why no such estimate is available.

4. A description of the projected reporting, recordkeeping, and other compliance 

requirements of the rule, including an estimate of the classes of small entities that will be 

subject to the requirement and the type of professional skills necessary for preparation of 

the report or record.

5. A description of the steps the agency has taken to minimize the significant adverse 

economic impact on small entities consistent with the stated objectives of applicable 

statutes, including a statement of the factual, policy, and legal reasons for selecting the 

alternative adopted in the final rule and why each of the other significant alternatives to 

the rule considered by the agency was rejected.

In this FRFA, we provide the required information on each of these five elements.

1. Need for the Rule

There are currently no Federal statutes or regulations establishing accessibility standards for 

automated airport kiosks or air travel Web sites. In the accompanying Rule, the accessibility

requirements for automated airport kiosks will help to mitigate the physical barriers faced by

users with mobility, hearing, cognitive, or fine-motor skill disabilities, as well as make them 

usable by those with vision disabilities. The Rule requirements for ensuring Web site 

accessibility primarily address the need to provide people with vision disabilities access to online 

information and services related to air travel.

In the Final Regulatory Analysis (FRA), we estimated that the Rule requirements relating to 

kiosk accessibility will provide benefits to 29.3 million passengers with disabilities during the 
Economic Analysis of Final Rule on Accessible Kiosks and Web Sites 1030-000/DTOS59-09-F-10094

Page 3 of 6 Pages

Econometrica, Inc. October 23, 2013

period from 2017 through 2026 (the first 10 years during which accessible kiosks would be 

installed and available for use). The FRA estimates that 15.0 million air travelers with disabilities 

will benefit from the Web site accessibility requirements in the Rule during the 10-year period

from 2016 through 2025.

2. Comments Received on the SNPRM Relating to Small Entity Impact

Comments Received on Accessible Kiosks

The Department received a substantial number of comments about various aspects of the PRA 

evaluation of the proposed requirements for kiosk accessibility. Major issues addressed included 

the timetable for compliance, the advantages and drawbacks of allowing a phase-in period or a 

less than 100-percent requirement for accessibility, and feasibility and cost concerns with 

retrofitting existing kiosks. The Department also received some specific comments about various 

aspects of the benefit and cost calculations in the PRA. In general, carriers and ticket agents 

indicated that the proposed compliance date would be impossible to meet, that the estimation of 

time savings for people with disabilities from accessible kiosks was overstated, and that 

compliance costs were understated. Disability advocates supported the shortest possible time 

frame for compliance and stressed the unquantifiable benefits of equal access to automated 

airport kiosks. 

The Department did not receive any comments specifically relating to the impact of the proposed 

accessibility requirements for automated airport kiosks on small entities. An extensive discussion 

of the comments relating to the impact of the requirements proposed in the SNPRM is provided 

in Section 5.3 of the FRA.

Comments Received on Accessible Web Sites

The Department received a substantial number of comments about various aspects of the PRA 

evaluation of the proposed requirements for Web site accessibility. Major issues addressed 

included the timetable for compliance, the nature and extent of the benefits and costs, and the 

data and procedures used to quantify these benefits and costs. In general, carriers and ticket 

agents indicated that the tiered compliance requirements would be difficult to meet and would 

increase compliance costs, that the estimation of time savings for people with disabilities from 

accessible Web sites was overstated, and that compliance costs were understated. Disability 

advocates supported the shortest possible time frame for compliance and stressed the 

unquantifiable benefits of equal access to online air travel-related information and services.

The Department did not receive any comments specifically relating to the impact of the proposed 

accessibility requirements for air travel Web sites on small entities. An extensive discussion of 

the comments relating to the impact of the requirements proposed in the SNPRM is provided in 

Section 6.3 of the FRA.
Economic Analysis of Final Rule on Accessible Kiosks and Web Sites 1030-000/DTOS59-09-F-10094

Page 4 of 6 Pages

Econometrica, Inc. October 23, 2013

3. Number and Type of Affected Small Entities

3.1. U.S. and Foreign Carriers

Aircraft Size-Based Distinctions Among Carriers

Carriers that provide passenger service exclusively using aircraft originally designed with 60 

seats or fewer are considered small entities for purposes of assessing impact under the relevant 

requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (Table 1). Some regulatory requirements for these 

carriers are somewhat less extensive than for larger carriers. For example, carriers are not 

required to provide on-board wheelchairs on aircraft with fewer than 60 seats, nor are they

required to submit annual disability-related complaint reports to the Department. Carriers that 

operate passenger service exclusively with aircraft having fewer than 30 seats are exempt from 

additional regulatory requirements, including the requirement that at least half of the seats have 

movable armrests.

Table 1–Number of U.S. Carriers by Size Class, 2011

Carrier 

Group

Number of 

Seats on 

Largest 

Aircraft

Total 

Carriers*

Charter

Carriers**

All 

Scheduled 

Service 

Carriers

Contract 

Carriers

Other 

Scheduled 

Service 

Carriers

Large >60 43 17 26 11 15

Small 30–60 14 1 13 6 7

Very small <30 45 10 35 0 35

Total 102 28 74 17 57

*Excludes carriers that were no longer operating independently by the end of 2012.

**Five charters offered some scheduled service; all are very small Alaska or sightseeing tour carriers.

Nearly all small and very small U.S. carriers that market scheduled air transportation directly to 

the public operate flights exclusively in Alaska or Hawaii, or among islands in the Pacific or 

Caribbean. 

Small and very small carriers will not be required to comply with the Web site accessibility

requirements in the Rule.

3.2. Travel Agencies and Tour Operators

The most recent Economic Census data indicate that there were 96 ticket agents with 500 or 

more employees in 2007. The Economic Census also provides estimates of the numbers of travel 

agents and tour operators with annual revenues firms of more than $25 million and those with 

$10-25 million in annual revenues (Table 2).
Economic Analysis of Final Rule on Accessible Kiosks and Web Sites 1030-000/DTOS59-09-F-10094

Page 5 of 6 Pages

Econometrica, Inc. October 23, 2013

Table 2–Travel Agencies and Tour Operators, 2007

Sector Total Firms

Firms with Annual 

Revenues of $25

million or more

Firms with Annual 

Revenues of $10

to $25 million

Travel Agencies 11,803 39 67

Tour Operators 2,627 22 33

All Ticket Agents 14,430 72 100

Source: Bureau of the Census, Economic Census, 2007.

The 2013 SBA standards classify travel agencies and tour operators with no more than $19 

million in annual revenues as small businesses. Small travel agents and tour operators are not 

covered by any rule requirements.

3.3. Airports

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) classifies airports into a set of size-based categories 

based on the annual number of passengers boarded (“enplanements”). The requirements in this 

Rule concerning automated airport kiosk accessibility will apply only at U.S. airports having 

10,000 or more annual enplanements. There were 387 U.S. airports with at least 10,000

passenger enplanements in 2011. About 70 percent of domestic and international passengers 

departed from 29 major metropolitan hubs, and another 18 percent departed from 35 mediumhub airports in 2011 (Table 3).

Table 3–Passenger Enplanements by Size of Airport, 2011

Category

Minimum Number 

of Passengers

Number

of 

Airports

Passengers 

(millions)

Percent of 

Total 

Passengers

Average

Number of

Passengers per 

Airport 

Large hub >1% of total 29 509.4 70.2% 17,565,573

Medium hub >0.25% of total 35 130.1 17.9% 3,716,396

Small hub >0.05% of total 74 61.0 8.4% 824,182

Non-hub >10,000/year 249 23.7 3.3% 95,155

Other 

commercial >2,500/year 124 0.6 0.1% 5,181

Total 511 724.8 100.0% 1,418,397

FAA, “Enplanements at Primary and Non-primary Commercial Service Airports,” October 9, 2012.

Small Business Administration size standards define privately owned airports as small 

businesses if their annual revenues do not exceed $30 million. Publicly owned airports are

categorized as small entities if they are owned by jurisdictions with fewer than 50,000

inhabitants. As of 2011, Burlington International Airport in Vermont was the only small-hub 

airport owned by a small entity.

Airports with shared-use kiosks will incur costs to comply with the Rule requirements. 

According to information from a proprietary market research report, about 30 U.S. airports have 
Economic Analysis of Final Rule on Accessible Kiosks and Web Sites 1030-000/DTOS59-09-F-10094

Page 6 of 6 Pages

Econometrica, Inc. October 23, 2013

shared-use kiosks installed. None of the 29 large-hub airports in 2011 appears to be a small 

private airport or owned by a small government jurisdiction. Therefore, the Rule does not appear 

to have any impact on small privately or publicly owned airports.

4. Nature and Impact of the Rule on Affected Small Entities

No small carriers, airports, or ticket agents are estimated to incur compliance costs under the 

Rule.

5. Steps Taken to Mitigate the Impact of the Rule on Affected Small 

Entities

The Web site accessibility provisions in the SNPRM would have required small-carrier Web 

sites to comply with the Level A and Level AA standards within 2 years of the effective date of 

the Rule (i.e., the compliance deadline for large carriers and ticket agents). Based on a review of 

the benefits and costs associated with requiring small-carrier Web sites to be accessible, the 

Department has excluded small carriers from the Web site accessibility requirements in the Rule.

Large travel agents and tour operators selling air transportation will be required to provide Webbased discounts and other Web-based amenities on request to passengers who contact them 

offline when the agents’ Web sites cannot be used by those passengers because of their 

disability. The Department has excluded small ticket agents from the obligation to comply with 

this requirement.