43276 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 156 / Wednesday, August 13, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

presence of IFR aircraft at lower

altitudes, especially during inclement

weather conditions. A greater degree of

safety is achieved by depicting the area

on aeronautical charts. Unless a written

adverse or negative comment, or a

written notice of intent to submit an

adverse or negative comment is received

within the comment period, the

regulation will become effective on the

date specified above. After the close of

the comment period, the FAA will

publish a document in the Federal

Register indicating that no adverse or

negative comments were received and

confirming the date on which the final

rule will become effective. If the FAA

does receive, within the comment

period, an adverse or negative comment,

or written notice of intent to submit

such a comment, a document

withdrawing the direct final rule will be

published in the Federal Register, and

a notice of proposed rulemaking may be

published with a new comment period.

Comments Invited

Although this action is in the form of

a final rule and was not preceded by a

notice of proposed rulemaking,

comments are invited on this rule.

Interested persons are invited to

comment on this rule by submitting

such written data, views, or arguments

as they may desire. Communications

should identify the Rules Docket

number and be submitted in triplicate to

the address specified under the caption

ADDRESSES. All communications

received on or before the closing date

for comments will be considered, and

this rule may be amended or withdrawn

in light of the comments received.

Factual information that supports the

commenter’s ideas and suggestions is

extremely helpful in evaluating the

effectiveness of this action and

determining whether additional

rulemaking action would be needed.

Comments are specifically invited on

the overall regulatory, economic,

environmental, and energy-related

aspects of the rule that might suggest a

need to modify the rule. All comments

submitted will be available, both before

and after the closing date for comments,

in the Rules Docket for examination by

interested persons. A report that

summarizes each FAA-public contact

concerned with the substance of this

action will be filed in the Rules Docket.

Commenters wishing the FAA to

acknowledge receipt of their comments

submitted in response to this rule must

submit a self-addressed, stamped

postcard on which the following

statement is made: ‘‘Comments to

Docket No. 97–ACE–15.’’ The postcard

will be date stamped and returned to the

commenter.

Agency Findings

The regulations adopted herein will

not have substantial direct effects on the

States, on the relationship between the

national government and the States, or

on the distribution of power and

responsibilities among the various

levels of government. Therefore, in

accordance with Executive Order 12612,

it is determined that this final rule does

not have sufficient federalism

implications to warrant the preparation

of a Federalism Assessment.

The FAA has determined that this

regulation is noncontroversial and

unlikely to result in adverse or negative

comments. For the reasons discussed in

the preamble, I certify that this

regulation (1) is not a ‘‘significant

regulatory action’’ under Executive

Order 12866; (2) is not a ‘‘significant

rule’’ under Department of

Transportation (DOT) Regulatory

Policies and Procedures (44 FR 11034,

February 26, 1979); and (3) if

promulgated, will not have a significant

economic impact, positive or negative,

on a substantial number of small entities

under the criteria of the Regulatory

Flexibility Act.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 71

Airspace, Incorporation by reference,

Navigation (air).

Adoption of the Amendment

Accordingly, the Federal Aviation

Administration amends part 71 of the

Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR

part 7) as follows:

PART 71—AMENDED

1. The authority citation of part 71

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40103, 40113,

40120; E.O. 10854, 24 FR 9565, 3 CFR, 1959–

1963 Comp., p. 389.

§ 71.1 [Amended]

2. The incorporation by reference in

14 CFR 71.1 of Federal Aviation

Administration Order 7400.9D, Airspace

Designations and Reporting Points,

dated September 4, 1996, and effective

September 16, 1996, is amended as

follows:

Paragraph 6005 Class E airspace areas

extending upward from 700 feet or more

above the surface of the earth.

* * * * *

ACE MO E5 Aurora, MO. [Revised]

Aura Memorial Municipal Airport, MO.

(lat. 36°57′44′′ N., long. 93°41′43′′ W.)

That airspace extending upward from 700

feet above the surface within a 6.3 mile

radius of Aurora Memorial Municipal Airport

and within 2 miles each of the 181° bearing

from the Aurora Memorial Municipal Airport

extending from the 6.3-mile radius to 9.3

miles south of the airport.

* * * * *

Issued in Kansas City, MO, on July 11,

1997.

Christopher R. Blum,

Acting Manager, Air Traffic Division, Central

Region.

[FR Doc. 97–21406 Filed 8–12–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–13–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

14 CFR Part 241

[Docket No. OST–95–744]

RIN 2139–AA04

Passenger Origin-Destination Survey

Reports

AGENCY: Office of Secretary, DOT.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Department of

Transportation (DOT or the Department)

requires that large certificated U.S. air

carriers participating in code-share

arrangements report both the ticketing

and operating air carriers in their

quarterly Passenger Origin-Destination

Survey reports. DOT needs the

information to assess accurately the

effects of code-sharing alliances in air

transportation. Also, the Department

expands by one position the field

entitled ‘‘Total Dollar Value of Ticket’’

to accommodate current charges; and

standardizes the format for floppy disk

submissions by using the same 200

character record layout that is used for

magnetic tape submissions. The latter

changes are technical in nature and

should reduce processing errors. This

action is taken to respond to

Congressional concerns on the impact of

international code-share operations.

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Bernard Stankus, Office of Airline

Information, K–25, Bureau of

Transportation Statistics, 400 Seventh

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590,

(202) 366–4387.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On June 24, 1996, the Bureau of

Transportation Statistics (BTS) issued a

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

(‘‘NPRM’’) (61 FR 32375) seeking public

comments on a proposal to revise the

Passenger Origin-Destination Survey
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 156 / Wednesday, August 13, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 43277

Report (Survey). BTS proposed that

carriers identify the ticketed and

operating carriers for each flight

segment, expand the field entitled

‘‘Total Dollar Value of Ticket’’ by one

position to accommodate current

charges, and use the same 200 character

record layout for floppy disk

submissions that is used for magnetic

tape submissions.

Comments to the docket were

received from American Airlines, Inc.

(American), Continental Airlines, Inc.

(Continental); Delta Air Lines, Inc.

(Delta); Northwest Airlines, Inc.

(Northwest); Prestige Airways (Prestige);

United Air Lines, Inc. (United); USAir;

and the Airports Council International—

North America (ACI–NA).

American and Northwest do not

object to adding one position to the

‘‘Total Dollar Value of Ticket’’ field.

American believes this action will

increase the accuracy of reports by

reflecting better the actual value of

tickets for premium services and long,

multi-segment itineraries. United did

not state specific objections to

expansion of the ‘‘Total Dollar Value of

Ticket’’ field; however, it requested that

the Department rescind a reporting

directive that required carriers to use

five positions when reporting fares.

United believes imposition of a

reporting requirement before a final rule

prejudges the issues.

Northwest does not object to the

standardization of the format for floppy

disk submissions.

Delta, Northwest and United believe

that requiring air carriers to make

incremental changes to the Survey

would be a waste of limited resources in

light of the Department’s plan to

completely modernize the Survey.

American believes that ‘‘a considerable

period will be required for the

Department to issue a rule and

transition to the new system.’’

Therefore, American believes that DOT

should go forward with the proposed

rule.

Northwest estimates that it would

require a minimum of 740 hours of

reprogramming to collect and report the

expanded data. Delta and United

estimate 600 hours of reprogramming.

Delta believes a 60-day lead time is

insufficient. Northwest and United

request a minimum 180-day lead time.

American believes the final rule should

become effective 60 days after

publication. USAir could implement the

rule change within 30 days, although it

would prefer a 60-day lead time.

American and ACI–NA support the

proposal that U.S. carriers participating

in code-share arrangements report both

the ticketing and operating air carriers.

ACI–NA stated that U.S. airport

operators need accurate domestic and

international O&D data to understand

market developments.

American, Delta and Prestige request

that DOT clarify the proposal by clearly

stating that the reporting carrier must

report both operating and ticketing

carriers only for segments ticketed

under agreements to which it is a party.

Continental and Delta request that

carriers be required to report only those

tickets that the carrier actually lifts. For

example, Delta states that it should not

be required to report tickets that are

issued and lifted by a foreign alliance

partner (for travel on a flight operated

by Delta), since these tickets are not in

Delta’s custody or control.

While Northwest strongly objects to

the proposal to collect both the

operating and ticketed carriers, it stated

it would provide expanded data if the

data that relates to its foreign code-share

partners were withheld from the public.

Northwest believes that these data are

highly confidential and competitively

sensitive. American, Delta and ACI–NA

believe that code-share data involving

foreign partners of U.S. carriers should

not be given special confidential

treatment. Delta and United believe that

foreign carriers who are part of

immunized alliances and required to

contribute data to the Survey should be

able to access Survey data. United

stated:

One of the primary purposes of granting

alliances antitrust immunity is to enable the

participating carriers to cooperate in

planning their marketing strategies in order

to compete effectively with other alliances.

To that end, the partners in these alliances

should be allowed to have access to the O&D

Survey reports, particularly now that these

reports will include details relating to the

results of code-share services.

American states that foreign carriers

only report a portion of their operations

and should not access the data unless

they report their whole system.

ACI–NA requests that DOT collect

O&D data from commuter air carriers

that operate aircraft with 19 or more

seats. ACI–NA believes that commuter

air carriers are important players in the

transborder Canada and Mexico

markets, U.S. Caribbean market and as

feeders to international flights.

Reporting Operating and Ticketed Air

Carriers

The Department does not agree with

the comments that making incremental

changes to the Survey when there are

plans to modernize the reporting system

is a misuse of the air carriers’ and the

Department’s limited resources.

American Airlines is correct in its

assertion that a considerable period will

be required for the Department to issue

a rule and transition to the new system.

The adoption of a new Survey system is

not imminent; and the Department

believes that adoption of a new system

is three to five years away. In February

1997, the Airline Tariff Publishing

Company completed the system

specification and implementation guide

for the transaction control number

(TCN). The Department envisions that

the TCN would be the foundation of the

modernized Survey. However, due to

personnel and budget constraints in FY

1997, the Office of Airline Information

(OAI) has been unable to proceed in this

venture. Once OAI obtains adequate

resources, it would take one to two

years to develop a prototype reporting

system. The next step would be to

solicit carrier volunteers for a 6 to 12

month test the system. If the test is

successful, OAI would then proceed to

the rulemaking process.

While the Department recognizes that

there is a burden placed on carriers in

implementing a reporting change, it is

also aware of the increasing importance

of code-share relationships within the

air transportation industry. Codesharing has become more widespread in

both interstate and foreign air

transportation. Congress has urged the

DOT to analyze more thoroughly the

effects of international code-sharing on

air transportation and U.S. air carriers.

Under the current Survey reporting, the

DOT has difficulty evaluating the effects

of code-sharing alliances on air carriers

and consumers. As currently designed,

the Survey does not identify both

carriers on a code-share ticket.

According to a reporting clarification

sent to participating carriers by letter on

September 11, 1995, the Survey

identifies the carrier transporting the

passenger (operating carrier), but not the

ticketing carrier (carrier of record on the

ticket). To assess accurately the effects

of international code-share agreements,

DOT needs to know the ticketed carrier

as well as the transporting carrier for the

various legs of the passenger’s flight. If

both code-sharing partners are

identified in the survey, it will

eliminate the need for special reports, as

now obtained from certain U.S. carriers,

regarding major international code-share

alliances. These special reports are the

only source of information on codeshare operations. The reporting changes

directed by this rulemaking will

produce superior data on international

and domestic code-share flights where

there is a U.S. operating carrier.

In the United States, regional carrier

service is growing as major carriers are

handing over more service to their code-
43278 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 156 / Wednesday, August 13, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

share partners. Service to small

communities can be affected by codesharing, creating a need for DOT to

monitor the impact on the communities

from code-share services.

This need for international and purely

domestic code-share data, coupled with

the fact that many international

passengers interline on domestic codeshare flights, creates an urgency to the

Department’s need to collect

information on the ticketed and

operating carriers for both international

and domestic tickets. This rule benefits

carriers that currently have special

reporting requirements for their

international code-share operations. The

need for maintaining and submitting

data into two data bases will be

eliminated. The code-share data that are

reported in the special reports will now

be captured in the carriers’ regular

Survey submission when the carriers

report both the ticketing and operating

air carriers. Moreover, the new reporting

scheme will simplify data analysis by

having data on both the ticketing and

operating air carriers in a single record.

Presently, analysts must compare

aggregated data sets with no way of

matching individual trip itineraries.

The reporting carrier is required to

identify ticketed and operating carriers

only for those segments in which it

participates in a code-share agreement.

This relieves the reporting carrier from

the potentially substantial burden of

reporting third-party downline codeshare arrangements. In such situations,

the reporting carrier may not have the

information necessary to comply with

such a requirement. Therefore, in the

case of third party code-share

arrangements, the reporting carrier

would report the code of the ticketed

carrier as both the ticketed and

operating carrier.

First Operating Carrier Is Responsible

for Survey Reporting

The first operating carrier, that is a

participant in the Survey, is responsible

for submitting the applicable Survey

data. Since the operating carrier

generally performs the passenger ticket

lift at the gate, it should have the

necessary information for Survey

reporting.

Delta and Continental commented

that carriers should be required to report

only those tickets that the carrier

actually lifts. Under Delta’s and

Continental’s suggestion, certain

passenger trip itineraries, that are

reportable under the Survey procedures,

would be omitted from the data base.

This would occur when the first

operating carrier is a participating

carrier and the lifting carrier is a

nonparticipating carrier. Under this

scenario, the lifted ticket would not be

reported in the Survey. This problem

would be further compounded if there

are two or more additional participating

carriers on the ticket and the subsequent

carriers believe the information has

already been reported by the preceding

participating carrier.

An example of this cited by Delta is

when tickets are issued and lifted by a

foreign alliance partner for travel on a

flight operated by Delta and Delta does

not have custody or control of the

tickets. The Department has considered

the impact of this situation and believes

that excluding such tickets from the

Survey would adversely affect the

Department’s ability to accurately assess

the effects of code-share alliances.

Travel arrangements, such as the

example cited by Delta are a critical

component in accurately assessing the

impact of U.S.-foreign air carrier codeshare alliances.

Because of the importance of these

data, the U.S. partner of a foreign codeshare alliance must ensure that when it

appears as the first participating carrier

on the ticket, the ticket’s trip itinerary

is included in the Survey. While the

Department has decided not to adopt

Delta’s and Continental’s suggestion, it

does recognize that such situations do

create reporting difficulties for

participating carriers. In an attempt to

ameliorate the problem, the Department

invites U.S. air carriers that find

themselves in this situation to endeavor

to reach an agreement with their foreign

partners that would allow for the data

to be reported. This could be

accomplished by the U.S. and foreign

alliance partners submission of a joint

request to waive the Survey reporting

requirements so as to allow the foreign

partner to include such traffic in its

special Survey reports. The Department

would look favorably on such a waiver

when it is assured that all reportable

Survey data will be captured and

reported in the data base.

Total Dollar Value of Ticket

The Department proposed expanding

the data field for the total U.S. dollar

amount of fare by one position. This

change was proposed to accommodate

current airline passenger fares, which

can exceed $9,999.

On June 14, 1996, the Department

issued Accounting and Reporting

Directive #203 which directed air

carriers to use five positions to report

total value of ticket. United Airlines

filed comments objecting to the issuance

of the Accounting and Reporting

Directive #203 on the grounds that it

prejudges the outcome of the

rulemaking process. The Department

disagreed with United that Accounting

and Reporting Directive #203 should be

rescinded. The Department determined

that the change was a technical change

required by the level of current air

carrier fares. Carriers must have

adequate space to report actual fares.

Expanding the field one space gave the

air carriers the space they needed to

report actual fares. Because the ‘‘Survey

Record Layout’’ is printed in Code of

Federal Regulations, we included the

expansion of the dollar value of ticket

field in this rulemaking. In finalizing

the proposal to expand by one position

the reportable dollar amount of fare, the

Department notes that United’s

objection to Directive #203 was strictly

procedural and United did not object to

the proposed change per se.

Also, to clarify the definition of

‘‘Total dollar value of ticket’’ the

Department is amending Appendix A of

section 241.19–7 Section V.D. (h) to

identify Passenger Facility Charges as an

example of an ‘‘other charge.’’

Fare-Basis Codes

In order to create sufficient space on

the tape layout for the reporting of both

the ticketed and operating air carriers,

the Department made a technical change

to the fare-basis codes. All fare-basis

codes are now a single-character alpha

code, as follows:

C—Unrestricted Business Class

D—Restricted Business Class

F—Unrestricted First Class

G—Restricted First Class

X—Restricted Coach/Economy Class

Y—Unrestricted Coach/Economy Class

U—Unknown (This fare category is used

when none is shown on a ticket

coupon, or when a fare category is

not discernible, or when two or

more carrier fare codes are

compressed into a single stage of a

passenger trip).

Confidentiality

This rule does not amend the

regulations applicable to the disclosure

of international Survey data (14 CFR

241.19–7 (d) and (e)). Presently, foreign

air carriers do not submit regular Survey

data and do not have access to

international Survey data. Foreign

carriers are not being required now to

submit Survey data and they will

continue to be denied access to

international Survey data. Some foreign

carriers are required to submit special

reports to the Department as a condition

for receiving antitrust immunity for

code-sharing/alliance agreements with

U.S. carriers. These special reports are

granted confidential treatment and the
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 156 / Wednesday, August 13, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 43279

data from the special reports are not

merged into the regular Survey.

Moreover, this rule does not amend

the regulations applicable to which

tickets must be reported in the Survey.

Besides the technical changes, the

purpose of this rule is to properly

identify the operating and ticketing

carriers. Northwest argues that it will be

placed at a competitive disadvantage if

it has to divulge the identity of the

operating and ticketed carriers from its

code-share operations. It stated that

many of its competitors do not have

code-share partners, or are not involved

in foreign code-share alliances of the

same nature and magnitude as

Northwest’s alliances.

We disagree with Northwest’s

argument. Presently, Northwest knows

the international traffic carried by U.S.

carriers that have no code-sharing

agreements. These carriers have to make

an educated guess at Northwest’s

international traffic because Northwest’s

actual traffic may be obscured by its

code-share arrangement. This rule will

properly identify all U.S. carriers’

international traffic and place codesharing and noncode-sharing carriers on

a more equal playing field. While we

will be able to identify code-share

passengers, the code-share carriers are

not required to divulge their revenue

splits.

United and Delta argue that foreign

code-share partners be granted access to

international Survey data. This would

enable the code-share carriers to

cooperate in planning their marketing

strategies to compete effectively with

other alliances. United agrees with the

Department’s prior conclusion that

dissemination of Survey data among

reporting carriers is procompetitive.

United goes on to say that its foreign air

carrier partners are willing to waive the

confidential treatment of their special

reports if they are granted access to

international Survey data.

As stated earlier, foreign carriers are

denied access to international Survey

data. Foreign carriers are not

participating air carriers as they do not

submit regular Survey data. The special

reports that some foreign carriers are

required to submit comprise a sample of

ticketed itineraries that contain a U.S.

point; therefore, the special reports do

not sample a foreign carrier’s entire

operation. Because of this difference in

the U.S. and foreign carriers’ Survey

submissions, the level of reported data

is not comparable. Moreover, the special

reports are only viewed by Department

analysts on an individual basis and the

reports are not merged into the regular

Survey. Finally, the issue of whether

foreign air carriers should submit

Survey data is beyond the scope of this

rulemaking.

Standardize Formats for Floppy Disk

Submissions

The Department has encouraged

carriers that do not have the capability

to report via magnetic tape or cartridge

to submit their reports via floppy

diskettes. To avoid the multitude of

formats currently received, this final

rule prescribes, as proposed, a 200

position format with standard lengths of

fields for submission of personal

computer (PC) generated Survey reports.

The field descriptions and field lengths

will be identical to the fields prescribed

for magnetic tape/cartridge submissions

(see Appendix A section IX. ADP

Instructions of 14 CFR 241.19).

However, to simplify the PC

submissions, the submitter may report

the dollar value of the ticket in the field

immediately after the last reported city

code, rather than in positions 196–200.

Submitters may separate fields by using

commas or tabs (comma delimited

ASCII or tab delimited ASCII format).

No comments were submitted in

opposition to this change.

Effective Date for Reporting

We set January 1, 1998, as the

effective date for this rule. The initial

reports will be due at the Department by

May 15, 1998. We believe this gives the

carriers sufficient time to make the

necessary program changes to their dataprocessing system.

Survey Reporting by Commuter Air

Carriers

ACI–NA requested that the

Department require commuter air

carriers that operate 19-seat aircraft or

larger to report Survey data. While we

concur with ACI–NA that commuter air

carriers are important players in the

transborder Canada and Mexico

markets, the issue of collecting Survey

data from the commuter air carrier

segment of the air transportation

industry is outside the scope of this

rulemaking.

Cost/Benefits

Cost

Delta and United both estimate that

the proposed reporting changes would

require 600 hours of reprogramming to

collect and report the new data. Using

this estimate for the approximately 40

air carriers submitting Survey data,

there would be a one-time industry

burden of 24,000 hours (40 carriers ×

600 hours). This estimate may doublecount the burden for code-share regional

carriers which have their Survey

processed by their parent or an affiliated

carrier. The Department estimates that

the change will require a recurrent fourhour burden increase to report both the

ticketed and operating air carriers.

Using a $50 per hour cost, the one-time

industry reprogramming cost is

estimated at $1,240,000, and the

recurrent reporting cost at $32,000 per

year.

Benefits

The above costs would be partially

offset by the elimination of the need for

U.S. carriers to submit special Survey

reports for their international code-share

operations.

The Survey is the primary data source

for international and domestic market

analysis. In the last few years, the utility

of the Survey has decreased as codeshare operations have increased.

Carriers have been mis-identified and

records have been deleted for not

passing edit checks. For the 12-months

ended September 1996, revenues from

international air services totaled over

$24.5 billion. Significant code-share/

alliance agreements have been approved

with the grant of antitrust immunity.

The Department will benefit from a

reliable data system that assesses the

impact of these agreements on the

traveling public and other U.S. carriers.

Reporting of ticketed and operating

carriers will give the Department access

to the data it requires to conduct more

informative analyses of these

agreements. While the Department

cannot put a dollar value to the benefits

of more reliable data, it does believe that

the benefits outweigh the costs.

Rulemaking Analyses and Notices

Executive Order 12866 and DOT

Regulatory Policies and Procedures

This rule is not considered a

significant regulatory action under

section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866

and, therefore, is not subject to review

by the Office of Management and

Budget.

This rule is not considered significant

under the regulatory policies and

procedures of the Department of

Transportation (44 FR 11034). The rule

will not result in any unfunded mandate

to state, local or tribal governments in

the aggregate, or to the private sector, of

$100 million or more in any one year.

The purpose of the rule is to improve

the accuracy and reliability of the

Survey. This objective is achieved by

amending 14 CFR 241.19–7 to require

the proper identification of operating

and ticketed air carriers; to add one

position to the field ‘‘Total Dollar Value

of Ticket;’’ and to standardize the format
43280 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 156 / Wednesday, August 13, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

for floppy disk submissions. There are

about 40 carriers that report the Survey.

Executive Order 12612

This rule has been analyzed in

accordance with the principles and

criteria contained in Executive Order

12612 (‘‘Federalism’’) and the DOT has

determined the rule does not have

sufficient federalism implications to

warrant the preparation of a Federalism

Assessment.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

I certify this rule will not have a

significant economic impact on a

substantial number of small entities.

The amendments will affect only large

certificated U.S. air carriers operating

scheduled passenger service. The

Department’s economic regulations

define ‘‘large certificated air carrier’’ as

U.S. air carriers, holding a certificate

issued under 49 U.S.C. 41102, that

operate aircraft designed to have a

maximum passenger capacity of more

than 60 seats or a maximum payload

capacity of more than 18,000 pounds or

that operate aircraft in international

service. Consequently, small carriers are

not affected by this final rule.

National Environmental Protection Act

The Bureau of Transportation

Statistics has analyzed the amendments

for the purpose of the National

Environmental Protection Act. The

amendments will not have any impact

on the quality of human environment.

Paperwork Reduction Act

The reporting and recordkeeping

requirements associated with this rule

are being sent to the Office of

Management and Budget in accordance

with 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35 under OMB

NO: 2139–0001. Administration: Bureau

of Transportation Statistics; Title:

Passenger Origin-Destination Survey

Report; Need for Information: Statistical

information on airline passenger

movements; Proposed use of

Information: Balance of benefits

analyses for international agreements

and monitoring adequacy of air service

to small communities; Frequency:

Quarterly; Burden Estimate: 50,848

annual hours; Average Annual Burden

Hours per Respondent after

Reprogramming is Completed—670. For

further information contact: The Office

of Information Resource Management,

M–32, Office of the Secretary of

Transportation, 400 Seventh Street,

SW., Washington, DC. 20590–0001,

(202) 366–4735 or Transportation Desk

Officer, Office of Management and

Budget, New Executive Office Building,

Room 3228, Washington, DC. 20503.

Regulation Identifier Number

A regulation identifier number (RIN)

is assigned to each regulatory action

listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal

Regulations. The Regulatory Information

Service Center publishes the Unified

Agenda in April and October of each

year. The RIN number 2139–AA04

contained in the heading of this

document can be used to cross reference

this action with the Unified Agenda.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 241

Air carriers uniform system of

accounts and reports.

Final Rule

Accordingly, the Bureau of

Transportation Statistics amends 14

CFR part 241 Uniform System of

Accounts and Reports for Large

Certificated Air Carriers, as follows:

PART 241—[AMENDED]

1. Revise Sec. 19–7(b) to read as

follows:

§ 19–7 Passenger origin-destination

survey.

(a) * * *

(b) Those participating air carriers

that have access to automatic data

processing (ADP) services shall utilize

magnetic tape, cartridge, floppy diskette

or other ADP media for transmitting the

prescribed data. Those carriers without

ADP capability should contact the

Office of Airline Information for further

instructions ((202) 366–4373).

* * * * *

2. In Appendix A of Sec. 19–7, revise

Sec. V.B to read as follows:

* * * * *

B. Selection of Reportable Flight

Coupons. The flight coupons identified

above are to be examined to isolate the

reportable flight coupons, i.e. coupons

from which data are to be recorded.

Flight coupon data are reported only by

the first honoring and participating

carrier (operating carrier). Such carriers

shall report the required data for the

entire ticketed itinerary.

If a participating carrier has preceded

an examining carrier on any stage in the

trip itinerary, including any stage in a

conjunction itinerary and any stage in a

reissued ticket (either before or after

reissue) that coupon is not reportable.

For conjunction tickets, the ticket

number for the first ticket booklet

determines if the conjunction tickets

should be reported in the Survey.

Otherwise, conjunction tickets do not

require special treatment and are

governed by the rules for regular tickets.

No adjustment is made in the Survey

for alterations or changes in the trip

itinerary subsequent to the stage

covered by the reportable coupon.

3. In Appendix A of Sec. 19–7, in Sec.

V.D., revise paragraph D.(1); the table in

paragraph D.(2)(a); paragraph D.(2)(b);

paragraph (c) and the first paragraph of

(d) to read as follows:

* * * * *

D. Recording of Data from Reportable

Flight Coupons. (1) The following items are

to be reported from the reportable flight

coupons:

(a) Point of origin,

(b) Operating carrier on each flight stage (if

unknown, identify ticketed carrier),

(c) Ticketed carrier on each flight stage,

(d) Fare-basis on each flight coupon, C, D,

F, G, X or Y,

(e) Points of stopover or connection

(interline and intraline),

(f) Point of destination,

(g) Number of passengers, and

(h) Total dollar value of ticket (fare plus tax

and other charges, such as Passenger Facility

Charges).

(2) * * *

(a) * * *

000001 UCA YV UA Y JFK TW TW X

Passenger(s) Utica Mesa

Operating

Carrier

United

Ticketed

Carrier

Fare Code New York

Kennedy

Airport

TWA

Operating

Carrier

TWA

Ticketed

Carrier

Fare Code

Surface Transportation

SFO (Blank space)

San Francisco Operating Carrier Ticketed Carrier Fare Code
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 156 / Wednesday, August 13, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 43281

OAK UA UA G LAX DL DL F

Oakland United

Operating

Carrier

United

Ticketed

Carrier

Fare Los Angeles Delta

Operating

Carrier

Delta

Operating

Carrier

Fare Code

SLC NW NW D PHX AA AA C LAX

Salt Lake City Northwest

Operating

Carrier

Northwest

Ticketed

Carrier

Fare Code Phoenix American

Operating

Carrier

American

Ticketed

Carrier

Fare Code Los Angeles

JL JL C NRT 04596

Japan Air Lines

Operating

Carrier

Japan Air Lines

Ticketed

Carrier

Fare Code Tokyo Narita Dollars of Fare + Tax

* * * * *

(b) All entries for operating and ticketed

carriers for a coupon stage of an itinerary are

to be recorded using two character IATAassigned or DOT codes, as in the above

example. Note that the fare code summary

was properly inserted after the ticketed

carrier’s code, i.e., UA for United Air Lines

and Y for unrestricted coach class service.

When a two-character carrier code is shown

on the ticket, record that code for the ticketed

carrier. However, if a code is obviously

incorrect, record the correct carrier code. If

the reporting carrier does not know the

operating carrier on a downline code-share

segment, it would use the ticketed carrier’s

code for both the operating and ticketed

carriers. The reporting carrier is not

responsible for knowing the operating carrier

of a downline code-share where it is not a

party to the code-share segment. Except for

the infrequent compression of data to fit into

the stage-length limitation (7 or 23 stages at

the carrier’s option), all carrier codes are to

be recorded, including data on air taxis,

commuters, intra-state, and other carrier

portions of itineraries. On tickets involving

interchange service or other cooperative

carrier arrangements, the juncture point(s)

where the passenger moves from one carrier

system to another is to be recorded as an

intermediate point in the itinerary, even

when not shown on the ticket and even

though the flight may overfly the juncture

point.

(c) Entries for fare-basis codes are to be

taken from the ‘‘fare basis’’ and ‘‘fare

description’’ portions of the ticket and

simplified into the appropriate category, as

shown below. No attempt shall be made to

determine and record fare-basis codes for that

portion of a conjunction ticket appearing in

the ticket. Fare-basis codes are to be recorded

in one-character alphabetic codes. The farebasis codes are recorded as follows:

C—Unrestricted Business Class

D—Restricted Business Class

F—Unrestricted First Class

G—Restricted First Class

X—Restricted Coach/Economy Class

Y—Unrestricted Coach/Economy Class

U—Unknown (This fare category is used

when none is shown on a ticket coupon,

or when a fare category is not

discernible, or when two or more carrier

fare codes are compressed into a single

stage of a passenger trip).

(d) In recording the number of passengers,

each single-passenger ticket is to be recorded

as one passenger. Tickets for infants under

two years of age not occupying a seat are not

to be counted. A revenue passenger is

defined in Section X.

* * * * *

4. In Appendix A to Sec. 19–7, in Sec.

IX, revise the first table in paragraph

A.(1) and paragraphs B. and C. to read

as follows:

* * * * *

A. * * *

(1) * * *

Field

Tape positions

(from-to)

Tape record layout

PASSENGER COUNT ................................................................. 1–6 1. Passenger field must contain leading zeros, and no blanks.

1ST CITY CODE .......................................................................... 7–9

1ST OPERATING CARRIER ....................................................... 10–11

1ST TICKETED CARRIER ........................................................... 12–13 2. City field contains the 3-letter alpha code for the airport in

the first 3 positions.

FARE BASIS CODE ..................................................................... 14

2ND CITY CODE .......................................................................... 15–17

2ND OPERATING CARRIER ....................................................... 18–19

2ND TICKETED CARRIER .......................................................... 20–21

FARE BASIS CODE ..................................................................... 22

3RD CITY CODE .......................................................................... 23–25

3RD OPERATING CARRIER ....................................................... 26–27

3RD TICKETED CARRIER .......................................................... 28–29

FARE BASIS CODE ..................................................................... 30

4TH CITY CODE .......................................................................... 31–33 3. Ticketed and operating carrier fields are to contain the 2

character air carrier code. An unknown carrier is to be

coded ‘‘UK’’ and surface carrier is to be coded ‘‘— —’’

(dash dash).

4TH OPERATING CARRIER ....................................................... 34–35

4TH TICKETED CARRIER ........................................................... 36–37

FARE BASIS CODE ..................................................................... 38

5TH CITY CODE .......................................................................... 39–41

5TH OPERATING CARRIER ....................................................... 42–43

5TH TICKETED CARRIER ........................................................... 44–45

FARE BASIS CODE ..................................................................... 46

6TH CITY CODE .......................................................................... 47–49 4. Fare basis code is a one position alpha code.

6TH OPERATING CARRIER ....................................................... 50–51

6TH TICKETED CARRIER ........................................................... 52–53
43282 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 156 / Wednesday, August 13, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

Field

Tape positions

(from-to)

Tape record layout

FARE BASIS CODE ..................................................................... 54 5. Portion of record for sorting, summarizing, and sequencing

includes columns 7 through 200.

7TH CITY CODE .......................................................................... 55–57

7TH OPERATING CARRIER ....................................................... 58–59

7TH TICKETED CARRIER ........................................................... 60–61

FARE BASIS CODE ..................................................................... 62

8TH CITY CODE .......................................................................... 63–65 6. Dollar amount in positions 196–200 is right justified.

8TH OPERATING CARRIER ....................................................... 66–67

8TH TICKETED CARRIER ........................................................... 68–69

FARE BASIS CODE ..................................................................... 70 7. Positions 66–193 are used only by those carriers who want

to report more data, and are not compressing to 7 stages

(see Sec. V.D. (3) for compressing rules.

9TH CITY CODE .......................................................................... 71–73

9TH OPERATING CARRIER ....................................................... 74–75

9TH TICKETED CARRIER ........................................................... 76–77

FARE BASIS CODE ..................................................................... 78

10TH CITY CODE ........................................................................ 79–81

10TH OPERATING CARRIER ..................................................... 82–83

10TH TICKETED CARRIER ......................................................... 84–85

FARE BASIS CODE ..................................................................... 86

11TH CITY CODE ........................................................................ 87–89

11TH OPERATING CARRIER ..................................................... 90–91

11TH TICKETED CARRIER ......................................................... 92–93

FARE BASIS CODE ..................................................................... 94

12TH CITY CODE ........................................................................ 95–97

12TH OPERATING CARRIER ..................................................... 98–99

12TH TICKETED CARRIER ......................................................... 100–101

FARE BASIS CODE ..................................................................... 102

13TH CITY CODE ........................................................................ 103–105

13TH OPERATING CARRIER ..................................................... 106–107

13TH TICKETED CARRIER ......................................................... 108–109

FARE BASIS CODE ..................................................................... 110

14TH CITY CODE ........................................................................ 111–113

14TH OPERATING CARRIER ..................................................... 114–115

14TH TICKETED CARRIER ......................................................... 116–117

FARE BASIS CODE ..................................................................... 118

15TH CITY CODE ........................................................................ 119–121

15TH OPERATING CARRIER ..................................................... 122–123

15TH TICKETED CARRIER ......................................................... 124–125

FARE BASIS CODE ..................................................................... 126

16TH CITY CODE ........................................................................ 127–129

16TH OPERATING CARRIER ..................................................... 130–131

16TH TICKETED CARRIER ......................................................... 132–133

FARE BASIS CODE ..................................................................... 134

17TH CITY CODE ........................................................................ 135–137

17TH OPERATING CARRIER ..................................................... 138–139

17TH TICKETED CARRIER ......................................................... 140–141

FARE BASIS CODE ..................................................................... 142

18TH CITY CODE ........................................................................ 143–145

18TH OPERATING CARRIER ..................................................... 146–147

18TH TICKETED CARRIER ......................................................... 148–149

FARE BASIS CODE ..................................................................... 150

19TH CITY CODE ........................................................................ 151–153

19TH OPERATING CARRIER ..................................................... 154–155

19TH TICKETED CARRIER ......................................................... 156–157

FARE BASIS CODE ..................................................................... 158

20TH CITY CODE ........................................................................ 159–161

20TH OPERATING CARRIER ..................................................... 162–163

20TH TICKETED CARRIER ......................................................... 164–165

FARE BASIS CODE ..................................................................... 166

21ST CITY CODE ........................................................................ 167–169

21ST OPERATING CARRIER ..................................................... 170–171

21ST TICKETED CARRIER ......................................................... 172–173

FARE BASIS CODE ..................................................................... 174

22ND CITY CODE ........................................................................ 175–177

22ND OPERATING CARRIER ..................................................... 178–179

22ND TICKETED CARRIER ........................................................ 180–181

FARE BASIS CODE ..................................................................... 182

23RD CITY CODE ........................................................................ 183–185

23RD OPERATING CARRIER ..................................................... 186–187

23RD TICKETED CARRIER ........................................................ 188–189

FARE BASIS CODE ..................................................................... 190
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 156 / Wednesday, August 13, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 43283

Field

Tape positions

(from-to)

Tape record layout

24TH CITY CODE ........................................................................ 191–193

BLANK .......................................................................................... 194–195

US VALUE OF TICKET IN $ ........................................................ 196–200

* * * * *

B. Editing of Tape Records. Prior to

submission of data, each carrier is requested

to edit and correct its data so that its O&D

Survey report may be as error-free as is

reasonably practicable. The methods to be

used in editing are left to the carriers’

discretion, but with assistance available upon

request from the Department’s Office of

Airline Information (OAI). To aid the carriers

in maintaining a current file of editing

criteria, OAI will re-issue, as needed, the

city/airport-carrier file to each participating

carrier. There will be a five-position field to

denote the city/airport-carrier. The first three

positions denotes the airport and the last two

positions denotes the air carrier.

C. Standard Formats for Floppy Disk or

Cartridge Submissions. Carriers should use

the 200 position format with the standard

length fields prescribed for magnetic media

submissions. The record layout is detailed in

subsection A(1) of this section. However, to

simplify the PC submissions, the submitter

may report the dollar value of the ticket in

the field immediately after the last reported

city code, rather than in positions 196–200.

Submitters may separate fields by using

commas or tabs (comma delimited ASCII or

tab delimited ASCII format).

5. In Appendix A to Sec. 19–7, in Sec.

X., revise the definition of ‘‘Fare basis’’

code and add the following new

definitions to read as follows:

* * * * *

Fare basis code. The alphabetic code(s) or

combination of alphabetic and numeric codes

appearing in the ‘‘Fare basis’’ box on the

flight coupon which describe the applicable

service and discount to which the passenger

is entitled. All fare basis codes are

summarized into basic categories; namely

C—Unrestricted Business Class, D—

Restricted Business Class, F—Unrestricted

First Class, G—Restricted First Class, X—

Restricted Coach/Economy Class, Y—

Unrestricted Coach/Economy Class, and U—

Unknown (This fare category is used when

none is shown on a ticket coupon, or when

a fare category is not discernible, or when

two or more carrier fare codes are

compressed into a single stage of a passenger

trip).

* * * * *

Operating air carrier. Under a code-share

arrangement, the air carrier whose aircraft

and flight crew are used to perform a flight

segment.

* * * * *

Ticketed air carrier. Under a code-share

arrangement, the air carrier whose twocharacter air carrier code is used for a flight

segment, whether or not it actually operates

the flight segment.

* * * * *

Issued in Washington, DC, on August 7,

1997.

Robert Goldner,

Acting Assistant Secretary for Aviation and

International Affairs.

[FR Doc. 97–21356 Filed 8–12–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–62–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Fiscal Service

31 CFR Part 357

[Department of the Treasury Circular, Public

Debt Series, No. 2–86]

Regulations Governing Book-Entry

Treasury Bonds, Notes and Bills

AGENCY: Bureau of the Public Debt,

Fiscal Service, Treasury.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Department of the

Treasury is publishing a final rule to its

TRADES Commentary, (Appendix B of

31 CFR Part 357), to update the list of

states that have enacted Revised Article

8 of the Uniform Commercial Code and

that were the subject of prior notices

published by Treasury in the Federal

Register. Appendix B provides

explanatory information regarding the

regulations governing Treasury

securities held in the commercial bookentry system, referred to as the

Treasury/Reserve Automated Debt Entry

System (‘‘TRADES’’).

EFFECTIVE DATE: August 13, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Walter T. Eccard, Chief Counsel (202)

219–3320, or Cynthia E. Reese, Deputy

Chief Counsel, (202) 219–3320. Copies

of the final rule are being made

available for downloading from the

Bureau of the Public Debt home page at

the following address:

www.publicdebt.treas.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The final

rule to govern Treasury securities held

in the commercial book-entry system, or

TRADES, was published August 23,

1996 (61 FR 43626), and was effective

January 1, 1997. Appendix B of the rule,

the TRADES Commentary, addresses the

limited scope of federal preemption of

state law under § 357.11 of the Sectionby Section Analysis. If the choice of law

rules set forth in TRADES lead to the

application of the law of a state that has

not yet adopted Revised Article 8 of the

Uniform Commercial Code (Revised

Article 8) then TRADES applies Revised

Article 8 (as approved by the American

Law Institute and the National

Conference of Commissioners on

Uniform State Laws, or the ‘‘uniform

version’’). Treasury indicated in the

preamble to the final rule that if a state

passes a version of Revised Article 8

that is substantially identical to the

uniform version, then reference to the

uniform version would no longer be

required. In the TRADES Commentary,

Treasury further stated that it had

reviewed the laws of those states which

had adopted Revised Article 8 as of the

date of the publication of the final rule

and had concluded that they were

substantially identical to the uniform

version. Those 28 states were

enumerated and listed by name

alphabetically in a footnote.

Treasury further indicated that it

would publish in the Federal Register a

notice setting forth its conclusion as to

whether additional state enactments of

Revised Article 8 are ‘‘substantially

identical’’ to the uniform version for

purposes of the regulations. Treasury

has published such notices with respect

to California (62 FR 26, January 2, 1997)

and the District of Columbia (62 FR

34010, June 18, 1997). The TRADES

Commentary further states that Treasury

will, on an annual basis, amend the

Commentary (Appendix B) to reflect

subsequent enactments. Accordingly,

this final rule amends Appendix B to

reflect the addition of California and the

District of Columbia to the list of states

enumerated therein. In addition we are

making a technical amendment that

corrects the footnote in Appendix B to

the rule we published in 61 FR 43626,

August 23, 1996.