'_) 

### 7 '' 'i f I £,_ 

### Animal Incident Reporting Requirements (14 CFR Part 235) Ll ;:

.. \



### Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to Amend Rules Requiring Reporting of Incidents



## PRELIMINARY REGULATORY IMPACTANALYSIS

U.S. Department ofTransportation February 2012Introduction In 

### 2003 and 

### 2005, the U.S. Department ofTransportation (DOT) adopted rules requiring airlines to report on the loss, injury, ordeath ofanimals in airtransport. These rules implemented requirements of the Wendell H

. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act forthe 

### 21st Century (P.L. 

### 106-81). DOT implemented these requirements through regulations found in 

### 14 CFR Section 

### 234

.13. These requirements obligate U.S

. airlines offering scheduled passenger service to file reports with DOT regarding incidents involving the loss, injury, ordeath ofanimals during airtransportation

. DOT, through the Aviation Consumer Protection Division, publishes these reports monthly and forwards them tothe U.S. Department ofAgriculture which enforces the Animal Welfare Act.

This Preliminary Regulatory ImpactAnalysis (PRIA) is in support ofa Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to amend these reporting requirements

.The original purpose ofthe Act was to give consumers information on the relative safety ofairlines thattransport household pets

. The purpose ofthese amendments is to expand the universe of reportable incidents and hence provide consumers with more informationto make this comparison. Table 1 below shows a comparison matrix between current requirements and proposed changes.

Table 

### 1-Animal Reporting Rulemaking Matrix (major items) 

### CurrentRequirement 

### Proposed Chan&e Impact U.S. air carriers offering Expands reporting to all U.S. air Expands numberofpotential scheduled passenger service carriers that operate scheduled incidents by including more (only carriers with :;:: 

### 1% of passenger service with at least passenger carriers. Current domestic scheduled-service one aircraft with a designed requirements only apply to passenger revenues) submit a seating capacity of more than 

### 60 carriers with about 90 percent of reportfor any month in which seats, includingflights by those passenger revenues

. All covered they experienced any incidents carriers that are operated with carriers will have to submit a involving loss, injury, or death of aircraft having 

### 60 orfewer seats. recap oftotal incidents and total animals. Ifthere are no Also, all covered carriers must animals transported in the incidents, they do not report. report with their December December report; this is a new reports the totals forthe number requirement

. ofanimal incidents by category (loss, injury, death) and thetotal numberofanimals transported in the calendar year Definition ofanimal is a live Expanded to include all cats and Expands numberof reportable warm/cold blooded animal being dogs transported as cargo in incidents by including kept as a pet by afam ily scheduled passenger air transported cats and dogs that household in the U.S

. transportation. are not household pets. Includes animals in custody ofair Expanded to applyto dogs and Expands numberof incidents (as carrierfrom check-in ofanimal cats transported by other above) to include dogs and cats priorto departure until airline individuals (not owners or transported by a breeder or returns animal to owneror guardians) such as breeders and handler

. guardian. handlers

.

1The primary impact ofthe proposed amendments is to expand the number of potential reportable incidents. It does so by including all dogs and cats (includingthose transported by nonowners/guardians), and by expanding the number ofaffected carriers. A lesser impact is a requirement that all covered carriers state in their December reports thetotal number ofanimals that were lost, injured, or died during airtransport and the total numberofanimals transported in the calendar year. The next sections will describe current baseline information, then the economic effect ofthe proposed amendments.

Baseline NumberofAnimals Transported There are three categories fortransporting pets by air. Airlines allow a limited numberofpassengers perflight to transport small pets in the cabin ("unassigned in the cabin"). These animals remain in a kennel with the passengerforthe duration ofthe flight. Cats, smaller dogs, household birds and other small pets (depends on airline) fitthis category. Except for service animals used by passengers with disabilities, airlines tend to prohibit larger animals (usually larger dogs, with the exception ofservice dogs used by passengers with disabilities) from flying in the cabin. Airlines also allow passengers to check their pets as baggage ("accompanied baggage") orto ship animals as a "live cargo shipment" in the cargo compartment. Live cargo transport is usually without an accompanying human on the flight. While "live cargo" and "accompanied baggage" can be different areas ofthe cargo hold ofan airplane, the primary difference between these two categories are shipping procedures and price points.

The World Organization forAnimal Health (OIE) 1 reports that all live animals make up less than 0.1 percent ofthe value ofair cargo. 2 This is not a large trade. By number ofanimals, USDOT's Aviation Consumer Protection Division reports on its website that U.S. air carriers transport 2 million animals each year. However, there is some uncertaintywith respect to this figure and it may be considerably higherthan the actual number. Good data are not immediately available as tothe total numberof animals that aircarriers currently transport. Neithertrade associations for animal transportation providers (viz., the International Pet and Animal Transportation Association and the Animal Transportation Association) orfor aviation (viz., Airlines forAmerica, formerly known as the Air Transport Association) collect data on the number ofanimals transported annually by air.

DOT also contacted trade (e.g. pettransportation firms) and industry (airlines) sources. They estimate the actual numberofpets that carriers transport annually at up to 800,000. Pets travelling in the cabin
as "unassigned" make up anywhere from 

### Y. to

### Yz ofthis total. Pets traveling as "accompanied baggage" account for upto a

### Y. ofthe total. Up to halfofthe total is from unaccompanied live cargo shipments. Up to halfofthe unaccompanied live cargo shipments are dogs and cats that breeders and handlers transport (e.g. to a newowner orto adog show). Relocation is a primary reason that owners transport their pets, this is especially so forthose who do nottravel in the cabin.

1This organization, originally known as the Office International des Epizooties, was founded in 1924 and changed its name in 2003 to the World Organization forAnimal Health, but kept its original acronym. 2 http://www.oie.int/fileadmin/Home/eng/Animal Welfare/docs/pdf/Others/lATA/ENG lATA paper 2009.pdf



### 2Baseline Numberof Incidents In 2010, the Aviation Consumer Protection Division published reports 57 total incidents, comprising 39 deaths, 13 injuries, and 5 losses. The total numberwas somewhat high by historical standards. Table 2 below shows the annual number of incidents since 2006.

As can be seen, the annual totalsvary quite a lot. This variance is not afunction oftotal airtravel. For example, there is also agreat deal ofvariability oftotal incidents per billion Revenue Passenger Miles (RPM). Consequently, these incidents are somewhat infrequent and random.

Table 

### 2- Annual Number ofAnimal Incidents in AirTransportation 

### Year Deaths Injuries 

### Loss 

### Total RPMs 

### Total (billions) Incidents P/RPMs 2006 25 12 12 49 797 .061 2007 30 9 12 51 829 .062 2008 30 10 3 43 812 .053 2009 23 6 3 32 770 .042 2010 39 13 5 57 787 .072 5-Year 29 10 7 46 799 .058 Average (rounded) Source: Reported incidents from Aviation Consumer Protection Division and RPMs from 2011 Statistical Abstract ofthe United States.
Survey of Pet Carriage Market OlE reports that only40 percent ofthe commercial airfleet worldwide has the appropriate environmental controls to carry animals in the hold.3 In the U.S., not all larger carriers accept animals in the cargo compartment (either accompanied baggage or as live cargo shipment). Carriers that do not accept animals in the cargo compartment do so fortheir own business reasons. This includes the size of the market and the cost involved with adequately equipping cargo holds forthe transportation of animals.

Animals traveling in the cargo compartment on commercial passenger carriers generally do notfly on regional/commuter aircraft. As a rule, carriers generally do not accept live animals in the cargo compartment on aircraft not equipped with pressurized, temperature-controlled cargo compartments. The cargo area ofa small regionaljet (RJ) orturboprop aircraft might not be a controlled environment

.4 Carriers using smaller aircraft can choose whetheror not to equip their cargo holds in such a manner.

3 /bid. 4 http://www

.wikihow.com/Minimize-Risk-to-a-Pet-in-the-Cargo-Area-of-an-Airplane



### 3However, trade sources report that most new and larger RJ's are adequately equipped

. Larger turboprops (e.g. Dash-8) might be adequately equipped but we could notverify the extent to which this is the
case. Ifa carrier has a mix ofadequately and inadequately equipped RJ's in its fleet, itwill probably not transport animals as baggage/cargo on any ofthe routes served by RJ's. For example, this is Continental's policy regarding its Embraer RJ fleet (many ofwhich are adequately equipped).

The rule currently requires air carriers that account forat least one percent ofdomestic scheduledservice passenger revenues ("1% carriers") to report animal incidents. These carriers have about 90 percent ofthe domestic market (by Revenue Passenger Miles). Continental has the best known and possibly largest program, known as "Pet Safe"; togetherwith American and Delta they account for over halfofall pets transported by U.S. carriers. Table 3 below shows a listing of most reporting carriers and their policy on transporting pets. While not exhaustive, it does serve to demonstrate current business practices. Most ofthese carriers do not limitthemselves to dogs and cats, and either list "pets" generally or a menagerie of individually covered species of pets, usually including birds but in many cases also including pets such as rabbits and hamsters. As can be seen from Table 3, several carriers (and correspondingly a significant portion ofthe passenger market) are effectively not subject to current requirements (and would not be subject to the proposed requirements) because they only accept pets in the cabin.

Table 3- Pet Transporting Practices for Reporting Air Carriers 

### Carrier 

### Cabin Transport 

### Accompanied 

## Uveearao 2010**~** 

### DomestJc 

## MarketShare



## . 

# -'"l Air Tran 

# " 3.4 Alaska Air /Horizon 

# " " v 3.3 American 

# " " 13.6 Continental 

# " " 7.3 Delta 

# " " " 16.6 Frontier 

# " " 1.5 Hawaiian 

# v(inter-island 1

.4 flights only) Jet Blue 

# " 4.4 SkyWest 

# " 2.1 Southwest 

# " 14.1 United 

# " " 

# " 10.2 US Airways/America 

# " 7.8 West Source: www.petfriendlytravel.com/airtravel and individual airline websites. Bureau ofTransportation Statistics (BTS) for market share based on RPMs (http://www

.transtats.bts.gov/)

Table 3 does not list reporting carriers such as Comair (Delta Connection) orAmerican Eagle who are corporate affiliates of Delta and American, respectively. It also does not list reporting carriers Atlantic

4Southeast Airlines (Delta Connection/United Express) and Mesa (primarily United Express and US Airways Express) that are code-sharing partners with major carriers. Together, these carriers account for nearly four percent ofthe domestic market. All ofthese carriers (except Mesa) exclusively fly regionaljets while Mesa flies regionaljets and Dash-8 turboprops. It is uncertain how much oftheir fleets are adequately equipped tp transport pets. We could also notverify pettransportation policies from theirwebsites. However, industry sources indicate equipage is high 

### [??] and thatthey can transport pets on many ofthe routes thatthese carriers serve.

Prices fortransporting pets vary depending by airline. An August 26, 2009, article in USA TODAY reported that prices fortransporting pets "unassigned" in the cabin as a carry-on vary between $75 and $150 each way. 5 Prices fortransporting pets as accompanied baggage are generally higher; for example within North America United charges $250 each way. 6 Unaccompanied pets travel as live cargo. The main difference between the lattertwo is thatwith live cargo the animal travels through the airline cargo system and they are dropped offand picked up atthe cargo facility.7 Fees vary based on weight, size, and destination and are usually much higherthan for accompanied baggage.

There are also "niche" carriers that do not offerscheduled passenger service that are currently not subject to the reporting requirements. These are Part 135 chartercarriers that allow accompanied pets totravel in the cabin (usually non-kenneled). The fees forthese carriers are morethan scheduled carriers charge. Trade sources indicate this is asmall, but growing niche market. There is also a new service, Pet Airways, th?t is a pet-only carrier where pets travel in the main cabin. Fares on this carrier start at $149 each way. 8 Trade sources indicatethat all-cargo carriers are not in the business of transporting household pets. For example, websites for large integrated shippers such as UPS, DHL, and FedEx reportthatthey do not ship dogs, cats, orother household pets. The current DOT reporting requirements also do not apply to all-cargo flights.

Effect of Rule Changes and Cost ofCompliance The rule will expand reporting requirements to all U.S. air carriers that operate scheduled passenger service with at least one aircraft with adesigned seating capacity of morethan 60 seats, including flights ofthose carriers that are operated with aircraft having 60 orfewerseats. The current requirements already apply to 15 carriers with about 90 percent ofthe domestic market. Consequently, the expansion would theoretically not affect agreat deal of newtraffic.

5 http:(fwww.usatoday.com/travel/columnist/mcgee/2009-08-26-flying-with-pets N.htm

6 http://www.united.com/page/article/1,,53410,00.html

7 In the case ofContinental, it is actually a specialized pettransport service.

8 http://petairways.com/content/pet-airline-comparison



### 5The scope ofthis rule is illuminated by a DOT rule requiring air carriers to report annually tothe Department on the number ofdisability-related consumer complaints thatthose airlines receive. This is an Air CarrierAccess Act (ACAA) reporting rule. With respect to U.S. air carriers, this disability complaint reporting requirement applies to certificated U.S. aircarriers conducting passenger operations (both scheduled and non-scheduled) with at least one aircraft having adesigned seating capacity of more than 60 passengers. The 2010 Annual Report on Disability-Related AirTravel Complaints reported that 51 U.S. carriers submitted data for2009. 9 The rule requires these carriers to file negative reports; i.e., ifthey had no complaints theywere required to report "0." Thus, this ACAA reporting rule covers upto 35 morefirms than the current animal incident reporting rule.
However, the scope ofthe animal incident reporting rule will be substantially less than theACAA reporting rule because the former only requires monthly reporting ifthere is an incident and itdoes not cover non-scheduled airlines. A review ofcarrier and otherwebsites found that only 14 ofthese 35 carriers covered by the ACAA reporting rule are currently operating scheduled carriers. The others are non-scheduled charter operators and other non-covered or non-operating carriers (e.g. lapsed certificate). Websites fortwo ofthe 14 carriers, Spirit and Virgin America, report that they do not currentlytransport pets as accompanied baggage or live cargo. Three others (Allegiant, Sun Country, and USA 3000) fly exclusively to vacation and resort type destinations. While we could not confirm their pet transportation policy, they'd be unlikelyto be transporting as many pets in the cargo compartment as other carriers since relocation is a primary purpose ofthis business. The nine othercarriers flyfeeder operations for major carriers (e.g. Delta Connection). Two ofthese fly exclusively as US Airways Express so they would likely follow US Airways policy and nottransport pets .as cargo. The seven additional carriers affected by the amendments have fleets composed entirely of regional jets and turboprop aircraft so there is some uncertainty abouttheir current capacity fortransporting pets. 10 The carriers' respective websites do not provide any independent information regarding policy on transporting pets in the cargo compartment. However, as with the larger reporting regional feeder carriers, we would expectthat most ofthem can transport pets on many ofthe routes they serve. Expanding the requirement to include all dogs and cats transported in the cargo compartment in passenger airtransportation (including dogs and cats transported by breeders and handlers) may have
more ofan effect. Trade sources indicate thatthis category may be upto% ofall the dogs, cats, and other household pets thatscheduled passenger carriers currently transport as live cargo and one third ofall pets transported in the cargo hold (i.e. not in the cabin). The impactfrom having up to 10 additional carriers report will be likely much less. The combined economic impact will be small. The average numberof incidents since 2006 is 46 peryear. For Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) burden reporting purposes, DOT had previously estimated this reporting burden atone hour perfiling. Even if
we doubled the numberofreportable annual incidents, an additional46 incidents will result in an

9 http:// a irconsumer.ost.dot.gov /pubIications/ Gatewayl-2009.htm

10 The seven carriers are Colgan Air, Compass Air, Executive Airlines, GoJet, Mesaba, Pinnacle, and ShuttleAmerica.

6increased burden of46 hours. Based on average wage rate (including benefits) of$33.46 for a Paralegal working in Scheduled AirTransportation, the additional costs of reporting are about $1,540 peryear. 11

Most ofthese new incidents will be on carriers already subject tothe requirements. Costs forcarriers that will be subject to this reporting requirement forthe first time should not be substantial. Most of the current reporting carriers do not have to report each month because they do not have a reportable incident each month. Negative reports underthe new rule will be required onlyforthe recap in the December reports, so most ofthe smaller carriers thatwill be reporting forthe first time presumably will not need to report during most months. The recap in the December reports will entail minimal burden as it is merely an arithmetical total ofthe values in any reports that acarrier filed throughoutthe reporting year and the number ofanimals thatthe carrier transported in the reporting year.

The benefits ofthe rule are that itwill provide consumers with afuller picture ofthe safety record of airlines in transporting pets, in particular dogs and cats. The current definition ofpets may exclude up to halfofthe dogs and cats that passenger carriers transport as cargo. By including incidents involving dogs and cats transported by breeders and handlers in the reporting requirements, this will no longer be the case. Expanding the rule to smaller carriers will help to close adata gap while not affecting carriers classified as small entities by the Department (see the Regulatory Flexibility Analysis below). Requiring negative reporting in the recap in the December report over asignature and certification ofan official of that airline provides an additional incentivefor complete and accurate reporting by carriers. And since the Departmentshares these reports with the U.S. Department ofAgriculture which enforces the Animal Welfare Act, all ofthese measures should produce an opportunity for more comprehensive enforcement ofthat statute, with resulting benefits for pets and theirowners.

While we cannot put a monetaryvalue on the benefit of improved information on risks to animals being transported on various airlines, we would note that ourestimates above indicatethatthere are between 800,000 and 2 million animals transported each year by U.S. airlines. Dogs and cats transported by breeders and handlers may make up between 200,000 and 500,000 ofthese. lfthe benefit ofexpanding reporting requirements to dogs and cats shipped by these entities were as little as· eight-tenths ofacent per animal shipped, the benefits ofthe rule would exceed the costs.

REGULATORY FLEXIBILITY ANALYSIS As directed by the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA), as well as Executive Order 13272, the Department is required to consider the potential impact of its regulations on small entities, including small businesses, small nonprofit organizations and small governmental jurisdictions. A direct air carrier is a small business if it provides air transportation onlywith small aircraft (up to 60 seats capacity/18,000 pounds payload capacity). The rule amendments will expand reporting requirements to all U.S. air carriers that

11 We estimatethis rate by taking the applicable Bureau of laborStatistics (BLS) hourlywage rate forthe category ($23.68). Wethen account for benefits by multiplying it by 1.413 (based on the December 2010 BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation). 

### 7operate scheduled passenger service with at least one aircraft with a designed seating capacity 

### ofmore than 60 seats, including those that are operated with aircraft having 60 orfewerseats. By definition (no aircraft with a capacity more than 60 seats) carriers that are small business will not be subject to the rule amendments.
Even for somewhat larger carriers, the provisions ofthe new requirements will not impose significant costs on airlines. The total costs are insignificant and we expect they will primarily apply to carriers who already are subject to the requirements. These carriers all have at least one percent of domestic scheduled-service passenger revenues and all have fleets with larger aircraft. None ofthese carriers are small companies. Consequently, the rule will not have any impact on small carriers. I hereby certify that proposed rule will not have asignificant economic impact on asubstantial numberofsmall entities.



### 8