Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 180 / Friday, September 16, 2011 / Notices 57795 

11 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

file number should be included on the 

subject line if e-mail is used. To help the 

Commission process and review your 

comments more efficiently, please use 

only one method. The Commission will 

post all comments on the Commission’s 

Internet Web site (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the 

submission, all subsequent 

amendments, all written statements 

with respect to the proposed rule 

change that are filed with the 

Commission, and all written 

communications relating to the 

proposed rule change between the 

Commission and any person, other than 

those that may be withheld from the 

public in accordance with the 

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be 

available for Web site viewing and 

printing in the Commission’s Public 

Reference Room on official business 

days between the hours of 10 a.m. and 

3 p.m. Copies of such filing also will be 

available for inspection and copying at 

the principal office of the Exchange. All 

comments received will be posted 

without change; the Commission does 

not edit personal identifying 

information from submissions. You 

should submit only information that 

you wish to make available publicly. All 

submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–NYSEAmex-2011–69 and 

should be submitted on or before 

October 7, 2011. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.11

Elizabeth M. Murphy, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2011–23771 Filed 9–15–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Office of the Secretary 

[Docket Number: DOT–OST–2011–0170] 

Agency Request for Renewal of a 

Previously Approved Collection; 

Disclosure of Code Sharing 

Arrangements and Long-Term Wet 

Leases 

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Transportation (DOT) invites public 

comments about our intention to request 

the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) approval to renew an 

information collection. We are required 

to publish this notice in the Federal 

Register by the Paperwork Reduction 

Act of 1995, Public Law 104–13. 

DATES: Written comments should be 

submitted by November 15, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

(identified by DOT Docket Number 

OST–2011–0170) through one of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Fax: 1–202–493–2251. 

• Mail or Hand Delivery: Docket 

Management Facility; U.S. Department 

of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., West Building, Room 

W12–140, Washington, DC 20590, 

between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except on Federal 

Holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Aleta Best, (202) 493–0797, Office of the 

Assistant Secretary for Aviation and 

International Affairs, Office of the 

Secretary, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OMB 

Control Number: 2105–0537. 

Title: Disclosure of Code Sharing 

Arrangements and Long-Term Wet 

Leases. 

Type of Review: Renewal of an 

information collection. 

Abstract: Codesharing is the name 

given to a common airline industry 

marketing practice where, by mutual 

agreement between cooperating carriers, 

at least one of the airline designator 

codes used on a flight is different from 

that of the airline operating the aircraft. 

In one version, two or more airlines 

each use their own designator codes on 

the same aircraft operation. Although 

only one airline operates the flight, each 

airline in a codesharing arrangement 

may hold out, market, and sell the flight 

as its own in published schedules. 

Codesharing also refers to other 

arrangements, such as when a code on 

a passenger’s ticket is not that of the 

operator of the flight, but where the 

operator does not also hold out the 

service in its own name. Such 

codesharing arrangements are common 

between commuter air carriers and their 

larger affiliates, and the number of 

arrangements between U.S. air carriers 

and foreign air carriers has also been 

increasing. Arrangements falling into 

this category are similar to leases of 

aircraft with crew (wet leases). 

The Department recognizes the strong 

preference of air travelers for on-line 

service (service by a single carrier) on 

connecting flights over interline service 

(service by multiple carriers). 

Codesharing arrangements are, in part, a 

marketing response to this demand for 

on-line service. Often, codesharing 

partners offer services similar to those 

available for on-line connections with 

the goal of offering ‘‘seamless’’ service 

(i.e., service where the transfers from 

flight to flight or airline to airline are 

facilitated). For example, they may 

locate gates near each other to make 

connections more convenient or 

coordinate baggage handling to give 

greater assurance that baggage will be 

properly handled. 

Codesharing arrangements can help 

airlines operate more efficiently because 

they can reduce costs by providing a 

joint service with one aircraft rather 

than operating separate services with 

two aircraft. Particularly in thin 

markets, this efficiency can lead to 

increased price and service options for 

consumers or enable the use of 

equipment sized appropriately for the 

market. Therefore, the Department 

recognizes that codesharing, as well as 

long-term wet leases, can offer 

significant economic benefits. 

Although codesharing and wet-lease 

arrangements can offer significant 

consumer benefits, they can also be 

misleading unless consumers know that 

the transportation they are considering 

for purchase will not be provided by the 

airline whose designator code is shown 

on the ticket, schedule, or itinerary and 

unless they know the identity of the 

airline on which they will be flying. The 

growth in the use of codesharing, wetleasing, and similar marketing tools, 

particularly in international air 

transportation, had given the 

Department concern about whether the 

then-current disclosure rules (14 CFR 

399.88) protected the public interest 

adequately and led the Department to 

adopt specific regulations requiring the 

disclosure of code-sharing arrangements 

and long-term wet leases on March 15, 

1999. (14 CFR part 257) 

These regulations required U.S. 

airlines, foreign airlines and travel 

agents doing business in the United 

States, to notify passengers of the 

existence of code-sharing or long-term 

wet lease arrangements. It also required 

U.S. airlines, foreign airlines and travel 

agents to tell prospective consumers, in 

all oral communications before booking 

transportation, that the transporting 

airline is not the airline whose 

designator code will appear on travel 

documents and identify the transporting 

airline by its corporate name and any 

other name under which that service is 

held out to the public. 

Respondents: All U.S. air carriers, 

foreign air carriers, computer 

reservations systems (CRSs), and travel 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

57796 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 180 / Friday, September 16, 2011 / Notices 

agents doing business in the United 

States, and the traveling public. 

Number of Respondents: 16,000, 

excluding travelers. 

Frequency: At 15 seconds per call and 

an average of 1.5 calls per trip, a total 

of 22.5 seconds per respondent or 

traveler, for the approximately 33% of 

codeshare itineraries that involve 

personal contact. 

Total Annual Burden: Annual 

reporting burden for this data collection 

is estimated at 618,750 hours for all 

travel agents and airline ticket agents, 

based on 15 seconds per phone call and 

an average of 1.5 phone calls per trip, 

for the approximately 33% of codeshare 

itineraries that involve personal contact. 

Most of this data collection (third party 

notification) is accomplished through 

highly automated computerized 

systems. 

Public Comments Invited: You are 

asked to comment on any aspect of this 

information collection, including (a) 

whether the proposed collection of 

information is necessary for the 

Department’s performance; (b) the 

accuracy of the estimated burden; (c) 

ways for the Department to enhance the 

quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information collection; and (d) ways 

that the burden could be minimized 

without reducing the quality of the 

collected information. 

Authority : The Paperwork Reduction Act 

of 1995; 44 U.S.C. chapter 35, as amended; 

and 49 CFR 1:48. 

Dated: September 12, 2011. 

Todd M. Homan, 

Director, Office of Aviation Analysis. 

[FR Doc. 2011–23770 Filed 9–15–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–9X–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

[Docket Number FRA–2011–0052] 

Petition for Waiver of Compliance 

In accordance with Part 211 of Title 

49 of the Code of Federal Regulations 

(CFR), this document provides the 

public notice that by a document dated 

August 25, 2011, Norfolk Southern 

Railway (NS) has submitted information 

to amend and clarify the scope of a June 

14, 2011, petition to the Federal 

Railroad Administration (FRA) for a 

waiver of compliance from certain 

provisions of the Federal railroad safety 

regulations contained at 49 CFR part 

236. FRA had assigned the petition 

Docket Number FRA–2011–0052 as 

published in Federal Register (Ref. 

Volume 76, No. 135, Thursday, July 14, 

2011, Page 41556). 

NS seeks a waiver of compliance from 

the cab signal system requirements 

found in 49 CFR 236.566, Locomotive of 

each train operating in train stop, train 

control, or cab signal territory; 

equipped. Specifically, NS seeks relief 

to operate nonequipped engines used in 

switching and transfer service, with or 

without cars such as work trains, wreck 

trains, ballast cleaners to and from 

work, and engines and rail diesel cars 

moving to and from shops, in the 

following locations with all movements 

at restricted speeds not exceeding 15 

mph. 

1. Operations on the Pittsburgh Line, 

Harrisburg Division, from CP Cannon at 

MP–PT 118.9 near Duncannon, PA, to 

CP Harrisburg at MP–PT 105.1 near 

Harrisburg, PA. 

2. Operations on the Pittsburgh Line, 

Pittsburgh Division, from CP Cannon at 

MP–PT 118.9 near Duncannon, PA, to 

CP Solomon at MP–PT 352.5 near 

Pittsburgh, PA, with an absolute block 

to be established in advance of each 

movement of foreign trains and engines 

between CP Bloom at MP–PT 351.6 near 

Pittsburgh, PA, and CP Solomon. 

3. Operations on the Fort Wayne Line, 

Pittsburgh Division, from CP Rochester 

at MP–PC 29.5, near East Rochester, PA, 

to CP Alliance at MP–PC 83.2., with an 

absolute block to be established in 

advance of each nonequipped 

movement. 

4. Operations on the Conemaugh Line, 

Pittsburgh Division, from CP Conpit at 

MP–LC 0.0, near Bolivar, PA, to CP 

Kiski at MP–LC 47.8, near Freeport, PA, 

with an absolute block to be established 

in advance of each nonequipped 

movement. 

NS argues that relief is in the public 

interest. The waiver of 49 CFR 236.566 

requirements in these areas is important 

to maintaining efficient rail operations 

in the region. Exemptions have been 

previously granted for the operation of 

nonequipped locomotives in cab signal 

system territory at nearby locations and 

the relief requested in this application is 

a consistent extension of those currently 

granted exceptions. 

A copy of the petition, as well as any 

written communications concerning the 

petition, is available for review online at 

http://www.regulations.gov and in 

person at the U.S. Department of 

Transportation’s Docket Operations 

Facility, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE., 

W12–140, Washington, DC 20590. The 

Docket Operations Facility is open from 

9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal Holidays. 

Interested parties are invited to 

participate in these proceedings by 

submitting written views, data, or 

comments. FRA does not anticipate 

scheduling a public hearing in 

connection with these proceedings since 

the facts do not appear to warrant a 

hearing. If any interested party desires 

an opportunity for oral comment, they 

should notify FRA, in writing, before 

the end of the comment period and 

specify the basis for their request. 

All communications concerning these 

proceedings should identify the 

appropriate docket number and may be 

submitted by any of the following 

methods: 

• Web site: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Fax: 202–493–2251. 

• Mail: Docket Operations Facility, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue, SE., W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590. 

• Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal Holidays. 

Communications received by October 

31, 2011, will be considered by FRA 

before final action is taken. Comments 

received after that date will be 

considered as far as practicable. 

Anyone is able to search the 

electronic form of any written 

communications and comments 

received into any of our dockets by the 

name of the individual submitting the 

comment (or signing the comment, if 

submitted on behalf of an association, 

business, labor union, etc.). You may 

review DOT’s complete Privacy Act 

Statement in the Federal Register 

published on April 11, 2000 (Volume 

65, Number 70; Pages 19477–78), or 

online at http://www.dot.gov/ 

privacy.html. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on September 

13, 2011. 

Robert C. Lauby, 

Deputy Associate Administrator for 

Regulatory and Legislative Operations. 

[FR Doc. 2011–23840 Filed 9–15–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

[Docket Number FRA–2010–0100] 

Petition for Waiver of Compliance 

In accordance with Part 211 of Title 

49 of the Code of Federal Regulations 

(CFR), this document provides the 

public notice that by a document dated 

April 29, 2011, the Brownsville & Rio 

Grande International Railroad (BRG) has 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES