Order 2010-3-5

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

on the 8thth day of March, 2010

US Airways, Inc. Docket OST 2010-0005

Served March 8, 2010

Violations of 49 U.S.C. § 41712 and 

14 CFR 399.84 

CONSENT ORDER

This consent order concerns Internet advertisements by US Airways Inc., (US Airways) 

that violate the full fare advertisement requirements specified in 14 CFR Part 399 as well 

as 49 U.S.C. § 41712, which prohibits unfair and deceptive practices. This order directs 

US Airways to cease and desist from future violations of Part 399 and Section 41712, and 

assesses the carrier a compromise civil penalty of $40,000.

As an air carrier, US Airways is subject to the advertising requirements of Part 399 of the 

Department’s rules. Under section 399.84 of those rules, any advertising by an air carrier 

that states a price for air transportation is considered to be an unfair or deceptive practice 

or unfair method of competition in violation of 49 U.S.C. § 41712 unless the price stated 

is the entire price to be paid by the customer to the air carrier for such air transportation. 

Under long-standing enforcement case precedent, the Department permits taxes and fees, 

such as passenger facility charges and departure taxes, that are collected by carriers and 

other sellers of air transportation to be stated separately in advertisements, so long as the 

charges are levied by a government entity, are not ad valorem in nature, are collected on 

a per-passenger basis, and their existence and amount are clearly indicated at the first 

point a fare is disclosed to the consumers so that consumers can determine the full fare to 

be paid. 
–2– 

In Internet advertising displays, the full fare may be stated on the first screen that 

provides fare quotes in response to a consumer inquiry, or the base fare may be displayed 

so long as the existence of permissible separately-stated additional charges is prominently 

disclosed with a clearly presented hyperlink to take the consumer directly to a page 

showing the nature and amounts of those charges. A search path on a website that 

requires consumers, after viewing fare quotes displayed in response to their inquiry, to go 

to a subsequent booking page to find the full-fare violates section 399.84 and Department 

case precedent.1

For a short period of time, on US Airways’ Internet website, when consumers initiated 

searches for one-way airfares sorted by schedule, US Airways presented them with a set 

of fares corresponding to their search parameters that did not include additional taxes and 

fees. However, US Airways did not provide consumers any notice on that page that 

additional taxes and fees would be applicable to these airfares. By failing to provide any 

notice of the existence, nature and amount of the taxes and fees applicable to these fares 

at the first point the fare was disclosed to consumers, US Airways violated 14 CFR 

399.84 and engaged in an unfair or deceptive practice and unfair method of competition 

in violation of 49 U.S.C. § 41712. 

In mitigation, US Airways states that it is strongly committed to promoting its fares and 

services in a clear and readily comprehensible manner, and that it has cooperated fully 

with the Department in this matter. US Airways further states that its failure to include 

the additional taxes and fees applicable to one-way airfares sorted by schedule for this 

short period was wholly unintentional and the result of an inadvertent programming error. 

U.S. Airways asserts that the extent of consumers impacted by the inadvertent error was 

limited to a small percentage of the total searches conducted at the US Airways website. 

US Airways points out that, although the taxes and fees were inadvertently omitted from 

the initial fare display, all applicable taxes and fees were included in the total price 

disclosed to consumers before payment was required, and as such, US Airways believes 

that no consumer purchased a ticket without full knowledge of the total price before the 

entry of a credit card number. Upon learning of the inadvertent programming error, US 

Airways took immediate and extensive action to correct the matter.

The Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings (Enforcement Office) has carefully 

considered the information provided by US Airways, but continues to believe that 

enforcement action is warranted. The Enforcement Office and US Airways have reached 

a settlement of this matter in order to avoid litigation. US Airways, without admitting any 

violation, consents to the issuance of this order to cease and desist from future violations 

of 49 U.S.C. § 41712 and Part 399 of the Department’s regulations, and to the assessment 

of $40,000 in compromise of potential civil penalties otherwise due and payable pursuant 

to 49 U.S.C. § 46301. 

This compromise assessment is appropriate considering the nature and extent of the 

violations described herein and serves the public interest. It represents an adequate 

 1 See, e.g., In the Matter of Hobbit Travel, Inc., OST Docket 2003-15034, Order 2003-6-16 (Issued June 

10, 2003, by Administrative Law Judge Burton S. Kolko).
–3– 

deterrence to future noncompliance with the Department’s advertising requirements by 

US Airways, as well as by other air carriers and foreign air carriers. 

This order is issued under the authority contained in 49 CFR 1.57a and 14 CFR 385.15.

ACCORDINGLY,

1. Based on the above discussion, we approve this settlement and the provisions of 

this order as being in the public interest;

2. We find that US Airways, Inc., violated 14 CFR 399.84 by causing to be 

published air fare advertisements that failed to state the entire price to be paid by 

the consumer at the first point at which the fare was displayed; 

4. We find that by violating 14 CFR 399.84 as described in ordering paragraph 2, 

above, US Airways, Inc., has engaged in an unfair and deceptive practice and 

unfair method of competition in violation of 49 U.S.C. § 41712; 

5. We order US Airways, Inc., and all other entities owned or controlled by or under 

common ownership with US Airways, Inc., and their successors and assignees, to 

cease and desist from violations of 14 CFR 399.84 and 49 U.S.C. § 41712;

6. We assess US Airways, Inc., a compromise civil penalty of $40,000 in lieu of 

civil penalties that might otherwise be assessed for the violations found in 

ordering paragraphs 2 and 3, above. This amount shall be due and payable within 

fifteen (15) days of the date of the issuance of this order. Failure to pay the 

penalty as ordered shall also subject US Airways, Inc., to the assessment of 

interest, penalty, and collection charges under the Debt Collection Act; and

7. Payment shall be made by wire transfer through the Federal Reserve 

Communication System, commonly known as “Fed Wire,” to the account of the 

U.S. Treasury in accordance with the attached instructions.

This order will become a final order of the Department 10 days after its service date

unless a timely petition for review is filed or the Department takes review on its own 

motion.

BY:

ROSALIND A. KNAPP

Deputy General Counsel

(SEAL)

An electronic version of this document is available at www.regulations.gov