Order 2012

- 1

- 20

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

O n the Twenty

- Seventh day of January , 2012

Spirit Airlines, Inc. Docket OST 2012

- 0002

Violations of 14 CFR Part 382 and 49 U.S.C. §§ 4 1310, 41702, 41 705, and 41712 Served January 27, 2012

CONSENT ORDER

This order concerns violations by Spirit Airlines, Inc., (Spirit) of the requirements of 14 CFR

Part 382 (Part 382) with respect to properly coding and recording its disability

- related complaints in connection with required reporting to the Department of Transportation (Department) as well a s providing dispositive responses to written complaints alleging a violation of Part 382. Part 382 implements the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA), 49 U.S.C. § 41705, and violations of that part also violate the ACAA. To the extent that the ACAA and Part 382 violations occurred in interstate air transportation, the incid ents are also violations of 49 U.S.C. § 41702, which requires that air carriers provide safe and adequate interstate air transportation; to the extent the violations occurred in foreign air tran sportation, the incidents violate 49 U.S.C. § 41310, which, in part, prohibits air carriers and foreign air carriers from unreasonably discriminating against any person in foreign air transportation. Violations of Part 382 also constitute unfair and deceptive practices and unfair methods of competition in

violation of 49 U.S.C. § 41712. This order directs Spirit to cease and desist from future

similar violatio ns and assesses the carrier $ 100 ,000 in civil penalties.

Department’s Ru le Protecting Passengers with Disabilities

Pursuant to s ection 382.157 [for merly section 382. 70] carriers must categorize disability

related complaints they receive according to the type of disability and nature of complaint and

submit an annual report to the Department detailing the disability complaints received the2

prior calendar year. 1 If a written complaint contains multiple issues, each issue must be coded separately to adequately account for the number of complaints a carrier receives. 2

Under 14 CFR 382.155 [formerly section 382.65] carriers are required to provide a dispos itive written response to a written complaint alleging a violation of Part 382 within 30 days of its receipt. 3 An appropriate dispositive response must specifically discuss the complaint at issue, state the carrier’s view of whether a violation occurred, and state that the complainant may refer the matter to the Department for an investigation.

In May 2010, staff of the Department’s Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings (Enforcement Office) conducted an on

- site regulatory compliance inspection at Spirit’s corporate headquarters in Miramar, Florida

. During this inspection, the Enforcement Office

revie wed disability

- related complaints received by Spirit in calendar year 2009. Subsequent to the compliance inspection the Enforcement Office request ed additional disability

- related complaints received by Spirit in calendar year 2010.

The review disclosed that Spirit violated section 382.157 by failing to adequately categorize and account for all the disability

- relate d issues that were raised in c omplaints received during

2009

, in its report submitted to the Department in January 2010 . In 2009, Spirit reported 55 disability

- related complaints in its 2010 annual report to the Department

. A review of those

55 comp laints revealed disability

- related issues that were under

- coded and not counted in Spi rit’s 2010 annual report to DOT. In addition, t he Enforcement Office discovered that there were a large number of additional complaints that were not counted in the 2010 annual report.

Further more
, Spiri t violated section 382.155 by failing to provide dispositive responses to

written disability

- related complaint s it received

. The Enforcement Office discovered that Spirit failed to provide a dispositive response in a vast majority of the d isability

- relate d complaint s it received in 2009 and 2010.

Mitigation

In mitigation Spirit states that it is fully committed to complying with the requirements of Part 382. To achieve the highest level of compliance, Spirit states that it carefully monitors the performance of its staff and vendors who provide wheelchair assistance at airports to ensure

that the needs of passengers with disabilities are properly met. Although Spirit carrie s

1 On May 13, 2009, the Department issued a final rule , which, among other things, restructured the rule for greater clarity, including changing the organization and numbering scheme of Part 382. Prior to the 2009 amendment of Part 382, section 382.70 contained the disability

- related complaint reporting requ irement.

2 As noted in the Department’s 2004 guidance document on the reporting requirements for disability

related complaints, carriers must categorize and report each separate disability

- related complaint issue if one piece of correspondence raises mo re than one disability

- relate d issue . Reporting Requirements for Disability

Related Complaints

, 69 F ed. R eg. 77885, 77888 (Dec. 29, 2004).

3 Prior to the 2009 amendment of Part 382, section 382.65 contained the dispositive response requirement.3

approximately seven million passengers a year, it assert s that it typically has fewer than 100 disability

- related complaints.

With respect to meeting the disability reporting requirement, Spirit states that consistent with

the actions of several other carriers

, it believed that it was only required to r eport the primary concern expressed by the passenger. When advised by the Department that the report must

include each disability

- related problem that an individua l complained about in a written complaint, Spirit immediately revised its approach to catalo ging complaints for the required

DOT annual report. In this connection, during 2010

, Spirit states that it upgraded its complaint tracking software to enhance its ability to keep track of, and properly classify, all disability

- related complaints. Spirit states that it has also revised its response letters to ensure that it consistently provides a timely dispositive response and advises that passengers may contact the Department. In 2011

, Spirit explains that it modified the “Frequently Asked Questions” ( FAQ) section on its website to be more accessible and to provide additional information of value to passengers with disabilities. Also, in 2011

, Spirit states that it established the position of Disability Specialist. By focusing all disability issues th rough this single person, Spirit asserts that it has been able to ensure a more consistent approach to addressing passenger issues and the accuracy of its annual report to the Department.

Decision

The Enforcement Office has carefully considered the information provided by Spirit and

continues to believe that enforcement action is warranted. In order to avoid litigation, Spirit Airlines, Inc., has agreed to settle this matter with the Enforcement Of fice and enter into this consent order directing the carrier to cease and desist from future violations of 14 CFR Part

382 and 49 U.S.C. §§ 41310, 41702, 40705, and 4171 2, and assessing Spirit $2 00,000 in compromise of potential civil penalties o therwise d ue 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 establishes a strong deterrent to future similar unlawful prac tices by Spirit and other carriers.

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

ACCORDINGLY,

1. Based on the above discussion, we approve this settlement and the provisions of the order as being in the public interest;

2. We find that Spirit Airlines, Inc., violated the requirements of 14 CFR 382.155 by failing to provide dispositive responses to written complaints alleging a violation of Part 382 ;

3. We find that Spirit Airlines, Inc., violated the requirements of 14 CFR 382.157 by failing to properly categorize and accurately report its disability

- related complaints ;

4. We find that Spirit Airlines, Inc., in the instances described in ordering paragraphs 2 and 3, above, violated the Air Carrier Access Act, 49 U.S.C. § 41705;4

5. We find that to the extent the violations described in ordering paragraphs 2 and 3, above, occurred in interstate air transportation, the conduct violated 49 U.S.C. § 41702;

6. We find that to the extent the violations described in ordering paragraphs 2 and 3, above, occurred in foreign air transportation, the conduct violated 49 U.S.C. § 41310;

7. We find that the violations described in ordering paragraphs 2 through 6 involved unfair and deceptive practices and thereby violated 49 U. S.C. § 41712;

8. We order Spirit Airlines, Inc. , and its successors and assign ee s to cease and desist from violations of 14 CFR Part 382, 14 CFR 399.84, and 49 U.S.C. §§ 41310, 41702, 40705, and

41712 . Failure to comply with this cease and desist provision shall subject Spirit Airlines,

Inc. , and their successors and assignees to further enforcement action;

9. Spirit Airlines, Inc., is assessed $ 100 ,000 in compromise of civil penalties that might otherwise be assessed for the violations described in ordering p aragraphs 2 through 7 above

. Of this total penalty amount, $ 50 ,000 shall be due and payable within 30 days of the date of

issuance of this order. The remaining $50,000 shall become due and payable immediately if Spirit violates this order’s cease and des ist provisions within one year following the date of issuance of this order or fails to comply with the order’s payment provisions; and

10. Payment shall be made by wire transfer through the Federal Reserve Communications System, commonly known as "Fed Wire, " to the account of the U.S. Treasury. The wire

transfer shall be executed in accordance with the instructions contained in the Attachment to this order. Failure to pay the compro m ise penalty assessment as ordered shall subject Spirit Airlines, Inc. , to the assessment of interest, penalty, and collection charges under the Debt

Collection Act.

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 initiative.

BY:

ROSALIND A. KNAPP Deputy General Counsel

(SEAL)

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