BEFOR E TH E U.S . DEPARTMEN T O F TRANSPORTATIO N

WASHINGTON , D.C . I n th e matte r

of : Fina l Rul e Enhancin g Airlin e Passenge r

Protection s SUPPLEMENTA L INFORMATIO N T O SUPPOR T TH E REQUES T T O EXTEN D EFFECTIV E DAT E Th e Ai r Transpor t Associatio n o f

America , Inc. ' (ATA ) submit s thi s supplemental filing to suppor t ou r Januar y 22 , 201 0 reques t

t o exten dth e effectiv e dat e fo r certai n flight

tim e metric s require db y th e Department' s consume r protectio n final rul e publishe di n th e Federal Registe r a t 7 4 F R6898 3 o n December

30 , 200 9 wit

h a n effectiv e dat e o f

Apri l 29 , 2010 . We provid e additional informatio n concernin g th e proces s an dtime require dfo r carrier s to compl y wit

h 1 4 CFR234.11(b) . A s discusse din our

original request , eac h carrie r wil l hav e t o repor

t o n it s website th e followin g fo r eac h o f it s ow n operate dan dmarkete d(codeshare ) domesti c flights: (1 ) th e percentag e o f arrival s tha

t wer e o n time , i.e . aflight that arrive s les s tha

n 1 5 minute s afte

r it s publishe darrival time , (2 ) th e percentag e o f arrival s tha

t wer e more than 3 0 minute s late , (3 ) special highlightin g i f th e flight wa s more than 3 0 minute s lat e more than 5 0 percen t o f th e time , an d(4 ) th e percentag e o f

flight cancellation s i f

5 percen t o r more o f th e flight's operation s were cancele di n th e mont h covered. ^ Th e Departmen t als o require s ticketin g carrier s t o provid e thi s flight informatio n fo

r domesti c code-shar e flights o r a"on e click " lin

k directl y t o flight

informatio n o n th e operatin g carrier' s website . I n orde r t o provid e th e Departmen t

wit h additional specifi c detaile dinformatio n o n th e impac t o f thes e ne w reportin g requirements , AT A surveye dit s passenger-carryin g member s an dreceive d inpu t fro mseve n members . Carrier s provide destimate dtim e fo r implementin g th e fou

r metric s describe dabov e associate dwit h implementin g th e ne w websit e disclosur e requirements . In summary , th e result s sho w that , o n average , eac h passenge r carrie r wil l expen dapproximatel y 155 0 hour s t o provid e th e ne w disclosur e requirements . W e not e tha t on e carrie r

estimate s it

wil l take aminimu mo f

400 0 hour s to complet e thes e changes , give n it s comple x reservatio n an d codeshare system . Th e averag e 155 0 hour s translate s into a n approximatel y 5. 5 mont

h project . AT A airlin e member s are : AB X Air , Inc. ; AirTra n Airways ; Alask aAirlines , Inc. ; America n Airlines , Inc. ; ASTA RAir

Cargo , Inc. ; Atla s Air , Inc. ; Continenta l Airlines , Inc. ; Delt aAir Lines , Inc. ; Evergree n International Airlines , Inc. ; Federal Expres s Corporation ; Hawaiian Airlines ; JetBlu e Airway s Corp. ; Southwes t Airline s Co. ; Unite dAirlines , Inc. ; UP S Airlines ; an dU S Airways , Inc . ATA Airlin e Associat e Member s are : Air Canada ; Air Jamaic aLtd. ; an dMexicana . ^ Se e 1 4 CFR234.11 , 7 4 F R69002 .Whil e some wor k ha s started , carrier s hav e spen t th e pas t mont h determinin g th e ne w regulator y requirement s an didentifyin g th e syste mchange s tha t ar e neede di n orde r

t o begi n th e first

phas e o f syste mdesig n an dfunctionalit y work . Carrier s als o neede dclarificatio n on some aspect s o f th e ne w rule . Fo r

instanc e it

wa s no t clea r t o ticketin g carrier s t o what exten t the y neede dto display domesti c codeshar e flight information . Afte

r obtainin g additional guidanc e fro mDOT , it i s no w clea

r tha t a"one-click " link

t o specifi c flight

informatio n on a

n operatin g carrier' s website meet s th e inten t

o f th e ne w rule , wherea s ageneral lin k t o a n operatin g carrier' s website doe s no t mee t th e inten t o f th e rule . A s discusse din our

original reques t

fo r extension , thi s wor

k wil l sprea dacros s several company discipline s includin g business , legal , design , programming , testing , an ddeployment . It i s important t o not e tha

t eac h are ao f

wor k mus t b e complete di n succession ; therefore , area s o f wor k canno t b e complete da

t th e same time . I n addition , progres s o r delay s a t on e carrie r

wil l impac t th e complianc e schedul e a t al l o f it s domesti c codeshar e partner s (includin g othe r mainlin e carriers) , give n th e requiremen t t o pos t flight informatio n fo

r domesti c cod e share partners . A s th e Departmen t i s aware , carrier s hav e uniqu e an ddivers e systems , presentin g uniqu e challenge s t o eac h carrier . Fo r instanc e alarger

carrie r wit h several domesti c cod e share partner s wil l nee dto coordinat e flight tim e informatio n wit

h eac h partne r

bu t ma y hav e additional staf

f t o d o so . A smalle r

carrie r ma y hav e fewe

r codeshar e partner s bu t

ma y hav e fewe r resource s t o d o so . Some carrier s currentl y display on-tim e arrival informatio n fo r flights, som e d o not . Th e requiremen t to display codeshar e informatio n wil l b e effecte dmos t efficiently b y developin g a

n lAT A standardfo

r thi s informatio n t o b e share damon g carriers . A number o f U.S . carrier s are i n discussio n regardin g creatin g an dimplementin g suc h astandard . Standardizatio n normall y require s aminimu m6 0 day approval proces s onc e th e dat astandard s are defined . Eac h carrie r

wil l hav e to design , program , test , an ddeplo y change s base do n it s curren t dat a capabilities . Member s hav e identifie dchange s tha t mus t occur i n several areas , includin g dat a file specification s (capturin g ne w metrics) , dat aexception s an ddiscrepancies , dat astorag e mechanism(s ) an dspecifications , an dwebsit e use r interfac e an ddisplay . Base do n asurve y o f ou r members , th e averag e desig n phas e fo r th e element s describe dabov e wil l b e approximatel y 41 5 hour s o r

approximatel y si x weeks . Th e averag e programmin g change s onc e desig n i s complet e wil l b e approximatel y 56 0 hour s or tw o months . Onc e programmin g i s complete , th e averag e testin g perio dwil l b e approximatel y 44 5 hour s or seve n weeks . Th e testin g phas e wil l includ e testin g o f

dat aintegrit

y wit h eac h domesti c codeshar e partner , whic h fo r carrier s wit

h man y partner s wil l b e atime-consumin g task . Finally , onc e testin g i s complete , th e averag e tim e neede dto deplo y th e change s i s approximatel y 13 0 hour s o r tw o weeks . A s indicate db y estimate s provide db y our member s there simpl y i s no t enoug h time t o complete th e change s necessar

y t o ensur e complianc e wit h th e additional flight

tim e disclosure requirement s in th e ne w rule . Wit h al l partie s havin g spen t

alo t o f tim e an dresource s in th e developmen t

o f thes e ne w consume r

rule s it i s importan t

t o make sure carrier s hav e enoug h tim e t o ensure dat aintegrit

y i n orde r to fulfil l th e Department' s goal o f providin g additional accurate flight informatio n fo

r th e public . W e therefore reiterat e our reques t tha t th e effectiv e dat e fo

r 1 4 CF R234. 1 i(b ) b e extende dfo r 9 0 days . I n addition , w e no w realiz e that , a t leas t fo r th e ne wdat aelement s t o b e displayed , th e effecfiv e dat e o f 1 4 CF R234.11(c ) shoul db e extende da s a technical matte r

consisten t

wit h extendin g th e effectiv e dat e o f 1 4 CFR234.11(b) . Respectfull y submitted . 

# d^ . Davi dA . Ber g Vic e Presiden t

& General Counse l Ai r Transpor t Associatio n o f

America , Inc . 130 1 Pennsylvani aAvenue , NW Washington , D C 2000 4 202-626-400 0 dberg(a),airlines.or

g

Februar y 12 , 201 0