[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 59 (Tuesday, March 27, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18305-18306]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-7303]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Research & Innovative Technology Administration

[Docket ID Number RITA 2008-0002]


Agency Information Collection; Activity Under OMB Review; Report 
of Passengers Denied Confirmed Space--BTS Form 251

AGENCY: Research & Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), Bureau 
of Transportation Statistics (BTS), DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public 
Law 104-13, the Bureau of

[[Page 18306]]

Transportation Statistics invites the general public, industry and 
other governmental parties to comment on the continuing need for and 
usefulness of BTS collecting reports on the number of passengers 
holding confirmed reservations that voluntarily or involuntarily give 
up their seats when the airline oversells the flight. Comments are 
requested concerning whether (a) the collection is still needed by the 
Department of Transportation, (b) BTS accurately estimated the 
reporting burden; (c) there are other ways to enhance the quality, 
utility and clarity of the information collected; and (d) there are 
ways to minimize reporting burden, including the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted by May 29, 2012.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cecelia Robinson, Office of Airline 
Information, RTS-42, Room E34, RITA, BTS, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 
Washington, DC 20590-0001, Telephone Number (202) 366-4405, Fax Number 
(202) 366-3383 or email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#ceadabadaba2a7afe0bca1aca7a0bda1a08eaaa1bae0a9a1b8"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e6858385838a8f87c89489848f88958988a6828992c8818990">[email protected]</span></a>.
    Comments: Comments should identify the associated OMB approval 
<greek-i> 2138-0018 and Docket ID Number RITA 2008-0002. Persons 
wishing the Department to acknowledge receipt of their comments must 
submit with those comments a self-addressed stamped postcard on which 
the following statement is made: Comments on OMB <greek-i> 2138-0018, 
Docket-RITA 2008-0002. The postcard will be date/time stamped and 
returned.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

OMB Approval No. 2138-0018

    Title: Report of Passengers Denied Confirmed Space.
    Form No.: BTS Form 251.
    Type of Review: Reinstatement of an expired approved collection.
    Respondents: Large certificated air carriers.
    Number of Respondents: 14.
    Number of Responses: 56.
    Total Annual Burden: 560 hours.
    Needs and Uses: BTS Form 251 is a one-page report submitted four 
times per year, on the number of passengers denied seats either 
voluntarily or involuntarily, whether these bumped passengers were 
provided alternate transportation and/or compensation, and the amount 
of the payment. U.S. air carriers that account for at least 1 percent 
of domestic scheduled-service passenger revenues must report oversales 
on all operations with 30 seats or larger aircraft that depart a U.S. 
airport.
    Carriers do not report data from inbound international flights to 
the United States because the protections of 14 CFR Part 250 Oversales 
do not apply to these flights. The report allows the Department to 
monitor the effectiveness of its oversales rule and take enforcement 
action when necessary. The involuntarily denied-boarding rate has 
decreased from 4.38 per 10,000 passengers in 1980 to 0.71 for the 
quarter ended December 2011. Without Form 251, determining the 
effectiveness of the Department's oversales rule would be impossible. 
The publishing of the carriers' individual denied boarding rates has 
diminished the need for more intrusive regulation. The rate of denied 
boarding can be examined as a continuing fitness factor. This rate 
provides an insight into a carrier's customer service practices. A 
rapid sustained increase in the rate of denied boarding may indicate 
operational difficulties. Because the rate of denied boarding is 
released quarterly, travelers and travel agents can select carriers 
with lower incidences of bumping passengers. This information is 
available in the Air Travel Consumer Report at: http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/reports/index.htm. The Air Travel Consumer 
Report is also sent to newspapers, magazines, and trade journals. The 
public availability of this information deters carriers from setting 
unreasonable overbooking rates--a market-based mechanism that is more 
efficient than direct regulation of those rates.
    The Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency 
Act of 2002 (44 U.S.C. 3501 note) requires a statistical agency to 
clearly identify information it collects for non-statistical purposes. 
BTS hereby notifies the respondents and the public that BTS uses the 
information it collects under this OMB approval for non-statistical 
purposes including, but not limited to, publication of both 
Respondent's identity and its data, submission of the information to 
agencies outside BTS for review, analysis and possible use in 
regulatory and other administrative matters.

    Issued in Washington, DC on March 20, 2012.
Patricia Hu,
Director, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Research and Innovative 
Technology Administration.
[FR Doc. 2012-7303 Filed 3-26-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-HY-P


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