Order 2014-1-1

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY 

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

On the Second day of January, 2014

WK Travel, Inc.

d/b/a OneTravel Docket OST 2014-0001

Served: January 2, 2014

Violations of 49 U.S.C. § 41712 and

14 CFR Part 257

CONSENT ORDER

This consent order concerns violations by WK Travel, Inc., d/b/a OneTravel, when it 

failed to disclose code-share arrangements as required by 49 U.S.C. § 41712(c) and 14 

CFR Part 257 during telephone airline reservation calls. These failures also constitute 

separate and distinct violations of 49 U.S.C. § 41712(a), the statutory prohibition against

unfair and deceptive practices. The order directs WK Travel to cease and desist from 

future violations of Part 257 and section 41712 and assesses $95,000 in civil penalties.1

Applicable Law

WK Travel is a ticket agent2 and is therefore subject to the detailed code-share disclosure 

requirements found in 49 U.S.C. § 41712(c) and 14 CFR 257.5(b). Under section 

41712(c), any “ticket agent, air carrier, foreign air carrier, or other person offering to sell 

tickets for air transportation on a flight of an air carrier” is required to disclose “whether 

verbally in oral communication or in writing in written or electronic communication, 

prior to the purchase of a ticket[,] the name of the air carrier providing the air 

transportation; and if the flight has more than one segment, the name of each air carrier 

providing the air transportation for each such flight segment.” Failure to disclose the

 1 WK Travel is part of the same legal family as Travelong, Inc. Both ticket agents use the same call center 

for taking phone reservations. In issuing this order, the Department has decided not to take separate 

enforcement action against Travelong for alleged violations of the same regulation and statute.

2 A “ticket agent” is “a person (except an air carrier, a foreign air carrier, or an employee of an air carrier or 

foreign air carrier) that as a principal or agent sells, offers for sale, negotiates for, or holds itself out as 

selling, providing, or arranging for air transportation.” 49 U.S.C. § 40102(a)(45).
2

required information is an unfair or deceptive practice in violation of section 41712. 

Section 257.4 of the code-share disclosure rule states that the holding out or sale of 

scheduled passenger air transportation involving a code-sharing arrangement is an unfair 

and deceptive trade practice in violation of 49 U.S.C. § 41712, unless, in conjunction 

with that holding out or sale, carriers and agents follow certain requirements, including 

those of 14 CFR 257.5(b). With regard to oral communications concerning a flight that is 

part of a code-sharing arrangement, section 257.5(b) states that a ticket agent or carrier 

must disclose to prospective consumers before they book the flight the existence of the 

code-share arrangement, the corporate name of the transporting carrier, and any other 

name under which the flight is held out to the public. Violations of section 257.5(b)

constitute unfair and deceptive trade practices and unfair methods of competition in 

violation of 49 U.S.C. § 41712.

Facts and Conclusion

An investigation by the Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings (Enforcement 

Office) revealed a significant lack of compliance by WK Travel with section 257.5(b) of 

the Department’s code-share rule and 49 U.S.C. § 41712(c). For a period of time during

January and February of 2013, Enforcement Office staff made a number of telephone 

calls to WK Travel as potential purchasers and inquired about booking a flight. During 

these calls, the WK Travel reservations agents answering these calls failed to make the 

required disclosure regarding code-share arrangements for the flights in question. 

Specifically, when discussing flights marketed by one carrier, but operated by another 

with the callers, WK Travel’s reservation agents only identified the marketing carrier and 

did not identify the corporate name of the carrier operating the flight or any other name 

under which the flight was operated, even when prompted by the caller. The telephone 

calls indicated that WK Travel generally failed to inform consumers booking flights 

involving code-share arrangements of the identity of the airline that would actually 

operate the aircraft on which the consumer would be flying.

Mitigation

In mitigation, WK Travel states that it takes very seriously its obligation to comply with 

the Department’s consumer protection rules and 49 U.S.C. § 41712. WK Travel observes 

that 49 U.S.C. § 41712(c) requires code-share disclosure “prior to the purchase of a 

ticket.” The Department’s regulations further provide under 14 CFR 257.5(b) that codeshare disclosure must take place “prior to booking transportation.” WK Travel believes

that the Enforcement Office’s guidance on the timing of oral code-share disclosure did 

not adequately clarify that oral code-share disclosure should take place during the 

information-gathering stage of a call, at the first mention of a code-share flight. WK 

Travel believes that, particularly in the absence of explicit guidance from the 

Enforcement Office, it substantially complied with the Department’s rules by disclosing 

the code-share information prior to a customer booking transportation. WK Travel 

additionally states that it does not believe any of its agents has failed to disclose the 

operating carrier for a flight conducted under an international code-share and points out 
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that the Enforcement Office’s investigation was limited to code-share flights in selected 

domestic markets. 

WK Travel further notes that it has no record of any customer complaint that a WK 

Travel ticket agent failed to disclose the operating carrier. Immediately after being 

notified of the Department’s investigation, WK Travel states that it re-trained its ticketing 

agents on how to comply with the code-share disclosure rules and set up a rigorous 

quality control program to oversee its call center. Indeed, since the Department’s 

investigation, WK Travel states that it has invested a substantial amount of money and 

resources in training, monitoring, and technology changes to ensure that its agents 

comply with the Department’s oral code-share disclosure policy. Accordingly, WK 

Travel states that it can assure the Department that it is now in full compliance with these 

requirements.

Decision

We view seriously the failure of WK Travel to disclose code-sharing arrangements as 

required by 49 U.S.C. § 41712(c) and 14 CFR 257.5(b). Accordingly, after carefully 

considering all of the facts in this case, including those set forth above, the Enforcement 

Office believes that enforcement action is warranted. In order to avoid litigation, and 

without admitting or denying that any violation occurred, WK Travel agrees to the 

issuance of this order, to cease and desist from future similar violations of 49 U.S.C. 

§ 41712 and 14 CFR 257.5(b), and to the assessment of $95,000 in compromise of 

potential civil penalties that otherwise might be imposed pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 46301. 

We believe that this compromise assessment is appropriate in view of the nature and 

extent of the violations in question, serves the public interest, and provides a strong 

deterrent to non-compliance with the statute and the Department’s code-share disclosure 

rule.

This order is issued under the authority contained in 49 CFR Part 1.

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 by failing to disclose code-sharing arrangements as prescribed in 49 

U.S.C. § 41712(c) and 14 CFR 257.5(b), WK Travel, Inc., violated 14 CFR 257.5(b) and 

engaged in an unfair and deceptive practice in violation of section 41712;

3. We find that by engaging in the conduct and violations described in ordering 

paragraph 2 above, WK Travel, Inc., engaged in unfair and deceptive practices and unfair 

methods of competition in violation of 49 U.S.C. § 41712(a);
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4. We order WK Travel, Inc., and all other entities owned or controlled by or under 

common ownership with WK Travel, Inc., its successors and assignees to cease and 

desist from further violations of 49 U.S.C. § 41712 and 14 CFR 257.5(b);

5. We assess WK Travel, Inc., $95,000 in compromise of civil penalties that might 

otherwise be assessed for the violations found in ordering paragraphs 2 and 3 above. Of 

this total penalty amount, $47,500 shall be due and payable within 15 days from the date 

of issuance of this order. The remaining portion of the civil penalty amount, $47,500, 

shall become due and payable immediately if, within one year of the date of issuance of 

this order, WK Travel, Inc., violates this order’s cease and desist provisions or fails to 

comply with the order’s payment provisions, in which case WK Travel, Inc., may be 

subject to additional enforcement action for violation of this order; and

6. Payment shall be made through Pay.gov to the account of the U. S. Treasury in 

accordance with the instructions contained in the Attachment to this order. Failure to pay 

any portion of the penalty as ordered shall subject WK Travel, 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 

motion.

BY:

SAMUEL PODBERESKY

Assistant General Counsel for 

 Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings

An electronic version of this document is available at 

www.regulations.gov