11618 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 38 / Monday, February 27, 2012 / Notices 

1See also Office of Aviation Enforcement and 

Proceedings, DOT, Answers to Frequently Asked 

Questions, at 22 (Aug 19, 2011, revised Sept. 6, 

2011, and Oct 19, 2011), available at http://

airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/rules/EAPP_22_FAQ _10– 

19–2011.pdf. 

are accurate, and if there are ways to 

minimize the estimated burden and 

enhance the quality of the collection, to 

Sandra Johnston, Program Analyst, 

Office of Financial Assistance, Small 

Business Administration, 409 3rd Street, 

7th Floor, Washington, DC 20416. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sandra Johnston, Program Analyst, 202– 

205–7528, Sandra.johnston@sba.gov 

Curtis B. Rich, Management Analyst, 

202–205–7030, curtis.rich@sba.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

servicing agent agreement is executed 

by the borrower, certified development 

company and the loan servicing agent. 

The agreement is primarily used to 

certify use of loan proceeds, appoint a 

servicing agent and acknowledge the 

imposition of various fees. 

Title: ‘‘Servicing Agent Agreement’’. 

Description of Respondents: Certified 

Development Companies and SBA 

Borrowers. 

Form Number: N/A. 

Annual Responses: 7,830. 

Annual Burden: 7,830. 

Jacqueline White, 

Chief, Administrative Information Branch. 

[FR Doc. 2012–4388 Filed 2–24–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE ;P 

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 

[License No. 03/03–0247] 

Solutions Capital I, L.P.; Notice 

Seeking Exemption Under the Small 

Business Investment Act, Conflicts of 

Interest 

Notice is hereby given that Solutions 

Capital I, L.P., 1100 Wilson Blvd., Suite 

3000, Arlington, VA 22209, a Federal 

Licensee under the Small Business 

Investment Act of 1958, as amended 

(‘‘the Act’’), in connection with the 

financing of a small concern, has sought 

an exemption under § 312 of the Act 

and § 107.730, Financings which 

constitute conflicts of interest, of the 

Small Business Administration Rules 

and Regulations (13 CFR 107). Solutions 

Capital I, L.P., proposes to acquire debt 

financing from MCG Capital 

Corporation in Advanced Sleep 

Concepts, Inc., 195 Chatillon Road NE., 

Rome, GA, 30162. The financing is 

contemplated to provide growth capital 

for the company. 

The financing is brought within the 

purview of § 107.730(a) of the 

Regulations because MCG Capital 

Corporation, an Associate of Solutions 

Capital I, L.P., has a greater than 10% 

equity interest in Advanced Sleep 

Concepts, Inc., thereby making 

Advanced Sleep Concepts, Inc., an 

Associate of Solutions Capital I, L.P., as 

defined in § 107.50 of the Regulations. 

Notice is hereby given that any 

interested person may submit written 

comments on the transaction to the 

Associate Administrator for Investment, 

U.S. Small Business Administration, 

409 Third Street SW., Washington, DC 

20416. 

Sean J. Greene, 

Associate Administrator for Investment and 

Innovation. 

[FR Doc. 2012–4391 Filed 2–24–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Office of the Secretary 

Additional Guidance on Airfare/Air 

Tour Price Advertisements 

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, 

Department of Transportation. 

ACTION: Notice providing additional 

guidance on airfare/air tour price 

advertisements. 

SUMMARY: The Department is publishing 

the following notice providing 

additional guidance on airfare/air tour 

price advertisements. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Nicholas Lowry, Attorney, Office of 

Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings 

(C–70), 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE., 

Washington, DC 20590, (202) 366–9349. 

Additional Guidance on Airfare/Air 

Tour Price Advertisements 

This notice provides additional 

guidance to airlines and ticket agents 

that market prices for air transportation, 

air tours, or tour components in 

connection with air transportation 

regarding the full fare advertising rule. 

It describes several airline and ticket 

agent practices that the Office of 

Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings 

(Enforcement Office) considers to 

violate section 399.84 and/or to be 

unfair and deceptive and/or an unfair 

method of competition in violation of 49 

U.S.C. 41712. The purpose of this notice 

is to urge voluntary compliance by 

airlines and ticket agents and to 

announce the office’s intention to 

pursue enforcement action where it 

discovers such practices, as appropriate. 

Separate Listing of Taxes and Carrier 

Fees 

If a vendor chooses to make available 

information regarding the amount of 

taxes and/or fees that are included in 

the full fare, the disclosure must 

accurately distinguish between taxes 

and government fees on the one hand 

and carrier-imposed fees on the other. In 

addition, with respect to information 

about carrier-imposed fees included in 

the full fare, such disclosure must 

accurately represent the actual cost of 

the item for which the charge is 

assessed and must not otherwise be 

deceptive. 

Under past policy that expired on 

January 25, 2012, fare advertisements 

were permitted to state, separately from 

the base fare, government fees and 

charges that were not ad valorem in 

nature. Carrier-imposed charges, such as 

fuel or security surcharges, had to be 

included in the base fare initially 

presented to consumers on Web site 

displays, but carriers were allowed to 

break out these charges, along with all 

government taxes and fees, in 

subsequent screens or through pop-ups 

or hyperlinks. We have found, in 

reviewing airline Web sites, that many 

Web sites which detailed additional fees 

labeled all additional charges, 

government and carrier-imposed, as 

taxes when in fact carrier-imposed fees 

were often the major portion of these 

fees. Such displays were deceptive and 

in violation of section 41712. 

The Department’s new consumer rule, 

‘‘Enhancing Airline Passenger 

Protections,’’ 76 FR 23110 (Apr. 25, 

2011), requires, among other things, that 

the first price quote presented must be 

the full price, including all taxes, fees 

and all carrier surcharges. This full 

price provision became effective January 

26, 2012. In response to concerns 

expressed by carriers, the Department 

made clear in the preamble to the rule 

that advertisers are free to advise the 

public in price solicitations about 

government taxes and fees as well as 

carrier- or agent-imposed fees that are 

included within the single total price, so 

long as that notice is not deceptive. For 

example, as we explained in the final 

rule, sellers of air transportation may 

have pop-ups or links adjacent to an 

advertised price to take the consumer to 

a listing of such charges, or they may 

display these charges on the same page 

in a less prominent manner than the 

total price if they prefer.1 In particular, 

the Department noted that any such 

charges must be displayed on a perpassenger basis, accurately reflect the 

actual costs of the service covered, and 

not otherwise be deceptive. (14 CFR 

399.84, 76 FR 23110, 23143). When a 

cost component is described as a fuel 

surcharge, for example, that amount 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 38 / Monday, February 27, 2012 / Notices 11619 

2For example, descriptions such as the following 

would be acceptable: ‘‘Fare includes a fuel 

surcharge. On average our passengers paid $xx.xx 

more for fuel during 2011 in their ticket price than 

they did in 2000;’’ or ‘‘Fares include a charge for 

fuel. On average in 2011 our passengers paid $xx.xx 

for fuel as a part of their ticket price.’’ Of course, 

such assertions must be based on the carrier’s actual 

paid enplanements and fuel expenditures. 

3We note that section 1104 of the FAA 

Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, Public Law 

112–94, 126 Stat.11 (2012), includes an amendment 

to the tax code that also may bear on what may be 

included under a breakout of taxes in airfare 

advertising. 

must actually reflect a reasonable 

estimate of the per-passenger fuel costs 

incurred by the carrier above some 

baseline calculated based on such 

factors as the length of the trip, varying 

costs of fuel, and number of flight 

segments involved.2 Another example of 

a solicitation likely to deceive and 

therefore prohibited under the rule is a 

presentation of a fare as a ‘‘total’’ fare if 

it does not include government taxes 

and fees or other mandatory charges. 

It has come to our attention that some 

carriers and ticket agents are providing 

notice of the cost components of airfares 

on their Web site reservations systems 

in ways that are unfair and deceptive in 

violation of section 41712. In some 

instances, the advertiser appears to 

properly include government taxes and 

fees, as well as mandatory carrier- or 

agent-imposed fees, in the initial fare 

quotations and itinerary selections. 

However, on the page confirming the 

itinerary selection, or on the fare 

quotation purchase page, where 

component costs are displayed, a 

general category contains costs 

described as ‘‘Taxes’’ or ‘‘Taxes incl 9/ 

11 fee’’ that actually include a carrier’s 

‘‘fuel surcharge’’ and/or other fees not 

imposed by a government. In one 

particular example, the total fare for a 

U.S–Europe trip appears to be properly 

listed as $769.41 on the initial itinerary 

pages, but the confirming page describes 

the total as being composed of a ‘‘Price’’ 

of $170 and ‘‘Taxes incl 9/11 fee’’ of 

$599.41. A further description of the 

‘‘Taxes incl 9/11 fee’’ discloses that the 

amount of $599.41 includes an amount 

of $476 described as a ‘‘fuel surcharge’’ 

and an amount of $33.78 described as a 

‘‘Passenger service charge 

international.’’ These charges are not 

government-imposed taxes and fees, and 

it is an unfair and deceptive practice 

and an unfair method of competition in 

violation of section 41712 to lead 

consumers to believe that they are.3

In another example of nongovernment charges being included in 

an amount described as ‘‘taxes,’’ 

advertisers present a category described 

as ‘‘taxes and fees’’ where the amount in 

that category includes not only 

government-imposed taxes and fees but 

carrier- or agent-imposed fees, the latter 

of which may include ‘‘fuel surcharges,’’ 

‘‘convenience’’ fees, or other mandatory 

fees. Combining government-imposed 

taxes and fees with those imposed by 

carriers or agents is likely to confuse 

consumers and deceive them into 

believing the government taxes and fees 

associated with their airfare are higher 

than they actually are. Therefore, 

advertisers who desire to separately list 

government taxes and fees as well as 

carrier- or agent-imposed fees should 

ensure that they are not lumped together 

and described as ‘‘taxes and fees.’’ 

Language such as ‘‘Taxes and carrierimposed fees’’ would be acceptable, for 

example. 

Moreover, using the particular 

example noted above, we wish to 

remind carriers that amounts listed as 

charges for particular services must 

accurately reflect the actual costs of the 

service covered. Therefore, the ‘‘fuel 

surcharge’’ of $476 in the above 

example, which is associated with a 

transatlantic trip originating in New 

York City, must be an accurate 

reflection of the fuel cost over some 

reasonable baseline for an individual 

passenger for that trip and the carrier 

should be prepared to detail the services 

and costs per passenger associated with 

its ‘‘Passenger service charge 

international.’’ 

In a similar vein, we have observed 

that carriers may add ‘‘fuel surcharges’’ 

or other fees to their frequent flyer ticket 

offerings, some in an amount of several 

hundred dollars. Any such charges 

assessed also must be fairly disclosed 

and an accurate reflection of the actual 

costs as described above. 

Advertising Each-Way Fares Based on a 

Roundtrip Purchase 

Under section 399.84(b), airlines and 

ticket agents are permitted to advertise 

airfares on an each-way basis when a 

roundtrip purchase is required provided 

that the roundtrip-purchase requirement 

is clearly and conspicuously noted in 

the advertisement and is stated 

prominently and proximately to the 

each-way fare amount. The Department 

has historically allowed the marketing 

of each-way fares because it facilitates 

the pricing and sale of ‘‘open jaw’’ 

itineraries (outbound flights to one city 

and return flights from a different one, 

e.g. Washington to Amsterdam with the 

return flight from Paris to Washington). 

Such marketing also can provide 

consumers better fare information where 

different prices exist for outbound and 

return flights because one is in the high 

season or on a weekend and the other 

flight is not. 

In the past, we have noted 

understandable variations in the price of 

outbound and return flights sold on an 

each-way basis. For example, fares 

could vary based on whether the travel 

was during high, low or shoulder 

seasons, whether it was on a weekend 

or a weekday or whether it was on 

flights during peak holiday periods or 

on other busy travel days. Fares also 

could vary depending on the number of 

segment-related taxes and government 

fees that might apply and for 

international travel the varying U.S. and 

foreign arrival and connecting point 

taxes and government fees that might 

apply. Until recently the variation in 

each-way fares by direction was not a 

regulatory concern. 

Subsequent to the January 26, 2012, 

effective date of the full fare advertising 

rule we observed that one carrier was 

offering outbound each-way fares to 

European points that appeared to be 

deceptively low in comparison to the 

return flight fares. In one case an 

outbound Washington to Paris fare on 

February 22, 2012, was advertised at 

$102 with a return flight on February 

29, 2012, advertised at $629 or more 

than 600% higher. Even more troubling, 

a seat on the same February 29 flight 

was being offered for only $233 if it was 

bought as part of a Paris-originating 

roundtrip to Washington. The only 

reasonable explanation for such 

variations is that the carrier intended to 

bait the passenger with an 

unrealistically low outbound fare and to 

induce passengers to buy the roundtrip 

ticket at a substantially higher price 

than any reasonable person would 

expect at the beginning of the search 

process. We view such tactics as being 

unfair and deceptive and amounting to 

an unfair method of competition. 

The requirements and guidance 

discussed above, it should be noted, 

extend to travel agents and other nonairline vendors of air transportation. 

Questions regarding this notice may be 

addressed to the Office of Aviation 

Enforcement and Proceedings (C–70), 

400 7th St. SW., Washington, DC 20590. 

The office will provide those subject to 

the full fare advertising rule and 49 

U.S.C. 41712 60 days subsequent to the 

date of this notice to ensure they are in 

compliance before instituting 

enforcement action related to the issues 

covered in this notice. 

An electronic version of this 

document is available at http://www.

regulations.gov. 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
11620 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 38 / Monday, February 27, 2012 / Notices 

Dated: February 21, 2012. 

Samuel Podberesky, 

Assistant General Counsel for Aviation 

Enforcement and Proceedings. 

[FR Doc. 2012–4546 Filed 2–24–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–9X–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

Executive Committee of the Aviation 

Rulemaking Advisory Committee; 

Meeting 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: The FAA is issuing this notice 

to advise the public of a meeting of the 

Executive Committee of the Aviation 

Rulemaking Advisory Committee. 

DATES: The meeting will be held on 

March 29, 2012, at 1 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will take place 

at the Federal Aviation Administration, 

800 Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20591, 10th floor, 

MacCracken Room. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Renee Butner, Federal Aviation 

Administration, 800 Independence 

Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591, 

telephone (202) 267–5093; fax (202) 

267–5075; email Renee.Butner@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under 

section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App. 2), we are 

giving notice of a meeting of the 

Executive Committee of the Aviation 

Rulemaking Advisory Committee taking 

place on March 29, 2012, at the Federal 

Aviation Administration, 800 

Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20591. The Agenda 

includes: 

1. Commercial Air Tour Voluntary 

Accreditation Program Working Group. 

2. ARAC restructure: 

a. Draft charter and bylaws. 

b. Committee Manual revision— 

Process Improvement Working Group 

(PIWG) recommendations. 

3. Status Report from FAA on 

Rulemaking Prioritization Working 

Group (RPWG) recommendations. 

4. Status Reports from Assistant 

Chairs. 

5. Remarks from other EXCOM 

members. 

Attendance is open to the interested 

public but limited to the space 

available. The FAA will arrange 

teleconference service for individuals 

wishing to join in by teleconference if 

we receive notice by March 20. 

Arrangements to participate by 

teleconference can be made by 

contacting the person listed in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. 

Callers outside the Washington 

metropolitan area are responsible for 

paying long-distance charges. 

The public must arrange by March 20 

to present oral statements at the 

meeting. The public may present 

written statements to the executive 

committee by providing 25 copies to the 

Executive Director, or by bringing the 

copies to the meeting. 

If you are in need of assistance or 

require a reasonable accommodation for 

this meeting, please contact the person 

listed under the heading FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on February 17, 

2012. 

Pamela A. Hamilton-Powell, 

Executive Director, Aviation Rulemaking 

Advisory Committee. 

[FR Doc. 2012–4539 Filed 2–24–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Transit Administration 

[FTA Docket No. FTA–2012–0016] 

Notice of Request for the Extension of 

a Currently Approved Information 

Collection 

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration 

(FTA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of Request for 

Comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 

notice announces the intention of the 

Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to 

request the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) to approve the following 

information collection: Transit Safety 

Survey. 

DATES: Comments must be submitted 

before April 27, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: To ensure that your 

comments are not entered more than 

once into the docket, submit comments 

identified by the docket number by only 

one of the following methods: 

1. Web site: www.regulations.gov. 

Follow the instructions for submitting 

comments on the U.S. Government 

electronic docket site. (Note: The U.S. 

Department of Transportation’s (DOT’s) 

electronic docket is no longer accepting 

electronic comments.) All electronic 

submissions must be made to the U.S. 

Government electronic docket site at 

www.regulations.gov. Commenters 

should follow the directions below for 

mailed and hand-delivered comments. 

2. Fax: 202–366–7951. 

3. Mail: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Docket Operations, M–30, 

West Building, Ground Floor, Room 

W12–140, Washington, DC 20590–0001. 

4. Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Docket Operations, M–30, 

West Building, Ground Floor, Room 

W12–140, Washington, DC 20590–0001 

between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except federal holidays. 

Instructions: You must include the 

agency name and docket number for this 

notice at the beginning of your 

comments. Submit two copies of your 

comments if you submit them by mail. 

For confirmation that FTA has received 

your comments, include a selfaddressed stamped postcard. Note that 

all comments received, including any 

personal information, will be posted 

and will be available to Internet users, 

without change, to www.regulations.gov. 

You may review DOT’s complete 

Privacy Act Statement in the Federal 

Register published April 11, 2000, (65 

FR 19477), or you may visit 

www.regulations.gov. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents and 

comments received, go to 

www.regulations.gov at any time. 

Background documents and comments 

received may also be viewed at the U.S. 

Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., Docket 

Operations, M–30, West Building, 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590–0001 between 9 

a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, except federal holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Roy 

Chen, FTA Office of Technology, (202) 

366–0462, or email: royweishun.chen@

dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Interested 

parties are invited to send comments 

regarding any aspect of this information 

collection, including: (1) The necessity 

and utility of the information collection 

for the proper performance of the 

functions of the FTA; (2) the accuracy 

of the estimated burden; (3) ways to 

enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 

of the collected information; and (4) 

ways to minimize the collection burden 

without reducing the quality of the 

collected information. Comments 

submitted in response to this notice will 

be summarized and/or included in the 

request for OMB approval of this 

information collection. 

Title: Transit Safety Survey (OMB 

Number: 2132–New). 

Background: The survey covered in 

this request will provide FTA with a 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES