"' ^"^ATT".*-' 

BEFORE THE 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 

In the matter of: 

Final Rule 

Enhancing Airline Passenger 

Protections 

Docket No. DOT-OST-2007-0022 

COMMENTS OF FLYERSRIGHTS.ORG 

ON REQUEST OF AIRLINE ASSOCIATIONS 

TO EXTEND EFFECTIVE DATE 

OF CERTAIN DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS IN 14 CFR 234.11(b) 

FlyersRights.org, representing the interests of airiine passengers, has reviewed the 

January 22, 2010, request of certain associations of U.S. airlines for the 

Department of Transportation (DOT) to extend for ninety days from April 29, 

2010, the effective date of certain disclosure requirements in 14 CFR 234.11(b) as 

detailed in DOT's important new regulation. Enhancing Airline Passenger 

Protections, 74 FR 68983 (December 30, 2009). 

The airline associations assert that certain new requirements mandated in that 

regulation will require their member airlines to make system and protocol changes, 

design work, programming, and testing of the new procedures to ensure data 

integrity that cannot, in their judgment, be adequately completed by April 29, 

2010. These new requirements include publishing on their Web sites, including for 

domestic code-share flights, the percentage of arrivals that were more than 30 

minutes late, special highlighting if the flight were more than 30 minutes late more 

than 50 percent of the time, and the percentage of flight cancellations if 5 percent 

or more of the flight's operations were canceled in the month covered. 

The airline associations assert that the current deadline would not provide 

sufficient time for the affected airlines to thoroughly test and audit any required 

information that must be publicly displayed. 
FlyersRights.org has no independent ability to assess the accuracy of the 

associations' conclusion that the regulation's current effective date is too 

restrictive. However, airline passengers and their airlines share the objective of 

wanting accurate, verified information about the timeliness or cancellation rate of 

flight operations to be available to passengers. For this reason, FlyersRights.org 

does not oppose DOT's granting the requested extension. That said, we would 

hope individual airlines might provide the required information on their Web sites 

as soon as accurate information is available to them and that they just not delay 

implementation until any new DOT effective date. 

Further, an up-to-90-day extension of the current April 29 deadline would allow 

Congress additional opportunity to complete action on the FAA Reauthorization 

Act of 2010. Currently included in versions of that legislation to be considered this 

spring by a House-Senate Conference Committee, or possible amendments thereto, 

are provisions that would impose more stringent requirements on the airlines for 

publicizing chronic delays and cancellations than is now included in the current 

DOT regulation. Allowing the airlines to not lock in changes to their computer 

programs until Congress has extra time to complete final action on this issue could 

minimize airline duplication of effort and cost. 

FlyersRights.org, however, is concerned that airlines can nullify the intended 

purposes of the DOT regulation — and any Congressional tightening of its 

requirements ~ by "padding their schedules" to mask poor operating performance. 

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal, "How a Six-Hour N. Y. to LA. Flight 

Grew to Seven Hours," February 4, 2010, at page D-1, documented how airlines 

have been increasing departure-to-arrival "block time" solely to boost their 

apparent on- time performance.' We ask that DOT take notice of that article. 

We can understand that block time could reasonably be increased because of 

system congestion. However, increasing block time to nullify the new DOT 

regulation's publication of chronically delayed flights should be considered a 

violation of 49 U.S.C. 41712, as an unfair and deceptive practice. 

Thank you for considering FlyersRights.org views on this matter. 

' "AMR Corp's American added significant chunks of block time in late 2008 and early 2009 as part of an effort to 

boost the airline's 'on-time' performance. Other carriers say they have done much the same." Id., at page D2. 
Respectfully submitted, -cspeciiuiiy suomiiicu, 

Kate Haimi, Executive Director 

FlyersRights.org 

159 Silverado Springs Drive 

Napa, CA 94558 

February 26, 2010