B EF OR E T HE US D EP ART M ENT OF T R A NSPORTAT ION
W ASHIN G TON , D.C.

In the ma tter of:

Docket No .: DOT-OST-2010-0140 Enhanc ing Airline Pas s enger Protections

Request by the International Air Trans port Association (IATA) for a 60 day

extens ion of the comment period

On June 8, 2010, the Department of Trans portation (DOT) issued the Notice of Proposed Rulemak i ng (NPRM), “Enhancin g Airline Pas s enger Protections,” (hereinafter “Proposal”) which seeks to expand upon the published Final Rule under the same title (D OT-OST-2007-0022).

The aviation industry remains committed to providing exemplar y service to its

passenger s and believes cooperation bet ween carriers and governments can result in valuable impr ovements in the global aviation s ystem. However, regulations in this area can lead to extensiv e unintended consequences, which could reduce service to passengers and adv ersely impact an industry pivotal to the global economy.

The Proposal provides only until August 9, 2010, 60 days from publication, for the public to comment on this Proposal. IATA respectfully requests an additional 60 days to submit comments regarding this NPRM, citing the following factors:

 ̧ The Proposal seeks to impose on US and foreign carriers signific ant and new regulatory burdens, whic h the industry must adequately analyze in order to provide compr ehensive and useful comments to the DOT. As the regulation would touch al most all aspects of an airline’s business, IATA members need to cons ult with multiple offices on the cost, timing, feasibility and potential uninten d ed conseq uences of the proposal. Sixty days is not a sufficient time period in which to collect

the extensive amounts of data and in formation from all affected parties necessary to evaluate this Proposal. ̧ In particular, the Proposal specific ally requests detailed information on the impacts, costs, and benefits on fo reign carriers of proposed time intervals for deplanem ent, contingency plans, customer service plans, communication strategies, cover ed operations, data collection and publication, denied boarding compensati on, pricing, fees and oversale regulations , and other provisions. Mu ch of thi s data is not readily

accessible and industr y stakeholders need considerable time to collect and provide meaningf ul comm ents on these subjects.

 ̧ The Department has publis hed an ex tensive cost benefit analysis of the proposed regulation. IATA and mem ber airlines will need to secure the support of outside experts in order to provide a meaningful response to this analy s is.

 ̧ Furthermore, the Proposal could raise implic ations in terms of U.S. and international law. The industry mu st be provided sufficient time to discern these impacts on US and fore ign carriers and on the industry

as a whole.

 ̧ Finally, the comment period for thi s NPRM falls during the busy

summer travel and vac a tion season, during which airline resources are

stretched to the limit. In order fo r IATA and industry stakeholders to provide valuable com m ents on all aspects of the proposal, the comment period must be extended into the fall.

For these reasons, IATA requests an additional 60 days to collect the

aforementioned essential information to provide valuable comments on the Proposal.

Thank you in advance for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

Douglas E. Lavin Regional Vice President, North A m erica International Air Transport Association

601 Penns ylvania Avenue, NW Suite 300 North Washingto n , D.C.

202-628-9292
lavind@iat a.org

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