Order 2014-4-18

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

On the Twenty-First day of April, 2014

Third Party Complaint of Docket OST 2013-0216

Benjamin Edelman

SC Compania Naţională de Transporturi

Aeriene Române TAROM S.A. Served April 21, 2014

ORDER OF DISMISSAL

On December 16, 2013, Benjamin Edelman (Petitioner) filed a third party complaint 

against SC Compania Naţională de Transporturi Aeriene Române TAROM S.A.

(TAROM) alleging that TAROM is engaging in an unfair and deceptive practice by 

categorizing a carrier-imposed surcharge as a government tax on its website in violation 

of the Department of Transportation’s (Department) guidance on airfare advertising and 

in violation of the statutory prohibition against unfair and deceptive practices, 49 U.S.C. 

§ 41712. Petitioner requests that the Department find that TAROM is engaging in an 

unfair and deceptive practice and order TAROM to refund ticket purchasers all monies 

represented as “tax” and order TAROM to pay a civil fine. Although not specifically 

requested in Petitioner’s pleading, we are treating Petitioner’s filing as a formal 

complaint under 14 CFR 302.404. We are dismissing the complaint for the reasons stated 

below. This order is being issued under the authority of 14 CFR 302.406(a)(2).

Applicable Law

Section 41712 of Title 49 of the U.S. Code prohibits an air carrier, foreign air carrier, or 

ticket agent from engaging in an unfair or deceptive practice or an unfair method of 

competition. Pursuant to that authority and to ensure that consumers are not deceived 

and are given accurate and complete fare information on which to base their airline travel 

purchase decisions, the Department issued regulation 14 CFR 399.84(a). Section 

399.84(a) requires that advertisements for air transportation state the entire price to be 

paid by the consumer including all government taxes and fees and carrier-imposed 

surcharges. Although such charges included within the single total price listed, e.g., 

government taxes, may be stated separately or through links or “pop ups” on websites 

that display the total price, such charges may not be false or misleading, may not be 
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displayed as prominently as the total price, may not be presented in the same or larger 

size as the total price, and must provide cost information on a per-passenger basis that

accurately reflects the cost of the item covered by the charge. 

The Department’s Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings (Enforcement 

Office) issued guidance for carriers who choose to provide supplementary information 

regarding the existence and amount of taxes, government fees, and carrier-imposed fees. 

Carriers should ensure that, if grouped together, they are not described under a general 

rubric such as “taxes and fees” and must clearly indicate that the amount includes both 

taxes and government fees, and carrier-imposed fees.1 Otherwise, consumers may not be 

aware that the total price to be paid includes a carrier-imposed fee and may believe that 

the taxes and government fees associated with their airfare are higher than they actually 

are. Failure to accurately identify carrier-imposed fees constitutes an unfair and deceptive 

practice in violation of 49 U.S.C. § 41712. 

The Department’s fare advertising regulation covers websites selling air transportation

marketed to United States consumers. More specifically, the rule applies to 

advertisements of foreign carriers, among others, that are marketed to United States 

consumers for air transportation within, to, or from the United States.2 The Enforcement 

Office has issued detailed guidance regarding the applicability of the full-fare rule. To 

determine whether a particular advertisement or website is marketed to United States 

consumers, the Enforcement Office looks to various factors.3

Petitioner’s Complaint

On December 16, 2013, Petitioner filed a complaint against TAROM alleging that a 

consumer who searches for airfare on TAROM’s website, www.tarom.ro, is deceived 

into believing that the amount of taxes due is greater than the actual amount of taxes due 

because TAROM included its own carrier-imposed surcharge under a label of “taxes.” 

Petitioner attached screenshots taken from a webpage that displayed a fare quote for

flights from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York to Bucharest, Romania. 

These screenshots showed a “flight details” page that listed a total fare that included a 

base fare and taxes. Petitioner alleges that the screenshots were from TAROM’s website, 

 1 Additional Guidance on Airfare/Air Tour Price Advertisements (Issued February 21, 2012), available at 

http://www.dot.gov/airconsumer/guidance-aviation-rules-and-statutes.

2 Answers to Frequently Asked Questions Concerning the Enforcement of the Second Final Rule on 

Enhancing Airline Passenger Protections, Section IX, Questions 1 and 4, (Last updated on June 15, 2012), 

available at https://www.dot.gov/airconsumer/aviation-rules.

3 Those factors include but are not limited to whether the fares are displayed in United States dollars, 

whether sales can be made to persons with addresses or telephone numbers in the United States, whether 

the website is in English, whether the seller uses banner advertisements or highlights special deals for 

flights to or from the United States, and whether the seller has an option on its website that differentiates 

sites or pages designed for United States or other consumers. See Answers to Frequently Asked Questions 

Concerning the Enforcement of the Second Final Rule on Enhancing Airline Passenger Protections, 

Section IX, Questions 1 and 4, (Last updated on June 15, 2012), available at

https://www.dot.gov/airconsumer/aviation-rules.
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www.tarom.ro, and argues that this tax amount is not accurate because it also includes a 

carrier-imposed surcharge. Petitioner asks the Department to investigate the website and 

find that TAROM is engaging in an unfair and deceptive practice.

TAROM’s Answer

On January 17, 2014, TAROM filed an answer to Petitioner’s complaint4 in which

TAROM argued that its website is compliant with European laws governing price 

advertisements. Notwithstanding this assertion, TAROM stated that it had quickly 

revised its website to comply with the Department’s rules. TAROM subsequently 

provided emails from its website technology provider that show that after receiving the 

complaint it updated the label of “taxes” on its website.

Disposition and Analysis

We have carefully considered the complaint in Docket 2013-0216, TAROM’s answer, 

and conducted an independent investigation of TAROM’s website and have decided to 

dismiss the complaint for lack of jurisdiction. After reviewing the screenshots attached to 

Petitioner’s complaint and conducting an independent review of the carrier’s website, the 

Department has decided that TAROM’s website, www.tarom.ro, is not marketed to 

United States consumers. The Department notes that after receiving the complaint, 

TAROM voluntarily updated its website to comply with Departmental requirements

concerning the display of taxes and fees even though the website is not covered.

ACCORDINGLY, pursuant to the authority delegated under 49 CFR Part 1, I dismiss the 

complaint of Benjamin Edelman against SC Compania Naţională de Transporturi Aeriene 

Române TAROM S.A. in Docket OST 2013 -0216. Pursuant to 14 CFR 302.406(b) this 

order shall become effective as a final order of the Department thirty days after service of 

this order.

By:

Blane A. Workie

Acting Assistant General Counsel for

 Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings

An electronic version of this document is available at

www.regulations.gov

 4 Pursuant to 14 CFR 302.405(a) TAROM’s answer was due within fifteen days of the filing of the 

complaint. The Department granted an extension to TAROM to file the answer by January 20, 2014. 

TAROM served the petitioner and the Department before that date, but due to a clerical error the answer 

was not posted on www.regulations.gov until April 9, 2014.