December 7, 2011

BEFORE THE 

US DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 

Docket No.: DOT-OST-2010-0140

Request by the Association of European Airlines (AEA) to extend effective dates

In the context of the DOT’s Final Rule on “Enhancing Airline Passenger Protections” 

the provisions concerning baggage allowances and fees (14 C.F.R. 399.87) and the 

baggage notice requirements contained in 14 C.F.R 399.85(c) are due to take effect 

on January 24, 2012. 

Most carriers have met the short deadlines set by DOT for the vast majority of the 

Final Rule published in April 2011, but the provisions on baggage allowances and fees 

and the new baggage notice rules will require the development of complex new 

systems which our carriers will not be in a position to accomplish within such a short 

timeframe. Indeed, in its response to the first extension request the DOT itself 

recognised that airlines would encounter difficulties in complying with these baggage 

rules as they currently do not have access to each other’s fee schedules. 

Under Section 399.87 the same baggage allowances and fees must apply throughout 

an itinerary that originates or ends in the US. The requirement that any handling fees 

that apply at the beginning of a passenger’s itinerary must apply to the entire itinerary, 

regardless of any stopovers, means that any system that checks in passengers on an 

itinerary that includes a US destination or origin must be updated and automated to 

ensure that it can accommodate the new baggage rules. 

Under Section 399.85(c) carriers are required to provide notice of baggage fees on the 

summary page of an on-line transaction and on the e-ticket confirmation, including for 

interline and code share itineraries. They must also provide specific information to 

consumers about all the factors that may cause the fees for checked and carry-on 

baggage to vary, so that passengers can determine for themselves the fees that would 

apply to them.

As there is currently no central database of carriers’ baggage policies and fees, in 

order to comply with the new rules airlines would have to request this information from 

all carriers with which they have code sharing or interline agreements. Because fees 

can change frequently, the information would also need to be constantly updated. 

This is impractical and time-consuming, with no guarantee that the information would 

be accurate. 

Avenue Louise 350 B - 1050 Brussels

Tel. +32 (0)2 639 89 89 Fax 639 89 99 

E-mail aea.secretariat@aea.be

Web www.aea.be

Secretary General

Association of

European Airlines

Adria Airways

Aegean Airlines

AeroSvit

airBaltic

airberlin

Air France

Air Malta

Alitalia

Austrian

British Airways

British Midland International

brussels airlines

Cargolux

Croatia Airlines

Cyprus Airways

Czech Airlines

DHL

Finnair

Iberia

Icelandair

Jat Airways

KLM

LOT

Lufthansa

Luxair

Malev

Olympic Air

SAS Scandinavian Airlines

SWISS

TAP Portugal

TAROM

TNT Airways

Turkish Airlines

Ukraine International Airlines

Virgin Atlantic Airways
- 2 -

In addition, passengers travelling on code share and interline itineraries will not be 

able to use self-service kiosks or on-line check-in services as these platforms cannot 

view a passenger’s full reservation to verify if he or she is on an interline itinerary. 

There would therefore be no way to ensure that the appropriate rules and fees are 

applied. Obliging such passengers to use the airport check-in facilities would lead to 

longer queues and more inconvenience for passengers. 

These new rules require airlines to have the capacity to share passenger itinerary and 

baggage rule and notice information. However, the technology necessary to make 

this a reality is still in the development phase, and will most certainly not be ready by 

January 2012. European carriers need more time to develop and test these new 

systems and to train their staff to operate them. 

We therefore request that the effective date for application of Sections 399.87 and 

399.85(c) be delayed for one year, until January 24, 2013. 

Thank you in advance for your consideration of this request. 

Yours sincerely,

Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus

 

Association of

European Airlines

Adria Airways

Aegean Airlines

AeroSvit

airBaltic

airberlin

Air France

Air Malta

Alitalia

Austrian

British Airways

British Midland International

brussels airlines

Cargolux

Croatia Airlines

Cyprus Airways

Czech Airlines

DHL

Finnair

Iberia

Icelandair

Jat Airways

KLM

LOT

Lufthansa

Luxair

Malev

Olympic Air

SAS Scandinavian Airlines

SWISS

TAP Portugal

TAROM

TNT Airways

Turkish Airlines

Ukraine International Airlines

Virgin Atlantic Airways