Order 2010-7-17

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY 

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

On the Twenty-Second day of July, 2010, 

Nuevo Mundo Travel Agency Inc.

Docket OST 2010-0005

Violations of 49 U.S.C. § 41712 Served July 22, 2010

and 14 CFR 399.80(f) and 399.84

CONSENT ORDER

This consent order concerns newspaper advertisements by Nuevo Mundo Travel Agency, 

Inc., (Nuevo Mundo) that violated 49 U.S.C. § 41712 and 14 CFR Part 399. It directs 

Nuevo Mundo to cease and desist from such future violations and assesses the company a 

compromise civil penalty of $30,000.

Applicable Law

Nuevo Mundo is a travel agent that sells air transportation. Engaging in such conduct 

makes Nuevo Mundo a “ticket agent” pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 401021 and therefore 

subjects it to the Department’s jurisdiction, including the prohibition on unfair and 

deceptive practices and unfair methods of competition in 49 U.S.C. § 41712 and the fare 

advertising requirements of 14 CFR Part 399.

Pursuant to 14 CFR 399.80(f), as a matter of policy, the Department regards certain types 

of conduct by ticket agents to be unfair and deceptive practices or unfair methods of 

competition, including “misrepresentations as to fares and charges for air transportation 

and services connected therewith.” Pursuant to 14 CFR 399.84, advertisements specifying 

airfares must state the full price to be paid by the consumer. Under long-standing 

enforcement case precedent, the Department has allowed taxes and fees collected by 

carriers and ticket agents, such as passenger facility charges and departure taxes, to be 

 

1 A ticket agent is “a person (except an air carrier, a foreign air carrier, or an employee of an air carrier or 

foreign air carrier) that as a principal or agent sells, offers for sale, negotiates for, or holds itself out as 

selling, providing, or arranging for air transportation.” 49 U.S.C. § 40102(a)(45).
stated separately from the base fare in advertisements, so long as such taxes and fees are 

levied by a government entity, are not ad valorem in nature, i.e., not assessed as a 

percentage of the fare price, are collected on a per-passenger basis, and their existence 

and amounts are clearly indicated at the first point in the advertisement where a fare is 

presented so that consumers can immediately determine the full fare to be paid. Thus, for 

example, fare advertisements that separately state carrier-imposed fees, such as fuel 

surcharges, do not comply with sections 399.80(f), 399.84, or the Department’s 

enforcement case precedent. Violations of section 399.84 constitute unfair and deceptive 

practices in violation of 49 U.S.C. § 41712.2 When such advertisements are caused to be 

published by a ticket agent, they also violate section 399.80(f) and constitute a separate 

and distinct violation of section 41712.3

In print advertisements, an asterisk or other symbol placed proximate to the advertised 

fare may refer the reader to the bottom of the advertisement where the nature and amount 

of the fees are shown. With respect to Internet fare listing, taxes and fees that properly 

may be stated separately from the advertised fare may be disclosed through a prominent 

link placed adjacent to the stated fares that notes that taxes and fees are extra and directly 

takes the viewer to the bottom of the screen, or to a place on a separate screen, where the 

nature and amount of taxes and fees are prominently and immediately displayed.4

Facts and Conclusions

An investigation by the Department’s Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings 

(Enforcement office) found that for a period during 2009 and 2010 Nuevo Mundo

published advertisements, in the Miami Herald’s weekend travel section that stated prices 

for numerous airfares, but failed to include carrier imposed fuel surcharges of up to $150.

Such conduct violated sections 399.80 (f), 399.84 and 49 U.S.C. § 41712.

Mitigation

In mitigation and explanation, Nuevo Mundo states that unknown to its Miami-based 

representatives who were familiar with the Department’s advertising requirements, noncompliant print advertisements were erroneously published at the direction of the home 

 

2 See, e.g., British Airways, PLC, Violations of 49 U.S.C. § 41712 and 14 CFR 399.84, Order 2003-6-29 

(June 20, 2003). 

3 See, e.g., Roni Herskovitz, Individually, and Ultimate Fares, Inc., Violations of 49 U.S.C. § 41712 and 14 

CFR part 257.5(d), 399.80(f) and 399.84, Order 2009-11-8 (Nov. 9, 2009). 

4 For example, a carrier or ticket agent could advertise a flight in the following manner: “$260 + Taxes and 

Fees” with the phrase “taxes and fees” set off as a hyperlink that takes the viewer directly to the bottom of 

the screen, or to the place on a separate screen, were the nature and amount of taxes and fees are 

prominently and immediately displayed. See Department notices entitled “Disclosure of Air Fare 

Variations: Web vs. Other Sources, Surcharges that May be Listed Separately in Advertisements,” dated 

November 4, 2004; “Disclosure of Additional Fees, Charges and Restrictions on Air Fares in 

Advertisements, Including ‘Free’ Airfares,” dated September 4, 2003; and “Prohibition on Deceptive 

Practices in the Marketing of Airfares to the Public Using the Internet,” dated January 18, 2001, available 

at: http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/rules/guidance.htm.
office in Lima, Peru. Upon discovery of the non-conforming advertisements, Nuevo 

Mundo states that the advertisements were pulled from publication and print 

advertisements that comply with the Department’s requirements were substituted. Nuevo 

Mundo further states that safeguards have been implemented to prevent future violations 

of the Department’s requirements.

Decision

The Enforcement Office has carefully considered the information provided by Nuevo 

Mundo and continues to believe that enforcement action is warranted. The Department 

views compliance with the Federal aviation statutes and regulations very seriously. The 

Enforcement Office and Nuevo Mundo have reached a settlement of this matter in order 

to avoid litigation. Without admitting or denying the violations described above, Nuevo 

Mundo consents to the issuance of this order to cease and desist from future violations of 

49 U.S.C. § 41712 and 14 CFR 399.80(f) and 399.84, and to the assessment of $30,000 in 

compromise of potential civil penalties otherwise due and payable pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 

§ 46301.

This compromise assessment is appropriate considering the nature and extent of the 

violations described herein and serves the public interest. It represents a strong deterrent

against future noncompliance with the Department’s advertising requirements. 

This order is issued under the authority contained in 49 CFR 1.57a and 14 CFR 385.15. 

ACCORDINGLY,

1. Based on the above information, we approve this settlement and the provisions of 

this order as being in the public interest;

2. We find that Nuevo Mundo Travel Agency, Inc., violated 14 CFR 399.80(f) and 

399.84 by advertising fares that failed to state the entire fare to be paid for the 

advertised air transportation, as described above;

3. We find that by engaging in the conduct described in paragraph 2, above, Nuevo 

Mundo Travel Agency, Inc., engaged in unfair and deceptive trade practices and 

unfair methods of competition in violation of 49 U.S.C. § 41712;

4. We order Nuevo Mundo Travel Agency, Inc., and all other entities owned or

controlled by, or under common ownership and control with Nuevo Mundo Travel 

Agency, Inc., their successors, affiliates, and assigns, to cease and desist from 

further similar violations of 49 U.S.C. § 41712 and 14 CFR 399.80(f) and 399.84;

5. We order Nuevo Mundo Travel Agency, Inc., to submit to the Office of Aviation 

Enforcement and Proceedings on the one-year anniversary of the service date of 

this order, copies of all advertising material, including newspaper advertisements 
and print-outs of all versions of its Internet website, that Nuevo Mundo Travel 

Agency, Inc., has caused to be published since the service date of this order;

6. Nuevo Mundo Travel Agency Inc. is assessed $30,000 in compromise of civil 

penalties that might otherwise be assessed for the violations described in ordering 

paragraphs 2 and 3, above. Of this total penalty amount, $15,000 shall be due and 

payable in six equal installments. The first payment of $2,500 is due and payable 

within 30 days of the date of issuance of this consent order. The second payment 

of $2,500 is due and payable within 60 days of the date of issuance of this consent 

order. The four subsequent equal installments of $2,500 are due and payable 

within 6 months, 12 months, 18 months and 24 months of the date of issuance of 

this consent order, respectively. The remaining $15,000 shall become due and 

payable if Nuevo Mundo Travel Agency, Inc., violates this order’s cease and 

desist provisions during the 24 months following the service date of this order, in 

which case Nuevo Mundo Travel Agency, Inc., also may be subject to further

enforcement action; and 

7. Payments shall be made by wire transfer through the Federal Reserve 

Communications System, commonly known as "Fed Wire," to the account of the 

U.S. Treasury. The wire transfers shall be executed in accordance with the 

instructions contained in the Attachment to this order. Failure to pay the 

compromise penalty assessment as ordered will subject Nuevo Mundo Travel 

Agency, Inc., to an assessment of interest, penalty, and collection charges under 

the Debt Collection Act, and to possible enforcement action for failure to comply 

with this order.

This order will become a final order of the Department 10 days after its service date 

unless a timely petition for review is filed or the Department takes review on its own 

motion.

BY:

ROSALIND A. KNAPP

Deputy General Counsel

(SEAL) 

An electronic version of this document is available at

www.regulations.gov