THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20590

,

Mr. Roger Cohen

President

Regional Airline Association

2025 M Street, NW., Suite 800

Washington, DC 20036

Dear Mr. Cohen:

June 19, 2013

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In May 20 I2, I established an Advisory Committee on Aviation Consumer Protection to advise

me on airline customer service improvements. The Committee, which includes one

representative each of airlines, airports, consumers, and State governments, submitted

recommendations to me on a wide range of aviation consumer issues. I have enclosed a copy of

my report to Congress that includes those recommendations and our plans to implement them.

I am seeking your assistance in implementing the recommendations related to travelers with

disabilities; discrimination by air carriers on the basis of race, religion, national origin or gender;

and greater clarity of contract terms in carrier contracts of carriage and customer service plans. I

am committed to improving access to our air transportation system, and ensuring that all

passengers receive the respect they deserve before, after and during their flight.

With respect to travelers with disabilities, the Committee recommended that I encourage airlines

and airports to take any voluntary steps that they believe will result in a better travel experience

for travelers with disabilities, including working with the Transportation Security Administration

(TSA) to ensure that there are no security requirements preventing the timely return of

passengers' wheelchairs so passengers may use their own specially made wheelchairs during

lengthy layovers.

Accordingly, I ask you to remind your member carriers of their obligation under the Air Carrier

Access Act and thc Department's implementing regulation to provide nondiscriminatory scrvice

and access to air transportation to individuals with disabilities. I also ask that you urge your

mcmber carriers to work with airports and TSA to ensure that passengers who are dependent on

their specially made wheelchairs that are being carried in the cargo compartment can use them

during lengthy airport layovers. The Department's disability regulation requires airlines to

provide for the checking and timely return of passengers' wheelchairs so that passengers may use

their own equipment to the extent possible, except where this practice would be inconsistent with

Federal regulations governing transportation security. In addition, if there are any voluntary

steps that your member carriers can take thaI they believe will remove additional barriers

encountered by passengers with disabilities when they travel, I ask that you strongly encourage

them to do so.
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The Committee also recommended that I remind airlines of their obligation to avoid

discrimination on the basis of race, religion, national origin, or gender and encourage carriers to

stress this obligation in their initial and recuo'ing personnel training. Therefore, I ask you to

remind your member carriers of the various Federal statutes that prohibit unlawful discrimination

against air travelers because of their race, color, religion, ethnicity, national origin, or sex

(49 U.S.C. SS 40127 and 41310).

It would be helpful if you also emphasize to your member carriers the benefits of providing

initial and recurrent civil rights training to carrier employees and contractors, particularly pilots,

flight attendants and other airline customer contact personnel who may have a role in safety or

security determinations affccting the air transportation system. In addition to covering Federal

anti-discrimination statutes and guidance in their training materials, airlines may also wish to

consider including information pertaining to cultural awareness and sensitivity issues.

The Committee also suggested that the Department work with the airlines to survey how the

airlines define certain terms frequently used in airlines' contracts of carriage and customer

service plans. I have asked the Department's Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings

to establish an industry working group to identify, define, and explain the terms commonly used

in contracts of carriage and customer service plans. Samuel Podberesky, the Assistant General

Counsel, will be contacting you shortly to ask for a recommendation on working group members.

Thank you for working with us in our efforts to implement the Committee's recommendations.

I am confident your members' efforts will help improve consumer protection in our air

transportation system.

Enclosure
Report on

Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Aviation Consumer Protection

As Required by

Public Law 112.95, Section 411

Overview

Section 411 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of2012 (Pub. L. 112-95, 126 Stat. II

(2012» mandates the establishment of an advisory committee for the purpose of advising the

Secretary of Transportation on airline customer service improvements. By statute, this

Committee must consist of four members-one representative each of airlines, airports,

non-profit public interest groups, and State and local governments. It is charged with providing

recommendations to the Secretary for improving existing aviation consumer protection

programs and for establishing new ones, if needed. The Act also requires the Secretary to

submit two reports to Congress on the Committee's recommendations-the first report is due no

later than February 1,2013, and the second report is due no later than February 1,2014.

As required by the Act, on May 24, 2012, Secretary Ray LaHood announced the creation of an

Advisory Committee on Aviation Consumer Protection to advise him in carrying out activities

related to airline customer service improvements. He selected as members of the Committee

four individuals who have demonstrated experience in dealing with consumer protection

matters. They are: (I) Lisa Madigan, Attorney General of Illinois, who was also chosen to be

the Committee chairperson; (2) David Berg, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and

Corporate Secretary for Airlines for America; (3) Deborah Ale-Flint, Oakland International

Airport's Director of Aviation; and (4) Charles Leocha, founder and Director of the Consumer

Travel Alliance. The Secretary tasked the Committee members with providing him their first

set of recommendations no later than October IS, 2012, and their second set of

recommendations no later than October IS, 2013.

On October 22,2012, the Committee submitted its first set of recommendations to the Secretary

on a wide range of aviation consumer issues including service to passengers with disabilities,

discrimination based on race and religion, consumer complaints, ancillary fees, and disclosures

by online travel agencies and other agents as to which carriers' services they sell. Prior to

arriving at these recommendations, the Committee held three public meetings and heard from

members of the public and organizations representing airlines, travel agents, airport operators,

state and local governments, and consumer and other public interest groups. Records relating to

the advisory committee, including a transcript and minutes of its meetings and its full

recommendation report are contained in the Department's docket. See Docket No. DOT-OST2012-0087.
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This is the Department's first report to Congress on the recommendations of the Advisory

Committee on Aviation Consumer Protection. This report summarizes the recommendations of

the Committee, describes the Department's efforts and plans to implement these

recommendations, and provides the reasons for not implementing certain recommendations

immediately and in their entirety.

Recommendations of the Committee

The principal recommendations made by the Committee related to (I) travelers with disabilities;

(2) discrimination by air carriers on the basis of race, religion, national origin, or gender; (3) the

handling of air travel complaints by the Department; (4) additional dissemination by the

Department of information on consumer rights; (5) greater clarity in contract terms in carrier

contracts of carriage and customer service plans; (6) transparency in airline pricing;

(7) disclosures by travel agents; and (8) additional reporting of on-time performance by air

carriers. Each recommendation and the steps the Department is taking in response, is addressed

below.

1. Travelerswitl,Disabilities

Recommendation: DOT should: (I) encourage airlines and airports to take any voluntary steps

that they believe will result in a better travel experience for travelers with disabilities; (2)

encourage airline and airport personnel to work with the Transportation Security Administration

(TSA) to develop a plan to assist travelers who are unable to sit during lengthy layovers without

their specially made wheelchairs; (3) work with airlines and airports to make their kiosks and

Web sites accessible to travelers with disabilities; and (4) require airports and airlines to ensure

appropriate access to service animal relief areas in airports where practicable.

Response: We concur with the recommendation to encourage airlines and airports to make the

travel experience better for travelers with disabilities and the recommendation to encourage them

to work with TSA to ensure timely return of passengers' wheelchairs to enable passengers to use

their own wheelchairs during lengthy layovers. To implement these recommendations, within

30 days of the date of this report, the Secretary will send a letter to U.S. and foreign air carrier

associations asking the associations to remind their member carriers of their obligations under the

Department's rule concerning air travelers with disabilities to provide individuals with .

disabilities nondiscriminatory service and access to air transportation. The Secretary will also

reference the existing requirement for carriers to provide for the checking and timely return of

passengers' wheelchairs so that passengers may use their own equipment to the extent possible

except where this practice would be inconsistent with Federal regulations governing

transportation security, and he wilLurge airlines to work with airports and TSA to ensure that

passengers who are dependent on their specially-made wheelchairs can use them during lengthy

airport layovers.

We also concur with the recommendation to work with airlines and airports to make their kiosks

and Web sites accessible and ensure appropriate access to service animal relief areas, and as the.

Committee noted, rulemakings on these issues are already underway (RIN 21 05-AD96, and RIN

2I05-AD91). The Department published a supplemental notice of proposed rulernaking (NPRM)
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that proposed to require airport and airline automated kiosks and airline Web sites to be

accessible to passengers with disabilities such as passengers who are blind or have low vision.

The Department also published an NPRM that solicited public comments on whether the

Department should require airports to locate a minimum of one service animal relief area per

terminal inside the "sterile area" between the TSA security checkpoint and the gate area. The

Department is working to finalize these rules as soon as possible.

2. Discrimination Based on Race, Religion, National Origin or Gender

Recommendation: DOT should remind the airlines of their obligation to avoid discrimination on

the basis of race, religion, national origin, or gender and should encourage carriers to stress this

obligation in their initial and recurring personnel training. "

Proposed Response: We concur. The letter that will be sent to carrier associations as described

in the Travelers with Disabilities response above will also ask that they remind carriers of the

various Federal statutes that prohibit unlawful discrimination against air travelers because of

their race, color, religion, ethnicity, national origin, or sex (49 U.S.C. ~~ 40127 and 41310) and

stress the benefits of training personnel to ensure that all persons are provided equal protection of

the laws and no person is subjected to unlawful discrimination when traveling.

3. Consumer Air Travel Complaints

Recommendation: DOT should improve its informal air travel consumer complaint resolution

process by providing more information to consumers about their complaint. In order to help

consumers better understand the status and resolution of their complaint, the Committee

recommends the following specific steps.

I. DOT should provide contact information for the analyst handling the complaint and

indicate that the analyst is the person the consumer can contact with questions about

the status of the complaint.

2. DOT should outline the complaint process to consumers and address other material

facts (e.g., whether complaint involves a regulated area, whether investigation will be

conducted, whether complaint has been forwarded to airline).

Response: We generally concur in these recommendations. No later than 30 days after the date

of this report, the Department will begin to revise its complaint handling process. It will amend

its standard letters acknowledging receipt of airline service complaints, which are usually sent to

consumers the same day a complaint is entered into its tracking system, so they explain that an

analyst will be assigned to work on the case shortly and provide the office's consumer contact

telephone number to reach the analyst. Assurances will also be provided in the letters that

telephone calls will be returned by the analyst within one business day. The acknowledgement

letters will also be revised to better outline the complaint process tor consumers. The

acknowledgement letters will not include the specific contact information for the analyst

handling the complaint as doing this would result in a delay in sending such letters to

complainants and would not be beneficial to consumers. The changes that we are making to the
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acknowledgement letters provide the new information recommended by the Committee and

would still enable consumers to easily and quickly reach the analyst handling their complaint.

4. Enhanced Information about Air Travei Consumer Rights

Recommendation: DOT should place its guidance on consumer rights and related FAQs on its

website in a prominent place so that consumers can better understand their rights and

responsibilities as air travelers.

Response: We concur in this recommendation. There will be greater prominence given to

guidance on consumer rights on the Department's Web site and the Web site of its Office of

Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings, which is the office that monitors compliance with and

investigates violations of the Department's aviation economic, consumer protection, and civil

rights requirements. We expect to complete these tasks within 30 days after the date of this

report.

5. Understanding Terms Used in Contracts of Carriage and Customer Service Plans

Recommendation: DOT should work with the airlines to survey how the airlines define certain

terms frequently used in their contracts of carriage and customer service plans. The Department

should place this information on its Web site to assist consumers with understanding the terms

and conditions of their travel.

Response: We concur in this recommendation. In the Secretary's letter to U.S. and foreign

carrier associations referenced above, we will ask the associations to work with the Office of

Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings to identify and then define/explain terms commonly used

in contracts of carriage and customer service plans. A statement of these definitions will then be

made available to members of the public via the DOT Web site, and we will encourage carriers

to post this information on their sites as well. Although the date of completion of the work on

this recommendation is dependent on airline association cooperation, we believe the task can be

completed within 6 months after the date of this report.

6. Transparency in Pricing

Recommendation: DOT should ensure transparency in air carrier pricing. The Committee

adopts Recommendation 11 of the Final Report of the Future of Aviation Advisory Committee,

which urged greater transparency in the disclosure of ancillary fees.

Response: We have initiated a rulemaking package (Enhancing Airline Passenger Protections

III, RIN 21OS-AEll) which may include a provision seeking comment on whether the

Department should require that ancillary fees be displayed through all sale channels. The current

status of this rulemaking can be found at www.reginfo.gov. We note that implementation of this

recommendation is subject to rulemaking procedures that preclude us from prejudging the

outcome of the rulemaking process.
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7. TicketAgent Disclosures

Recommendation: DOT should require all ticket agents, including online ticket agents, to

disclose the fact that they do not offer for sale all airlines' tickets, if that is the case, and that

additional airlines may serve the route being searched. All ticket agents, including online ticket

agents, should make this disclosure clearly and conspicuously, so that consumers know they may

need to search elsewhere if they want to find out all available travel options.

Response: We have initiated a rulemaking package (Enhancing Airline Passenger Protections

III, RIN 2105-AE I I) which may incl ude a provision seeking comment on whether the

Department should require all ticket agents, including online ticket agents, to disclose the fact

that they do not offer for sale all airlines' tickets. The current status of this rulemaking can be

found at www.reginfo.gov. We note that implementation of this recommendation" is subject to

rulemaking procedures that preclude us from prejudging the outcome of the rulemaking process.

8. On-Time Performance Reportingfor All Airlines

Recommendation: DOT should mandate that data be reported to the agency's Bureau of

Transportation Statistics for all flights and airlines, as opposed to only those that account for

I percent of domestic scheduled passenger revenue.

Response: We have initiated a rulemaking package (Enhancing Airline Passenger Protections

III, RIN 2105-AEll) which may include a provision seeking comment on whether the

Department expand the on time performance "reporting carrier" pool to include smaller carriers.

The current status of this rulemaking can be found at www.reginfo.gov. We note that

implementation of this recommendation is subject to rulemaking procedures that preclude us

from prejudging the outcome of the rulemaking process.