[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 98 (Thursday, May 21, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28021-28022]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-13698]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary
[Docket No. OST-98-3713]


Enforcement Policy Regarding Unfair Exclusionary Conduct in the 
Air Transportation Industry

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, DOT.

ACTION: Notice extending comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Department (or DOT) has issued a proposed Statement of the 
Department of Transportation's Enforcement Policy Regarding Unfair 
Exclusionary Conduct in the Air Transportation Industry. On April 10, 
1998, the Department published the proposed statement and requested 
public comment. By this notice, the Department is now extending the due 
date for comments to July 24, 1998 from June 9, 1998 and the due date 
for reply comments to September 8, 1998 from July 9, 1998.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before July 24, 1998. Reply 
comments must be submitted on or before September 8, 1998.

ADDRESSES: To facilitate the consideration of comments, each commenter 
should file eight copies of each set of comments. Comments must be 
filed in Room PL-401, Docket OST-98-3713, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. Late-
filed comments will be considered to the extent possible.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jim Craun, Director (202-366-1032) or 
Randy Bennett, Deputy Director (202-366-1053), Office of Aviation and 
International Economics, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Aviation 
and International Affairs, or Betsy Wolf (202-366-9349), Senior Trial 
Attorney, Office of the Assistant General Counsel for Aviation 
Enforcement and Proceedings, U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 
Seventh St. SW., Washington, DC 20590.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DOT published a proposed Statement of the 
Department of Transportation's Enforcement Policy Regarding Unfair 
Exclusionary Conduct in the Air Transportation Industry and requested 
comments on the proposed statement

[[Page 28022]]

(63 FR 17919, April 10, 1998). The proposed policy statement was 
developed by the Department of Transportation in consultation with the 
Department of Justice and sets forth tentative findings and guidelines 
for use by DOT in evaluating whether major air carriers' competitive 
responses to new entry warrant enforcement action under 49 U.S.C. 
41712. The due dates for comments and reply comments were June 9, 1998 
and July 9, 1998, respectively.
    On May 8, 1998, the Air Transport Association of America (ATA), an 
association of 22 U.S. airlines and five foreign carriers, filed an 
emergency petition requesting that the Department extend the time for 
filing comments by 120 days. The ATA stated that it was filing the 
petition on an emergency basis because fewer than 30 days remained in 
the comment period. It claimed that the 60-day time period originally 
set does not give the parties adequate time to prepare well-reasoned 
responses to the complicated economic, legal, and policy issues raised 
in the statement and that in order to participate in a full discussion 
of these issues, the ATA and its member airlines must consult with 
economic and legal experts. Since those experts must review studies, 
reports, and other data that address these issues, the ATA argued that 
the current 60-day comment period is inadequate.
    The ATA also asserted that the Department has failed to identify 
the research and source material for its proposed statement on a timely 
basis and therefore an extension of the comment period is necessary. 
Citing Department rules in 49 CFR Sec. 5.25(a), the ATA likewise stated 
the Secretary is to grant a petition for extension of time where the 
petitioner shows that additional time is in the public interest, so 
long as the petitioner has good cause for the extension and a 
substantive interest in the proposed action. The ATA claimed that the 
extension is clearly in the public interest and is consistent with 
previous similar Department rulemakings involving complex economic 
issues. Furthermore, as an association representing the entities that 
the statement would affect, the ATA pointed out that it has an obvious 
substantive interest.
    We have determined that it would be reasonable and in the public 
interest to give commenters more time for preparing their responses to 
the proposed statement. While the issues are complex and the statement 
involves a major policy initiative, we do not agree, however, with the 
ATA that an extension of 120 days is necessary. The addition of 60 days 
to the 90 days already established for comments and reply comments 
provides commenters with a total of 150 days to prepare and provide 
remarks--an amount of time that we find is sufficient to balance the 
needs for an adequate comment period while not unnecessarily delaying 
the Department's initiative for promoting competition and protecting 
consumers. We will therefore give commenters an additional 60 days to 
prepare their comments and reply comments.
    Specifically, the due date for comments will be extended to July 
24, 1998 from June 9, 1998 and the due date for reply comments will be 
extended to September 8, 1998 from July 9, 1998. (Since the actual 
addition of 60 days results in a due date for reply comments of 
September 7, 1998--a Federal holiday, the due date for reply comments 
was extended to September 8, 1998.)

    Issued in Washington, DC, on May 18, 1998, under authority 
delegated by 49 CFR 1.56(a).
Charles A. Hunnicutt,
Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs.
[FR Doc. 98-13698 Filed 5-19-98; 10:07 am]
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