Order 2013-7-27 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

On the Thirty-First day of July, 2013

Bloomspot, Inc. Docket OST 2013-0004

Served July 31, 2013

Violations of 49 U.S.C. § 41712 and 

14 CFR 399.84 

CONSENT ORDER

This consent order concerns Internet advertisements and e-mail solicitations by

Bloomspot, Inc. (Bloomspot) that violate the advertising requirements specified in 14 

CFR 399.84(a), as well as 49 U.S.C. § 41712, which prohibits unfair and deceptive 

practices. It directs Bloomspot to cease and desist from future violations of section 

399.84 and section 41712, and assesses the ticket agent a compromise civil penalty of 

$20,000. 

Applicable Law

As a ticket agent,1 Bloomspot is subject to 49 U.S.C. § 41712 and 14 CFR 399.84(a). 

Section 399.84(a) requires that advertisements specifying airfares and tour package prices 

with an air component state the entire price to be paid in order to ensure that consumers 

are not deceived and are given accurate and complete fare information on which to base 

 1 A “ticket agent” is defined as “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). Bloomspot is 

a ticket agent because it receives compensation for selling and arranging for the sale of air transportation.
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their airline travel purchase decisions.2 A double occupancy requirement for a tour 

package that includes air is in effect an element of the fare and must be disclosed.3 In 

the view of the Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings, disclosure should be 

prominent and proximate to the advertised price to avoid a violation of 399.84(a); 

otherwise it would appear that the advertised price was available to individual consumers 

traveling alone when in fact it is not. Failure to adequately disclose the total price for 

tour packages including air violates 14 CFR 399.84(a). A violation of section 399.84(a) 

also constitutes an unfair and deceptive practice and unfair method of competition in 

violation of 49 U.S.C. § 41712.

Facts and Conclusions

For a period of time in late 2012, on its website and by email, Bloomspot promoted airinclusive tour packages that failed to meet the requirements of 14 CFR 399.84(a). For 

example, Bloomspot sent an e-mail to its subscribers promoting a Highlights of Egypt 

tour with a stated price of “$2,877 for 7-day Highlights of Egypt tour ($4,795 value).” 

Clicking on the “Read more” and “SEE OFFER” links in the e-mail directed consumers 

to a “Primary Offer” landing page that stated: “$2,877* for 7-day Highlights of Egypt 

tour ($4,795 value)”. On the same webpage under the heading “The Details” an 

additional disclosure noted that the “Rate is per person but based on double-occupancy:

$450 single-occupancy fee for solo travelers will be collected upon booking.”

The Highlights of Egypt tour promoted in an e-mail to subscribers also appeared on a 

webpage on the Bloomspot website. Like the e-mail advertisement, there was no 

disclosure of the double occupancy requirement on the Bloomspot webpage promoting 

the Highlights of Egypt tour. Consumers who viewed the promotion on the Bloomspot 

webpage had to click an arrow to be directed to the “Primary Offer” landing page that 

disclosed the double occupancy requirement and single-occupancy fee. The failure to 

adequately disclose the double occupancy requirement (1) in email solicitations and (2) 

on the first webpage advertising the air-inclusive tour package violates section 399.84(a) 

and constitutes an unfair and deceptive practice in violation of 49 U.S.C. § 41712.

 Mitigation

In response to the DOT’s allegations Bloomspot stated that it had only recently entered 

the prepaid merchant offer business and then only very rarely (about 1 percent of the 

time) sent any solicitations to its subscribers for air/ground accommodations. Bloomspot 

 2 Although charges included within the single total price listed, e.g., government taxes, may be stated 

separately on a webpage displaying the total price or through a link or “pop up,” such charges may not be 

false or misleading, may not be 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.

3

 Destination Southern Africa, Inc., and Destination Southern Africa, Inc. d/b/a South African Airways 

Vacations, Violations of 49 U.S.C. § 41712 and 14 CFR 399.84, Order 2011-10-11 (Oct. 24, 2011); Lion 

World Travel Ltd.d/b/a South African Airways Vacations, Violations of 49 U.S.C. § 41712 and 14 CFR 

399.84, Order 2010-9-5 (Sept. 3, 2010).
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noted that all significant tour package restrictions, including double occupancy, were 

disclosed on the landing page that was linked from the “Read more” and “SEE OFFER” 

hyperlinks on the face of the e-mail and linked from the arrow found on the webpage 

advertisement. Bloomspot observed that a subscriber could not book the offered package 

without first landing on the “Primary Offer” page (via a hyperlink) on which all 

significant restrictions were disclosed. Nonetheless, without admitting any violations 

Bloomspot has agreed to settle this matter based on its view that settlement is in the best 

interests of both parties.

Decision

The Department views compliance with the Federal aviation statutes and regulations very 

seriously. The Enforcement Office has carefully considered the information provided by 

Bloomspot and continues to believe that enforcement action is warranted. The 

Enforcement Office and Bloomspot have reached a settlement of this matter in order to 

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

consents to the issuance of this order to cease and desist from future violations of 49 

U.S.C. § 41712 and 14 CFR 399.84, and to the assessment of $20,000 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 in 49 CFR Part 1.

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 Bloomspot, Inc. violated 14 CFR 399.84(a) by advertising tours 

including air transportation that failed to properly disclose significant restrictions that 

affected the price paid by consumers;

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

Bloomspot, Inc. engaged in unfair and deceptive practices and unfair methods of 

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

4. We order Bloomspot, Inc. to cease and desist from further such violations of 14 CFR 

399.84(a) and 49 U.S.C. § 41712. Failure to comply with this cease and desist 

provision shall subject Bloomspot, Inc. to further enforcement action;

5. We assess Bloomspot, Inc. $20,000 in compromise of civil penalties that might 

otherwise be assessed for the violations described above; of this amount, $10,000 

shall be payable within thirty days of the issuance of this order and the remainder 
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shall only become due and payable if Bloomspot, Inc. violates this order’s cease and 

desist provision within 12 months following the date of issuance of the order or it 

fails to comply with the Order’s payment provision; and

6. We order Bloomspot, Inc. to pay the penalty through Pay.gov to the account of the 

U.S. Treasury. Payments shall be made in accordance with the instructions contained 

in the Attachment to this order. Failure to pay the penalty as ordered shall subject 

Bloomspot, Inc. to the assessment of interest, penalty, and collection charges under 

the Debt Collection Act and to further enforcement action for failing 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:

SAMUEL PODBERESKY

Assistant General Counsel for

Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings

An electronic version of this document is available at 

www.regulations.gov