Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 15 / Tuesday, January 23, 2018 / Notices 3257 

received into any of our dockets by the 

name of the individual submitting the 

comment (or signing the comment, if 

submitted on behalf of an association, 

business, labor union, etc.). You may 

review DOT’s complete Privacy Act 

Statement in the Federal Register 

published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 

19477–78) or you may visit http://

DocketInfo.dot.gov. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received, go to http://

www.regulations.gov. or the street 

address listed above. Follow the online 

instructions for accessing the dockets. 

Electronic Access 

You may access comments received 

for this notice at http://

www.regulations.gov, by searching 

docket DOT–OST–2014–0031. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

OMB Approval No. 2138–0013. 

Title: Report of Financial and 

Operating Statistics for Large 

Certificated Air Carriers. 

Form No.: BTS Form 41. 

Type of Review: Extension of a 

currently approved collection. 

Respondents: Large certificated air 

carriers. 

Number of Respondents: 60. 

Estimated Time per Response: 4 hours 

per schedule, an average carrier may 

submit 90 schedules in one year. 

Total Annual Burden: 13,910 hours. 

Needs and Uses: Program uses for 

Form 41 data are as follows: 

Mail Rates 

The Department of Transportation 

sets and updates the international and 

mainline Alaska mail rates based on 

carrier aircraft operating expense, traffic 

and operational data. Form 41 cost data, 

especially fuel costs, terminal expenses, 

and line haul expenses are used in 

arriving at rate levels. DOT revises the 

established rates based on the 

percentage of unit cost changes in the 

carriers’ operations. These updating 

procedures have resulted in the carriers 

receiving rates of compensation that 

more closely parallel their costs of 

providing mail service and contribute to 

the carriers’ economic well-being. 

Submission of U.S. Carrier Data to 

ICAO 

As a party to the Convention on 

International Civil Aviation, the United 

States is obligated to provide the 

International Civil Aviation 

Organization with financial and 

statistical data on operations of U.S. air 

carriers. Over 99 percent of the data 

filed with ICAO is extracted from the 

carriers’ Form 41 reports. 

Carrier Fitness 

Fitness determinations are made for 

both new entrants and established U.S. 

domestic carriers proposing a 

substantial change in operations. A 

portion of these applications consists of 

an operating plan for the first year (14 

CFR part 204) and an associated 

projection of revenues and expenses. 

The carrier’s operating costs, included 

in these projections, are compared 

against the cost data in Form 41 for a 

carrier or carriers with the same aircraft 

type and similar operating 

characteristics. Such a review validates 

the reasonableness of the carrier’s 

operating plan. 

Form 41 reports, particularly balance 

sheet reports and cash flow statements 

play a major role in the identification of 

vulnerable carriers. Data comparisons 

are made between current and past 

periods in order to assess the current 

financial position of the carrier. 

Financial trend lines are extended into 

the future to analyze the continued 

viability of the carrier. DOT reviews 

three areas of a carrier’s operation: (1) 

The qualifications of its management 

team, (2) its disposition to comply with 

laws and regulations, and (3) its 

financial posture. DOT must determine 

whether or not a carrier has sufficient 

financial resources to conduct its 

operations without imposing undue risk 

on the traveling public. Moreover, once 

a carrier is operating, DOT is required 

to monitor its continuing fitness. 

Senior DOT officials must be kept 

fully informed as to all current and 

developing economic issues affecting 

the airline industry. In preparing 

financial conditions reports or status 

reports on a particular airline, financial 

and traffic data are analyzed. Briefing 

papers may use the same information. 

The Confidential Information 

Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act 

of 2002 (44 U.S.C. 3501 note), requires 

a statistical agency to clearly identify 

information it collects for non-statistical 

purposes. BTS hereby notifies the 

respondents and the public that BTS 

uses the information it collects under 

this OMB approval for non-statistical 

purposes including, but not limited to, 

publication of both Respondent’s 

identity and its data, submission of the 

information to agencies outside BTS for 

review, analysis and possible use in 

regulatory and other administrative 

matters. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on January 18, 

2018. 

William Chadwick, Jr., 

Director, Office of Airline Information, 

Bureau of Transportation Statistics . 

[FR Doc. 2018–01184 Filed 1–22–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–9X–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Bureau of Transportation Statistics 

[Docket ID Number DOT–OST–2014–0031] 

Agency Information Collection; 

Activity Under OMB Review; Report of 

Financial and Operating Statistics for 

Small Aircraft Operators 

AGENCY: Bureau of Transportation 

Statistics (BTS), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 

Public Law 104–13, the Bureau of 

Transportation Statistics invites the 

general public, industry and other 

governmental parties to comment on the 

continuing need for and usefulness of 

BTS collecting financial, traffic and 

operating statistics from small 

certificated and commuter air carriers. 

Small certificated air carriers (operate 

aircraft with 60 seats or less or with 

18,000 pounds of payload capacity or 

less) currently must file the two 

quarterly schedules listed below: 

F–1 Report of Financial Data, 

F–2 Report of Aircraft Operating 

Expenses and Related Statistics, and 

Commuter air carriers must file the 

Schedule F–1 Report of Financial Data, 

Commenters should address whether 

BTS accurately estimated the reporting 

burden and if there are other ways to 

enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 

of the information collected. 

DATES: Written comments should be 

submitted by March 26, 2018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Marianne Seguin, Office of Airline 

Information, RTS–42, Room E32–105, 

OST–R, BTS, 1200 New Jersey Avenue 

SE, Washington, DC 20590–0001, 

Telephone Number (202) 366–1457, Fax 

Number (202) 366–3383 or EMAIL 

marianne.seguin@dot.gov. 

Comments: Comments should identify 

the associated OMB approval # 2138– 

0009 and Docket ID Number DOT–OST– 

2014–0031. Persons wishing the 

Department to acknowledge receipt of 

their comments must submit with those 

comments a self-addressed stamped 

postcard on which the following 

statement is made: Comments on OMB 

#2138–0009, Docket—DOT–OST–2014– 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
3258 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 15 / Tuesday, January 23, 2018 / Notices 

0031. The postcard will be date/time 

stamped and returned. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by DOT Docket ID Number 

DOT–OST–2014–0031 by any of the 

following methods: 

Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

online instructions for submitting 

comments. 

Mail: Docket Services: U.S. 

Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590–0001. 

Hand Delivery or Courier: West 

Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, between 9 

a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. 

Fax: 202–366–3383. 

Instructions: Identify docket number, 

DOT–OST–2014–0031, at the beginning 

of your comments, and send two copies. 

To receive confirmation that DOT 

received your comments, include a selfaddressed stamped postcard. Internet 

users may access all comments received 

by DOT at http://www.regulations.gov. 

All comments are posted electronically 

without charge or edits, including any 

personal information provided. 

Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search 

the electronic form of all comments 

received into any of our dockets by the 

name of the individual submitting the 

comment (or signing the comment, if 

submitted on behalf of an association, 

business, labor union, etc.). You may 

review DOT’s complete Privacy Act 

Statement in the Federal Register 

published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 

19477–78) or you may visit http://

DocketInfo.dot.gov. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received, go to http://

www.regulations.gov. or the street 

address listed above. Follow the online 

instructions for accessing the dockets. 

Electronic Access: You may access 

comments received for this notice at 

http://www.regulations.gov, by 

searching docket DOT–OST–2014–0031. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

OMB Approval No. 2138–0009. 

Title: Report of Financial and 

Operating Statistics for Small Aircraft 

Operators. 

Form No.: BTS Form 298–C. 

Type of Review: Extension of a 

currently approved collection for the 

financial data. 

Respondents: Small certificated (29) 

and commuter air carriers (35). 

Schedule F1 

Number of Respondents: 64. 

Number of Annual responses: 256. 

Total Burden per Response: 4 hours. 

Total Annual Burden: 1,024 hours. 

Schedule F2 

Number of Respondents: 29. 

Number of Annual responses: 116. 

Total Burden per Response: 12 hours. 

Total Annual Burden: 1,392 hours. 

Needs and Uses: Program uses for 

Form 298–C financial data are as 

follows: 

Mail Rates 

The Department of Transportation 

sets and updates the Intra-Alaska Bush 

mail rates based on carrier aircraft 

operating expense, traffic, and 

operational data. Form 298–C cost data, 

especially fuel costs, terminal expenses, 

and line haul expenses are used in 

arriving at rate levels. DOT revises the 

established rates based on the 

percentage of unit cost changes in the 

carriers’ operations. These updating 

procedures have resulted in the carriers 

receiving rates of compensation that 

more closely parallel their costs of 

providing mail service and contribute to 

the carriers’ economic well-being. 

Essential Air Service 

DOT often has to select a carrier to 

provide a community’s essential air 

service. The selection criteria include 

historic presence in the community, 

reliability of service, financial stability 

and cost structure of the air carrier. 

Carrier Fitness 

Fitness determinations are made for 

both new entrants and established U.S. 

domestic carriers proposing a 

substantial change in operations. A 

portion of these applications consists of 

an operating plan for the first year (14 

CFR part 204) and an associated 

projection of revenues and expenses. 

The carrier’s operating costs, included 

in these projections, are compared 

against the cost data in Form 298–C for 

a carrier or carriers with the same 

aircraft type and similar operating 

characteristics. Such a review validates 

the reasonableness of the carrier’s 

operating plan. 

The quarterly financial submissions 

by commuter and small certificated air 

carriers are used in determining each 

carrier’s continuing fitness to operate. 

Section 41738 of Title 49 of the United 

States Code requires DOT to find all 

commuter and small certificated air 

carriers fit, willing, and able to conduct 

passenger service as a prerequisite to 

providing such service to an eligible 

essential air service point. In making a 

fitness determination, DOT reviews 

three areas of a carrier’s operation: (1) 

The qualifications of its management 

team, (2) its disposition to comply with 

laws and regulations, and (3) its 

financial posture. DOT must determine 

whether or not a carrier has sufficient 

financial resources to conduct its 

operations without imposing undue risk 

on the traveling public. Moreover, once 

a carrier begins conducting flight 

operations, DOT is required to monitor 

its continuing fitness. 

Senior DOT officials must be kept 

fully informed and advised of all 

current and developing economic issues 

affecting the airline industry. In 

preparing financial condition reports or 

status reports on a particular airline, 

financial and traffic data are analyzed. 

Briefing papers prepared for senior DOT 

officials may use the same information. 

The Confidential Information 

Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act 

of 2002 (44 U.S.C. 3501 note), requires 

a statistical agency to clearly identify 

information it collects for non-statistical 

purposes. BTS hereby notifies the 

respondents and the public that BTS 

uses the information it collects under 

this OMB approval for non-statistical 

purposes including, but not limited to, 

publication of both Respondent’s 

identity and its data, submission of the 

information to agencies outside BTS for 

review, analysis and possible use in 

regulatory and other administrative 

matters. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on January 16, 

2018. 

William Chadwick, Jr., 

Director, Office of Airline Information, 

Bureau of Transportation Statistics. 

[FR Doc. 2018–01183 Filed 1–22–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–9X–P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

[OMB Control No. 2900–0772] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activity: VA Cooperative Studies 

Program 

AGENCY: Veterans Health 

Administration, Department of Veterans 

Affairs. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 

1995, this notice announces that the 

Veterans Health Administration, 

Department of Veterans Affairs, will 

submit the collection of information 

abstracted below to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

review and comment. The PRA 

submission describes the nature of the 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES