26848 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 97 / Friday, May 19, 1995 / Proposed Rules

1Associated data include arbitraries, footnotes,

routing numbers and fare class explanations. See 14

CFR 221.4 and 221.283.

Engine model SB No. Rev. Date

LTS101–650B1 ................................................................................................................. LTS101–73–10–0127 2 August 14, 1992.

LTS101–750B1 ................................................................................................................. LTS101–73–10–0127 2 August 14, 1992.

LTS101–650C and –750C Series .................................................................................... LTS101–73–10–0129 3 August 14, 1992.

(c) Installation of the improved PT rotor

with retention capability and the improved

electronic PT rotor overspeed controller in

accordance with paragraphs (a) and (b) of this

AD constitutes terminating action to the

inspection requirements of AD 88–14–01.

(d) An alternative method of compliance or

adjustment of the compliance time that

provides an acceptable level of safety may be

used if approved by the Manager, Engine

Certification Office. The request should be

forwarded through an appropriate FAA

Maintenance Inspector, who may add

comments and then send it to the Manager,

Engine Certification Office.

Note: Information concerning the existence

of approved alternative methods of

compliance with this airworthiness directive,

if any, may be obtained from the Engine

Certification Office.

(e) Special flight permits may be issued in

accordance with sections 21.197 and 21.199

of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR

21.197 and 21.199) to operate the aircraft to

a location where the requirements of this AD

can be accomplished.

Issued in Burlington, Massachusetts, on

May 15, 1995.

James C. Jones,

Acting Manager, Engine and Propeller

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service.

[FR Doc. 95–12330 Filed 5–18–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P

Office of the Secretary

14 CFR Part 221

[Docket No. 50355; Notice No. 95–5]

RIN 2105–AC23

Electronic Filing of International Airline

Passenger Rules Tariffs

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY: The Department of

Transportation proposes to amend its

regulations governing the filing of

airline tariffs. Under the proposed rule,

carriers would be authorized to

electronically file the rules governing

passenger fares and their conditions of

service, subject to certain format

requirements necessary to enable the

Department to work with differing filing

systems. The Department’s regulations

have permitted the electronic filing of

passenger fares since 1989. The

Department is proposing this action at

the request of tariff publishing agents in

order to extend the efficiencies of

electronic data transmission and

processing to the filing of rules tariffs.

Filers could, however, continue to file

fare rules on paper if they preferred.

DATES: Comments should be received no

later than June 19, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Five (5) copies of any

comments should be sent to the

Documentary Services Division, C–55,

U.S. Department of Transportation, 400

7th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590–

0002, and should refer to this docket. To

receive acknowledgment of comments,

include a stamped, self-addressed

postcard which the Docket Clerk will

return stamped with time and date.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

John H. Kiser, Pricing and Multilateral

Affairs Division, Department of

Transportation, at the address above.

Telephone: (202) 366–2435.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On January 19, 1989, the Department

published a final rule that allows

international passenger fares tariffs

(fares and associated data) to be filed

electronically, as an alternative to the

filing of paper tariffs.1 54 FR 2087,

January 19, 1989. The rule, contained in

subpart W of part 221, established a

number of criteria that have to be met

for carriers or their agents to make such

filings, including a signed agreement or

agreements providing for the

maintenance and security of the on-line

tariff database. Approval by the

Department of an application containing

various hardware and software service

commitments, as well as the filer’s

proposed format, is also required.

The 1989 rule was issued in response

to an emergency petition for rulemaking

by the Airline Tariff Publishing

Company (ATPCO), requesting an

expedited amendment to part 221 to

permit the electronic filing of

international passenger fares on an

experimental basis. The Notice of

Proposed Rulemaking was issued on

July 8, 1988, at 53 FR 25615. Although

ATPCO and other commenters then

urged that the rule be broadened to

include all international tariffs, the

Department determined to address the

filing of passenger fare rules and cargo

tariffs in subsequent proceedings, citing

the need for expedition as well as the

need for a period of operational

experience to determine whether the

filing criteria and procedures set forth in

Subpart W adequately meet regulatory

needs.

ATPCO, a publishing agent owned by

and representing a number of U.S. and

foreign airlines, was initially the only

entity that applied for authority to make

electronic fare filings under the rule. It

began test filings in July 1989, and in

December 1989 it received final

approval from the Department to

commence official electronic filings. On

November 28, 1990, ATPCO filed a

petition for rulemaking in Docket 47288,

requesting the amendment of part 221 to

permit the alternative electronic filing of

all international tariffs. The petition

included suggested regulatory changes

to accommodate the filing of passenger

and cargo rules, and cargo rates.

In February 1992, the Department

permitted ATPCO to begin filing

electronic passenger rules on an

unofficial test basis. The official rules,

however, continue to be filed on paper.

By a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

issued October 15, 1992, in Docket

48385, 57 FR 47303, the Department

proposed extensive revisions to part 221

to permit the electronic filing of all

international tariffs. Following a

comment period and a public meeting,

the proposal was withdrawn for further

study of various technical issues, and

the proceeding was terminated. 58 FR

12350, March 4, 1993.

Requests for Further Action

Since the termination of the 1992

rulemaking, ATPCO has informally

urged the Department to take whatever

actions may be necessary to develop the

capability for the acceptance and

processing of all tariffs electronically.

In addition, another entity has

demonstrated interest in filing

international tariffs electronically with

the Department. The Societe ́

Internationale de Telecommunications

Ae ́ronautiques (SITA), a tariff

publishing service which developed an

electronic tariff filing system for use in

Europe and elsewhere, has

demonstrated its ProFile system to the

Department’s staff and is making

modifications to accommodate U.S.

requirements and procedures. On June
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 97 / Friday, May 19, 1995 / Proposed Rules 26849

2A ‘‘specific fare rule’’ is one that applies

exclusively to a particular fare type, for which

specific fare levels are filed in each city-pair market

where the fare applies.

3Under this proposal, we would consider each

provision of an electronic tariff rule to be a ‘‘record’’

for purposes of assessing filing fees under 14 CFR

389.20(b) and 389.25(b).

4 Where a particular provision is intentionally

left blank in a rule, no such provision applies to the

fare covered by the rule. For example, where the

‘‘group requirements’’ section is left blank, it means

there are no group requirements.

21, 1994, SITA submitted an application

under § 221.260 for the necessary

Department approvals to permit it to

begin electronic filing of international

passenger tariffs, encompassing fares

and rules to the extent authorized by the

Department. The application included a

signed agreement for the maintenance

and security of the on-line tariff

database, as well as certain other

information and undertakings required

by section 221. SITA is working with

the staff to resolve any remaining areas

of nonconformity. We expect SITA to

begin filing passenger fares and rules on

an unofficial test basis in the near

future, and we will then act on its

application to file official tariffs based

on experience with the test filings.

Proposal

The Department proposes to amend

§ 221.251 of subpart W of its tariff filing

regulations, 14 CFR part 221, to

authorize the electronic filing by all

airlines and tariff publishing agents of

any or all rules relating to the provision

of passenger services. Like the filing of

passenger fares already authorized, this

alternative to the traditional paper

format and procedures set forth in part

221 is permissive in nature, and would

be governed by the provisions of subpart

W. If amended as proposed, subpart W

would authorize the electronic filing of

all tariff material relating to passenger

services that airlines are required to file

with the Department, although the

existing requirements for final approval

of a particular tariff filing system and its

associated formats, set forth in subpart

W, must be complied with before the

Department will accept authorized

electronic filings as official tariffs.

The Department is also proposing to

amend § 221.283 of subpart W to add

certain minimum tariff format

requirements to provide a basic

framework for the processing of tariff

rules, which differ from fare filings in

many technical respects. The existing

format requirements set forth in

§ 221.283(b)(8), developed largely for

the processing of fares and associated

data, would not be changed but would

be described as specifically applicable

to the filing of fares. The new format

requirements for the filing of passenger

fare rules would be set forth in a new

§ 221.283(b)(9). Consequential

amendments would be made to

provisions regarding maintenance of

historical data (paragraph (c) of

§ 221.283, and § 221.260(b)(7) ).

Basis for the Proposal

Since the adoption of the present

provisions of subpart W in 1989, and

the beginning of test processing of

unofficial electronic passenger fare rules

in 1992, both ATPCO and SITA have

developed and/or refined their software

to provide comprehensive formats for

the electronic filing of specific

passenger fare rules as well as fares.2

While neither system has been formally

approved for official filing of electronic

rules tariffs, we believe that sufficient

progress has been made for us to remove

the legal impediment in § 221.251(a) to

considering such approvals. Similarly,

there may be other entities interested in

testing competing filing systems, for

whom the authority to offer a fuller

range of filing services could be a

marketing benefit.

The industry currently files about

42,000 official tariff rule pages per year,

in nearly 9,000 submissions. Nearly all

of these rule changes are filed for effect

on less than bilateral/statutory notice

with an accompanying Special Tariff

Permission Application (STPA). The

carriers are thus filing each rule

provision on paper twice, once with the

STPA and once as the formal tariff

submission.

Under the proposed amendments, a

single electronic filing could replace

two paper filings for most rules,

significantly reducing the industry’s

submission, printing, and dissemination

costs. Similarly, the Department’s

review, filing, and archival costs will be

substantially reduced.

The Department’s staff has utilized its

experience with existing paper and

electronic filing systems to identify

those specific tariff rule provisions that

we currently believe are necessary for

providing sufficient information and for

the effective processing and use of

electronic rules formats developed by

any filing agent. The provisions would

not necessarily have to be presented in

the same order as listed in proposed

§ 221.283(b)(9), but each rule would

have to include at least all of the listed

provisions.3 Most individual format

issues have been and will continue to be

resolved through consultations between

the Department and individual filing

agents, as provided in § 221.260(b)(1) of

the current regulations. However, the

Department recognizes the need to

propose further amendments to part 221

to deal comprehensively with general

format and procedural issues, as well as

with the question of the appropriate

filing fees to be charged in the future, as

soon as adequate data and experience

are available. In the interim, we believe

that the limited action being proposed

here is warranted because it will

facilitate increased speed and efficiency

in the tariff filing process with direct

cost savings to the carriers, the traveling

public, and the taxpayer; it will help

provide carriers, for the first time, with

a choice of electronic filing agents and

services; and it will provide valuable

experience that will facilitate the

drafting of a more comprehensive rule.

Three format issues warrant

additional discussion here. First, we

note that our proposed format criteria

do not yet provide for the filing of socalled ‘‘general’’ fare rules and

‘‘unpublished fare’’ rules. General fare

rules typically include provisions

applicable to all passengers, relating to

general conditions of carriage such as

liability, baggage, fare construction, and

refunds. Unpublished fare rules

typically establish discounts for certain

classes of traffic not limited to specific

markets, e.g., children and infants,

agents, tour conductors, emigrants and

cargo attendants. Electronic formats for

filing general and unpublished fare

rules are still under development.

Second, we propose not to accept

‘‘Intentionally Left Blank’’ as a category

entry in an electronic fare rule, nor

would we accept the complete omission

of a rule category to serve as a default

to a general rule.4 These practices,

which have been a source of confusion

in the paper filing environment, would

become increasingly confusing in an

environment where the fare rules are

filed electronically but the general rules

are still filed on paper. Where carriers

wish to default to a general rule for a

particular condition, we propose to

require that electronic rules contain a

specific entry for each category in the

rule. The entry could be either a specific

reference to the relevant general rule or

specific conditions extracted from the

general rule.

And third, in the test electronic rules

we have received thus far, carriers have

been including some extraneous

material that is not properly part of a

tariff and of which we take no

regulatory notice, e.g., provisions

concerning ticket and booking codes

and annotations, wait listing

procedures, and reservation record

requirements. We recognize that carriers

submit such material to their filing

agents along with associated fare and

rule changes for non-regulatory
26850 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 97 / Friday, May 19, 1995 / Proposed Rules

purposes, such as notifying computer

reservations systems of the carriers’

technical procedures. However, this

extraneous material will not be

approved by the Department, and its

inclusion in official electronic rules will

only cause confusion. We, therefore,

propose to preclude such material in

official electronic tariff filings.

The proposed amendment to

§ 221.251, as drafted, does not

encompass the filing of cargo rates and

rules tariffs. By a Notice of Proposed

Rulemaking issued October 24, 1994, in

Docket 49827, the Department proposed

a blanket exemption for all carriers from

the statutory and regulatory duty to file

international property (cargo) tariffs

with the Department. If the proposed

rule is adopted, carriers will soon cease

filing cargo rate and rules tariffs in any

format. To the extent that a filing

requirement might be retained,

electronic format issues can be

addressed at a later date.

The amendments proposed here

would leave in place the procedural and

technical requirements of subpart W,

which each electronic filer must satisfy

before official electronic rule filings may

be accepted. In addition to those listed

in § 221.260, for example, are provisions

such as those in § 221.500 regarding the

submission of machine-readable copies

of records existing when electronic

filing is implemented, and the

cancellation of records from the paper

tariff. As noted above, § 221.260

includes the requirement that the

Department approve the precise format

used by each electronic filer before

official filings can be made. This is

normally done by letter once a period of

successful test filings has been

accomplished and the Department is

satisfied that the filing system meets

regulatory needs. However, subpart W

also imposes continuing performance

requirements, violations of which could

lead to enforcement action or even

withdrawal of electronic filing

privileges.

Finally, we would note that the

success of electronic rules filing will

depend on scrupulous adherence to the

Department’s regulatory requirements

by both carriers and their filing agents.

The Department’s staff will be closely

monitoring performance in this regard,

and will work with parties to ensure the

utility and integrity of the electronic

tariff system.

The Department is providing less than

the usual 60 days for comment because

the proposal is merely offering an

alternative method of compliance.

Regulatory Analyses and Notices

Executive Order 12866 and DOT

Regulatory Policies and Procedures

The Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) has determined that this

proposal is not a significant regulatory

action under Executive Order 12866

and, therefore, not subject to OMB

review. The Department has determined

that the proposal is not significant

under the Department’s Regulatory

Policies and Procedures (44 FR 11034,

Feb. 26, 1979). The proposal would, if

adopted, reduce the paperwork burden

for all U.S. and foreign air carriers now

filing their passenger rules tariffs on

paper. The Department expects the

economic impact of the proposal,

however, to be modest. The proposal

would not result in any required

additional costs to carriers or the public.

It would simply provide an alternative

method of meeting the statutory tarifffiling requirements. The potential

estimated savings are discussed below.

Executive Order 12612

This proposal has been analyzed in

accordance with the principles and

criteria contained in Executive Order

12612 (‘‘Federalism’’), and the

Department has determined the rule

does not have sufficient federalism

implications to warrant the preparation

of a Federalism Assessment.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

I certify that this rule, if adopted, will

not have a significant economic impact

on a substantial number of small

entities. The tariff filing requirements

apply to scheduled service air carriers.

The vast majority of the air carriers

filing international (‘‘foreign’’)

passenger rules tariffs are large

operators with revenues in excess of

several million dollars each year. Small

air carriers operating aircraft with 60

seats or less and 18,000 pounds payload

or less that offer on-demand air- taxi

service are not required to file such

tariffs.

Paperwork Reduction Act

With respect to the Paperwork

Reduction Act, this proposal would

replace two paper filings for most rules

with a single electronic filing. Thus,

while this proposal will significantly

reduce the paperwork burden on

industry and government, it does not

eliminate information collection

requirements that require the approval

of the Office of Management and Budget

pursuant to the Act.

If the proposed amendments to

existing regulations are implemented,

the Department estimates that filing of

passenger tariff rule pages in paper

format would be reduced by about

ninety percent, with the remaining ten

percent continuing to be filed in paper

form. A total of about 42,000 passenger

tariff rule pages and about 6,400

Passenger Special Tariff Permission

Applications (STPA’s) were filed in

1994. At a filing fee of $2 a rule page

and $12 a passenger STPA, we estimate

the carriers could save as much as

$145,000 annually in filing fees paid to

the Department. In addition, ATPCO

charges the carriers $35.00 for each filed

tariff page and up to $30.00 for each

STPA. On this basis, we estimate that

implementation of the proposal could

save carriers an additional $1,500,000 in

associated fees paid to ATPCO,

producing potential total savings to the

carriers in excess of $1,600,000 per year.

While not estimated, we expect that

costs of governmental review, filing and

archiving of paper tariff rule filings will

be similarly reduced.

The reporting and recordkeeping

requirement associated with this rule

are being submitted to OMB for

approval in accordance with 44 U.S.C.

chapter 35 under OMB NO. 2105–AC23;

Administration: Department of

Transportation; TITLE: Electronic Filing

of Passenger Service Rules Tariffs;

NEED FOR INFORMATION: Authorizes

the electronic filing of rules governing

the provision of passenger services;

PROPOSED USE OF INFORMATION:

Authorization is based on the request of

tariff publishing agents to extend the

efficiencies of electronic data

transmission and processing to the filing

of rules tariffs; FREQUENCY: An initial

passenger tariff rule filing is required of

each respondent; changes are voluntary,

whenever an air carrier elects; BURDEN

ESTIMATE: 5.34 hours for an STPA or

a passenger rule page; RESPONDENTS:

45; FORM(S) 48,400 pages or

applications per annum; AVERAGE

BURDEN HOURS PER RESPONDENT:

5530 hours.

For further information on paperwork

reduction contact: The Information

Requirements Division, M–34, Office of

the Secretary of Transportation, 400

Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC.

20590, (202) 366–4735 or DOT Desk

Officer, Office of Management and

Budget, New Executive Office Building,

Room 3228, Washington, D.C. 20503.

Regulation Identifier Number

A regulation identifier number (RIN)

is assigned to each regulatory action

listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal

Regulations. The Regulatory Information

Service Center publishes the Unified

Agenda in April and October of each

year. The RIN number contained in the
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 97 / Friday, May 19, 1995 / Proposed Rules 26851

heading of this document can be used

to cross reference this action with the

Unified Agenda.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 221

Agents, Air carriers, Foreign air

carriers, Tariffs.

This rule is being issued under

authority delegated in 49 CFR

1.56(j)(2)(ii). For the reasons set forth in

the preamble, 14 CFR Part 221 would be

amended to read as follows:

PARTS 221—TARIFFS

Subpart W—Electronically Filed Tariffs

1. The authority citation for part 221

would continue to read as follows:

Authority: 49 USC 40101, 40109, 40113,

46101, 46102, Chapter 411, Chapter 413,

Chapter 415, and Subchapter I of Chapter

417, unless otherwise noted.

2. Section 221.251 Applicability of

the subpart is amended by revising

Paragraph (a) to read as follows:

§ 221.251 Applicability of subpart.

(a) Any carrier, consistent with the

provisions of this subpart, and this part

221 generally, may file its international

passenger fares tariffs and international

passenger rules tariffs electronically in

machine-readable form as an alternative

to the filing of printed paper tariffs as

provided for elsewhere in this part 221.

This subpart applies to all carriers and

tariff publishing agents and may be used

by either if the carrier or agent complies

with the provisions of this subpart W.

Any carrier or agent that files

electronically under this subpart must

transmit to the Department the

remainder of the tariff in a form

consistent with this part 221, subparts

A–V on the same day that the electronic

tariff would be deemed received under

§ 221.270(b).

* * * * *

3. Paragraph (b)(7) of § 221.260,

Requirements for filing, is revised to

read as follows:

§ 221.260 Requirements for filing.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(7) The filer shall maintain all fares

and rules with the Department and all

Departmental approvals, disapprovals

and other actions, as well as all

Departmental notations concerning such

approvals, disapprovals or other actions,

in the on-line tariff database for a period

of two (2) years after the fare or rule

becomes inactive. After this period of

time, the carrier or agent shall provide

the Department, free of charge, with a

copy of the inactive data on a machinereadable tape or other mutually

acceptable electronic medium.

* * * * *

4. Paragraph (b)(8) of § 221.283, The

filing of tariffs and amendments to

tariffs, is amended by revising the

introductory text, and by adding a new

paragraph (b)(9) to read as follows:

§ 221.283 The filing of tariffs and

amendments to tariffs.

* * * * *

(b)* * *

(8) Fares tariff, or proposed changes to

the fares tariffs, including:

* * * * *

(9) Rules tariff, or proposed changes

to the rules tariffs, including:

(i) Title: General description of fare

rule type(s) and geographic area(s)

under the rule;

(ii) Application: Specific description

of fare class(es), geographic area(s), type

of transportation (one way, round- trip,

etc.);

(iii) Period of Validity: Specific

description of permissible travel dates

and any restrictions on when travel is

not permitted;

(iv) Reservations/ticketing: Specific

description of reservation and ticketing

provisions, including any advance

reservation/ ticketing requirements,

provisions for payment (including

prepaid tickets), and charges for any

changes;

(v) Capacity Control: Specific

description of any limitation on the

number of passengers, available seats, or

tickets;

(vi) Combinations: Specific

description of permitted/restricted fare

combinations;

(vii) Length of Stay: Specific

description of minimum/maximum

number of days before the passenger

may/must begin return travel;

(viii) Stopovers: Specific description

of permissible conditions, restrictions,

or charges on stopovers;

(ix) Routing: Specific description of

routing provisions, including transfer

provisions, whether on-line or interline;

(x) Discounts: Specific description of

any limitations, special conditions, and

discounts on status fares, e.g. children

or infants, senior citizens, tour

conductors, or travel agents, and any

other discounts;

(xi) Cancellation and Refunds:

Specific description of any special

conditions, charges, or credits due for

cancellation or changes to reservations,

or for request for refund of purchased

tickets;

(xii) Group Requirements: Specific

description of group size, travel

conditions, group eligibility, and

documentation;

(xiii) Tour Requirements: Specific

description of tour requirements,

including minimum price, and any stay

or accommodation provisions;

(xiv) Sales Restrictions: Specific

description of any restrictions on the

sale of tickets;

(xv) Rerouting: Specific description of

rerouting provisions, whether on-line or

inter-line, including any applicable

charges; and

(xvi) Miscellaneous provisions: Any

other applicable conditions.

5. Paragraph (c) of § 221.283 is

amended by redesignating existing

paragraphs (c) (8) through (15) as

paragraphs (c) (9) through (16),

respectively, and by adding a new

paragraph (c) (8) to read as follows:

§ 221.283 The filing of tariffs and

amendments to tariffs.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

(8) Rule text;

* * * * *

Issued in Washington DC, on May 15,

1995.

Patrick V. Murphy

Acting Assistant Secretary for Aviation and

International Affairs.

[FR Doc. 95–12372 Filed 5–18–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–62–P

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

COMMISSION

19 CFR Part 201

Rules of General Application

AGENCY: U.S. International Trade

Commission.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking

and request for comments.

SUMMARY: The Commission is proposing

to amend Part 201 of the Commission’s

Rules of Practice and Procedure (the

‘‘Commission’s Rules’’) to clarify those

sections of the Commission’s Rules

dealing with the Freedom of

Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act

Officers’ initial denial authority. This

proposed amendment will also reflect

the Inspector General’s authority, under

both the Inspector General Act of 1978,

as amended, (the ‘‘IG Act’’) and under

Section 552a(b) of the Privacy Act to

disclose Privacy Act information to

contractor personnel who function as

federal employees.

DATES: Comments on the proposed rules

will be considered if received on or

before June 19, 1995.

ADDRESSES: A signed original and 14

copies of each set of comments, along