I

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1734

To amend title 49, United States Code, to establish consumer protections

for airline passengers, to promote air carrier competition, and for other

purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 3, 2001

Mr. SWEENEY (for himself, Mr. DINGELL, Mr. CROWLEY, Ms. LEE, Mr.

DEFAZIO, Mr. MCHUGH, Mr. FRANK, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr.

MOORE, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mrs. KELLY, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. LAFALCE,

Mr. ENGLISH, Mr. BALDACCI, Mr. TERRY, Mr. NEY, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Mr. NADLER, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. KANJORSKI, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr.

LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. FILNER, and Mrs. MINK of Hawaii) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

A BILL

To amend title 49, United States Code, to establish consumer

protections for airline passengers, to promote air carrier

competition, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Airline Passenger Bill of Rights Act’’.

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—
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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Amendments to title 49, United States Code.

TITLE I—AIRLINE PASSENGER PROTECTION

Sec. 101. Fair treatment of airline passengers.

Sec. 102. Clarification regarding enforcement of State laws.

Sec. 103. Airline passenger protection.

TITLE II—AIR CARRIER COMPETITION

Sec. 201. Consideration of unfair practices in issuance of certificates for foreign

air transportation.

Sec. 202. Unfair methods of competition.

Sec. 203. Approval of slot transfers.

Sec. 204. Joint venture agreements between air carriers.

Sec. 205. Competitive access to gates, facilities, and other assets.

Sec. 206. Review of dominant air carrier activities.

Sec. 207. Internet airline reservation systems.

Sec. 208. Federal policies on slots at high density airports.

Sec. 209. Definitions of delayed flight and chronically delayed flight.

1 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 49, UNITED STATES CODE.

2 Except as otherwise specifically provided, whenever in

3 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms

4 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi5 sion of law, the reference shall be considered to be made

6 to a section or other provision of title 49, United States

7 Code.

8 TITLE I—AIRLINE PASSENGER

9 PROTECTION

10 SEC. 101. FAIR TREATMENT OF AIRLINE PASSENGERS.

11 Section 41712 is amended by adding at the end the

12 following:

13 ‘‘(c) SPECIFIC PRACTICES.—For purposes of sub14 section (a), the terms ‘unfair or deceptive practice’ and
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1 ‘unfair method of competition’ include each of the fol2 lowing:

3 ‘‘(1) ACCESS TO FARES; CONSISTENTLY DE4 LAYED FLIGHTS.—Regardless of the method used by

5 a consumer to contact an air carrier or foreign air

6 carrier, the failure of the carrier—

7 ‘‘(A) to provide full access to all fares for

8 air transportation provided by the air carrier or

9 foreign air carrier; or

10 ‘‘(B) to disclose, without being requested,

11 the on-time performance and cancellation rate

12 for a chronically delayed or chronically canceled

13 flight whenever a customer makes a reservation

14 or purchases a ticket on such a flight.

15 ‘‘(2) PRICING POLICIES.—Any action of an air

16 carrier or foreign air carrier—

17 ‘‘(A) to prohibit a person (including a gov18 ernmental entity) that purchases air transpor19 tation from only using a portion of the air

20 transportation purchased (including using the

21 air transportation purchased only for 1-way

22 travel instead of round-trip travel); or

23 ‘‘(B) to assess an additional fee on or

24 charge to—

25 ‘‘(i) such a person; or
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1 ‘‘(ii) any ticket agent that sold the air

2 transportation to such person.

3 ‘‘(3) TERMINATION OF TICKET AGENTS.—In

4 the case of a termination, cancellation, nonrenewal,

5 or substantial change in the competitive cir6 cumstances of the appointment of a ticket agent by

7 an air carrier or foreign air carrier, the failure of

8 the air carrier or foreign air carrier—

9 ‘‘(A) to provide the ticket agent with writ10 ten notice, and a full statement of reasons for

11 the action, on or before the 90th day preceding

12 the action; and

13 ‘‘(B) to provide the ticket agent with at

14 least 60 days to correct any deficiency claimed

15 in the written notice,

16 except in cases of insolvency, an assignment for the

17 benefit of creditors, bankruptcy, or nonpayment of

18 sums due under the appointment.

19 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the fol20 lowing definitions apply:

21 ‘‘(A) CHRONICALLY DELAYED FLIGHT.—

22 The term ‘chronically delayed flight’ means a

23 regularly scheduled flight that has failed to ar24 rive on time (as defined in section 234.2 of title

25 14, Code of Federal Regulations) at least 40
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1 percent of the time during the most recent 3-

2 month period for which data is available.

3 ‘‘(B) CHRONICALLY CANCELED FLIGHT.—

4 The term ‘chronically canceled flight’ means a

5 regularly scheduled flight at least 30 percent of

6 the departures of which have been canceled dur7 ing the most recent 3-month period for which

8 data is available.’’.

9 SEC. 102. CLARIFICATION REGARDING ENFORCEMENT OF

10 STATE LAWS.

11 Section 41713(b)(1) is amended by striking ‘‘related

12 to a price, route, or service of an air carrier that may pro13 vide air transportation under this subpart’’ and inserting

14 ‘‘that directly prescribes a price, route, or level of service

15 for air transportation provided by an air carrier under this

16 subpart’’.

17 SEC. 103. AIRLINE PASSENGER PROTECTION.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 417 is

19 amended by adding at the end the following:

20 ‘‘§ 41722. Air carrier passenger protection

21 ‘‘(a) EMERGENCY PLANS.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An air carrier shall ensure

23 access to necessary services and conditions, including

24 food, water, restroom facilities, and the ability to

25 deplane in the event of a weather or other emer-
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1 gency, for all passengers boarded on a flight seg2 ment of the air carrier in air transportation.

3 ‘‘(2) SUBMITTAL OF PLANS.—The Secretary of

4 Transportation shall require, not later than the

5 180th day following the date of enactment of this

6 section, each air carrier to submit to the Secretary

7 an emergency plan containing a description of ac8 tions that will be taken by the carrier to comply with

9 paragraph (1).

10 ‘‘(3) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 90 days after

11 the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary

12 shall issue guidance on what the Secretary deter13 mines is necessary to meet the requirements of para14 graph (2).

15 ‘‘(b) RIGHT TO EXIT AIRCRAFT.—No air carrier op16 erating an aircraft in air transportation shall prevent or

17 hinder (including by failing to assist) any passenger from

18 exiting the aircraft (under the same circumstances as any

19 member of the flight crew is permitted to exit the aircraft)

20 if—

21 ‘‘(1) the aircraft is parked at an airport ter22 minal gate with access to ramp or other facilities

23 through which passengers are customarily boarded

24 and deplaned;
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1 ‘‘(2) the aircraft has remained at the gate more

2 than 1 hour past its scheduled departure time; and

3 ‘‘(3) the captain of the aircraft has not been in4 formed by air traffic control authorities that the air5 craft can be cleared for departure within 30 min6 utes.

7 ‘‘(c) DELAY, CANCELLATION, OR DIVERSION.—

8 ‘‘(1) EXPLANATION REQUIRED.—An announce9 ment by an air carrier of (A) a delay or cancellation

10 of a flight segment, or (B) a diversion of a flight

11 segment to an airport other than the airport at

12 which the flight segment is scheduled to land, shall

13 include an explanation of the reason or reasons for

14 the delay, cancellation, or diversion.

15 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION ON FALSE EXPLANATIONS.—

16 No air carrier shall provide an explanation under

17 paragraph (1) that the air carrier knows or has rea18 son to know is false.

19 ‘‘(3) TIMELINESS OF INFORMATION.—

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An air carrier shall

21 provide a passenger with timely notice of a

22 delay or cancellation of the flight segment.

23 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION MONITORS AT AIR24 PORTS.—In complying with subparagraph (A),

25 an air carrier shall ensure that information
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1 monitors at the airport concerned display timely

2 and accurate arrival and departure information.

3 ‘‘(C) ADVANCE NOTICE OF DELAYS AND

4 CANCELLATIONS.—In complying with subpara5 graph (A), an air carrier, whenever practicable,

6 shall attempt to provide a passenger with notice

7 of a delay or cancellation of a flight segment

8 before the passenger departs for the airport.

9 ‘‘(4) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 1 year after

10 the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary

11 shall issue guidance to assist air carriers in carrying

12 out this subsection.

13 ‘‘(d) OVERBOOKING.—

14 ‘‘(1) COMPENSATION.—In addition to com15 pensation required on the date of enactment of this

16 subsection under part 250 of title 14, Code of Fed17 eral Regulations, an air carrier shall provide, at a

18 minimum, to a passenger who is denied boarding in19 voluntarily from an oversold flight segment in air

20 transportation on which the passenger has confirmed

21 reserved space—

22 ‘‘(A) alternate transportation to the pas23 senger’s final destination;

24 ‘‘(B) reasonable and immediate compensa25 tion for food; and
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1 ‘‘(C) if the scheduled departure time of the

2 alternate transportation is not within the same

3 day as the passenger’s originally scheduled de4 parture time, reasonable and immediate com5 pensation for hotel costs.

6 ‘‘(2) CHECK IN TIME.—A passenger shall be eli7 gible for involuntary denied boarding compensation

8 under this section and applicable regulations of the

9 Department of Transportation with respect to a

10 flight segment of an air carrier if the passenger

11 checks in for the flight segment at the appropriate

12 airport gate at any time before the door of the air13 craft for the flight segment is closed at the airport

14 gate.

15 ‘‘(3) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days

16 after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec17 retary shall modify regulations contained in part 250

18 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, to conform

19 with the requirements of this subsection and to im20 plement the recommendations contained in the De21 partment of Transportation Inspector General’s

22 Final Report entitled ‘Airlines Commitment to Cus23 tomer Service’.’’.
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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for

2 subchapter I of chapter 417 is amended by adding at the

3 end the following:

‘‘41722. Air carrier passenger protection.’’.

4 (c) PASSENGER RIGHTS PUBLICATION.—Not later

5 than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act,

6 the Secretary shall, by rule—

7 (1) issue a statement that outlines consumer

8 rights of air passengers, including each of the rights

9 specified in section 41722 of title 49, United States

10 Code, as added by this section; and

11 (2) requires an air carrier to provide the state12 ment to each passenger of the carrier, by con13 spicuous written material included—

14 (A) on a safety placard given to the pas15 senger on board an aircraft;

16 (B) on information available to the pas17 senger at each ticket counter of the air carrier;

18 and

19 (C) on or with the passenger’s ticket if

20 practicable.
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1 TITLE II—AIR CARRIER

2 COMPETITION

3 SEC. 201. CONSIDERATION OF UNFAIR PRACTICES IN

4 ISSUANCE OF CERTIFICATES FOR FOREIGN

5 AIR TRANSPORTATION.

6 Section 41102(d) is amended—

7 (1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and inserting

8 the following:

9 ‘‘(1) SUBMISSION OF DECISIONS TO PRESI10 DENT.—The Secretary’’;

11 (2) by adding at the end the following:

12 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATION OF UNFAIR PRACTICES.—

13 Before issuing a certificate under subsection (a) au14 thorizing an air carrier to provide foreign air trans15 portation, the Secretary shall consider whether the

16 air carrier has engaged in any unfair or deceptive

17 practice or unfair method of competition in air

18 transportation or the sale of air transportation in

19 the preceding 5-year period.’’; and

20 (3) by aligning paragraph (1) (as designated by

21 paragraph (1) of this section) with paragraph (2)

22 (as added by paragraph (2) of this section).

23 SEC. 202. UNFAIR METHODS OF COMPETITION.

24 (a) CODE SHARE AGREEMENTS.—Section 41712 is

25 amended by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(d) CODE SHARE AGREEMENTS.—

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be an unfair meth3 od of competition under subsection (a) for a major

4 air carrier—

5 ‘‘(A) to prohibit, limit, or otherwise restrict

6 a code share partner of the major air carrier

7 from entering into a code share agreement with

8 another air carrier or foreign air carrier;

9 ‘‘(B) to fail to utilize gates, facilities, and

10 other assets fully at that airport; and

11 ‘‘(C) to refuse, deny, or fail to provide a

12 gate, facility, or other asset at such an airport

13 that is underutilized by it, or that will not be

14 fully utilized by it within 1 year, to another car15 rier on fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory

16 terms upon request of the airport, the other air

17 carrier, or the Secretary.

18 ‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the fol19 lowing definitions apply:

20 ‘‘(A) CODE SHARE AGREEMENT.—The

21 term ‘code share agreement’ means an agree22 ment under which an air carrier’s designator

23 code is used to identify a flight operated by an24 other air carrier or foreign air carrier.
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1 ‘‘(B) CODE SHARE PARTNER.—The term

2 ‘code share partner’, with respect to a major air

3 carrier, means an air carrier or foreign air car4 rier that has entered into a code share agree5 ment with the major air carrier.

6 ‘‘(C) MAJOR AIR CARRIER.—The term

7 ‘major air carrier’ has the meaning given such

8 term in section 41720(a).

9 ‘‘(D) ASSET.—The term ‘asset’ includes

10 slots (as defined in section 41714(h)(4)) and

11 slot exemptions (within the meaning of section

12 41714(a)(2)).’’.

13 (b) PENALTIES.—Section 46301(a) is amended by

14 adding at the end the following:

15 ‘‘(8) MAXIMUM PENALTY FOR ENGAGING IN UN16 FAIR METHODS OF COMPETITION.—Notwithstanding

17 paragraph (1), the maximum civil penalty that may

18 be assessed against an air carrier for violating sec19 tion 41712 by engaging, with respect to air trans20 portation on any route, in an unfair method of com21 petition against another air carrier shall be

22 $10,000.’’.

23 SEC. 203. APPROVAL OF SLOT TRANSFERS.

24 Section 41714 is amended by adding at the end the

25 following:
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1 ‘‘(l) SLOT TRANSFERS.—

2 ‘‘(1) APPROVAL REQUIRED.—After the date of

3 enactment of this subsection, an air carrier may

4 transfer a slot to another air carrier only if the

5 transfer is approved by the Secretary.

6 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining wheth7 er to approve the transfer of a slot under paragraph

8 (1), the Secretary shall consider—

9 ‘‘(A) the competitive effects of the trans10 fer;

11 ‘‘(B) whether the price to be paid for the

12 slot is above or below the market price for simi13 lar slots; and

14 ‘‘(C) whether any air carrier was denied an

15 opportunity to purchase the slot and, if so, the

16 reasons for the denial.

17 ‘‘(3) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year

18 after the date of enactment of this subsection, and

19 annually thereafter, the Secretary shall transmit to

20 Congress a report on the approval and disapproval

21 of slot transfers under this subsection.’’.

22 SEC. 204. JOINT VENTURE AGREEMENTS BETWEEN AIR

23 CARRIERS.

24 Section 41720 is amended by adding at the end the

25 following:
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1 ‘‘(i) STUDIES OF JOINT VENTURE AGREEMENTS.—

2 ‘‘(1) STUDY OF COMPETITION.—

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall

4 conduct a study of joint venture agreements be5 tween air carriers to determine whether such

6 agreements constitute an unfair method of com7 petition within the meaning of section 41712.

8 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—In conducting the

9 study, the Secretary shall assess—

10 ‘‘(i) whether code share agreements

11 unreasonably impair competition between

12 code share partners;

13 ‘‘(ii) whether joint venture agreements

14 between air carriers result in unfair com15 petitive advantages; and

16 ‘‘(iii) such other factors as the Sec17 retary determines appropriate.

18 ‘‘(2) STUDY OF SCHEDULING PRACTICES.—The

19 Secretary shall conduct a study of air carrier sched20 uling practices for the purpose of making rec21 ommendations to Congress on improving air carrier

22 scheduling in order to reduce flight delays.

23 ‘‘(3) REPORTS.—

24 ‘‘(A) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 9

25 months after the date of enactment of this sub-
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1 section, the Secretary shall transmit to Con2 gress a report on the results of each study con3 ducted under this subsection.

4 ‘‘(B) UPDATES.—The Secretary shall up5 date the study conducted under paragraph (1)

6 every 4 years and transmit an updated report

7 to Congress.’’.

8 SEC. 205. COMPETITIVE ACCESS TO GATES, FACILITIES,

9 AND OTHER ASSETS.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 417 is

11 further amended by adding at the end the following:

12 ‘‘§41723. Competitive access to gates, facilities, and

13 other assets

14 ‘‘(a) DOT REVIEW OF GATES, FACILITIES, AND

15 OTHER ASSETS.—Within 90 days after the date of the

16 enactment of this section, the Secretary of Transportation

17 shall investigate the assignment and usage of gates, facili18 ties, and other assets by major air carriers at the largest

19 35 airports in the United States in terms of air passenger

20 traffic. The investigation shall include an assessment of—

21 ‘‘(1) whether, and to what extent, gates, facili22 ties, and other assets are being fully utilized by

23 major air carriers at those airports;
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1 ‘‘(2) whether gates, facilities, and other assets

2 are available for competitive access to enhance com3 petition; and

4 ‘‘(3) whether the reassignment of gates, facili5 ties, and other assets to, or other means of increas6 ing access to gates, facilities, and other assets for,

7 air carriers (other than dominant air carriers) would

8 improve competition among air carriers at any such

9 airport or provide other benefits to the flying public

10 without compromising safety or creating scheduling,

11 efficiency, or other problems at airports providing

12 service to or from those airports.

13 ‘‘(b) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY TO MAKE GATES,

14 FACILITIES, AND OTHER ASSETS AVAILABLE.—The Sec15 retary shall require a major air carrier, upon application

16 by another air carrier or on the Secretary’s own motion

17 to make gates, facilities, and other assets available to

18 other air carriers on terms that are fair, reasonable, and

19 nondiscriminatory to ensure competitive access to those

20 airports if the Secretary determines, on the basis of the

21 investigation conducted under subsection (a), that such

22 gates, facilities, and other assets are not available and that

23 competition would be enhanced thereby at those airports.

24 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following

25 definitions apply:
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1 ‘‘(1) DOMINANT AIR CARRIER.—The term ‘dom2 inant air carrier’ means an air carrier that accounts

3 for more than 50 percent of the enplaned passengers

4 at an airport.

5 ‘‘(2) MAJOR AIR CARRIER.—The term ‘major

6 air carrier’ means an air carrier certificated under

7 section 41102 that accounted for at least 1 percent

8 of domestic scheduled-passenger revenues in the 12

9 months ending March 31 of each year, as reported

10 to the Department of Transportation pursuant to

11 part 241 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations,

12 and identified as a reporting carrier periodically in

13 accounting and reporting directives issued by the Of14 fice of Airline Information.

15 ‘‘(3) ASSET.—The term ‘asset’ includes slots

16 (as defined in section 41714(h)(4)) and slot exemp17 tions (within the meaning of section 41714(a)(2)).’’.

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for

19 subchapter I of chapter 417 is further amended by adding

20 at the end the following:

‘‘41723. Competitive access to gates, facilities, and other assets.’’.

21 SEC. 206. REVIEW OF DOMINANT AIR CARRIER ACTIVITIES.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 417 is

23 further amended by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘§ 41724. Review of dominant air carriers activities

2 ‘‘(a) INVESTIGATIONS.—Not later than 90 days after

3 the date of enactment of this section, and biennially there4 after, the Secretary of Transportation shall conduct an in5 vestigation of each hub airport to determine whether, in

6 the preceding 5 years, a dominant air carrier at the air7 port, if any, has—

8 ‘‘(1) charged higher than average fares for

9 interstate air transportation to or from the airport;

10 ‘‘(2) engaged in an unfair method of competi11 tion in response to a new entrant air carrier at the

12 airport; or

13 ‘‘(3) limited competition by a new entrant air

14 carrier at the airport by restricting the access of the

15 new entrant to gates, slots, or other essential facili16 ties at the airport on reasonable and competitive

17 terms.

18 ‘‘(b) ACTION.—If the Secretary determines that a

19 dominant air carrier at a hub airport has engaged in an

20 act described in subsection (a), the Secretary, after pro21 viding notice and an opportunity for a hearing, shall take

22 such action as may be necessary to increase opportunities

23 for competition at the airport and to report to Congress

24 on the action taken.

25 ‘‘(c) NON-HUB AIRPORTS.—On the initiative of the

26 Secretary or in response to a complaint filed with the Sec-
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1 retary, the Secretary may conduct an inquiry described in

2 subsection (a) at an airport other than a hub airport and

3 may order the dominant air carrier at the airport, if any,

4 to take such action as may be necessary to increase oppor5 tunities for competition at the airport and to report to

6 Congress on the action taken.

7 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following

8 definitions apply:

9 ‘‘(1) AIR TRANSPORTATION.—The term ‘air

10 transportation’ includes intrastate air transpor11 tation.

12 ‘‘(2) DOMINANT AIR CARRIER.—The term ‘dom13 inant air carrier’, as used with respect to an airport,

14 means an air carrier that accounts for more than 40

15 percent of the total annual boardings at the airport

16 in the preceding 2-year period or a shorter period

17 specified in paragraph (4).

18 ‘‘(3) HUB AIRPORT.—The term ‘hub airport’

19 means an airport that each year has at least .25

20 percent of the total annual boardings in the United

21 States.

22 ‘‘(4) NEW ENTRANT AIR CARRIER.—The term

23 ‘new entrant air carrier’, as used with respect to a

24 airport, means an air carrier that accounts for less

25 than 10 percent of the total annual boardings at the
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1 airport in the preceding 2-year period or in a shorter

2 period specified by the Secretary if the carrier has

3 operated at the airport less than 2 years.’’.

4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for

5 subchapter I of chapter 417 is further amended by adding

6 at the end the following:

‘‘41724. Review of dominant air carriers activities.’’.

7 SEC. 207. INTERNET AIRLINE RESERVATION SYSTEMS.

8 (a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General shall conduct

9 a study on how air carrier competition would be affected

10 by the establishment of an airline reservation system on

11 the Internet by a group of major air carriers.

12 (b) CONTENTS.—The study shall include an analysis

13 of how an airline reservation system described in sub14 section (a) would affect the method by which consumers

15 purchase tickets for air transportation, including the ef16 fects of such a system on ticket agents.

17 (c) REPORTS.—Not later than 9 months after the

18 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General

19 shall transmit to Congress a report on the results of the

20 study.

21 SEC. 208. FEDERAL POLICIES ON SLOTS AT HIGH DENSITY

22 AIRPORTS.

23 (a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General shall conduct

24 a study on current and evolving Federal policies on slots

25 at high density airports.
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1 (b) CONTENTS.—In conducting the study, the Comp2 troller General shall assess—

3 (1) the significance of Department of Transpor4 tation policies and practices on the control and allo5 cation of slots at high density airports, including the

6 impact of permitting air carriers to control slots on

7 air carrier competition, system capacity, and indus8 try restructuring; and

9 (2) the potential for replacing airline ticket

10 taxes with scarcity-reflective pricing of slots (includ11 ing appropriate policies to preserve competition and

12 service to small- and medium-sized communities).

13 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the

14 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General

15 shall transmit to Congress a report on the results of the

16 study.

17 SEC. 209. DEFINITIONS OF DELAYED FLIGHT AND CHRON18 ICALLY DELAYED FLIGHT.

19 Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment

20 of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall issue

21 final regulations defining for purposes of all Department

22 of Transportation regulations, reports, and other docu23 ments, what constitutes a delay of a flight of an air carrier
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1 and what constitutes chronically delayed flights of air car2 riers.

Æ