I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 908
To improve consumers’ access to airline industry information, to promote
competition in the aviation industry, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 2, 1999
Mr. DEFAZIO (for himself, Mr. LIPINSKI, and Ms. SLAUGHTER) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure
A BILL
To improve consumers’ access to airline industry information,
to promote competition in the aviation industry, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Aviation Consumer
Right To Know Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. AIRLINE PASSENGER PROTECTION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 417 of
title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the
end the following:
‘‘§ 41716. Air carrier passenger protection
‘‘(a) CODE SHARING.—No air carrier, foreign air car-
rier, or ticket agent may sell air transportation in the
United States for a flight that bears a designator code
of a carrier other than the carrier that will provide the
air transportation unless the air carrier, foreign air car-
rier, or ticket agent selling the air transportation first in-
forms the person purchasing the air transportation that
the carrier providing the air transportation will be a car-
rier other than the carrier whose designator code is used
to identify the flight and informs the person of the cor-
porate name of the other carrier.
‘‘(b) FREQUENT FLYER AWARDS.—Upon request of
any person (including a governmental entity), an air car-
rier shall disclose the number or percentage of seats that
the carrier intends to make available on a specific date
for use by a person redeeming an award under a frequent
flyer program of the carrier on any route in air transpor-
tation provided by the carrier.
‘‘(c) ACCESS TO AIRFARE INFORMATION.—Upon re-
quest of any person (including a governmental entity), an
air carrier shall—
‘‘(1) provide the person full access to all fares
for air transportation provided by the air carrier, re-
gardless of the technology the person uses to access
the fares; and
‘‘(2) permit the person to purchase air trans-
portation provided by the air carrier at any pub-
lished fare.
‘‘(d) AIR CARRIER PRICING POLICIES.—An air car-
rier may not—
‘‘(1) prohibit a person (including a govern-
mental entity) that purchases air transportation
from only using a portion of the air transportation
purchased (including using the air transportation
purchased only for 1-way travel instead of round-trip
travel); and
‘‘(2) assess an additional fee on or charge to—
‘‘(A) such a person; or
‘‘(B) any ticket agent that sold the air
transportation to such person.
‘‘(e) DELAY, CANCELLATION, OR DIVERSION.—
‘‘(1) EXPLANATION REQUIRED.—An announce-
ment by an air carrier of (A) a delay or cancellation
of a flight, (B) a diversion of a flight to an airport
other than the airport at which the flight is sched-
uled to land, or (C) a delay in deplaning following
the touchdown of an aircraft at an airport shall in-
clude an explanation of the reason or reasons for the
delay, cancellation, or diversion and, in the case of
a delay, the expected length of the delay.