Passenger Origin-Destination Survey Reports

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

14 CFR Part 241

[Docket No. OST-95-744]

RIN 2139-AA04

Passenger Origin-Destination Survey Reports

AGENCY: Office of Secretary, DOT.

ACTION: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Department of Transportation (DOT or the Department)

requires that large certificated U.S. air carriers participating in

code-share arrangements report both the ticketing and operating air

carriers in their quarterly Passenger Origin-Destination Survey

reports. DOT needs the information to assess accurately the effects of

code-sharing alliances in air transportation. Also, the Department

expands by one position the field entitled ``Total Dollar Value of

Ticket'' to accommodate current charges; and standardizes the format

for floppy disk submissions by using the same 200 character record

layout that is used for magnetic tape submissions. The latter changes

are technical in nature and should reduce processing errors. This

action is taken to respond to Congressional concerns on the impact of

international code-share operations.

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bernard Stankus, Office of Airline

Information, K-25, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 400 Seventh

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590, (202) 366-4387.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On June 24, 1996, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS)

issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (``NPRM'') (61 FR 32375) seeking

public comments on a proposal to revise the Passenger Origin-

Destination Survey

[[Page 43277]]

Report (Survey). BTS proposed that carriers identify the ticketed and

operating carriers for each flight segment, expand the field entitled

``Total Dollar Value of Ticket'' by one position to accommodate current

charges, and use the same 200 character record layout for floppy disk

submissions that is used for magnetic tape submissions.

Comments to the docket were received from American Airlines, Inc.

(American), Continental Airlines, Inc. (Continental); Delta Air Lines,

Inc. (Delta); Northwest Airlines, Inc. (Northwest); Prestige Airways

(Prestige); United Air Lines, Inc. (United); USAir; and the Airports

Council International--North America (ACI-NA).

American and Northwest do not object to adding one position to the

``Total Dollar Value of Ticket'' field. American believes this action

will increase the accuracy of reports by reflecting better the actual

value of tickets for premium services and long, multi-segment

itineraries. United did not state specific objections to expansion of

the ``Total Dollar Value of Ticket'' field; however, it requested that

the Department rescind a reporting directive that required carriers to

use five positions when reporting fares. United believes imposition of

a reporting requirement before a final rule prejudges the issues.

Northwest does not object to the standardization of the format for

floppy disk submissions.

Delta, Northwest and United believe that requiring air carriers to

make incremental changes to the Survey would be a waste of limited

resources in light of the Department's plan to completely modernize the

Survey. American believes that ``a considerable period will be required

for the Department to issue a rule and transition to the new system.''

Therefore, American believes that DOT should go forward with the

proposed rule.

Northwest estimates that it would require a minimum of 740 hours of

reprogramming to collect and report the expanded data. Delta and United

estimate 600 hours of reprogramming. Delta believes a 60-day lead time

is insufficient. Northwest and United request a minimum 180-day lead

time. American believes the final rule should become effective 60 days

after publication. USAir could implement the rule change within 30

days, although it would prefer a 60-day lead time.

American and ACI-NA support the proposal that U.S. carriers

participating in code-share arrangements report both the ticketing and

operating air carriers. ACI-NA stated that U.S. airport operators need

accurate domestic and international O&D data to understand market

developments.

American, Delta and Prestige request that DOT clarify the proposal

by clearly stating that the reporting carrier must report both

operating and ticketing carriers only for segments ticketed under

agreements to which it is a party.

Continental and Delta request that carriers be required to report

only those tickets that the carrier actually lifts. For example, Delta

states that it should not be required to report tickets that are issued

and lifted by a foreign alliance partner (for travel on a flight

operated by Delta), since these tickets are not in Delta's custody or

control.

While Northwest strongly objects to the proposal to collect both

the operating and ticketed carriers, it stated it would provide

expanded data if the data that relates to its foreign code-share

partners were withheld from the public. Northwest believes that these

data are highly confidential and competitively sensitive. American,

Delta and ACI-NA believe that code-share data involving foreign

partners of U.S. carriers should not be given special confidential

treatment. Delta and United believe that foreign carriers who are part

of immunized alliances and required to contribute data to the Survey

should be able to access Survey data. United stated:

One of the primary purposes of granting alliances antitrust

immunity is to enable the participating carriers to cooperate in

planning their marketing strategies in order to compete effectively

with other alliances. To that end, the partners in these alliances

should be allowed to have access to the O&D Survey reports,

particularly now that these reports will include details relating to

the results of code-share services.

American states that foreign carriers only report a portion of

their operations and should not access the data unless they report

their whole system.

ACI-NA requests that DOT collect O&D data from commuter air

carriers that operate aircraft with 19 or more seats. ACI-NA believes

that commuter air carriers are important players in the transborder

Canada and Mexico markets, U.S. Caribbean market and as feeders to

international flights.

Reporting Operating and Ticketed Air Carriers

The Department does not agree with the comments that making

incremental changes to the Survey when there are plans to modernize the

reporting system is a misuse of the air carriers' and the Department's

limited resources. American Airlines is correct in its assertion that a

considerable period will be required for the Department to issue a rule

and transition to the new system. The adoption of a new Survey system

is not imminent; and the Department believes that adoption of a new

system is three to five years away. In February 1997, the Airline

Tariff Publishing Company completed the system specification and

implementation guide for the transaction control number (TCN). The

Department envisions that the TCN would be the foundation of the

modernized Survey. However, due to personnel and budget constraints in

FY 1997, the Office of Airline Information (OAI) has been unable to

proceed in this venture. Once OAI obtains adequate resources, it would

take one to two years to develop a prototype reporting system. The next

step would be to solicit carrier volunteers for a 6 to 12 month test

the system. If the test is successful, OAI would then proceed to the

rulemaking process.

While the Department recognizes that there is a burden placed on

carriers in implementing a reporting change, it is also aware of the

increasing importance of code-share relationships within the air

transportation industry. Code-sharing has become more widespread in

both interstate and foreign air transportation. Congress has urged the

DOT to analyze more thoroughly the effects of international code-

sharing on air transportation and U.S. air carriers. Under the current

Survey reporting, the DOT has difficulty evaluating the effects of

code-sharing alliances on air carriers and consumers. As currently

designed, the Survey does not identify both carriers on a code-share

ticket. According to a reporting clarification sent to participating

carriers by letter on September 11, 1995, the Survey identifies the

carrier transporting the passenger (operating carrier), but not the

ticketing carrier (carrier of record on the ticket). To assess

accurately the effects of international code-share agreements, DOT

needs to know the ticketed carrier as well as the transporting carrier

for the various legs of the passenger's flight. If both code-sharing

partners are identified in the survey, it will eliminate the need for

special reports, as now obtained from certain U.S. carriers, regarding

major international code-share alliances. These special reports are the

only source of information on code-share operations. The reporting

changes directed by this rulemaking will produce superior data on

international and domestic code-share flights where there is a U.S.

operating carrier.

In the United States, regional carrier service is growing as major

carriers are handing over more service to their code-

[[Page 43278]]

share partners. Service to small communities can be affected by code-

sharing, creating a need for DOT to monitor the impact on the

communities from code-share services.

This need for international and purely domestic code-share data,

coupled with the fact that many international passengers interline on

domestic code-share flights, creates an urgency to the Department's

need to collect information on the ticketed and operating carriers for

both international and domestic tickets. This rule benefits carriers

that currently have special reporting requirements for their

international code-share operations. The need for maintaining and

submitting data into two data bases will be eliminated. The code-share

data that are reported in the special reports will now be captured in

the carriers' regular Survey submission when the carriers report both

the ticketing and operating air carriers. Moreover, the new reporting

scheme will simplify data analysis by having data on both the ticketing

and operating air carriers in a single record. Presently, analysts must

compare aggregated data sets with no way of matching individual trip

itineraries.

The reporting carrier is required to identify ticketed and

operating carriers only for those segments in which it participates in

a code-share agreement. This relieves the reporting carrier from the

potentially substantial burden of reporting third-party downline code-

share arrangements. In such situations, the reporting carrier may not

have the information necessary to comply with such a requirement.

Therefore, in the case of third party code-share arrangements, the

reporting carrier would report the code of the ticketed carrier as both

the ticketed and operating carrier.

First Operating Carrier Is Responsible for Survey Reporting

The first operating carrier, that is a participant in the Survey,

is responsible for submitting the applicable Survey data. Since the

operating carrier generally performs the passenger ticket lift at the

gate, it should have the necessary information for Survey reporting.

Delta and Continental commented that carriers should be required to

report only those tickets that the carrier actually lifts. Under

Delta's and Continental's suggestion, certain passenger trip

itineraries, that are reportable under the Survey procedures, would be

omitted from the data base. This would occur when the first operating

carrier is a participating carrier and the lifting carrier is a

nonparticipating carrier. Under this scenario, the lifted ticket would

not be reported in the Survey. This problem would be further compounded

if there are two or more additional participating carriers on the

ticket and the subsequent carriers believe the information has already

been reported by the preceding participating carrier.

An example of this cited by Delta is when tickets are issued and

lifted by a foreign alliance partner for travel on a flight operated by

Delta and Delta does not have custody or control of the tickets. The

Department has considered the impact of this situation and believes

that excluding such tickets from the Survey would adversely affect the

Department's ability to accurately assess the effects of code-share

alliances. Travel arrangements, such as the example cited by Delta are

a critical component in accurately assessing the impact of U.S.-foreign

air carrier code-share alliances.

Because of the importance of these data, the U.S. partner of a

foreign code-share alliance must ensure that when it appears as the

first participating carrier on the ticket, the ticket's trip itinerary

is included in the Survey. While the Department has decided not to

adopt Delta's and Continental's suggestion, it does recognize that such

situations do create reporting difficulties for participating carriers.

In an attempt to ameliorate the problem, the Department invites U.S.

air carriers that find themselves in this situation to endeavor to

reach an agreement with their foreign partners that would allow for the

data to be reported. This could be accomplished by the U.S. and foreign

alliance partners submission of a joint request to waive the Survey

reporting requirements so as to allow the foreign partner to include

such traffic in its special Survey reports. The Department would look

favorably on such a waiver when it is assured that all reportable

Survey data will be captured and reported in the data base.

Total Dollar Value of Ticket

The Department proposed expanding the data field for the total U.S.

dollar amount of fare by one position. This change was proposed to

accommodate current airline passenger fares, which can exceed $9,999.

On June 14, 1996, the Department issued Accounting and Reporting

Directive #203 which directed air carriers to use five positions to

report total value of ticket. United Airlines filed comments objecting

to the issuance of the Accounting and Reporting Directive #203 on the

grounds that it prejudges the outcome of the rulemaking process. The

Department disagreed with United that Accounting and Reporting

Directive #203 should be rescinded. The Department determined that the

change was a technical change required by the level of current air

carrier fares. Carriers must have adequate space to report actual

fares. Expanding the field one space gave the air carriers the space

they needed to report actual fares. Because the ``Survey Record

Layout'' is printed in Code of Federal Regulations, we included the

expansion of the dollar value of ticket field in this rulemaking. In

finalizing the proposal to expand by one position the reportable dollar

amount of fare, the Department notes that United's objection to

Directive #203 was strictly procedural and United did not object to the

proposed change per se.

Also, to clarify the definition of ``Total dollar value of ticket''

the Department is amending Appendix A of section 241.19-7 Section V.D.

(h) to identify Passenger Facility Charges as an example of an ``other

charge.''

Fare-Basis Codes

In order to create sufficient space on the tape layout for the

reporting of both the ticketed and operating air carriers, the

Department made a technical change to the fare-basis codes. All fare-

basis codes are now a single-character alpha code, as follows:

C--Unrestricted Business Class

D--Restricted Business Class

F--Unrestricted First Class

G--Restricted First Class

X--Restricted Coach/Economy Class

Y--Unrestricted Coach/Economy Class

U--Unknown (This fare category is used when none is shown on a ticket

coupon, or when a fare category is not discernible, or when two or more

carrier fare codes are compressed into a single stage of a passenger

trip).

Confidentiality

This rule does not amend the regulations applicable to the

disclosure of international Survey data (14 CFR 241.19-7 (d) and (e)).

Presently, foreign air carriers do not submit regular Survey data and

do not have access to international Survey data. Foreign carriers are

not being required now to submit Survey data and they will continue to

be denied access to international Survey data. Some foreign carriers

are required to submit special reports to the Department as a condition

for receiving antitrust immunity for code-sharing/alliance agreements

with U.S. carriers. These special reports are granted confidential

treatment and the

[[Page 43279]]

data from the special reports are not merged into the regular Survey.

Moreover, this rule does not amend the regulations applicable to

which tickets must be reported in the Survey. Besides the technical

changes, the purpose of this rule is to properly identify the operating

and ticketing carriers. Northwest argues that it will be placed at a

competitive disadvantage if it has to divulge the identity of the

operating and ticketed carriers from its code-share operations. It

stated that many of its competitors do not have code-share partners, or

are not involved in foreign code-share alliances of the same nature and

magnitude as Northwest's alliances.

We disagree with Northwest's argument. Presently, Northwest knows

the international traffic carried by U.S. carriers that have no code-

sharing agreements. These carriers have to make an educated guess at

Northwest's international traffic because Northwest's actual traffic

may be obscured by its code-share arrangement. This rule will properly

identify all U.S. carriers' international traffic and place code-

sharing and noncode-sharing carriers on a more equal playing field.

While we will be able to identify code-share passengers, the code-share

carriers are not required to divulge their revenue splits.

United and Delta argue that foreign code-share partners be granted

access to international Survey data. This would enable the code-share

carriers to cooperate in planning their marketing strategies to compete

effectively with other alliances. United agrees with the Department's

prior conclusion that dissemination of Survey data among reporting

carriers is procompetitive. United goes on to say that its foreign air

carrier partners are willing to waive the confidential treatment of

their special reports if they are granted access to international

Survey data.

As stated earlier, foreign carriers are denied access to

international Survey data. Foreign carriers are not participating air

carriers as they do not submit regular Survey data. The special reports

that some foreign carriers are required to submit comprise a sample of

ticketed itineraries that contain a U.S. point; therefore, the special

reports do not sample a foreign carrier's entire operation. Because of

this difference in the U.S. and foreign carriers' Survey submissions,

the level of reported data is not comparable. Moreover, the special

reports are only viewed by Department analysts on an individual basis

and the reports are not merged into the regular Survey. Finally, the

issue of whether foreign air carriers should submit Survey data is

beyond the scope of this rulemaking.

Standardize Formats for Floppy Disk Submissions

The Department has encouraged carriers that do not have the

capability to report via magnetic tape or cartridge to submit their

reports via floppy diskettes. To avoid the multitude of formats

currently received, this final rule prescribes, as proposed, a 200

position format with standard lengths of fields for submission of

personal computer (PC) generated Survey reports. The field descriptions

and field lengths will be identical to the fields prescribed for

magnetic tape/cartridge submissions (see Appendix A section IX. ADP

Instructions of 14 CFR 241.19). However, to simplify the PC

submissions, the submitter may report the dollar value of the ticket in

the field immediately after the last reported city code, rather than in

positions 196-200. Submitters may separate fields by using commas or

tabs (comma delimited ASCII or tab delimited ASCII format). No comments

were submitted in opposition to this change.

Effective Date for Reporting

We set January 1, 1998, as the effective date for this rule. The

initial reports will be due at the Department by May 15, 1998. We

believe this gives the carriers sufficient time to make the necessary

program changes to their data-processing system.

Survey Reporting by Commuter Air Carriers

ACI-NA requested that the Department require commuter air carriers

that operate 19-seat aircraft or larger to report Survey data. While we

concur with ACI-NA that commuter air carriers are important players in

the transborder Canada and Mexico markets, the issue of collecting

Survey data from the commuter air carrier segment of the air

transportation industry is outside the scope of this rulemaking.

Cost/Benefits

Cost

Delta and United both estimate that the proposed reporting changes

would require 600 hours of reprogramming to collect and report the new

data. Using this estimate for the approximately 40 air carriers

submitting Survey data, there would be a one-time industry burden of

24,000 hours (40 carriers x 600 hours). This estimate may double-

count the burden for code-share regional carriers which have their

Survey processed by their parent or an affiliated carrier. The

Department estimates that the change will require a recurrent four-hour

burden increase to report both the ticketed and operating air carriers.

Using a $50 per hour cost, the one-time industry reprogramming cost is

estimated at $1,240,000, and the recurrent reporting cost at $32,000

per year.

Benefits

The above costs would be partially offset by the elimination of the

need for U.S. carriers to submit special Survey reports for their

international code-share operations.

The Survey is the primary data source for international and

domestic market analysis. In the last few years, the utility of the

Survey has decreased as code-share operations have increased. Carriers

have been mis-identified and records have been deleted for not passing

edit checks. For the 12-months ended September 1996, revenues from

international air services totaled over $24.5 billion. Significant

code-share/alliance agreements have been approved with the grant of

antitrust immunity. The Department will benefit from a reliable data

system that assesses the impact of these agreements on the traveling

public and other U.S. carriers. Reporting of ticketed and operating

carriers will give the Department access to the data it requires to

conduct more informative analyses of these agreements. While the

Department cannot put a dollar value to the benefits of more reliable

data, it does believe that the benefits outweigh the costs.

Rulemaking Analyses and Notices

Executive Order 12866 and DOT Regulatory Policies and Procedures

This rule is not considered a significant regulatory action under

section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866 and, therefore, is not subject to

review by the Office of Management and Budget.

This rule is not considered significant under the regulatory

policies and procedures of the Department of Transportation (44 FR

11034). The rule will not result in any unfunded mandate to state,

local or tribal governments in the aggregate, or to the private sector,

of $100 million or more in any one year. The purpose of the rule is to

improve the accuracy and reliability of the Survey. This objective is

achieved by amending 14 CFR 241.19-7 to require the proper

identification of operating and ticketed air carriers; to add one

position to the field ``Total Dollar Value of Ticket;'' and to

standardize the format

[[Page 43280]]

for floppy disk submissions. There are about 40 carriers that report

the Survey.

Executive Order 12612

This rule has been analyzed in accordance with the principles and

criteria contained in Executive Order 12612 (``Federalism'') and the

DOT has determined the rule does not have sufficient federalism

implications to warrant the preparation of a Federalism Assessment.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

I certify this rule will not have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities. The amendments will affect only

large certificated U.S. air carriers operating scheduled passenger

service. The Department's economic regulations define ``large

certificated air carrier'' as U.S. air carriers, holding a certificate

issued under 49 U.S.C. 41102, that operate aircraft designed to have a

maximum passenger capacity of more than 60 seats or a maximum payload

capacity of more than 18,000 pounds or that operate aircraft in

international service. Consequently, small carriers are not affected by

this final rule.

National Environmental Protection Act

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics has analyzed the amendments

for the purpose of the National Environmental Protection Act. The

amendments will not have any impact on the quality of human

environment.

Paperwork Reduction Act

The reporting and recordkeeping requirements associated with this

rule are being sent to the Office of Management and Budget in

accordance with 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35 under OMB NO: 2139-0001.

Administration: Bureau of Transportation Statistics; Title: Passenger

Origin-Destination Survey Report; Need for Information: Statistical

information on airline passenger movements; Proposed use of

Information: Balance of benefits analyses for international agreements

and monitoring adequacy of air service to small communities; Frequency:

Quarterly; Burden Estimate: 50,848 annual hours; Average Annual Burden

Hours per Respondent after Reprogramming is Completed--670. For further

information contact: The Office of Information Resource Management, M-

32, Office of the Secretary of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW.,

Washington, DC. 20590-0001, (202) 366-4735 or Transportation Desk

Officer, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office

Building, Room 3228, Washington, DC. 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 2139-AA04 contained in

the heading of this document can be used to cross reference this action

with the Unified Agenda.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 241

Air carriers uniform system of accounts and reports.

Final Rule

Accordingly, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics amends 14 CFR

part 241 Uniform System of Accounts and Reports for Large Certificated

Air Carriers, as follows:

PART 241--[AMENDED]

1. Revise Sec. 19-7(b) to read as follows:

Sec. 19-7 Passenger origin-destination survey.

(a) * * *

(b) Those participating air carriers that have access to automatic

data processing (ADP) services shall utilize magnetic tape, cartridge,

floppy diskette or other ADP media for transmitting the prescribed

data. Those carriers without ADP capability should contact the Office

of Airline Information for further instructions ((202) 366-4373).

* * * * *

2. In Appendix A of Sec. 19-7, revise Sec. V.B to read as follows:

* * * * *

B. Selection of Reportable Flight Coupons. The flight coupons

identified above are to be examined to isolate the reportable flight

coupons, i.e. coupons from which data are to be recorded. Flight coupon

data are reported only by the first honoring and participating carrier

(operating carrier). Such carriers shall report the required data for

the entire ticketed itinerary.

If a participating carrier has preceded an examining carrier on any

stage in the trip itinerary, including any stage in a conjunction

itinerary and any stage in a reissued ticket (either before or after

reissue) that coupon is not reportable.

For conjunction tickets, the ticket number for the first ticket

booklet determines if the conjunction tickets should be reported in the

Survey. Otherwise, conjunction tickets do not require special treatment

and are governed by the rules for regular tickets.

No adjustment is made in the Survey for alterations or changes in

the trip itinerary subsequent to the stage covered by the reportable

coupon.

3. In Appendix A of Sec. 19-7, in Sec. V.D., revise paragraph

D.(1); the table in paragraph D.(2)(a); paragraph D.(2)(b); paragraph

(c) and the first paragraph of (d) to read as follows:

* * * * *

D. Recording of Data from Reportable Flight Coupons. (1) The

following items are to be reported from the reportable flight

coupons:

(a) Point of origin,

(b) Operating carrier on each flight stage (if unknown, identify

ticketed carrier),

(c) Ticketed carrier on each flight stage,

(d) Fare-basis on each flight coupon, C, D, F, G, X or Y,

(e) Points of stopover or connection (interline and intraline),

(f) Point of destination,

(g) Number of passengers, and

(h) Total dollar value of ticket (fare plus tax and other

charges, such as Passenger Facility Charges).

(2) * * *

(a) * * *

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

000001 UCA YV UA Y JFK TW TW X

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Passenger(s Utica Mesa United Fare Code New York TWA TWA Fare Code

) Operating Ticketed Kennedy Operating Ticketed

Carrier Carrier Airport Carrier Carrier

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Surface Transportation

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SFO (Blank space)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

San Francisco Operating Carrier Ticketed Carrier Fare Code

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 43281]]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

OAK UA UA G LAX DL DL F

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oakland United United Fare Los Angeles Delta Delta Fare Code

Operating Ticketed Operating Operating

Carrier Carrier Carrier Carrier

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SLC NW NW D PHX AA AA C LAX

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Salt Lake Northwest Northwest Fare Code Phoenix American American Fare Code Los Angeles

City Operating Ticketed Operating Ticketed

Carrier Carrier Carrier Carrier

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

JL JL C NRT 04596

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Japan Air Lines Japan Air Lines Fare Code Tokyo Narita Dollars of Fare + Tax

Operating Ticketed

Carrier Carrier

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *

(b) All entries for operating and ticketed carriers for a coupon

stage of an itinerary are to be recorded using two character IATA-

assigned or DOT codes, as in the above example. Note that the fare

code summary was properly inserted after the ticketed carrier's

code, i.e., UA for United Air Lines and Y for unrestricted coach

class service. When a two-character carrier code is shown on the

ticket, record that code for the ticketed carrier. However, if a

code is obviously incorrect, record the correct carrier code. If the

reporting carrier does not know the operating carrier on a downline

code-share segment, it would use the ticketed carrier's code for

both the operating and ticketed carriers. The reporting carrier is

not responsible for knowing the operating carrier of a downline

code-share where it is not a party to the code-share segment. Except

for the infrequent compression of data to fit into the stage-length

limitation (7 or 23 stages at the carrier's option), all carrier

codes are to be recorded, including data on air taxis, commuters,

intra-state, and other carrier portions of itineraries. On tickets

involving interchange service or other cooperative carrier

arrangements, the juncture point(s) where the passenger moves from

one carrier system to another is to be recorded as an intermediate

point in the itinerary, even when not shown on the ticket and even

though the flight may overfly the juncture point.

(c) Entries for fare-basis codes are to be taken from the ``fare

basis'' and ``fare description'' portions of the ticket and

simplified into the appropriate category, as shown below. No attempt

shall be made to determine and record fare-basis codes for that

portion of a conjunction ticket appearing in the ticket. Fare-basis

codes are to be recorded in one-character alphabetic codes. The

fare-basis codes are recorded as follows:

C--Unrestricted Business Class

D--Restricted Business Class

F--Unrestricted First Class

G--Restricted First Class

X--Restricted Coach/Economy Class

Y--Unrestricted Coach/Economy Class

U--Unknown (This fare category is used when none is shown on a

ticket coupon, or when a fare category is not discernible, or when

two or more carrier fare codes are compressed into a single stage of

a passenger trip).

(d) In recording the number of passengers, each single-passenger

ticket is to be recorded as one passenger. Tickets for infants under

two years of age not occupying a seat are not to be counted. A

revenue passenger is defined in Section X.

* * * * *

4. In Appendix A to Sec. 19-7, in Sec. IX, revise the first table

in paragraph A.(1) and paragraphs B. and C. to read as follows:

* * * * *

A. * * *

(1) * * *

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tape

Field positions Tape record layout

(from-to)

------------------------------------------------------------------------

PASSENGER COUNT................. 1-6 1. Passenger field must

contain leading zeros,

and no blanks.

1ST CITY CODE................... 7-9

1ST OPERATING CARRIER........... 10-11

1ST TICKETED CARRIER............ 12-13 2. City field contains

the 3-letter alpha code

for the airport in the

first 3 positions.

FARE BASIS CODE................. 14

2ND CITY CODE................... 15-17

2ND OPERATING CARRIER........... 18-19

2ND TICKETED CARRIER............ 20-21

FARE BASIS CODE................. 22

3RD CITY CODE................... 23-25

3RD OPERATING CARRIER........... 26-27

3RD TICKETED CARRIER............ 28-29

FARE BASIS CODE................. 30

4TH CITY CODE................... 31-33 3. Ticketed and

operating carrier

fields are to contain

the 2 character air

carrier code. An

unknown carrier is to

be coded ``UK'' and

surface carrier is to

be coded ``-- --''

(dash dash).

4TH OPERATING CARRIER........... 34-35

4TH TICKETED CARRIER............ 36-37

FARE BASIS CODE................. 38

5TH CITY CODE................... 39-41

5TH OPERATING CARRIER........... 42-43

5TH TICKETED CARRIER............ 44-45

FARE BASIS CODE................. 46

6TH CITY CODE................... 47-49 4. Fare basis code is a

one position alpha

code.

6TH OPERATING CARRIER........... 50-51

6TH TICKETED CARRIER............ 52-53

[[Page 43282]]

FARE BASIS CODE................. 54 5. Portion of record for

sorting, summarizing,

and sequencing includes

columns 7 through 200.

7TH CITY CODE................... 55-57

7TH OPERATING CARRIER........... 58-59

7TH TICKETED CARRIER............ 60-61

FARE BASIS CODE................. 62

8TH CITY CODE................... 63-65 6. Dollar amount in

positions 196-200 is

right justified.

8TH OPERATING CARRIER........... 66-67

8TH TICKETED CARRIER............ 68-69

FARE BASIS CODE................. 70 7. Positions 66-193 are

used only by those

carriers who want to

report more data, and

are not compressing to

7 stages (see Sec. V.D.

(3) for compressing

rules.

9TH CITY CODE................... 71-73

9TH OPERATING CARRIER........... 74-75

9TH TICKETED CARRIER............ 76-77

FARE BASIS CODE................. 78

10TH CITY CODE.................. 79-81

10TH OPERATING CARRIER.......... 82-83

10TH TICKETED CARRIER........... 84-85

FARE BASIS CODE................. 86

11TH CITY CODE.................. 87-89

11TH OPERATING CARRIER.......... 90-91

11TH TICKETED CARRIER........... 92-93

FARE BASIS CODE................. 94

12TH CITY CODE.................. 95-97

12TH OPERATING CARRIER.......... 98-99

12TH TICKETED CARRIER........... 100-101

FARE BASIS CODE................. 102

13TH CITY CODE.................. 103-105

13TH OPERATING CARRIER.......... 106-107

13TH TICKETED CARRIER........... 108-109

FARE BASIS CODE................. 110

14TH CITY CODE.................. 111-113

14TH OPERATING CARRIER.......... 114-115

14TH TICKETED CARRIER........... 116-117

FARE BASIS CODE................. 118

15TH CITY CODE.................. 119-121

15TH OPERATING CARRIER.......... 122-123

15TH TICKETED CARRIER........... 124-125

FARE BASIS CODE................. 126

16TH CITY CODE.................. 127-129

16TH OPERATING CARRIER.......... 130-131

16TH TICKETED CARRIER........... 132-133

FARE BASIS CODE................. 134

17TH CITY CODE.................. 135-137

17TH OPERATING CARRIER.......... 138-139

17TH TICKETED CARRIER........... 140-141

FARE BASIS CODE................. 142

18TH CITY CODE.................. 143-145

18TH OPERATING CARRIER.......... 146-147

18TH TICKETED CARRIER........... 148-149

FARE BASIS CODE................. 150

19TH CITY CODE.................. 151-153

19TH OPERATING CARRIER.......... 154-155

19TH TICKETED CARRIER........... 156-157

FARE BASIS CODE................. 158

20TH CITY CODE.................. 159-161

20TH OPERATING CARRIER.......... 162-163

20TH TICKETED CARRIER........... 164-165

FARE BASIS CODE................. 166

21ST CITY CODE.................. 167-169

21ST OPERATING CARRIER.......... 170-171

21ST TICKETED CARRIER........... 172-173

FARE BASIS CODE................. 174

22ND CITY CODE.................. 175-177

22ND OPERATING CARRIER.......... 178-179

22ND TICKETED CARRIER........... 180-181

FARE BASIS CODE................. 182

23RD CITY CODE.................. 183-185

23RD OPERATING CARRIER.......... 186-187

23RD TICKETED CARRIER........... 188-189

FARE BASIS CODE................. 190

[[Page 43283]]

24TH CITY CODE.................. 191-193

BLANK........................... 194-195

US VALUE OF TICKET IN $......... 196-200

------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *

B. Editing of Tape Records. Prior to submission of data, each

carrier is requested to edit and correct its data so that its O&D

Survey report may be as error-free as is reasonably practicable. The

methods to be used in editing are left to the carriers' discretion,

but with assistance available upon request from the Department's

Office of Airline Information (OAI). To aid the carriers in

maintaining a current file of editing criteria, OAI will re-issue,

as needed, the city/airport-carrier file to each participating

carrier. There will be a five-position field to denote the city/

airport-carrier. The first three positions denotes the airport and

the last two positions denotes the air carrier.

C. Standard Formats for Floppy Disk or Cartridge Submissions.

Carriers should use the 200 position format with the standard length

fields prescribed for magnetic media submissions. The record layout

is detailed in subsection A(1) of this section. However, to simplify

the PC submissions, the submitter may report the dollar value of the

ticket in the field immediately after the last reported city code,

rather than in positions 196-200. Submitters may separate fields by

using commas or tabs (comma delimited ASCII or tab delimited ASCII

format).

5. In Appendix A to Sec. 19-7, in Sec. X., revise the definition of

``Fare basis'' code and add the following new definitions to read as

follows:

* * * * *

Fare basis code. The alphabetic code(s) or combination of

alphabetic and numeric codes appearing in the ``Fare basis'' box on

the flight coupon which describe the applicable service and discount

to which the passenger is entitled. All fare basis codes are

summarized into basic categories; namely C--Unrestricted Business

Class, D--Restricted Business Class, F--Unrestricted First Class,

G--Restricted First Class, X--Restricted Coach/Economy Class, Y--

Unrestricted Coach/Economy Class, and U--Unknown (This fare category

is used when none is shown on a ticket coupon, or when a fare

category is not discernible, or when two or more carrier fare codes

are compressed into a single stage of a passenger trip).

* * * * *

Operating air carrier. Under a code-share arrangement, the air

carrier whose aircraft and flight crew are used to perform a flight

segment.

* * * * *

Ticketed air carrier. Under a code-share arrangement, the air

carrier whose two-character air carrier code is used for a flight

segment, whether or not it actually operates the flight segment.

* * * * *

Issued in Washington, DC, on August 7, 1997.

Robert Goldner,

Acting Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs.

[FR Doc. 97-21356 Filed 8-12-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910-62-P