Enforcement Policy Regarding Unfair Exclusionary Conduct in the Air Transportation Industry

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

[Docket No. OST-98-3713]

Enforcement Policy Regarding Unfair Exclusionary Conduct in the

Air Transportation Industry

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, DOT.

ACTION: Notice extending comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Department (or DOT) has issued a proposed Statement of the

Department of Transportation's Enforcement Policy Regarding Unfair

Exclusionary Conduct in the Air Transportation Industry. On April 10,

1998, the Department published the proposed statement and requested

public comment. By this notice, the Department is now extending the due

date for comments to July 24, 1998 from June 9, 1998 and the due date

for reply comments to September 8, 1998 from July 9, 1998.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before July 24, 1998. Reply

comments must be submitted on or before September 8, 1998.

ADDRESSES: To facilitate the consideration of comments, each commenter

should file eight copies of each set of comments. Comments must be

filed in Room PL-401, Docket OST-98-3713, U.S. Department of

Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. Late-

filed comments will be considered to the extent possible.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jim Craun, Director (202-366-1032) or

Randy Bennett, Deputy Director (202-366-1053), Office of Aviation and

International Economics, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Aviation

and International Affairs, or Betsy Wolf (202-366-9349), Senior Trial

Attorney, Office of the Assistant General Counsel for Aviation

Enforcement and Proceedings, U.S. Department of Transportation, 400

Seventh St. SW., Washington, DC 20590.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DOT published a proposed Statement of the

Department of Transportation's Enforcement Policy Regarding Unfair

Exclusionary Conduct in the Air Transportation Industry and requested

comments on the proposed statement

[[Page 28022]]

(63 FR 17919, April 10, 1998). The proposed policy statement was

developed by the Department of Transportation in consultation with the

Department of Justice and sets forth tentative findings and guidelines

for use by DOT in evaluating whether major air carriers' competitive

responses to new entry warrant enforcement action under 49 U.S.C.

41712. The due dates for comments and reply comments were June 9, 1998

and July 9, 1998, respectively.

On May 8, 1998, the Air Transport Association of America (ATA), an

association of 22 U.S. airlines and five foreign carriers, filed an

emergency petition requesting that the Department extend the time for

filing comments by 120 days. The ATA stated that it was filing the

petition on an emergency basis because fewer than 30 days remained in

the comment period. It claimed that the 60-day time period originally

set does not give the parties adequate time to prepare well-reasoned

responses to the complicated economic, legal, and policy issues raised

in the statement and that in order to participate in a full discussion

of these issues, the ATA and its member airlines must consult with

economic and legal experts. Since those experts must review studies,

reports, and other data that address these issues, the ATA argued that

the current 60-day comment period is inadequate.

The ATA also asserted that the Department has failed to identify

the research and source material for its proposed statement on a timely

basis and therefore an extension of the comment period is necessary.

Citing Department rules in 49 CFR Sec. 5.25(a), the ATA likewise stated

the Secretary is to grant a petition for extension of time where the

petitioner shows that additional time is in the public interest, so

long as the petitioner has good cause for the extension and a

substantive interest in the proposed action. The ATA claimed that the

extension is clearly in the public interest and is consistent with

previous similar Department rulemakings involving complex economic

issues. Furthermore, as an association representing the entities that

the statement would affect, the ATA pointed out that it has an obvious

substantive interest.

We have determined that it would be reasonable and in the public

interest to give commenters more time for preparing their responses to

the proposed statement. While the issues are complex and the statement

involves a major policy initiative, we do not agree, however, with the

ATA that an extension of 120 days is necessary. The addition of 60 days

to the 90 days already established for comments and reply comments

provides commenters with a total of 150 days to prepare and provide

remarks--an amount of time that we find is sufficient to balance the

needs for an adequate comment period while not unnecessarily delaying

the Department's initiative for promoting competition and protecting

consumers. We will therefore give commenters an additional 60 days to

prepare their comments and reply comments.

Specifically, the due date for comments will be extended to July

24, 1998 from June 9, 1998 and the due date for reply comments will be

extended to September 8, 1998 from July 9, 1998. (Since the actual

addition of 60 days results in a due date for reply comments of

September 7, 1998--a Federal holiday, the due date for reply comments

was extended to September 8, 1998.)

Issued in Washington, DC, on May 18, 1998, under authority

delegated by 49 CFR 1.56(a).

Charles A. Hunnicutt,

Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs.

[FR Doc. 98-13698 Filed 5-19-98; 10:07 am]

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