[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 603 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 603

To promote competition and greater efficiency of airlines to ensure the 
 rights of airline passengers, to provide for full disclosure to those 
                  passengers, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 11, 1999

  Mr. Shelby introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To promote competition and greater efficiency of airlines to ensure the 
 rights of airline passengers, to provide for full disclosure to those 
                  passengers, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Airline Deregulation and Disclosure 
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:
``Sec. 41716. Air carrier passenger protection
    ``(a) Delay, Cancellation, or Diversion.--
            ``(1) Explanation of delay, cancellation, or diversion 
        required.--An announcement by an air carrier of a delay or 
        cancellation of a flight, or a diversion of a flight to an 
        airport other than the airport at which the flight is scheduled 
        to land, shall include an explanation of each reason for the 
        delay, cancellation, or diversion.
            ``(2) Prohibition on false or misleading explanations.--No 
        air carrier shall provide an explanation under paragraph (1) 
        that the air carrier knows or has reason to know is false or 
        misleading.
            ``(3) Delays After Enplaning or Before Deplaning.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in 
                subparagraph (B), no air carrier may require a 
                passenger on a flight of that air carrier to remain 
                onboard an aircraft for a period longer than 2 hours 
                after--
                            ``(i) the passenger enplaned, in any case 
                        in which the aircraft has not taken flight from 
                        the airport during that period; or
                            ``(ii) the aircraft has landed at an 
                        airport, if the aircraft remains in that 
                        airport without taking flight.
                    ``(B) Election.--A passenger described in 
                subparagraph (A) may remain onboard an aircraft 
                described in clause (i) or (ii) of that subparagraph 
                for a period longer than the applicable period 
                described in that subparagraph, if, not later than the 
                end of that 2-hour period--
                            ``(i) the air carrier offers the passenger 
                        an opportunity to deplane with a full refund of 
                        air fare; and
                            ``(ii) the passenger declines that 
                        offer.''.
    ``(b) Economic Cancellations.--
            ``(1) Nonsafety cancellations.--If, on the date a flight of 
        an air carrier is scheduled, the carrier cancels the flight for 
        any reason other than safety, the carrier shall provide to each 
        passenger that purchased air transportation on the flight a 
        refund of the amount paid for the air transportation.
            ``(2) Cancellations for safety.--A cancellation for safety 
        is a cancellation made by reason of--
                    ``(A) an insufficient number of crew members;
                    ``(B) weather;
                    ``(C) a mechanical problem; or
                    ``(D) any other matter that prevents--
                            ``(i) the safe operation of the flight; or
                            ``(ii) the flight from operating in 
                        accordance with applicable regulations of the 
                        Federal Aviation Administration.
    ``(c) Code Sharing.--An air carrier, foreign air carrier, 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, only if the carrier or ticket 
agent selling the air transportation first informs the person 
purchasing the air transportation that the carrier providing the air 
transportation will be a carrier other than the carrier whose 
designator code is used to identify the flight.
    ``(d) Multiple Flights.--An air carrier, foreign air carrier, or 
ticket agent that sells air transportation in the United States that 
requires taking flights on more than 1 aircraft shall be required to 
provide notification on a ticket, receipt, or itinerary provided to the 
purchaser of that air transportation that the passenger shall be 
required to change aircraft.
    ``(e) Air Carrier Pricing Policies.--An air carrier may not--
            ``(1) prohibit a person (including a governmental 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); or
            ``(2) assess an additional fee or charge for using only a 
        portion of that purchased air transportation to be paid by--
                    ``(A) that person; or
                    ``(B) any ticket agent that sold the air 
                transportation to that person.
    ``(f) Equitable Fares; Frequent Flyer Program Awards.--
            ``(1) Reduced fares.--Subject to paragraph (2), if an air 
        carrier makes seats available on a specific date at a reduced 
        fare, that air carrier shall be required to make available air 
        transportation at that reduced fare for any passenger that 
        requests a seat at that reduced fare during a 24-hour period 
        beginning with the initial offering of that reduced fare.
            ``(2) Limitation.--
                    ``(A) In general.--An air carrier shall not be 
                required under paragraph (1) to make a seat available 
                for a route at a reduced fare, if providing that seat 
                at that fare would result in the air carrier being 
                unable to provide, for the 24-hour period specified in 
                that paragraph, the applicable historic average number 
                of seats offered at an unreduced fare for the route, as 
                determined under subparagraph (B).
                    ``(B) Historic average.--With respect to a route, 
                the historic average number of seats offered at an 
                unreduced fare for the route is the average number of 
                seats offered at an unreduced fare per day by an air 
                carrier for flights scheduled on that route during the 
                24-month period preceding the 24-hour period specified 
                in paragraph (1).
            ``(3) Standby use of tickets.--An air carrier shall permit 
        an individual to use a ticket (or equivalent electronic record) 
        issued by that air carrier on a standby basis for any flight 
        that has the same origin and destination as are indicated on 
        that ticket (or equivalent electronic record).
            ``(4) Frequent flyer program awards.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (C), in 
                a manner consistent with applicable requirements of a 
                frequent flyer program, if an air carrier makes any 
                seat available on a specific date for use by a person 
                redeeming an award under that frequent flyer program on 
                any route in air transportation provided by the air 
                carrier, that air carrier shall, to the extent 
                practicable during the 24-hour period beginning with 
                the redemption of that award--
                            ``(i) redeem any other award under that 
                        frequent flyer program for air transportation 
                        on that route; and
                            ``(ii) make a seat available for the person 
                        who redeems that other award on a flight on 
                        that route.
                    ``(B) Standby use of frequent flyer program 
                awards.--An air carrier shall permit an individual to 
                redeem a ticket (or equivalent electronic record) 
                acquired through a frequent flyer award on a standby 
                basis for any flight that has the same origin and 
                destination as are indicated on that ticket (or 
                equivalent electronic record).
                    ``(C) Limitation.--
                          ``(i) In general.--An air carrier shall not 
                        be required under subparagraph (A) to make a 
                        seat available for a route for use by a person 
                        redeeming a frequent flyer award, if providing 
                        that seat to that person would result in the 
                        air carrier being unable to provide, for the 
                        24-hour period specified in that paragraph, the 
                        applicable historic average number of seats 
                        offered at an unreduced fare for the route, as 
                        determined under clause (ii).
                            ``(ii) Historic average.--With respect to a 
                        route, the historic average number of seats 
                        offered at an unreduced fare for the route is 
                        the average number of seats offered at an 
                        unreduced fare per day by an air carrier for 
                        flights scheduled on that route during the 24-
                        month period preceding the 24-hour period 
                        specified in subparagraph (A).
    ``(g) Access to All Fares.--Each air carrier operating in the 
United States shall make information concerning all fares for air 
transportation charged by that air carrier available to the public, 
through--
            ``(1) computer-based technology; and
            ``(2) means other than computer-based technology.''.
    (b) Penalties.--Section 46301(a)(1)(A) of title 49, United States 
Code, is amended by striking ``or 41715 of this title'' and inserting 
``, 41715, or 41716 of this title''.
    (c) Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 417 of 
title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 41715 the following:

``41716. Air carrier passenger protection.''.
                                 <all>