[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 156 (Wednesday, August 13, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 43276-43283]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-21356]


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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.

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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