[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 3 (Wednesday, January 5, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 553-554]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-162]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Bureau of Transportation Statistics


Agency Information Collection; Activity Under OMB Review; Report 
of Financial and Operating Statistics for Small Aircraft Operators--
Form 298-C

AGENCY: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public 
Law 104-13, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) invites the 
general public, industry and other Federal Agencies to comment on the 
continuing need for and usefulness of BTS collecting financial, traffic 
and operating statistics from small certificated and commuter air 
carriers. Small certificated air carriers (operate aircraft with 60 
seats or less or with 18,000 pounds of payload capacity or less) must 
file the five quarterly schedules listed below:

A-1  Report of Flight and Traffic Statistics in Scheduled Passenger 
Operations,
E-1  Report of Nonscheduled Passenger Enplanements by Small 
Certificated Air Carriers,
F-1  Report of Financial Data,
F-2  Report of Aircraft Operating Expenses and Related Statistics, and
T-1  Report of Revenue Traffic by On-Line Origin and Destination.

    Commuter air carriers must file the three quarterly schedules 
listed below:

A-1  Report of Flight and Traffic Statistics in Scheduled Passenger 
Operations,
F-1  Report of Financial Data, and
T-1  Report of Revenue Traffic by On-Line Origin and Destination.

    Commenters should address whether BTS accurately estimated the 
reporting burden and if there are other ways to enhance the quality, 
utility and clarity of the information collected.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted by March 6, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be directed to: Office of Airline 
Information, K-25, Room 4125, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 
Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 
20590-0001, fax # (202) 366-3383, or email [email protected].

COMMENTS: Comments should identify the OMB # 2138-0009 and submit a 
duplicate copy to the address listed above. Commenters wishing the 
Department to acknowledge receipt of their comments must submit with 
those comments a self-addressed stamped postcard on which the following 
statement is made: Comments on OMB # 2138-0009. The postcard will be 
date/time stamped and returned to the commenter.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bernie Stankus, Office of Airline 
Information, K-25, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 400 Seventh 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001, (202) 366-4387.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    OMB Approval No. 2138-0009
    Title: Report of Financial and Operating Statistics for Small 
Aircraft Operators--Form 298-C.
    Form No.: 298-C.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Small certificated and commuter air carriers.
    Number of Respondents: 100.
    Estimated Time Per Response: 16 hours for small certificated, 7 
hours for commuters.
    Total Annual Burden: 5,000 hours.
    Needs and Uses: Program Uses of Form 298-C Data.

Mail Rates

    The Department of Transportation (DOT) sets and updates the Intra-
Alaska Bush mail rates based on carrier expense, traffic, and 
operational data. Form 298-C cost data, especially fuel costs, terminal 
expenses, and line haul expenses are used in arriving at rate levels. 
DOT revises the established rates based on the percentage of unit cost 
changes in the carriers' operations. These updating procedures have 
resulted in the carriers receiving rates of compensation that more 
closely parallel their costs of providing mail service and contribute 
to the carriers' economic well-being.

Essential Air Service

    DOT also must determine a community's eligibility as an essential 
air service (EAS) point. If the community qualifies as an EAS point, a 
determination is made as to what level of service the community is 
entitled and how much, if any, compensation must be paid to air 
carriers that provide the service.
    After DOT has determined that a community is eligible to receive 
EAS, DOT often has to select a carrier to provide the service. Some of 
the carrier selection criteria are historic presence in the community, 
reliability of carrier service, financial stability of the carrier, and 
carrier cost structure.

Carrier Fitness

    Fitness determinations are made for both new entrants and 
established U.S. domestic carriers proposing a substantial change in 
operations. A portion of these applications consists of an operating 
plan for the first year (14 CFR Part 204) and an associated projection 
of revenues and expenses. The carrier's operating costs, included in 
these projections, are compared against the cost data in the Form 298-

[[Page 554]]

C file for a carrier or carriers with the same aircraft type and 
similar operating characteristics. Such a review validates the 
reasonableness of the carrier's operating plan.
    The quarterly financial submissions by commuter and small 
certificated air carriers are used in determining each carrier's 
continuing fitness to operate. Section 41738 of Title 49 of the United 
States Code requires DOT to find all commuter and small certificated 
air carriers fit, willing and able to conduct passenger service as a 
prerequisite to providing such service to an eligible essential air 
service point. In making a fitness determination, DOT reviews three 
areas of a carrier's operation: (1) The qualifications of its 
management team, (2) its disposition to comply with laws and 
regulations, and (3) its financial posture. DOT must determine whether 
or not a carrier has sufficient financial resources to conduct its 
operations without imposing undue risk on the traveling public. 
Moreover, once a carrier is operating as a commuter, DOT is required to 
monitor its continuing fitness.

Industry Analysis

    The Secretary, Deputy Secretary and other senior DOT officials must 
be kept fully informed and advised of all current and developing 
economic issues affecting the airline industry. This is accomplished 
through the preparation of testimony given before Congressional 
committees, briefing and status papers, speech preparation, and 
memoranda recommending decisions or listing available options.
    The analytical methodologies employed under this program are as 
varied as the nature of the particular aviation policy issues that 
confront senior DOT officials. In preparing financial condition reports 
or status reports on a particular airline, financial and traffic data 
are analyzed. Briefing papers may use the same information as well as 
airport activity data and market data. In summary, the nature of a 
particular aviation issue determines the particular methodology used to 
prepare the analysis.

Safety Analysis

    The FAA evaluates the adequacy of aviation safety regulations, 
standards, policies and procedures. Problem areas are identified and 
recommendations are developed for appropriate solutions. Enplanement 
data are used in evaluating the safety status of carriers. Passenger-
miles are used to calculate fatality and injury rates, while aircraft-
miles are used in performing risk analysis and comparative analyses 
with other traffic modes. Departure data are used to calculate 
accident/incident rates, developing rates of near misses, and assessing 
the significance of the incident of operational errors.

Forecasting

    Traffic schedules are used to derive air carrier operations at non-
tower airports. Historical aircraft departure data are used to 
supplement and validate other sources of Terminal Area Forecasts (TAF). 
The aircraft operations data in the TAF are needed by the National Plan 
of Integrated Airports System (NPIAS) to prepare airport master plans. 
In addition, aircraft operations forecast data in TAF are used in 
developing benefit/cost ratios for tower establishment and tower 
discontinuance criteria, for supporting decisions on the purchase of 
safety-related avionics equipment, and for the allocation of scarce 
resources for the construction or expansion of runways and other 
airport facilities.
    Historical enplanement data are required to produce short, medium, 
and long range passenger demand forecasts for all airports with 
passenger service. These forecasts are presented in the TAF data base, 
which contains approximately 4,000 airports, including all airports in 
the NPIAS. TAF enplanement data are used in the preparation of various 
airport master plans and in response to requests for specific airport 
information from Congress, states, and the general public.
    Historical passenger enplanement data, aircraft departure data, and 
freight and mail tons enplaned by airport are all used to project air 
carrier traffic and cargo activity levels for hub airports.

Cost/Benefit Analysis

    Safety rules proposed by the FAA operating units are submitted for 
economic analysis. Under established costing methodologies, which use 
various cost and traffic data, accident data, and risk analysis, the 
proposed rules are evaluated on (1) a cost/benefit basis, (2) 
regulatory flexibility basis and, (3) an international trade impact 
basis.

Allocation of Airport and Airways Improvement Funds

    A revenue passenger enplanement formula prescribed in the Airport 
and Airway Improvement Act is used to determine the amount of funds to 
be allocated to each airport. Form 298-C schedules that identify 
revenue passengers enplaned at individual airports in the United States 
and Trust Territories, are used for the formula.
    Since several airports in the national system are heavily involved 
in air freight, all-cargo data, such as revenue tons enplaned and 
aircraft departures, are used to plan for future needs of those 
airports. Scheduled aircraft departures by aircraft type by airport are 
used in determining the practical annual capacity (PANCAP) at airports, 
as prescribed in FAA Advisory Circular ``Airport Capacity Criteria Used 
in Preparing the National Airport Plan.'' PANCAP is a safety-related 
benchmark measure which indicates when airport management should be 
concerned about capacity problems, delays and possible needed airport 
expansion or runway construction.

Noise Abatement

    Air carrier traffic data by airport are used in assessing the level 
and frequency of service at individual airports in order to determine 
the environmental noise impact of carrier operations. Also, aircraft 
operating data are used to assess carrier compliance with noise 
abatement agreements.
Donald W. Bright,
Acting Director, Office of Airline Information, Bureau of 
Transportation Statistics.
[FR Doc. 00-162 Filed 1-4-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-FE-P