[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 110 (Thursday, June 7, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Page 33808]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-13802]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Research & Innovative Technology Administration

[Docket ID Number RITA 2008-0002]


Agency Information Collection; Activity Under OMB Review: Report 
of Passengers Denied Confirmed Space--BTS Form 251

AGENCY: Research & Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), Bureau 
of Transportation Statistics (BTS), DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information 
Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below is being forwarded to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for re-instatement of an expired 
collection. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection 
and its expected burden. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day 
comment period soliciting comments on the following collection of 
information was published on March 27, 2012 (77 FR 18305). There were 
no comments.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted by July 9, 2012.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cecelia Robinson, Office of Airline 
Information, RTS-42, Room E34-410, RITA, BTS, 1200 New Jersey Avenue 
SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001, Telephone Number (202) 366-4405, Fax 
Number (202) 366-3383 or email [email protected].
    Comments: Send comments to the Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 725-17th Street NW., 
Washington, DC 20503, Attention: RITA/BTS Desk Officer.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

OMB Approval No. 2138-0018

    Title: Report of Passengers Denied Confirmed Space.
    Form No.: BTS Form 251.
    Type of Review: Re-instatement of an expired collection.
    Respondents: Large certificated air carriers.
    Number of Respondents: 14.
    Number of Responses: 56.
    Total Annual Burden: 560 hours.
    Needs and Uses: BTS Form 251 is a one-page report on the number of 
passengers denied seats either voluntarily or involuntarily, whether 
these bumped passengers were provided alternate transportation and/or 
compensation, and the amount of the payment. U.S. air carriers that 
account for at least 1 percent of domestic scheduled passenger service 
must report all operations with 30 seat or larger aircraft that depart 
a U.S. airport.
    Carriers do not report data from inbound international flights 
because the protections of 14 CFR part 250 Oversales do not apply to 
these flights. The report allows the Department to monitor the 
effectiveness of its oversales rule and take enforcement action when 
necessary. The involuntarily denied-boarding rate has decreased from 
4.38 per 10,000 passengers in 1980 to 0.71 for the quarter ended 
December 2011. The publishing of the carriers' individual denied 
boarding rates has negated the need for more intrusive regulation. The 
rate of denied boarding can be examined as a continuing fitness factor. 
This rate provides an insight into a carrier's customer service 
practices. A rapid sustained increase in the rate of denied boarding 
may indicate operational difficulties. Because the rate of denied 
boarding is released quarterly, travelers and travel agents can select 
carriers with lower incidences of bumping passengers. This information 
is available in the Air Travel Consumer Report at: http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/reports/index.htm. The Air Travel Consumer 
Report is also sent to newspapers, magazines, and trade journals. 
Without Form 251, determining the effectiveness of the Department's 
oversales rule would be impossible.
    The Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency 
Act of 2002 (44 U.S.C. 3501 note), requires a statistical agency to 
clearly identify information it collects for non-statistical purposes. 
BTS hereby notifies the respondents and the public that BTS uses the 
information it collects under this OMB approval for non-statistical 
purposes including, but not limited to, publication of both 
Respondent's identity and its data, submission of the information to 
agencies outside BTS for review, analysis and possible use in 
regulatory and other administrative matters.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on May 31, 2012.
Patricia Hu,
Director, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Research and Innovative 
Technology Administration.
[FR Doc. 2012-13802 Filed 6-6-12; 8:45 am]
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