[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 41 (Friday, March 1, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7180-7183]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-03678]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Docket No. DOT-OST-2007-27057]


Notice of Submission of Proposed Information Collections to OMB; 
Agency Request for OMB Approval of Information Collections: Increasing 
Charter Air Transportation Options

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary (OST), Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 
notice announces the Department of Transportation's (DOT or Department) 
intention to request an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control 
number for requirements in the Department's final rule, Increasing 
Charter Air Transportation Options, that certain disclosures be made to 
consumers by air charter brokers, air taxi operators, and commuter air 
carriers.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted by April 30, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by DOT Docket Number OST-
2007-27057 through one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Mail or Hand Delivery: Docket Management Facility, U.S. 
Department of Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. 
and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except on Federal holidays. The 
telephone number is 202-366-9329.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sohum Karia, Office of the General 
Counsel, Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, 202-366-9342 (Voice), 
202-366-7152 (Fax), or [email protected] (Email). Arrangements to 
receive this document in an alternative format may be made by 
contacting the above-named individual.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Increasing Charter Air Transportation Options.
    Type of Review: New Information Collections.
    Background: This notice concerns two new information collection 
requirements in the Department's final rule, Increasing Charter Air 
Transportation Options, 83 FR 46867 (September 17, 2018), which is 
effective on February 14, 2019. Under the final rule, air charter 
brokers \1\ are authorized to act as indirect air carriers \2\ by 
contracting in their own right with customers to provide charter air 
transportation and separately arranging with direct air carriers to 
provide such transportation services. The first information collection 
pertains to the requirement that air charter brokers disclose in all 
solicitation materials and advertisements that they are air charter 
brokers and not direct air carriers. The second information collection 
involves the requirement that air charter brokers, air taxi operators, 
and commuter air carriers provide notification to consumers containing 
pertinent information regarding the terms of the charter air 
transportation at the time a consumer is considering the purchase of 
air transportation. If the information is not known at that time or 
changes thereafter, then the entities must provide notification within 
a reasonable time after the information becomes known. This information 
is intended to aid the prospective charterer in making a more informed 
choice regarding the purchase of charter air transportation, and to 
facilitate travel by reducing the possibility that the consumer will be 
misled or ill-informed about key information regarding a given flight 
before and during his or her trip.
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    \1\ The final rule defines an air charter broker as ``any person 
or entity that, as an indirect air carrier, foreign indirect air 
carrier, or a bona fide agent, holds out, sells, or arranges single 
entity charter air transportation using a direct air carrier.''
    \2\ ``Indirect air carrier'' means any person who undertakes to 
engage indirectly in air transportation operations and who uses for 
such transportation the services of a direct air carrier. 14 CFR 
380.2. ``Direct air carrier'' means a certificated commuter or 
foreign air carrier, or an air taxi operator registered under 14 CFR 
part 298, or a Canadian charter air taxi operator registered under 
14 CFR part 294, that directly engages in the operation of aircraft 
under a certificate, authorization, permit or exemption issued by 
the Department. Id.
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    The title, a description of the information collection and 
respondents, and the periodic reporting burden are set forth below for 
each of the information collections:
    1. Requirement to disclose that air charter brokers are not direct 
air carriers in advertising and solicitation materials (14 CFR 295.23)
    All air charter broker solicitation materials and advertising, 
including internet web pages, must clearly and conspicuously state that 
the air charter broker is not a direct air carrier in operational 
control of aircraft, and that the air service advertised would be 
provided by a properly licensed direct air carrier.
    Respondents: Air charter brokers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 700. To reach this estimate, the 
Department began by determining the approximate number of flights 
arranged by air charter brokers annually, using flight records 
information from the air traffic control radar system and data reports 
from private sector aviation research organizations.\3\ These data

[[Page 7181]]

indicate annual flight activity by these operators of between 760,000 
and 1.1 million flights, as shown in Table 1 below.\4\
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    \3\ These data are developed from the Enhanced Traffic 
Management System (ETMS) flight records, and rely on aircraft and 
user classifications made by air traffic controllers as well as tail 
number and operator data. The development of these data for the 
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Business model is presented in 
the report ``Air Traffic Services Business Model: Overview, Model 
Description and Applications with Supporting Documentation, Final 
Report'', September 2011, prepared for the FAA by GRA, Incorporated, 
a contractor.
    \4\ Based on the data developed by GRA, Incorporated, for the 
FAA, Table 1 displays annual flight activity for non-scheduled Part 
135 passenger operations from Fiscal Year 2006 through Fiscal Year 
2011. The Department was unable to supplement Table 1 with data from 
subsequent fiscal years, as FAA has ceased maintaining the 
information. Nevertheless, the Department believes that data from 
FY2012-2017 would not alter our analysis.

                                 Table 1
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                                                         Part 135  non-
Part 135 non-scheduled  passenger flights per  fiscal      scheduled
                         year                          passenger flights
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2006.................................................          1,005,248
2007.................................................            965,401
2008.................................................          1,084,398
2009.................................................            761,301
2010.................................................            900,003
2011.................................................            870,619
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    The Department utilized the most recent figure of 870,619 FY2011 
Part 135 Non-Scheduled Passenger Flights (see Table 1). Not all of 
these flights are revenue flights, since aircraft must sometimes be 
positioned to meet customers. Although the frequency of non-revenue 
positioning flights is generally non-public, the Department, based on 
discussions with parties knowledgeable about this aspect of the 
industry, estimates that 25 percent of non-scheduled passenger flights 
are non-revenue, meaning that 75 percent, or 652,964 (870,619 x 75%) 
are revenue flights. We then estimated the percentage of revenue air 
charter flights arranged by brokers. There was no firm industry 
estimate of this value, so we assumed a midrange estimate of 30 
percent,\5\ resulting in a value of approximately 195,889 (652,964 x 
30%) non-scheduled passenger flights arranged by air charter brokers 
per year. In response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), the 
Department received no public comments disputing this assumption.
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    \5\ The Department also considered a low estimate of 20 percent, 
resulting in a value of 130,593 flights, and a high estimate of 40 
percent, resulting in a value of 261,186. In order to reach a more 
definitive estimate of the number of respondents, this notice 
focuses on the midrange estimate of 30 percent.
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    The Department sought to derive the number of respondents from the 
195,889 flights by estimating of the number of flights arranged 
annually by the average air charter broker. However, since there was no 
reliable data on the number of flights arranged by the average air 
charter broker, we considered various estimates of the number of air 
charter brokers based on general industry knowledge, avoiding selection 
of extreme outliers. For instance, because the industry includes both 
large and small entities, we did not consider an extremely low estimate 
of five respondents, which would amount to approximately 39,200 
(195,889/5) flights arranged annually by each broker, and would not 
account for the relatively lower business volume of smaller entities. 
Similarly, we did not consider extremely high estimates, such as 10,000 
respondents, which would amount to approximately 20 flights arranged 
annually by each broker, and would not account for the relatively 
higher business volume of larger entities. Ultimately, our approach 
yielded an estimate of 700 respondents, with an estimated 280 flights 
arranged annually per broker (195,889/700).
    A value of 700 respondents is reasonable based on public comments 
in response to the NPRM. These comments noted that the industry has 
relatively low barriers to entry and therefore is likely comprised of 
many small air charter brokers operating in the marketplace, in 
addition to a few dozen larger, more established, and well-known 
companies. Therefore, many of those 700 would likely arrange fewer than 
the average of 280 flights annually, and a few dozen would likely 
arrange more than that average. Accordingly, given our assumption of 
195,889 total annual flights arranged by air charter brokers, we 
estimate that approximately 700 respondents will be subject to the 
rule's information collection requirements pertaining to air charter 
brokers.
    Frequency: 15 minutes per flight, for approximately 280 flights per 
year. The estimate of 280 flights derives from our assumption of 
195,889 total annual flights arranged by air charter brokers and our 
estimate of 700 air charter broker respondents (195,889/700). We 
believe that the burden required for an air charter broker to comply 
with this disclosure requirement by changing a small portion of an air 
charter broker's advertising web pages or printed materials would be 
minimal. To quantify the estimated burden, it was assumed that 
accomplishing these disclosures takes 15 minutes of the time of a 
qualified sales staff person employed by the air charter broker, 
comprised of 10 minutes required to draft the language to be used and 5 
minutes to post this information on the air charter broker's website. 
It was also assumed that each flight involves one advertisement or 
solicitation material, though this is likely an overestimate given that 
such materials in this industry are primarily displayed or sent 
electronically to many consumers with identical content and form, 
resulting in minimal burden to the broker per individual consumer.
    Estimated Annual Burden per Respondent: 70 hours, given that each 
advertisement or solicitation material would require a burden of 15 
minutes, and that each air charter broker will arrange an estimated 280 
flights per year (280 x .25 hours). However, discussions with 
individuals knowledgeable about the current air charter broker industry 
indicated that making the required disclosures is already customary 
business practice in a significant part of the industry. Comments 
received in response to the NPRM confirmed the Department's prior 
understanding. Thus, the burden of compliance with this aspect of the 
final rule will be minimal for entities in the air charter broker 
industry.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 49,000 hours. This figure derives 
from our estimate of 700 respondents, with approximately 70 hours 
annually per respondent (700 x 70 hours). Alternatively, the estimate 
of 49,000 hours results by multiplying our previously stated estimates 
of 195,889 total annual flights arranged by air charter brokers and a 
burden of 15 minutes per flight (195,889 x .25 hours ~ 48,972).
    2. Requirement for air charter brokers, air taxi operators, and 
commuter air carriers to charterers to provide certain disclosures to 
consumers (14 CFR 295.24 and 298.80)
    The final rule requires that before entering a contract for a 
specific flight or series of flights with charterers, air charter 
brokers must make the following disclosures: (a) The corporate name of 
the direct air carrier or direct foreign air carrier in operational 
control of the aircraft on which the air transportation is to be 
performed and any other names in which that direct carrier holds itself 
out to the public; (b) The capacity in which the air charter broker is 
acting in contracting for the air transportation, i.e., as an indirect 
air carrier, indirect foreign air carrier, as an agent of the 
charterer, or as an agent of the direct air carrier or direct foreign 
air carrier that will be in operational control of the flight; (c) The 
existence or absence of liability insurance held by the air charter 
broker covering the charterer and passengers and property on the

[[Page 7182]]

charter flight, and the monetary limits of any such insurance.
    The final rule further requires that before entering a contract for 
a specific flight or series of flights with charterers, air charter 
brokers must make the following disclosures upon request of the 
charterer, prior to the start of the air transportation: (a) If the air 
charter broker is acting as the agent of the charterer, the air charter 
broker must disclose the existence of any corporate or business 
relationship, including a preexisting contract, between the air charter 
broker and the direct air carrier or direct foreign air carrier that 
will be in operational control of the flight that may have a bearing on 
the air charter broker's selection of the direct carrier that will be 
in operational control of the flight; (b) The total cost of the air 
transportation paid by the charterer to or through the air charter 
broker, including any air charter broker or carrier-imposed fees or 
government-imposed taxes and fees. Specific individual fees, taxes, or 
costs may, but are not required to be itemized. The total cost of the 
air transportation is not required to include fees charged by third-
parties; (c) The existence of any fees and their amounts collected by 
third-parties, if known (or a good faith estimate if not known), 
including fuel, landing fees, and aircraft parking or hangar fees, for 
which the charterer will be responsible for paying directly.
    If any of the information that is required to be disclosed to the 
charterer or requested by the charterer to be disclosed is not known at 
the time the contract is entered into or changes thereafter, air 
charter brokers must provide the information to the charterer within a 
reasonable time after such information becomes available to the air 
charter broker, such that the charterer has enough time to make an 
informed decision as to whether to accept the additional information or 
accept the change.
    If the information that is required to be disclosed to the 
charterer or requested by the charterer to be disclosed changes after 
the air transportation covered by the contract has begun, air charter 
brokers must provide information regarding any such changes to the 
charterer within a reasonable time after such information becomes 
available to the air charter broker.
    In addition, the final rule requires that before entering a 
contract for a specific flight or series of flights with charterers, 
air taxi operators and commuter air carriers must make similar 
disclosures, prior to the start of the air transportation. For example, 
they must disclose that the flight will be performed by another direct 
air carrier or direct foreign air carrier if that is the case, as well 
as the corporate name of the direct air carrier or direct foreign air 
carrier in operational control of the aircraft on which the air 
transportation is to be performed and any other names in which that 
direct carrier holds itself out to the public. If the flight is to be 
performed by another direct air carrier or direct foreign air carrier, 
they must disclose the capacity in which the air taxi operator or 
commuter air carrier is acting in contracting for the air 
transportation, i.e., as a principal, as an agent of the charterer, or 
as an agent of the direct air carrier that will be in operational 
control of the flight.
    Air taxi operators and commuter air carriers must also make the 
following disclosures upon request of the charterer, prior to the start 
of the air transportation: (a) If the flight is to be performed by 
another direct air carrier or foreign direct air carrier and the air 
taxi operator or commuter air carrier is acting as the agent of the 
charterer, the air taxi operator or commuter air carrier must disclose 
the existence of any corporate or business relationship, including a 
preexisting contract, between the air taxi operator or commuter air 
carrier and the direct carrier that will be in operational control of 
the flight that may have a bearing on the air taxi operator's or 
commuter air carrier's selection of the direct carrier that will be in 
operational control of the flight; (b) The total cost of the air 
transportation paid by the charterer to or through the air taxi 
operator or commuter air carrier, including any carrier-imposed fees or 
government-imposed taxes and fees. Specific individual fees, taxes, or 
costs may, but are not required to be itemized. The total cost of the 
air transportation is not required to include fees charged by third 
parties; (c) The existence of any fees and their amounts collected by 
third parties, if known (or a good faith estimate if not known), 
including fuel, landing fees, and aircraft parking or hangar fees for 
which the charterer will be responsible for paying directly.
    If any of the information that is required to be disclosed to the 
charterer or requested by the charterer to be disclosed is not known at 
the time the contract is entered into or changes thereafter, air taxi 
operators and commuter air carriers must provide the information to the 
charterer within a reasonable time after such information becomes 
available to the air taxi operator or commuter air carrier, such that 
the charterer has enough time to make an informed decision as to 
whether to accept the additional information or accept the change.
    If the information that is required to be disclosed to the 
charterer or requested by the charterer to be disclosed changes after 
the air transportation covered by the contract has begun, air taxi 
operators and commuter air carriers must provide information regarding 
any such changes to the charterer within a reasonable time after such 
information becomes available to the air taxi operator or commuter air 
carrier.
    Respondents: Air taxi operators; commuter air carriers operating or 
arranging non-scheduled, charter flights operated pursuant to Federal 
Aviation Regulations (FAR) Part 135 and 14 CFR part 298; and air 
charter brokers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 2,855, of which 2,155 \6\ are air 
taxi operators and commuter air carriers and 700 are air charter 
brokers.
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    \6\ This estimate is based on October 2012 FAA data. ``Study of 
Operators Regulated Under Part 135,'' at ES-2, Federal Aviation 
Administration (April 2016), available at: http://nata.aero/data/files/gia/4656_001.pdf.
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    Frequency: 15 minutes per flight, for approximately 280 flights per 
year. The estimate of 280 flights derives from our assumption of 
195,889 total annual flights arranged by air charter brokers and our 
estimate of 700 air charter broker respondents (195,889/700). For each 
air charter broker transaction, discussions with individuals 
knowledgeable about the current air charter broker industry indicated 
that the time required for an air charter broker to record and share 
the necessary data elements with a charterer was modest. To estimate 
the cost of this for air charter brokers not currently providing 
charterers with the identified disclosures, it is assumed that 
accomplishing the disclosures takes 15 minutes of the time of a 
qualified sales staff person employed by the air charter broker. Part 
of the justification for this time estimate is that the information to 
be disclosed is comprised of data elements that arise naturally from 
the arrangement of a flight operated by a direct air carrier. Given the 
substantive similarity of the disclosures required of air taxi 
operators and commuter air carriers, the Department assumed that they 
also require no more than 15 minutes per transaction.
    Estimated Annual Burden on Respondents: 70 hours for air charter 
brokers, assuming 15 minutes per transaction and 280 transactions per 
year per respondent (280 x .25 hours). Regarding the estimated 2,155 
taxi operators and commuter air carriers, given our previously stated 
estimate of

[[Page 7183]]

652,964 non-scheduled passenger revenue flights operated annually under 
Part 135, we estimate approximately 303 (652,964/2,155) transactions 
annually per air taxi operator or commuter air carrier. Assuming 15 
minutes per transaction, we estimate the total annual burden per 
respondent to be approximately 75 hours and 45 minutes (303 x .25 = 
75.75). However, discussions with individuals knowledgeable about the 
industry indicated that making these disclosures to charterers is 
already a standard part of customary and usual business practices for 
air charter brokers as well as air taxi operators and commuter air 
carriers. Thus, these entities should expect little or no incremental 
burden due to these disclosure requirements, as supported by comments 
received in response to the Department's NPRM.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: The estimated total annual burden 
would be 212,241 hours and 15 minutes. Regarding air charter brokers, 
based on the estimate of 700 respondents, with approximately 70 hours 
annually per respondent, the estimated total annual burden of the 
flight-specific disclosure requirements would be 49,000 hours. 
Regarding air taxi operators and commuter air carriers, based on the 
estimate of 2,155 respondents, with approximately 75.75 hours annually 
per respondent, the estimated total annual burden would be 163,241 
hours and 15 minutes (2,155 x 75.75). As stated previously, the total 
annual incremental burden to air taxi operators and commuter air 
carriers is expected to be minimal to none, since making these 
disclosures is already standard practice for this segment of the 
industry.
    Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of 
this information collection, including (a) whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the Department's 
performance; (b) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (c) ways for the 
Department to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information collection; and (d) ways that the burden could be minimized 
without reducing the quality of the collected information. The agency 
will summarize and/or include your comments in the request for OMB's 
clearance of this information collection.

    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35, as amended; and 49 CFR 1:48.

    Issued in Washington, DC on February 22, 2019.
Blane A. Workie,
Assistant General Counsel for Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings.
[FR Doc. 2019-03678 Filed 2-28-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P