[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 161 (Tuesday, August 24, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47292-47293]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-18160]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Economic Analysis


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Services Surveys: BE-9, Quarterly Survey of Foreign Airline 
Operators' Revenues and Expenses in the United States

AGENCY: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of information collection, request for comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other 
Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information 
collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information 
collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The 
purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment 
preceding submission of the collection to OMB.

DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed 
information collection must be received on or before October 25, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments to 
Christopher Stein, Chief, Services Surveys Branch, Bureau of Economic 
Analysis, by email to [email protected] or [email protected]. 
Please reference OMB Control Number 0608-0068 in the subject line of 
your comments. Do not submit confidential business information or 
otherwise sensitive or protected information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
specific questions related to collection activities should be directed 
to Christopher Stein, Chief, Services Surveys Branch, Bureau of 
Economic Analysis, 301-278-9189, or via email to 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Quarterly Survey of Foreign Airline Operators' Revenues and 
Expenses in the United States (BE-9) collects data from U.S. offices, 
agents, or other representatives of foreign airline operators that 
transport passengers or freight and express to or from the United 
States. A U.S. office, agent, or other representative of a foreign 
airline operator must report if total covered revenues or total covered 
expenses were $5 million or more in the previous year or are expected 
to be $5 million or more during the current year.
    The data are needed to monitor trade in transport services, to 
analyze the impact of U.S. trade on the U.S. and foreign economies, to 
compile and improve the U.S. economic accounts, to support U.S. 
commercial policy on trade in transport services, to conduct trade 
promotion, and to improve the ability of U.S. businesses to identify 
and evaluate market opportunities. The data are used in estimating the 
transport services component of the U.S. international transactions 
accounts (ITAs) and national income and product accounts (NIPAs).
    The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) is proposing modifications to 
the information collected on the BE-9 survey, and a change to the 
survey due

[[Page 47293]]

date, beginning with the reporting period for first quarter 2022. The 
proposed modifications to the BE-9 survey would eliminate the 
collection of certain items not currently needed to estimate 
international transactions in air transportation services and introduce 
new items that will increase the quality and usefulness of BEA's 
statistics on trade in transport services.
    BEA proposes to eliminate the collection of several items on the 
BE-9 survey: (1) Freight revenue on merchandise exported from, and 
imported to, the United States; (2) shipping weights on which freight 
revenues reported were earned, and (3) revenues from transporting 
passengers to or from the United States. BEA proposes to eliminate 
these items because the information collected is not currently used to 
estimate international transactions in air transportation services and 
is not expected to be needed in the future.
    BEA proposes to collect three additional foreign airline 
identification elements on the BE-9 survey: (1) The foreign airline's 
country of residency, (2) the foreign airline's International Air 
Transport Association (IATA) code, and (3) the International Civil 
Aviation Organization (ICAO) code. These elements will enable BEA to 
match information reported on the BE-9 with supplemental information 
received from other government agencies and increase the quality and 
accuracy of BEA's statistics on trade in services.
    Additionally, BEA proposes to add foreign airliners' in-flight 
sales revenue (total and by region) and expand the information 
collected on number of passengers to include the region. In-flight 
sales are revenues of the airline or a vendor for the purposes of 
consumption on the aircraft (food, drinks, Wi-Fi, pillows, etc.). The 
data will be used to close a gap in the ancillary fees component of air 
passenger transport. Collecting this information by region will allow 
BEA to produce more detailed statistics on trade in transport services 
because large differences exist across regions in per-passenger 
ancillary fee revenue, mostly corresponding to length of flight. BEA 
proposes to collect this item and number of passengers by region 
according to the three regional designations outlined by the U.S. 
Department of Transportation in 14 CFR 241.21(g)--Atlantic Ocean, 
Pacific Ocean, and Latin America. These designations group Canada 
within the domestic category. Although revenue and expenses for Canada 
must be included in all other items on this survey, Canada will be 
excluded from the items on in-flight sales revenue and number of 
passengers.
    BEA also proposes to change the due date of the survey to 30 days 
after the close of each quarter from 45 days. Shortening the reporting 
timeline will allow BEA to produce more accurate and complete trade in 
transport services statistics in preliminary estimates of the ITAs, 
which is critical information for policymakers' timely decisions on 
international trade policy. The earlier due date will allow BEA to use 
more reported data for preliminary statistics, improving the accuracy 
of both the aggregates and the country detail, reducing revisions in 
subsequent statistical releases.
    BEA estimates there will be no change in the average number of 
burden hours per response, which is currently estimated to be 6 hours. 
The language in the instructions and definitions will be reviewed and 
adjusted as necessary to clarify survey requirements.

II. Method of Collection

    BEA contacts potential respondents by mail at the end of each 
quarter. Respondents would be required to file the completed BE-9 forms 
within 30 days after the end of each quarter. Reports would be required 
from U.S. offices, agents, or other representatives of foreign airline 
operators that transport passengers to or from the United States, whose 
total covered revenues or total covered expenses were $5 million or 
more during the previous year or are expected to exceed that amount 
during the current year. Entities required to report will be contacted 
individually by BEA. Entities not contacted by BEA have no reporting 
responsibilities.
    BEA offers its electronic filing option, the eFile system, for use 
in reporting on Form BE-9. For more information about eFile, go to 
www.bea.gov/efile. In addition, BEA posts all its survey forms and 
reporting instructions on its website, www.bea.gov/ssb. These may be 
downloaded, completed, printed, and submitted via fax or mail.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0608-0068.
    Form Number(s): BE-9.
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: Foreign airline operators.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 500 annually (125 filed each 
quarter; 115 reporting mandatory data, and 10 that would file exemption 
claims or voluntary responses).
    Estimated Time per Response: 6 hours is the average for those 
reporting data and one hour is the average for those filing an 
exemption claim. Hours may vary considerably among respondents because 
of differences in company size and complexity.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 2,800.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: International Investment and Trade in Services 
Survey Act (Pub. L. 94-472, 22 U.S.C. 3101-3108, as amended).

IV. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the Agency, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the burden 
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; 
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request 
to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, phone 
number, email address, or other personal identifying information in 
your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--including 
your personal identifying information--may be made publicly available 
at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold your 
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2021-18160 Filed 8-23-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-06-P