[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 226 (Monday, November 29, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67785-67786]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-25891]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

[OST Docket No. DOT-OST-2011-0022]


Notice of Submission of Proposed Information Collection to OMB 
Agency Request for Reinstatement of a Previously Approved Collection: 
Online Complaint Form for Service-Related Issues in Air Transportation

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments; reinstatement of an OMB 
control number.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 this 
notice announces the Department of Transportation's intention to 
reinstate an OMB control number for an online complaint form by which a 
consumer can electronically submit a service-related complaint against 
an airline and other sellers of air transportation.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by January 28, 2022.

ADDRESSES: To ensure that you do not duplicate your docket submissions, 
please submit them by only one of the following means:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments;
     Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, West Building Ground Floor, 
Room W-12/140, Washington, DC 20590-0001; or
     Hand Delivery: West Building Ground Floor, Room W-12/140, 
1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone number is 202-366-9329.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daeleen Chesley, Office of the 
Secretary, Office of Aviation Consumer Protection (C-70), U.S. 
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Washington, DC 
20590, 202 366-6792 (voice) or at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    OMB Control Number: 2105-0568.
    Title: Reinstatement of Office of Aviation Consumer Protection 
Online Complaint Form.
    Abstract: The Department of Transportation's (Department) Office of 
Aviation Consumer Protection (OACP, formerly the Office of Aviation 
Enforcement and Proceedings) has broad authority under 49 U.S.C., 
subtitle VII, to investigate and enforce consumer protection and civil 
rights laws and regulations related to air transportation. OACP 
monitors compliance with and investigates violations of the Department 
of Transportation's aviation economic, consumer protection, and civil 
rights requirements.
    Among other things, the office is responsible for receiving and 
investigating service-related consumer complaints filed against 
airlines and other sellers of air transportation. Once received, the 
complaints are reviewed by the office to determine the extent to which 
these entities comply with federal aviation consumer protection and 
civil rights laws and what, if any, action should be taken.
    This request is to enable consumers to continue to submit comments, 
including complaints, to the Department using an online form, whether 
via their personal computer or on a mobile/electronic device. If the 
online comment form is not available, the Department may receive fewer 
complaints/comments from consumers. The lack of consumer-driven 
information could inhibit the office's ability to effectively 
investigate both individual complaints against airlines and other 
sellers of air transportation. It would also impact OACP's ability to 
become aware of patterns and practices that may develop in violation of 
our rules. The information collection continues to further the 
objectives of 49 U.S.C. 41712, 40101, 40127, 41702, and 41705 to 
protect consumers from unfair or deceptive practices, to protect the 
civil rights of air travelers, and to ensure safe and adequate service 
in air transportation.
    Filing a complaint using a web-based form is voluntary and 
minimizes the burden on respondents when compared with other methods of 
submitting complaints. In recent years, consumers have submitted the 
vast majority of complaints online versus contacting the Department 
using regular mail or telephone. Approximately ninety percent of the 
submissions received by OACP during calendar years (CYs) 2017 through 
2019 were filed using the web-based form as shown in the table 
below.\1\
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    \1\ In 2020, the Department received an unusually high number 
(100,613) of online submissions to our office, primarily complaints, 
largely due to flight cancellations and refund issues that resulted 
from the Covid-19 pandemic. Using the average number of submissions 
from the three previous CYs more accurately reflects the annual 
number of submissions received by our office historically.

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                                                                   Total number    Total number    Percentage of
                          Calendar year                            of complaints   of complaints    complaints
                                                                       filed       filed online    filed online
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2017............................................................          18,155          16,067              89
2018............................................................          15,546          13,964              90
2019............................................................          15,342          14,107              92
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Average Total per Year (above)..............................          16,348          14,713              90
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[[Page 67786]]

    The type of information requested on the form includes 
complainant's name, address, phone number (including area code), email 
address, and name of the airline or company about which she/he is 
complaining, as well as the flight date and flight itinerary (where 
applicable) of a complainant's trip. A consumer may also use the form 
to give a description of a specific air-travel related problem or to 
ask for air-travel related information from the OACP. The Department 
has limited its informational request to that necessary to meet its 
program and administrative monitoring and enforcement activities.
    Respondents: Consumers that Choose to File an Online Complaint/
Comment with the Office of Aviation Consumer Protection.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 14,713 (based on averaging data 
from CYs 2017-19).
    Estimated Total Burden on Respondents: 3,678.25 hours (220,695 
minutes). The estimate was calculated by multiplying the average number 
of cases filed using the online form in CYs17-19 (14,713) by the time 
needed to fill out the online form (15 minutes).
    The information collection is available for inspection in 
regulations.gov, as noted in the Addresses section of this document.
    Comments are Invited on: (a) Whether the collection of information 
is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the 
Department, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the Department's estimate of the burden of 
the proposed information collection; (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.
    All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the 
request for OMB approval. All comments will also become a matter of 
public record on the docket.
    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 November 23, 2021.
Kimberly Graber,
Deputy Assistant General Counsel, Office of Aviation Consumer 
Protection.
[FR Doc. 2021-25891 Filed 11-26-21; 8:45 am]
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