[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 210 (Wednesday, November 1, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75093-75095]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-24128]
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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 Revision 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. Revision of information
related to an active OMB control number.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, as
amended, this notice announces the Department of Transportation's
intention to revise information related to 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 air travel-
related companies.
DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by January 2, 2024.
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: Revision of the Office of Aviation Consumer Protection's
Online Air Travel Service Complaint/Comment Form.
Abstract: The Department of Transportation's (Department) Office of
Aviation Consumer Protection (OACP) 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 air travel-related companies. Complaints submitted
to OACP 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. OACP also
receives general comments and inquiries from air consumers via the
online form, but those are very few compared to the number of
complaints filed by consumers on an annual basis. (See Tables 1 and 2,
below).
This request is to revise the current information collection due to
updates that OACP is making to the office's online air consumer
complaint form as part of an Information Technology (IT) system
modernization project.\1\ The updated process continues to allow
consumers to input information related to complaints about their flight
experience, as well as to submit general inquiries/comments. However,
air consumers submitting complaints or comments via the modernized
system will be efficiently guided through their entry by a data input
system using conditional logic. The modernized system includes
additional information fields and, combined with the guided entry, will
better ensure an individual air consumer's specific concerns are more
comprehensively captured in the system database.
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\1\ OACP's legacy database is the Consumer Complaint Application
System (CCA). OACP is updating its IT system and the modernized
system will be known as the Aviation Complaint, Enforcement, and
Reporting System (ACERS).
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The modernized process will also streamline OACP's ability to
review data and analyze complaints. The revised process will also
reduce manual analyst processing steps. These improvements will
increase the office's ability to effectively investigate individual
complaints against airlines and other air travel-related companies.
This consumer-driven submission process enhances the information
collected and positively impacts OACP's ability to learn about patterns
and practices that may develop in violation of aviation consumer
protection requirements. The information collection continues to
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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.
The type of information requested on OACP's online form that is
active and currently covered by the existing OMB Control number
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. Air travel consumers use
the current form for complaints (to provide narrative information
regarding a specific air-travel related problem) or comments (to
comment about or ask for air-travel related information from OACP).
The modernized intake process guides an aviation consumer through
the following four steps: (1) Contact Information, (2) Flight
Information, (3) Complaint Details, and (4) Complaint Review and
Submission. Similar information is requested for comments. New/updated
consumer-related information includes the country of residence, whether
the trip involved a flight through the U.S. or a U.S. territory,
certain booking information, and the passenger's arrival/departure
airports. As currently drafted, the modernized online multi-step intake
process allows consumers (via radio buttons) to include information
about problems associated with the following main categories/subject
areas:
(1) Flight Schedule Issues;
(2) Bumping or Oversales;
(3) Reservations/Ticketing/Boarding;
(4) Fees or Ticket Fares;
(5) Refunds;
(6) Baggage/Luggage;
(7) Customer Service;
(8) Disability Accommodations (including service animals);
(9) Advertising;
(10) Discrimination (not disability related);
(11) Animals/Pet (not service animals);
(12) Safety;
(13) Security;
(14) Inflight Sexual Misconduct; and
(15) Other Problems (e.g., frequent flyer miles, air ambulance).
Once a consumer chooses a category, the consumer is guided through
a series of Yes/No questions that capture relevant information
pertaining to the nature of the complaint. An air travel consumer can
choose one or more complaint categories depending on the nature of his/
her experience and has the option to include narrative information.
Both the currently active online air travel consumer complaint form
and the modernized guided intake process include the ability for a
consumer to upload documents relevant to the complaint/comment.
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 most
complaints online via their personal computer or on a mobile/electronic
device. Approximately ninety-seven percent of the submissions received
by OACP during calendar years (CYs) 2021 and 2022 were filed using the
web-based form as shown in the table below.\2\
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\2\ As of CY 2020, OACP has received a higher number of online
submissions than those submitted in prior CYs. For example, our
CY17-19 average was 16,348 complaints submitted per year. In 2020,
the total was 100,613 and were mostly related to flight
cancellations and refund issues that resulted from the Covid-19
pandemic. In CYs 21 and 22, the number of submissions remain high
but are lower than the number of complaints submitted in CY2020. See
Table 1, above.
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OACP has limited the request to information necessary to meet its
aviation consumer protection monitoring and enforcement activities.
Table 1--Complaints Received by OACP
[CY21/22]
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Total number of Total number of
Calendar year complaints filed complaints filed % of on-line
on-line with OACP submissions
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2021...................................................... 48,465 49,958 97.01
2022...................................................... 75,731 77,656 97.52
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Average Total......................................... 62,098 63,807 97.27
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Table 2--Comments (Non-Complaints) Received by OACP
[CY21/22]
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Total number
Calendar year information Total number Total number
requests compliments opinions
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2021............................................................ 5,799 14 444
2022............................................................ 7,575 24 1008
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Average Total............................................... 6,687 19 726
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Total Yearly Average........................................ .............. .............. 6,782
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1. Air Travel Consumer Complaints Burden Calculations
Respondents: Consumers that Choose to File an Online Complaint with
the Office of Aviation Consumer Protection.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 62,098 (based on averaging data
from CYs 2021-22).
Estimated Total Burden on Respondents: 15,524.5 hours (931,470
minutes). The estimate was calculated by multiplying the average number
of cases filed using the online form in CYs 21-22 (62,098) by the
estimated time
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needed to fill out the online form (15 minutes).\3\
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\3\ Feedback obtained during development of the modernized
guided input process suggests that the form will take no longer than
15 minutes for a consumer to complete.
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2. Comment (Non-Complaint) Burden Calculations
Respondents: Consumers that Choose to File an Online Comment with
the Office of Aviation Consumer Protection.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 6,782 (based on averaging data
from CYs 2021-22).
Estimated Total Burden on Respondents: 565.17 hours (33,910
minutes). The estimate was calculated by multiplying the average number
of cases filed using the online form in CYs 21-22 (6,782) by the
estimated time needed to fill out the online form (5 minutes).\4\
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\4\ An air consumer submitting these types of filing generally
provide less information, so we estimate 5 minutes is sufficient.
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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 October 27, 2023.
Kimberly Graber,
Deputy Assistant General Counsel, Office of Aviation Consumer
Protection.
[FR Doc. 2023-24128 Filed 10-31-23; 8:45 am]
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