[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

[[Page 75094]]

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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