United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1996-01-11 monographic deposited born digital 20 p. GA 1.13:RCED-96-8 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-96-8 P0b002ee180389822 f:rc96008 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-RCED-96-8 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-RCED-96-8 RCED-96-8 Commercial aviation Airline industry Licenses Air transportation operations Airline regulation Financial management Safety standards Cost control Airport and Airway Trust Fund DC-9 Aircraft Letter Report RCED Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Transportation's (DOT) processes for certifying the initial operations of new airlines, focusing on the: (1) number of applicants that applied for and received authorization to begin new airlines since 1990; and (2) cost to certify new airlines and how the cost is distributed between the government and the applicants.<p/>GAO found that: (1) from January 1990 to July 1995, 180 applicants applied to begin new airline operations and 90 received authorization to do so; (2) 33 of the 90 airlines ceased operations prior to July 1995; (3) the 90 remaining applicants were not authorized to begin airline operations because they lacked the financial resources necessary to carry out proposed services or the DOT Office of the Secretary (OST) had not approved their applications; (4) the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has revised its certification process to prevent applicants lacking sufficient financial resources from proceeding into the airline certification process; (5) OST and FAA have established an electronic communication link to share information about airline applicants, but it is unknown how much this will reduce the unnecessary expenditure of DOT resources; (6) applicants pay less than $1,000 to apply for airline certification, while the government pays up to $150,000 to process each application; (7) a portion of the government's cost of certifying new airlines is recouped from ticket and fuel taxes once the applicants begin operations; and (8) OST and FAA must examine the appropriateness of certification fees, since certification costs are not recovered under the fee structure. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-96-8/html/GAOREPORTS-RCED-96-8.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-96-8/pdf/GAOREPORTS-RCED-96-8.pdf GAO/RCED-96-8 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-96-8 Letter Report GAO/RCED-96-8; Certification of New Airlines: Department of Transportation Has Taken Action to Improve Its Certification Process; Commercial aviation Airline industry Licenses Air transportation operations Airline regulation Financial management Safety standards Cost control Airport and Airway Trust Fund DC-9 Aircraft