Quiero saber acerca de...

38428

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 137 / Wednesday, July 21, 2021 / Proposed Rules
In summary, the Departments proposed procedure requires that the airline collecting the baggage fee issue a refund, in the same form of payment, within seven or 20 days depending on the form of payment after the delay in the delivery of the bag has exceeded the applicable deadline and after the passenger has notified that airline of the delay. The Department seeks comment on whether this proposed procedure is a reasonable and workable way for carriers to meet the statutory requirement to promptly provide an automated refund to an eligible passenger when a carrier fails to meet the applicable time limit in delivering the checked bag and the passenger has notified the carrier of the lost or delayed checked baggage. The Department also seeks comment on whether requiring passengers to notify the entity that collected the bag fee about the bag delay when they already filed mishandled baggage report with another entity is overly burdensome to them. In particular, if commenters take the view that requiring passengers to provide notifications to the entities that collected baggage fees from them is overly burdensome, the Department seeks suggestions for alternative procedures.
6. Other Issues In addition to providing comments to questions specifically raised in the ANPRM, commenters also raised other issues for consideration.

jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with PROPOSALS

a. Oversized/Overweight Bag Fees Carriers normally set a maximum allowance for the size and the weight of a standard checked bag, and charge a higher fee for an oversized and/or overweighed bag. Some commenters contend that fees for oversized and overweight bags should be exempt from the refund requirement because these bags are still delivered even if they were late. However, the statutory language in 49 U.S.C. 41704, note requires a refund for delayed checked baggage, making no distinction or exception for special items that are transported as checked bags. The Department interprets the statute to cover oversized/overweight bags, and accordingly proposes to treat them the same as standard sized bags.
b. Escalated Fee Scale for Multiple Checked Bags Many carriers have adopted an escalated fee scale for additional bags checked by one passenger, under which if more than one bag is checked, an escalated bag fee is charged for each additional bag. Problems may arise when carriers try to determine the
VerDate Sep<11>2014

16:23 Jul 20, 2021

Jkt 253001

amount of refund if only one or some of the multiple checked bags are delayed.
Airlines for America A4A suggests that when carriers can identify which bag is delayed, only the fee paid for that bag should be refunded. The Department agrees generally with this approach but if a dispute were to arise between a consumer and an airline, the airline would have the burden of providing documentary evidence to identify the specific fee charged for a specific bag.
For example, when a passenger checks multiple bags, if a carriers baggage handling system assigns a unique identification to each checked bag and correlates the specific baggage fee charged to the specific bag, the carrier would be permitted to provide a refund in that amount if that bag was delayed.
On the other hand, if the carriers system was able to assign an identification to each bag but baggage fees were charged in a lump sum, then the Department proposes that the refund for one delayed bag would be in the amount equal to the highest baggage fee per bag charged in that transaction.
c. Voluntary Separation and Liability Waiver A4A asserts in its comment that when a passenger voluntarily agrees to be separated from his or her checked bags, the refund requirement should not apply. One scenario presented by A4A
involves a passenger who does not meet the minimum check-in time requirement but the carrier allows the passenger to check-in for the flight anyway with the caveat that there may not enough time to transport the checked bag to the same flight. Another scenario involves a standby passenger who is offered to board a flight at a time very close to departure with the caveat that there may not be enough time to load his or her checked bag on that flight. If the passenger is informed, voluntarily agrees to travel without the checked bag on the same flight, and signs a waiver of liability associated with the delayed bag, A4A believes that the baggage fee refund requirement should not apply if the bag does not arrive by the deadline that triggers the refund requirement. The Department tentatively agrees with this approach and proposes such an exception. DOT
reminds the industry that such an exception would only waive the passengers entitlement to a baggage fee refund due to delayed bag delivery, and it would not waive any compensation due to the passenger if the checked bag is lost or damaged.
The Department seeks comment on the issues described above. The Department also notes that carriers are
PO 00000

Frm 00010

Fmt 4702

Sfmt 4702

liable for incidental expenses associated with a delayed bag. Some airlines have suggested that when a late-boarding passenger is informed that his or her bag may not be transported on the same flight but chooses to take the flight anyway, the passenger is waiving the right to claim compensation for incidental expenses associated with a delayed bag. The Department solicits comment on whether, in such delayed bag scenarios, airlines should be permitted to require passengers to waive any rights to compensation for incidental expenses and if so, whether the Department should require that airlines retain such records for a specified time period.
d. Alternative Transportation Commenters also brought up issues associated with baggage fee refunds when a passenger does not take a scheduled flight for various reasons.
A4A suggests that when a passenger voluntarily chooses to take alternative ground transportation due to a lengthy flight delay or cancellation, the carrier should not be responsible for refunding bag fees. On the other hand, A4A states that when a carrier arranges for the passenger to travel on an alternative ground transportation, the baggage fee refund requirement should apply and the clock should start at the flights actual arrival time. In addition, A4A
argues that when a carrier arranges for a passenger to travel on a flight by another carrier, the baggage fee refund requirement should not apply because otherwise it would discourage carriers from offering travel on other carriers flights.
The Department tentatively agrees with the position that when passengers voluntarily choose to not travel on the scheduled flight or a substitute flight offered by the carrier, either by taking ground transportation that the passenger arranges on their own, or by purchasing tickets on flights of another carrier, the baggage fee refund requirement should not apply. The goal of the baggage fee refund requirement is to compensate passengers for bag delays caused by carriers. In the situations described above, a passengers own decision to not travel on the scheduled or substitute flight arranged by the carrier is an intervening action that may contribute to a delay in being reunited with his or her bag. Conversely, when it is a carrier making the decision to arrange for alternative travel for passengers, either on ground transportation, on a later flight operated by that carrier, or on a flight by another carrier, the baggage fee refund requirement should apply. In those situations, under this proposal,
E:FRFM21JYP1.SGM

21JYP1