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jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with PROPOSALS

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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 137 / Wednesday, July 21, 2021 / Proposed Rules
deceptive practice in violation of section 41712. Some airlines have adopted and published specific policies that provide refunds of fees for ancillary services that the passengers do not receive. Further, a review of some consumer complaint files regarding ancillary services that were not received show that airlines generally refund those fees.
In this NPRM, the Department proposes to codify in the rule text the requirement of 49 U.S.C. 42301, note prec. on ancillary fee refunds, as well as the Departments long-standing policy, which is consistent with that statutory provision. As such, the proposal would require covered carriers to promptly refund an ancillary service fee they charged a passenger, if the passenger did not receive the ancillary service he or she paid for because 1 the service was not made available to that passenger on the flight he or she took either the original flights or an alternative flight due to schedule changes made by the airlines or due to an oversales situation; or 2 if the passenger did not take any flight due to the airline not operating the flight or making a significant change to the flight.
Under this proposal, a passenger would generally be entitled to a refund of the ancillary service fee if the passenger did not receive the ancillary service. The proposal is focused on whether a carrier failed to fulfill its obligation to provide the service, as opposed to whether the service was actually utilized by the passenger. If the service was available but a passenger did not use the service, the passenger would not be entitled to a refund. For example, when a passenger pays for wifi service on a flight, if the service is available to all passengers who purchased the wi-fi service, but a particular passenger is unable to use the service due to issues with a personal device, or the passenger simply decides to not use the service, there would be no requirement to refund the fee paid by that passenger. Also under this proposal, a flight schedule change affirmatively made by the passenger or due to passenger action would not result in eligibility for the ancillary fee refund.
For instance, if a passenger is reaccommodated on an alternate flight due to late check-in and the ancillary service the passenger paid for such as wi-fi service is not available on the alternate flight, our proposal would not require the carrier to refund the ancillary service fee. The Department solicits comments on the reasonableness of this airline obligation-focused approach.

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3. Prompt Refund The Department is proposing to apply the same promptness standards to refunding ancillary services fees when refunds are due that is currently applicable to refunds for tickets, optional services that could not be used due to an oversale or flight cancellation, and lost bags. A prompt refund must be provided within seven days for credit card transactions and 20 days for transactions involving cash, checks, vouchers, or frequent flyer miles after the entity responsible for issuing a refund receives a request for a refund and the documentation necessary for processing the refund.
4. Entity Responsible for Refund The Department recognizes that the entity that processed the ancillary fee charge may not necessarily be the entity that is responsible for providing the ancillary service. For example, in a codeshare or interline itinerary, the carrier that charges a fee for an ancillary service to be provided on a flight may not be the carrier that operates the flight. In these situations, the passenger who did not receive the ancillary service on the flight would need to contact the carrier that collected the fee to request a refund. Similar to the multicarrier scenario for delayed baggage, the Department is proposing to hold the carrier that collects the fee for ancillary service usually the marketing carrier of an itinerary responsible for issuing a refund when the carrier or another carrier usually under a codeshare or interline agreement with the marketing carrier fails to provide the ancillary service.
For passengers who purchase airline tickets from ticket agents, the Department understands that on occasion ancillary services may be available for purchase at the time of ticket reservation from a ticket agent.
For example, the Department is aware that some ticket agents websites offer the option for consumers to select seats for a fee during the booking process. It is the Departments understanding that this fee charged by a ticket agent is passed on to the carrier whose ticket stock is used for issuing the ticket. DOT
proposes that, if a passenger purchases an ancillary service from a ticket agent, the Department would hold the carrier responsible for issuing the refund because the ticket agent is collecting the ancillary service fee on the carriers behalf and passing on the fee to the carrier. The carrier presumably has a contractual relationship with the ticket agent, and 49 U.S.C. 42301, note prec.
requires airlines to refund ancillary fees
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paid for services related to air travel.
With respect to multiple-carrier itineraries for which a ticket agent collects an ancillary service fee, the Department is proposing that the last carrier that operates the flight issue the refund if there are multiple airlines involved. The Department solicits comment on whether, rather than requiring the last carrier that operates the flight to issue the refund, it should require the carrier that marketed the last flight segment provide the refund.
Through contractual agreements, carriers and ticket agents can determine how best to prorate the cost of refunds among themselves.
Similar to our proposal on refunding baggage fees, this NPRM does not propose to hold ticket agents that sell the ancillary services responsible for refunds. The Department is proposing a simple refund process to avoid passengers being sent back and forth among different entities in situations where one entity charged the passenger the fee for the ancillary service and another entity failed to provide the paid for service. Accordingly, the Department is seeking a general overview of ticket agents role in the transaction and collection of ancillary service fees and the process of how fees collected by ticket agents are transferred to carriers.
This information will assist the Department in determining how the Departments regulation requiring airlines to refund ancillary service fees should address the role of ticket agents and other non-carrier entities that may play a role in the sales of ancillary services.
Regulatory Analyses and Notices A. Executive Order 12866 Regulatory Planning and Review This action has been determined to be not significant under Executive Order 12866 Regulatory Planning and Review, as supplemented by Executive Order 13563 Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review.
Accordingly, the Office of Management and Budget OMB has not reviewed it under that order.
The proposed rule would mandate refunds of baggage fees for significantly delayed checked baggage. It would set a threshold of 12 hours for domestic baggage and 25 hours for international baggage. The proposed rule would also mandate refunds of ancillary fees for services that passengers did not receive.
Refunds of baggage fees and ancillary service fees represent a transfer from airlines to passengers whose bags were mishandled by the airline. Accordingly, the impacts of this rule are
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