The U.S. Transportation
Department once again has moved the goalposts on its eagerly anticipated and
hotly disputed Enhancing Passenger Protections III notice of proposed
rulemaking, this time to Nov. 30 from Aug. 10, The Beat reported Friday. The proposals, which, among
other provisions, could require airlines to display ancillary fees through global
distribution systems in which they participate, now is more than 10 months
behind the initial schedule outlined by DOT.
As explanation for the
postponement, DOT noted that it is "awaiting development of additional
data," the same reason cited for the prior delay, which shifted public
filing of the initial rulemaking to August from April.
As feared by some of
those advocating for the GDS fee provision, the fate of the rulemaking won't be
known until well after the November elections.
The proposals have been
festering in Washington for even longer than that initial scheduling order, as
DOT's efforts to regulate ancillary fee disclosures through GDSs first were
revealed in summer 2010. After deferring a decision on the matter as part of
its second batch of "Enhancing Airline Passenger Protection"
regulations, DOT expected to publicly propose rules on Jan. 6, 2012.
The Beat
on Thursday reported that DOT had contracted HDR Decision Economics to conduct
by August an economic impact analysis of the potential rules. While that
article cited a previous timeline, which appears as current in DOT's latest
monthly "Report on Significant Rulemakings," Business Travel
Coalition chairman Kevin Mitchell pointed out the new timeframe. A DOT
spokesman confirmed the latest postponement.
"The U.S.
Department of Transportation is committed to protecting the rights of consumers
when they travel by air, and we intend to issue our new proposed airline
consumer rule late fall of this year," according to the spokesman.
"Because there are complex issues being addressed in this rulemaking,
additional time is needed for this analysis."
If previous DOT
rulemakings are a guide, Mitchell now estimates that the rules would take
effect no earlier than November 2013. The notice of proposed rulemaking would
kick off a public comment period, scheduled through Feb. 7, 2013, which would
be followed by further DOT examination, a review by the Office of Management
and Budget and an eventual final ruling.
This interview was originally
published by The Beat.