DOT issued a proposed rulemaking addressing display of "basic" ancillary airline fees in various sales channels.

Now in a 90-day public comment period, DOT's long-awaited proposals include two alternatives: one requiring ancillaries be listed in global distribution systems and one without that requirement. DOT also will consider whether ancillary fee requirements should apply "only to agent and carrier website displays marketed to members of the general public, or whether the disclosure requirement should include agent and carrier website displays that are not publicly available (e.g., displays used by corporate travel agents)." DOT is defining "basic" ancillary services as a first checked bag, a second checked bag, a carry-on item and advance seat selection. It's asking for feedback on whether ancillaries should be "disclosed only upon the consumer's request" or "provided in the first screen that displays the results of a search performed by a consumer." Delayed for years due to a review by the Office of Management and Budget, the set of proposals also clarifies DOT's definition of a "ticket agent" to include GDSs, metasearch sites and other intermediaries "compensated in connection with the sale of air transportation." DOT also proposed to formalize rules disallowing "undisclosed biasing by carriers and ticket agents" in any online fare display that compares multiple airlines, including corporate agencies, unless a corporate client "agrees by contract to biases in the display used by its employees for business travel."