ATA Reinforces Commitment to Transparency of Optional Fees

Commercial aviation helps drive more than 10M American jobs and 5 cents of every dollar of U.S. GDP
Commercial aviation drives more than $1 trillion per year in economic activity
In 2012, U.S. airlines moved more than 48,000 tons of cargo per day
In 2012, the value of a kilogram of U.S. merchandise exported by air averaged 121 times the value exported by sea
For every 100 airline jobs, some 360 are supported outside of the airline industry
Federal taxes constitute $61 – or 20% – of the price of a typical $300 domestic round-trip ticket
In 2011, U.S. airlines carried 16 percent more passengers and cargo using 10 percent less fuel than in 2000
Domestically, airlines drive 5% of economic activity but account for 2% of man-made GHG emissions
From 2000-2011, airlines reduced GHG emissions by 11% while transporting 16% more passengers and cargo
From 1975-2011, U.S. airlines and their partners reduced significant noise exposure by 99%
Commercial air travel is the safest form of intercity transportation in the United States
In the most recent decade, scheduled air service on U.S. airlines was seven times safer than in the 1970s
From 2000-2012, U.S. airlines improved the on-time arrival rate from 72.6% to 81.9%
From 2000-2012, U.S. airlines reduced the flight cancellation rate sharply from 3.30% to 1.29%
Airfares are a bargain: From 2000-2012, U.S. CPI rose 33% while average domestic fare rose just 14%
Adjusted for inflation, the average round-trip domestic airfare fell 15% from 2000
2007 domestic flight delays cost the United States approximately $31 billion
In 2012, the value of U.S. merchandise exported by air reached an all-time high of $427B
In 2012, U.S. exports of air-travel services reached an all-time high of $39.5B, driving a $5.1B trade surplus
In 2012, U.S. passenger and cargo airlines spent more than $50B on fuel, averaging 36% of operating expenses
In 2012, U.S. airlines posted the lowest annual rate of mishandled baggage ever recorded
FAA projects U.S. air travel demand to top 1 billion passengers in 2027
In 2012, US airlines flew 83.4 million passengers in scheduled international service - a record high
In 2012, the total value of merchandise exported from or imported to the United States by air exceeded $927 billion
In 2012, 7.15 teragrams of merchandise was exported from or imported to the United States by air

	ATA Reinforces Commitment to Transparency of Optional Fees
	PubZone1 October 14, 2010 The Honorable Robert Menendez 528 Hart Senate Office Building United States Senate Washington, DC 20510 Re: Enhancing Airline Passenger Protections Dear Senator Menendez: On behalf of the member airlines of the Air Transport Association, I want to respond to the September 23, 2010 letter that you and several of your colleagues sent to Transportation Secretary LaHood. Despite the varied views about optional ancillary fees, our key point is that we strongly support transparency as a benefit to consumers, who should be given the ability to choose between carriers who either don’t charge for certain services or charge differing fees. ATA carriers are committed to providing superior customer service to airline passengers. Your letter requested that the Department of Transportation (DOT) include several items in its Final Rule on Passenger Protections. While ATA filed comprehensive comments with DOT on the NPRM, a summary of our position on the actions you requested follows. Require full disclosure of all fees and charges before passengers purchase a ticket whether directly from an airline or from a third-party intermediary. ATA members support disclosure and agree that a hyperlink to a page disclosing optional fees would provide the best notice to passengers of optional fees. All fees for services requested are disclosed before a ticket is purchased. However, carriers should not be forced to provide fee schedules for optional services to alternative distribution channels. This should be subject to standard commercial negotiations between the airlines and these alternative distribution channels, including global distribution systems (GDSs). Otherwise, there is no incentive for these channels to lower their costs to airlines, which would result in increased overall costs of air travel. Moreover, many fees for nontransportation services vary depending on the frequent-flier status of the customer (a status that can extend to the traveling party or family); whether the passenger has a carrier loyalty credit card; and whether the passenger has purchased, among other options, an annual subscription to some optional services. Any fee information provided would not necessarily apply to all passengers, and could be more confusing to consumers than helpful. A negotiated contractual arrangement between airlines and these channels is the best approach to avoid such customer confusion. DOT should not let the global distribution systems acquire more market power, acquire content for free or injure airline sources in the distribution network. It should also be noted that the same distribution channels that sell airline tickets also sell other travel products, such as hotel rooms and rental cars. Interestingly, there is no proposed government mandate (nor should there be) that would require hotels, for example, to disclose at the time of booking the myriad optional fees (room location, beverages, parking, cancellation charges, to name but a few) that a guest may encounter while staying at a hotel. Optional fees involving airlines should not be subject to governmental requirements not imposed on other sectors. Require sellers of air transportation to display a “full price” including optional fees selected by the passenger when a passenger searches for a particular itinerary. Since carriers vary on (1) what optional services are available on a particular flight; (2) which customers can choose optional services; and (3) what services, if offered, incur a fee, it would be impossible to mandate a set of criteria that carriers would have to include in a display. In addition, carriers support transparency of fees, and ample information on the cost of such services is already available on carrier websites. Require that carriers make all ancillary fee information available to travel agencies through the global distribution systems (GDSs). Whether carriers should provide fee schedules for optional services to GDSs, or authorize travel agents to sell such services and collect the fees from customers, are among the principal competitive issues presently being negotiated between carriers, GDSs and travel agents. Neither Congress nor the administration should interfere in these contractual discussions. Deregulation of GDSs was predicated on the negotiation of commercial arrangements between airlines and GDSs. A government mandate that carriers must provide GDSs with fee schedules would interfere with these commercial negotiations, further strengthen GDS market power and thwart the entry of new competitors in the GDS market. Such a mandate would simply increase costs to consumers to recoup excessive GDS booking fees.1 Please know that carriers are committed to providing excellent customer service - and giving passengers the right to choose between carriers based on fares, fees and service is part of a healthy deregulated industry. We believe that it is important for the administration and Congress to closely analyze any proposed policy to determine its impact on customers. ATA appreciates this opportunity to address these concerns, and I would welcome the opportunity to discuss these issues with you personally. Sincerely, James C. May cc: The Honorable Benjamin Cardin The Honorable Mark Begich The Honorable Mary Landrieu The Honorable George LeMieux The Honorable Charles Schumer The Honorable Ron Wyden 1 Southwest Airlines does not concur with the ATA position on GDS ancillary-fee disclosures. Southwest’s position on this issue is set out in its comments that are filed in DOT NPRM Docket DOT-OST-2010-0140. PubZone2	A4A advocates measures to support aviation safety, security and well-being.