[Travelandtourism] Consumers Will Wait: What the DOT Delay Means

[Mary Donahue]

Hello Cheryl and everyone,

	You couldn't have posted that at a better time with Matt speaking
tomorrow evening. Way to go!

Mary Donahue


-----Original Message-----
From: travelandtourism-bounces at nfbnet.org
[mailto:travelandtourism-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of cheryl echevarria
Sent: Monday, January 09, 2012 2:54 PM
To: travelandtourism; Echevarria Travelblog
Subject: [Travelandtourism] Consumers Will Wait: What the DOT Delay Means



Posted on Travel Weekly January 9, 2012
ir travelers will have to scrutinize their purchases and watch their wallets
for at least another year, says the Open Allies for Airfare Transparency
(OAAT), a pro consumer group that includes travel agents. 
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has further deferred its
consumer rulemaking III, with significant consequences for consumers, OAATS
says.
"Consumers who want to know the full cost of their airline tickets,
including fees for baggage, seating, boarding and more, and be able to
compare them with other airlines, before purchase, will wait," OAAT said. 
The issuance of a proposed rule is targeted for next August 27, with 60 days
allotted for public comment. A final rule almost surely will not be put into
effect until significantly into 2013, the Allies say.
DOT''s delay has been caused by a requirement to do a cost/benefits analysis
of its proposal, and the need to competitively bid out the contract for the
analysis.
"Although unavoidable, that delay is a real problem for air travelers," said
Art Sackler, Open Allies for Airfare Transparency executive director. 
"It means another year or more of confusion, complexity and no meaningful
way to compare across airlines and find the best deal on an all-in price. We
encourage DOT to take every step it can to shorten the projected time frame
for these new rules."
In its consumer rulemaking II, released in April of last year, DOT addressed
the question of hidden fees for all of the services airlines have
disaggregated, or unbundled, and are charging for separately, by requiring
those airlines to publish the fees on their websites and update them at
least every 90 days.
OAAT said, "DOT also announced then that it would conduct a third rulemaking
to address the manner in which fee information should be distributed and
communicated to travelers, whether business or leisure."
"With 50 percent or more of all airline tickets purchased via traditional
travel agents or online travel sites, it is imperative that
up-to-the-minute, transactable, fee information be provided through every
distribution channel an airline chooses to use, so that businesses and
consumers can fully compare prices and purchase at any point of sale," OAATS
said.
"The nearly 400 members of Open Allies believe the traveling public is
entitled to buy airline tickets, including fees for baggage or other
services they select, based on clear, complete and simple-to-understand
information. We look forward to continuing to provide our views to DOT in
the interest of helping to shape just that outcome for consumers," OAATS
said.
Open Allies for Airfare Transparency is a coalition of individuals,
companies, and organizations that believes that all airline fares and fees
should be transparent to the traveling public. Members include more than 380
of the world's leading travel management companies, corporate travel
departments,consumer groups and travel agencies.
Leading the Way in Independent Travel!

Cheryl Echevarria
http://www.echevarriatravel.com
631-456-5394
reservations at echevarriatravel.com

For daily updates read our blog at
http://www.echevarriatravel.wordpress.com

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