[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 3 (Wednesday, January 5, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 555-557]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-165]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Agency Information Collection; Activity Under OMB Review; Report
of Traffic and Capacity Statistics--The T-100 System
AGENCY: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), DOT.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public
Law 104-13, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) invites the
general public, industry and other Federal Agencies to comment on the
continuing need for and usefulness of collecting market and segment
traffic statistics from U.S. and foreign air carriers.
DATES: Written comments should be submitted by March 6, 2000.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be directed to: Office of Airline
Information, K-25, Room 4125, Bureau of Transportation Statistics,
Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC
20590-0001, FAX NO. (202) 366-3383 or EMAIL bernard.stankus@bts.gov.
COMMENTS: Comments should identify the OMB # 2138-0040 and submit a
duplicate copy to the address listed above. Commenters wishing the
Department to acknowledge receipt of their comments must submit with
those comments a self-addressed stamped postcard on which the following
statement is made: Comments on OMB # 2138-0040. The postcard will be
date/time stamped and returned to the commenter.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bernie Stankus, Office of Airline
Information, K-25, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 400 Seventh
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001, (202) 366-4387.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
OMB Approval No. 2138-0040
Title: Report of Traffic and Capacity Statistics--The T-100 System.
Form No.: Schedule T-100 and Schedule T-100(f).
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Respondents: U.S. certificated and foreign air carriers.
Number of Respondents: 90 U.S. certificated air carriers 176
foreign air carriers.
Number of Responses: 3192.
Estimated Time Per Response: 10 hours per U.S. carrier 1.5 hours
per foreign carrier.
Total Annual Burden: 14,000 hours.
Needs and Uses: Air services between the United States and most
foreign countries are governed by bilateral aviation agreements.
Evaluations of existing bilateral agreements and proposed changes to
such agreements are based on a determination of the traffic and
revenues between the United States and foreign countries for scheduled
passenger and cargo flights as well as charter services. In order to
determine conditions of reciprocity and the overall balance of trade,
DOT conducts similar analyses for countries with which the United
States does not have bilateral aviation agreements. Information used in
these analyses includes traffic volume by countries and by city-pairs
for passenger and cargo services and the corresponding traffic yields.
Data such as passenger and cargo load factors, aircraft seating
configurations, cargo capacities, and aircraft unit costs are also
used.
Air Carrier Safety
The Department is responsible for monitoring the safety levels and
continuing fitness of individual air carrier operators. These programs
conduct risk analysis and evaluations based on air carrier traffic and
capacity statistics. For instance, if a carrier is rapidly expanding
its operations, traffic data may indicate whether its expansion is
exceeding its capacity for growth. Further, Departmental decisions as
to the frequency and intensity of in-depth inspections are affected by
such activity indicators.
International Routes
In air carrier selection cases for limited entry international
routes, the competing air carriers are required to submit an operating
plan. To analyze a proposed operating plan, the Department uses current
and historical traffic and capacity data of the applicant and other air
carriers serving the relevant markets to determine the reliability of
the applicant's financial and traffic forecasts and to evaluate the
applicant's competing fare and service proposals.
In a route case where an air carrier proposes ``primary service''
and ``behind gateway'' service, timely and consistent data are
essential for the Department to respond to the procedural deadlines
mandated by the Airline Deregulation Act in route application
proceedings, such as the 150 days given to the Administrative Law Judge
to receive evidence, conduct a hearing, and issue a Recommended
Decision.
International/Alaska Mail Rates
The Department is responsible for establishing international and
intra-Alaska mail rates. Separate international mail rates are set
based on scheduled operations in four geographic areas: Transborder,
Latin America, the Atlantic, and the Pacific. The rate structure is
updated biannually to reflect changes in unit costs in each ratemaking
entity. In the rate-making process, the investment base and area cost
calculations use traffic and capacity data, such as enplaned tons and
available ton-miles, to develop the required unit cost data, as well as
to evaluate the reasonableness of carrier cost allocations between
entities.
International Fares and Rates
The Department is charged with establishing regulatory benchmarks
(zones of reasonableness) for its review of international fares and
rates for passenger and cargo traffic, respectively. The benchmark for
passenger fares is
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the Standard Foreign Fare Level (SFFL) and the benchmark for cargo
rates is the Standard Foreign Rate Level (SFRL). Both establish levels
below which proposed fares or rates normally will not be suspended.
These standards rely upon cost and capacity data by entity (i.e., Latin
America, Pacific and Atlantic), and require that such data be uniform
among the various air carrier submissions.
Review of IATA Agreements
The Department reviews all of the International Air Transport
Association (IATA) agreements on fares, rates and rules governing
international air transportation to ensure that such agreements meet
the public interest criteria set forth in the Federal Aviation Act of
1958, as amended (FAAct). Current and historical summary traffic and
capacity data, such as revenue ton-miles and available ton-miles, by
type of aircraft, type of service, and length of haul are needed in
these analyses: (1) To develop the volume elements that are required
for making various passenger/cargo cost allocations, (2) to evaluate
fluctuations in volume of scheduled and charter services, (3) to assess
the competitive impact of different operations such as charter versus
scheduled, (4) to calculate load factors by aircraft type, and (5) to
monitor traffic in specific markets.
Foreign Air Carriers Applications
Foreign air carriers are required to submit to the Department
applications for operating authority to the United States. In reviewing
foreign air carrier applications, the Department must find that the
requested authority is encompassed in a bilateral aviation agreement or
other intergovernmental understanding, or, in the absence of such an
agreement or an understanding, that granting the application is
consistent with the public interest. In these latter cases, T-100 data
are used in assessing the level of benefits that carriers of the
applicant's homeland presently are receiving from their United States
operations. In addition, those benefits, coupled with the value of the
authority requested by the applicant carrier, are compared to the
benefits accruing to U.S. carriers from their operations in the
applicant's homeland. This assessment is critical in making the
necessary public interest determination.
Air Carrier Fitness
The Department is required to determine whether or not applicants
for certificate authority are fit, willing and able to conduct the
proposed level of service, and whether current certificate holders
remain fit. The requirement also applies to all established air
carriers that propose a substantial change in operations, or whose
certificates have been dormant for over one year and want to resume
service.
In air carrier fitness determinations, T-100 nonstop segment and
on-flight market statistics are reviewed to analyze an air carrier's
level of traffic and capacity. Load factors (passenger and cargo) are
compared with those of other air carriers with similar operating
characteristics, and used to assess trends in the level of operations.
Acquisitions and Mergers
While the Justice Department has primary responsibility over air
carrier acquisitions and mergers, the Department reviews the transfer
of international routes involved in acquisitions and mergers to
determine if they would substantially reduce competition, or if they in
some other way would be inconsistent with the public interest. In
making these determinations, the proposed transaction's effect on
competition in the markets served by the affected air carriers is
analyzed. This analysis includes, among other things, a consideration
of the volume of traffic and available capacity, the flight segments
and origins-destinations involved, and the existence of entry barriers,
such as limited airport slots or gate capacity. Also included is a
review of the volume of traffic handled by each air carrier at specific
airports and in specific markets which would be affected by the
proposed acquisition or merger.
The Justice Department also uses T-100 data in carrying out its
responsibilities relating to airline competition and consolidation.
Airline Industry Status Evaluations
The Department apprizes Congress, the Administration and others of
the effect major changes or innovations are having on the air
transportation industry. For this purpose, summary traffic and capacity
data as well as the detailed segment and market data are essential.
These data must be timely to be relevant for analyzing emerging issues
and must be based upon uniform and reliable data submissions that are
consistent with the Department's regulatory requirements.
Safety Surveillance and Inspection/Operational Safety Analysis
The FAA uses summary traffic and capacity statistics and total
airborne hours, broken down by air carrier, as important safety
indicators. The FAA uses these data in allocating inspection resources
and in making decisions as to increased safety surveillance. Similarly,
airport activity statistics are used by the FAA to develop airport
profiles and establish priorities for airport inspections.
Safety Forecasting and Regulatory Analysis
The FAA uses summary traffic, capacity and airport activity
statistics to prepare the air carrier traffic and operation forecasts
that are used in developing its budget and staffing plans, facility and
equipment funding levels, and environmental impact and policy studies.
National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems
The FAA is responsible for preparing and updating the National Plan
of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS), a 10-year planning document,
that forecasts the developmental needs for maintaining and upgrading
the national system of integrated airports. Reported air carrier
traffic and capacity data are used to continuously update the NPIAS for
system changes such as current air carrier hub transportation
practices. In projecting future airport service levels and the impact
of seasonal flight schedule adjustments on operations, the aircraft
types handled and services available by airport are considered.
System Planning at Airports
Under the Airport and Airways Improvement Act of 1982 (Pub. L. 97-
248), the FAA is charged with administering a series of grants that are
designed to accomplish the necessary airport planning for future
development and growth. These grants are made to state, metropolitan,
and regional aviation authorities to fund needed airport systems
planning work. Individual airport activity statistics, nonstop market
data and service segment data are used to prepare airport activity
level forecasts.
Airport Capacity Analysis
Aircraft type operating data (the mix of aircraft at an airport)
are used in determining the practical annual capacity (PANCAP) at
airports as prescribed in FAA Advisory Circular ``Airport Capacity
Criteria Used in Preparing the National Airport Plan.'' The PANCAP is a
safety-related benchmark measure of the annual airport capacity or
level of operations. It is a predictive measure which indicates
potential capacity problems, delays, and possible airport expansion or
runway construction needs. If the level of
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operations at an airport exceeds PANCAP significantly, the frequency
and length of delays will increase, with a potential concurrent risk of
accidents. Under this program, FAA develops ways of increasing airport
capacity at congested airports.
Airport Improvement
The Airport and Airway Improvement Act of 1982 includes a revenue
passenger enplanement formula that is used by the FAA to allocate
airport improvement program (entitlement) funds to owners of primary
airports. A primary airport is one which accounts for more than 0.01
percent of the total passengers enplaned at U.S. airports. The
passenger enplanement data, both summary and by airport, contained in
T-100, T-100(f) and the supplementary schedules are used in calculating
the monies due each primary airport. The T-100 System is the sole data
base used by FAA in determining U.S. certificated and foreign air
carrier enplanements.
War Air Service Program
The Department is responsible under Executive Order 11490, as
amended, for emergency preparedness planning in the event of war or
national emergency. To fulfill its mobilization responsibilities for
airlift in the event of a national emergency, the Department needs
timely traffic and capacity data. Data elements used in assessing total
available airlift capacity include for each aircraft operator: the
number of aircraft by type, the airframe license number, the payload or
capacity (passenger and/or cargo), and whether or not the aircraft is
approved for over-water operations. Revenue aircraft miles, revenue
aircraft hours (airborne), aircraft fuels issued (gallons), aircraft
days assigned to service, and aircraft hours (ramp-to-ramp) are also
needed for each reported aircraft type to assess aircraft fleet
mobilization characteristics and capabilities.
International Civil Aviation Organization
Under Article 67 of the 1944 Chicago Convention, the United States
is obligated to report certain individual U.S. air carrier data to the
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Much of the traffic
data supplied to ICAO are extracted from T-100 and the supplementary
schedules.
Donald W. Bright,
Acting Director, Office of Airline Information, Bureau of
Transportation Statistics.
[FR Doc. 00-165 Filed 1-4-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-FE-P
