[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 98 (Thursday, May 21, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28021-28022]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-13698]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary
[Docket No. OST-98-3713]
Enforcement Policy Regarding Unfair Exclusionary Conduct in the
Air Transportation Industry
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, DOT.
ACTION: Notice extending comment period.
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SUMMARY: The Department (or DOT) has issued a proposed Statement of the
Department of Transportation's Enforcement Policy Regarding Unfair
Exclusionary Conduct in the Air Transportation Industry. On April 10,
1998, the Department published the proposed statement and requested
public comment. By this notice, the Department is now extending the due
date for comments to July 24, 1998 from June 9, 1998 and the due date
for reply comments to September 8, 1998 from July 9, 1998.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before July 24, 1998. Reply
comments must be submitted on or before September 8, 1998.
ADDRESSES: To facilitate the consideration of comments, each commenter
should file eight copies of each set of comments. Comments must be
filed in Room PL-401, Docket OST-98-3713, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. Late-
filed comments will be considered to the extent possible.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jim Craun, Director (202-366-1032) or
Randy Bennett, Deputy Director (202-366-1053), Office of Aviation and
International Economics, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Aviation
and International Affairs, or Betsy Wolf (202-366-9349), Senior Trial
Attorney, Office of the Assistant General Counsel for Aviation
Enforcement and Proceedings, U.S. Department of Transportation, 400
Seventh St. SW., Washington, DC 20590.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DOT published a proposed Statement of the
Department of Transportation's Enforcement Policy Regarding Unfair
Exclusionary Conduct in the Air Transportation Industry and requested
comments on the proposed statement
[[Page 28022]]
(63 FR 17919, April 10, 1998). The proposed policy statement was
developed by the Department of Transportation in consultation with the
Department of Justice and sets forth tentative findings and guidelines
for use by DOT in evaluating whether major air carriers' competitive
responses to new entry warrant enforcement action under 49 U.S.C.
41712. The due dates for comments and reply comments were June 9, 1998
and July 9, 1998, respectively.
On May 8, 1998, the Air Transport Association of America (ATA), an
association of 22 U.S. airlines and five foreign carriers, filed an
emergency petition requesting that the Department extend the time for
filing comments by 120 days. The ATA stated that it was filing the
petition on an emergency basis because fewer than 30 days remained in
the comment period. It claimed that the 60-day time period originally
set does not give the parties adequate time to prepare well-reasoned
responses to the complicated economic, legal, and policy issues raised
in the statement and that in order to participate in a full discussion
of these issues, the ATA and its member airlines must consult with
economic and legal experts. Since those experts must review studies,
reports, and other data that address these issues, the ATA argued that
the current 60-day comment period is inadequate.
The ATA also asserted that the Department has failed to identify
the research and source material for its proposed statement on a timely
basis and therefore an extension of the comment period is necessary.
Citing Department rules in 49 CFR Sec. 5.25(a), the ATA likewise stated
the Secretary is to grant a petition for extension of time where the
petitioner shows that additional time is in the public interest, so
long as the petitioner has good cause for the extension and a
substantive interest in the proposed action. The ATA claimed that the
extension is clearly in the public interest and is consistent with
previous similar Department rulemakings involving complex economic
issues. Furthermore, as an association representing the entities that
the statement would affect, the ATA pointed out that it has an obvious
substantive interest.
We have determined that it would be reasonable and in the public
interest to give commenters more time for preparing their responses to
the proposed statement. While the issues are complex and the statement
involves a major policy initiative, we do not agree, however, with the
ATA that an extension of 120 days is necessary. The addition of 60 days
to the 90 days already established for comments and reply comments
provides commenters with a total of 150 days to prepare and provide
remarks--an amount of time that we find is sufficient to balance the
needs for an adequate comment period while not unnecessarily delaying
the Department's initiative for promoting competition and protecting
consumers. We will therefore give commenters an additional 60 days to
prepare their comments and reply comments.
Specifically, the due date for comments will be extended to July
24, 1998 from June 9, 1998 and the due date for reply comments will be
extended to September 8, 1998 from July 9, 1998. (Since the actual
addition of 60 days results in a due date for reply comments of
September 7, 1998--a Federal holiday, the due date for reply comments
was extended to September 8, 1998.)
Issued in Washington, DC, on May 18, 1998, under authority
delegated by 49 CFR 1.56(a).
Charles A. Hunnicutt,
Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs.
[FR Doc. 98-13698 Filed 5-19-98; 10:07 am]
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