[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 23, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3256-3257]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-01184]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Bureau of Transportation Statistics
[Docket ID Number DOT-OST-2014-0031]
Agency Information Collection: Activity Under OMB Review: Report
of Financial and Operating Statistics for Large Certificated Air
Carriers
AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology
(OST-R), 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 invites the general
public, industry and other governmental parties to comment on the
continuing need for and usefulness of BTS collecting financial data
from large certificated air carriers. Large certificated air carriers
are carriers that operate aircraft with 61 seats or more, aircraft with
18,001 pounds of payload capacity or more, or operate international air
services.
DATES: Written comments should be submitted by March 26, 2018.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff Gorham, Office of Airline
Information, RTS-42, Room E34, OST-R, BTS, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE,
Washington, DC 20590-0001, Telephone Number (202) 366-4406, Fax Number
(202) 366-3383 or EMAIL [email protected].
Comments: Comments should identify the associated OMB approval #
2138-0013 and Docket ID Number DOT-OST-2014-0031. Persons 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 # 2138-0013, Docket--DOT-OST-2014-
0031. The postcard will be date/time stamped and returned.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by DOT Docket ID Number
DOT-OST-2014-0031 by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
Mail: Docket Services: U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington,
DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140,
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays.
Fax: 202-366-3383.
Instructions: Identify docket number, DOT-OST-2014-0031, at the
beginning of your comments, and send two copies. To receive
confirmation that DOT received your comments, include a self-addressed
stamped postcard. Internet users may access all comments received by
DOT at http://www.regulations.gov. All comments are posted
electronically without charge or edits, including any personal
information provided.
Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all
comments
[[Page 3257]]
received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on
April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-78) or you may visit http://DocketInfo.dot.gov.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov. or the street
address listed above. Follow the online instructions for accessing the
dockets.
Electronic Access
You may access comments received for this notice at http://www.regulations.gov, by searching docket DOT-OST-2014-0031.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
OMB Approval No. 2138-0013.
Title: Report of Financial and Operating Statistics for Large
Certificated Air Carriers.
Form No.: BTS Form 41.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Respondents: Large certificated air carriers.
Number of Respondents: 60.
Estimated Time per Response: 4 hours per schedule, an average
carrier may submit 90 schedules in one year.
Total Annual Burden: 13,910 hours.
Needs and Uses: Program uses for Form 41 data are as follows:
Mail Rates
The Department of Transportation sets and updates the international
and mainline Alaska mail rates based on carrier aircraft operating
expense, traffic and operational data. Form 41 cost data, especially
fuel costs, terminal expenses, and line haul expenses are used in
arriving at rate levels. DOT revises the established rates based on the
percentage of unit cost changes in the carriers' operations. These
updating procedures have resulted in the carriers receiving rates of
compensation that more closely parallel their costs of providing mail
service and contribute to the carriers' economic well-being.
Submission of U.S. Carrier Data to ICAO
As a party to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, the
United States is obligated to provide the International Civil Aviation
Organization with financial and statistical data on operations of U.S.
air carriers. Over 99 percent of the data filed with ICAO is extracted
from the carriers' Form 41 reports.
Carrier Fitness
Fitness determinations are made for both new entrants and
established U.S. domestic carriers proposing a substantial change in
operations. A portion of these applications consists of an operating
plan for the first year (14 CFR part 204) and an associated projection
of revenues and expenses. The carrier's operating costs, included in
these projections, are compared against the cost data in Form 41 for a
carrier or carriers with the same aircraft type and similar operating
characteristics. Such a review validates the reasonableness of the
carrier's operating plan.
Form 41 reports, particularly balance sheet reports and cash flow
statements play a major role in the identification of vulnerable
carriers. Data comparisons are made between current and past periods in
order to assess the current financial position of the carrier.
Financial trend lines are extended into the future to analyze the
continued viability of the carrier. DOT reviews three areas of a
carrier's operation: (1) The qualifications of its management team, (2)
its disposition to comply with laws and regulations, and (3) its
financial posture. DOT must determine whether or not a carrier has
sufficient financial resources to conduct its operations without
imposing undue risk on the traveling public. Moreover, once a carrier
is operating, DOT is required to monitor its continuing fitness.
Senior DOT officials must be kept fully informed as to all current
and developing economic issues affecting the airline industry. In
preparing financial conditions reports or status reports on a
particular airline, financial and traffic data are analyzed. Briefing
papers may use the same information.
The Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency
Act of 2002 (44 U.S.C. 3501 note), requires a statistical agency to
clearly identify information it collects for non-statistical purposes.
BTS hereby notifies the respondents and the public that BTS uses the
information it collects under this OMB approval for non-statistical
purposes including, but not limited to, publication of both
Respondent's identity and its data, submission of the information to
agencies outside BTS for review, analysis and possible use in
regulatory and other administrative matters.
Issued in Washington, DC, on January 18, 2018.
William Chadwick, Jr.,
Director, Office of Airline Information, Bureau of Transportation
Statistics .
[FR Doc. 2018-01184 Filed 1-22-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P