60 Day Notice 2105-0537 Disclosure of Code Sharing Arrangements

Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 180 / Friday, September 16, 2011 / Notices
file number should be included on the
subject line if e-mail is used. To help the
Commission process and review your
comments more efficiently, please use
only one method. The Commission will
post all comments on the Commission’s
Internet Web site (http://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the
submission, all subsequent
amendments, all written statements
with respect to the proposed rule
change that are filed with the
Commission, and all written
communications relating to the
proposed rule change between the
Commission and any person, other than
those that may be withheld from the
public in accordance with the
provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be
available for Web site viewing and
printing in the Commission’s Public
Reference Room on official business
days between the hours of 10 a.m. and
3 p.m. Copies of such filing also will be
available for inspection and copying at
the principal office of the Exchange. All
comments received will be posted
without change; the Commission does
not edit personal identifying
information from submissions. You
should submit only information that
you wish to make available publicly. All
submissions should refer to File
Number SR–NYSEAmex-2011–69 and
should be submitted on or before
October 7, 2011.
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.11
Elizabeth M. Murphy,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2011–23771 Filed 9–15–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary
[Docket Number: DOT–OST–2011–0170]

Agency Request for Renewal of a
Previously Approved Collection;
Disclosure of Code Sharing
Arrangements and Long-Term Wet
Leases
Office of the Secretary.
Notice and request for
comments.

AGENCY:

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ACTION:

The Department of
Transportation (DOT) invites public
comments about our intention to request
the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) approval to renew an
information collection. We are required

SUMMARY:

11 17

CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).

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to publish this notice in the Federal
Register by the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995, Public Law 104–13.
DATES: Written comments should be
submitted by November 15, 2011.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
(identified by DOT Docket Number
OST–2011–0170) through one of the
following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
• Fax: 1–202–493–2251.
• Mail or Hand Delivery: Docket
Management Facility; U.S. Department
of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue, SE., West Building, Room
W12–140, Washington, DC 20590,
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday
through Friday, except on Federal
Holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Aleta Best, (202) 493–0797, Office of the
Assistant Secretary for Aviation and
International Affairs, Office of the
Secretary, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OMB
Control Number: 2105–0537.
Title: Disclosure of Code Sharing
Arrangements and Long-Term Wet
Leases.
Type of Review: Renewal of an
information collection.
Abstract: Codesharing is the name
given to a common airline industry
marketing practice where, by mutual
agreement between cooperating carriers,
at least one of the airline designator
codes used on a flight is different from
that of the airline operating the aircraft.
In one version, two or more airlines
each use their own designator codes on
the same aircraft operation. Although
only one airline operates the flight, each
airline in a codesharing arrangement
may hold out, market, and sell the flight
as its own in published schedules.
Codesharing also refers to other
arrangements, such as when a code on
a passenger’s ticket is not that of the
operator of the flight, but where the
operator does not also hold out the
service in its own name. Such
codesharing arrangements are common
between commuter air carriers and their
larger affiliates, and the number of
arrangements between U.S. air carriers
and foreign air carriers has also been
increasing. Arrangements falling into
this category are similar to leases of
aircraft with crew (wet leases).
The Department recognizes the strong
preference of air travelers for on-line
service (service by a single carrier) on
connecting flights over interline service
(service by multiple carriers).

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Codesharing arrangements are, in part, a
marketing response to this demand for
on-line service. Often, codesharing
partners offer services similar to those
available for on-line connections with
the goal of offering ‘‘seamless’’ service
(i.e., service where the transfers from
flight to flight or airline to airline are
facilitated). For example, they may
locate gates near each other to make
connections more convenient or
coordinate baggage handling to give
greater assurance that baggage will be
properly handled.
Codesharing arrangements can help
airlines operate more efficiently because
they can reduce costs by providing a
joint service with one aircraft rather
than operating separate services with
two aircraft. Particularly in thin
markets, this efficiency can lead to
increased price and service options for
consumers or enable the use of
equipment sized appropriately for the
market. Therefore, the Department
recognizes that codesharing, as well as
long-term wet leases, can offer
significant economic benefits.
Although codesharing and wet-lease
arrangements can offer significant
consumer benefits, they can also be
misleading unless consumers know that
the transportation they are considering
for purchase will not be provided by the
airline whose designator code is shown
on the ticket, schedule, or itinerary and
unless they know the identity of the
airline on which they will be flying. The
growth in the use of codesharing, wetleasing, and similar marketing tools,
particularly in international air
transportation, had given the
Department concern about whether the
then-current disclosure rules (14 CFR
399.88) protected the public interest
adequately and led the Department to
adopt specific regulations requiring the
disclosure of code-sharing arrangements
and long-term wet leases on March 15,
1999. (14 CFR part 257)
These regulations required U.S.
airlines, foreign airlines and travel
agents doing business in the United
States, to notify passengers of the
existence of code-sharing or long-term
wet lease arrangements. It also required
U.S. airlines, foreign airlines and travel
agents to tell prospective consumers, in
all oral communications before booking
transportation, that the transporting
airline is not the airline whose
designator code will appear on travel
documents and identify the transporting
airline by its corporate name and any
other name under which that service is
held out to the public.
Respondents: All U.S. air carriers,
foreign air carriers, computer
reservations systems (CRSs), and travel

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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 180 / Friday, September 16, 2011 / Notices

agents doing business in the United
States, and the traveling public.
Number of Respondents: 16,000,
excluding travelers.
Frequency: At 15 seconds per call and
an average of 1.5 calls per trip, a total
of 22.5 seconds per respondent or
traveler, for the approximately 33% of
codeshare itineraries that involve
personal contact.
Total Annual Burden: Annual
reporting burden for this data collection
is estimated at 618,750 hours for all
travel agents and airline ticket agents,
based on 15 seconds per phone call and
an average of 1.5 phone calls per trip,
for the approximately 33% of codeshare
itineraries that involve personal contact.
Most of this data collection (third party
notification) is accomplished through
highly automated computerized
systems.
Public Comments Invited: You are
asked to comment on any aspect of this
information collection, including (a)
whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the
Department’s performance; (b) the
accuracy of the estimated burden; (c)
ways for the Department to enhance the
quality, utility, and clarity of the
information collection; and (d) ways
that the burden could be minimized
without reducing the quality of the
collected information.
Authority : The Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995; 44 U.S.C. chapter 35, as amended;
and 49 CFR 1:48.
Dated: September 12, 2011.
Todd M. Homan,
Director, Office of Aviation Analysis.
[FR Doc. 2011–23770 Filed 9–15–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–9X–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
[Docket Number FRA–2011–0052]

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Petition for Waiver of Compliance
In accordance with Part 211 of Title
49 of the Code of Federal Regulations
(CFR), this document provides the
public notice that by a document dated
August 25, 2011, Norfolk Southern
Railway (NS) has submitted information
to amend and clarify the scope of a June
14, 2011, petition to the Federal
Railroad Administration (FRA) for a
waiver of compliance from certain
provisions of the Federal railroad safety
regulations contained at 49 CFR part
236. FRA had assigned the petition
Docket Number FRA–2011–0052 as
published in Federal Register (Ref.

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Volume 76, No. 135, Thursday, July 14,
2011, Page 41556).
NS seeks a waiver of compliance from
the cab signal system requirements
found in 49 CFR 236.566, Locomotive of
each train operating in train stop, train
control, or cab signal territory;
equipped. Specifically, NS seeks relief
to operate nonequipped engines used in
switching and transfer service, with or
without cars such as work trains, wreck
trains, ballast cleaners to and from
work, and engines and rail diesel cars
moving to and from shops, in the
following locations with all movements
at restricted speeds not exceeding 15
mph.
1. Operations on the Pittsburgh Line,
Harrisburg Division, from CP Cannon at
MP–PT 118.9 near Duncannon, PA, to
CP Harrisburg at MP–PT 105.1 near
Harrisburg, PA.
2. Operations on the Pittsburgh Line,
Pittsburgh Division, from CP Cannon at
MP–PT 118.9 near Duncannon, PA, to
CP Solomon at MP–PT 352.5 near
Pittsburgh, PA, with an absolute block
to be established in advance of each
movement of foreign trains and engines
between CP Bloom at MP–PT 351.6 near
Pittsburgh, PA, and CP Solomon.
3. Operations on the Fort Wayne Line,
Pittsburgh Division, from CP Rochester
at MP–PC 29.5, near East Rochester, PA,
to CP Alliance at MP–PC 83.2., with an
absolute block to be established in
advance of each nonequipped
movement.
4. Operations on the Conemaugh Line,
Pittsburgh Division, from CP Conpit at
MP–LC 0.0, near Bolivar, PA, to CP
Kiski at MP–LC 47.8, near Freeport, PA,
with an absolute block to be established
in advance of each nonequipped
movement.
NS argues that relief is in the public
interest. The waiver of 49 CFR 236.566
requirements in these areas is important
to maintaining efficient rail operations
in the region. Exemptions have been
previously granted for the operation of
nonequipped locomotives in cab signal
system territory at nearby locations and
the relief requested in this application is
a consistent extension of those currently
granted exceptions.
A copy of the petition, as well as any
written communications concerning the
petition, is available for review online at
http://www.regulations.gov and in
person at the U.S. Department of
Transportation’s Docket Operations
Facility, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE.,
W12–140, Washington, DC 20590. The
Docket Operations Facility is open from
9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except Federal Holidays.
Interested parties are invited to
participate in these proceedings by

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submitting written views, data, or
comments. FRA does not anticipate
scheduling a public hearing in
connection with these proceedings since
the facts do not appear to warrant a
hearing. If any interested party desires
an opportunity for oral comment, they
should notify FRA, in writing, before
the end of the comment period and
specify the basis for their request.
All communications concerning these
proceedings should identify the
appropriate docket number and may be
submitted by any of the following
methods:
• Web site: http://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
• Fax: 202–493–2251.
• Mail: Docket Operations Facility,
U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200
New Jersey Avenue, SE., W12–140,
Washington, DC 20590.
• Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey
Avenue, SE., Room W12–140,
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m.
and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except Federal Holidays.
Communications received by October
31, 2011, will be considered by FRA
before final action is taken. Comments
received after that date will be
considered as far as practicable.
Anyone is able to search the
electronic form of any written
communications and comments
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 (Volume
65, Number 70; Pages 19477–78), or
online at http://www.dot.gov/
privacy.html.
Issued in Washington, DC, on September
13, 2011.
Robert C. Lauby,
Deputy Associate Administrator for
Regulatory and Legislative Operations.
[FR Doc. 2011–23840 Filed 9–15–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–06–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
[Docket Number FRA–2010–0100]

Petition for Waiver of Compliance
In accordance with Part 211 of Title
49 of the Code of Federal Regulations
(CFR), this document provides the
public notice that by a document dated
April 29, 2011, the Brownsville & Rio
Grande International Railroad (BRG) has

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