Quarterly Survey of Foreign Airline Operators

Supporting Statement

U.S. Department of Commerce

Bureau of Economic Analysis

Quarterly Survey of Foreign Airline Operators’

Revenues and Expenses in the United States (Form BE-9)

OMB Control Number: 0608-0068

B. COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS

1. Describe (including a numerical estimate) the potential respondent universe and any sampling or other respondent selection method to be used. Data on the number of entities (e.g. establishments, State and local governmental units, households, or persons) in the universe and the corresponding sample are to be provided in tabular form. The tabulation must also include expected response rates for the collection as a whole. If the collection has been conducted before, provide the actual response rate achieved.

The potential respondent universe for the BE-9 survey is all U.S. agents of foreign air carriers operating in the United States. Reports are required from U.S. agents of foreign air carriers whose total annual covered revenues or total annual covered expenses incurred in the United States are $5 million or more.

BEA intends to mail the survey forms to approximately 50 U.S. companies. Among those companies, the response rates to this quarterly survey in past years have been high, with a response rate of approximately 82 percent. BEA expects that these high response rates will continue for the survey, providing information of sufficient accuracy and reliability for its intended purposes.

BEA estimates data for non-respondents, including those U.S. persons who fall below the reporting threshold. Estimates will be based on prior reports and on growth in the value of transactions from a matched sample of respondents. Thus, estimates will cover virtually the entire universe of transactions.

When planning the initial quarterly survey of foreign air carriers’ revenues and expenses in the United States, BEA compared the percentage of the universe to be covered using several reporting thresholds. Using the current threshold of $5 million, coverage of revenues and expenses for all U.S. agents of foreign air carriers was approximately 80 percent. Though BEA cannot precisely measure the coverage of the universe by the BE-9 survey, based on this analysis, BEA is confident that the reporting threshold proposed for the BE-9 survey will provide sufficient coverage.

2. Describe the procedures for the collection, including: the statistical methodology for stratification and sample selection; the estimation procedure; the degree of accuracy needed for the purpose described in the justification; any unusual problems requiring specialized sampling procedures; and any use of periodic (less frequent than annual) data collection cycles to reduce burden.

The BE-9 survey will be administered to U.S. agents of foreign air carriers who have revenues and expenses in the United States. BEA expects most of the potential respondents to file the survey on a timely basis. In cases where a survey is not filed, or is filed too late to be used for the current estimate, BEA will generate an estimate based on data previously reported or estimated for the non-respondent, in conjunction with information on changes in the reported data for companies that responded. No unusual problems have been identified that would require the use of specialized sampling procedures. BEA expects to collect data from a cutoff sample of firms meeting the reporting criteria.

The list of respondents will be derived from public and private sources, including business directories and establishment lists. Mandatory reporting on the BE-9 is required from U.S. agents of foreign air carriers that had total covered revenues or total covered expenses of $5 million or more during the previous year, or expected to be $5 million or more during the current year. Some data are expected to be provided voluntarily by persons not meeting these thresholds.

A high degree of accuracy is needed for the purposes stated in the justification.

3. Describe the methods used to maximize response rates and to deal with nonresponse. The accuracy and reliability of the information collected must be shown to be adequate for the intended uses. For collections based on sampling, a special justification must be provided if they will not yield "reliable" data that can be generalized to the universe studied.

Any company specifically contacted by BEA must respond in writing by filing a completed form BE-9 or a valid exemption claim. Non-respondents will be contacted by BEA staff and, in the event of continued nonresponse, will be referred to the Office of General Counsel for further action. BEA expects that at the time of the final revised estimates, reports will be received from approximately 82 percent of companies required to report. To facilitate response, a notice will be sent to each company on a quarterly basis notifying the company of the requirement to file the survey and providing links to eFile, BEA’s electronic filing system, and a PDF version of the survey.

4. Describe any tests of procedures or methods to be undertaken. Tests are encouraged as effective means to refine collections, but if ten or more test respondents are involved OMB must give prior approval.

No tests were conducted; however, the survey has been conducted in previous years.

5. Provide the name and telephone number of individuals consulted on the statistical aspects of the design, and the name of the agency unit, contractor(s), grantee(s), or other person(s) who will actually collect and/or analyze the information for the agency.

The survey is designed and conducted within BEA by the Balance of Payments Division (BPD). No substantive changes are being proposed in statistical aspects of the survey design. For further information, contact Damon Battaglia via email at [email protected] or by phone at 202-606-9837.

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