Enhancing Flexibility of Air Fare Price Advertising

The U.S. Department of Transportation (Department or DOT) is proposing to amend its rule on air fare advertising to allow the total fare, including taxes and fees, to be displayed with the same prominence as any individual components. The current rule states that individual components of air fare, like taxes and fees, may not be displayed prominently. The Department is also proposing to eliminate a prescriptive advertising regulation stating that components of a fare may not be presented in the same or larger size as the total price. These proposed changes would ensure greater flexibility in how air fare is displayed while ensuring information is presented clearly to consumers, and in conformity with the intent of Congress as articulated in a provision of the Internal Revenue Code establishing standards for the display of taxes in advertisements for air transportation. In addition, the Department is proposing to rescind nine air fare price advertising guidance documents. They have become outdated and unnecessary because entities are bound by statute and regulatory text; furthermore, in certain cases, these documents improperly functioned as de facto regulations without adhering to the notice-and-comment procedures required by the Administrative Procedure Act.