(a) United States air carrier. Each large certificated U.S. air carrier shall file with the Department, on a monthly basis, Form 41 Schedule T-100 “U.S. Air Carrier Traffic and Capacity Data By Nonstop Segment and On-flight Market,” and summary data as prescribed in this section and in sections 22 and 25 of this part.
(b) Foreign (non-U.S.) air carrier: Each foreign air carrier as required by part 217 of this chapter shall file Form 41 Schedule T-100(f) “Foreign Air Carrier Traffic Data by Nonstop Segment and On-flight Market.” The “Instructions to Foreign Air Carriers for Reporting Traffic Data on Form 41 Schedule T-100(f),” (Instructions-Foreign Air Carriers) are included in the Appendix to § 217.10 of this chapter.
(c) Reports required by this section shall be submitted to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics in a format specified in accounting and reporting directives issued by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics' Director of Airline Information.
(d) On-flight market and nonstop segment detail data by carrier shall be made public only as provided in section 19-6.
[53 FR 46305, Nov. 16, 1988; 53 FR 52404, Dec. 28, 1988, as amended at 60 FR 66723, Dec. 26, 1995; 67 FR 49223, July 30, 2002; 75 FR 41583, July 16, 2010]
(a) Each air carrier required to file Form 41 Schedule T-100 data shall maintain its operating statistics, covering the movement of traffic in accordance with the uniform classifications prescribed. Codes are prescribed for each operating element and service class. All traffic statistics shall be compiled in terms of each flight stage as actually performed.
(b) Each carrier shall maintain data applicable to the specified traffic and capacity elements prescribed in section 19-5 and section 25, and by general service classes prescribed in section 19-4 of this part.
(c) Operating statistics shall be maintained in accordance with the type of record, either nonstop segment or on-flight market.
(d) Schedule T-100 collects summarized flight stage data and on-flight market data. All traffic statistics shall be compiled in terms of each revenue flight stage as actually performed. The detail T-100 data shall be maintained in a manner permitting monthly summarization and organization into two basic groupings: The nonstop segment information that must be summarized by equipment type, within class of service, within pair-of-points, without regard to individual flight numbers. The second grouping requires that the enplanement/deplanement information be broken out into separate units called “on-flight market records.” These records must be summarized by class of service, within pair-of-points, without regard for equipment type or flight number.
(e) The Department may authorize joint-service operations between two direct air carriers. Examples of these joint-services are blocked-space agreements, part-charter agreements, code-share agreements, wet-lease agreements, and other similar arrangements. Joint services operations are reported by the air carrier in operational control of the aircraft. The traffic moving under these agreements is reported on Schedule T-100 the same way as any other traffic on the aircraft.
(f) Any questions regarding T-100 should be e-mailed to T100.Support@dot.gov.
[53 FR 46305, Nov. 16, 1988, as amended at 75 FR 41583, July 16, 2010]
(a) Each reporting air carrier shall maintain its prescribed operating statistics in a manner and at such locations as will permit ready accessability for examination by representatives of the Department. The record retention requirements are prescribed in part 249 of this chapter.
(b) [Reserved]
(c) Form 41 Schedule T-100 reports shall be transmitted in accordance with the standard practices established by the Department, and must be received by the Department within 30 days following the end of each reporting month.
[53 FR 46305, Nov. 16, 1988; 53 FR 52404, Dec. 28, 1988, as amended at 67 FR 49223, July 30, 2002]
The statistical classifications are designed to reflect the operating elements attributable to each distinctive class of service offered. The operating elements shall be grouped in accordance with their inherent characteristics as follows:
(a) Scheduled services. Scheduled services shall include traffic and capacity elements applicable to air transportation provided pursuant to published schedules and extra sections to scheduled flights. Scheduled Passenger/Cargo (Service Class F) is a composite of first class, coach, and mixed passenger/cargo service. The following classifications shall be reported, as applicable:
U.S. Air Carriers:
K—Scheduled Services (F + G)
F—Scheduled Passenger/Cargo
G—Scheduled All-Cargo
Foreign Air Carriers:
F—Scheduled Passenger/Cargo
G—Scheduled All-Cargo
(b) Nonscheduled services. Nonscheduled services shall include all traffic and capacity elements applicable to the performance of nonscheduled aircraft charters, and other air transportation services not constituting an integral part of services performed pursuant to published flight schedules. The following classifications shall be reported, as applicable:
U.S. Air Carriers:
V—Nonscheduled Services (L + N + P + R)
L—Nonscheduled Civilian Passenger/Cargo
P—Nonscheduled Civilian Cargo
N—Nonscheduled Military Passenger/Cargo
R—Nonscheduled Military Cargo
Foreign Air Carriers:
L—Nonscheduled Civilian Passenger Cargo
P—Nonscheduled Civilian All-Cargo Charters
Q—Nonscheduled Services (Other than Charter)
(c) All Services. This classification shall reflect, for the applicable elements, the aggregate amounts for all services performed by the operating entity:
U.S. Air Carriers:
Z—All Services (V + K)
(a) Within each of the service classifications prescribed in section 19-4, data shall be reported as applicable to specified air transport traffic and capacity elements.
(b) These reported items are as follows:
| Code | Description | Segment | Market | Computed by DOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carrier, carrier entity code | S | M | ||
| Reporting period date | S | M | ||
| Origin airport code | S | M | ||
| Destination airport code | S | M | ||
| Service class code | S | M | ||
| Aircraft type code | S | |||
| 110 | Revenue passengers enplaned | M | ||
| 130 | Revenue passengers transported | S | ||
| 140 | Revenue passenger-miles | CFD * | ||
| 210 | Revenue cargo tons enplaned | CFD * | ||
| 217 | Enplaned freight | M | ||
| 219 | Enplaned mail | M | ||
| 230 | Revenue tons transported | CFD * | ||
| 237 | Transported freight | S | ||
| 239 | Transported mail | S | ||
| 240 | Revenue ton-miles | CFD * | ||
| 241 | Revenue ton-miles passenger | CFD * | ||
| 247 | Revenue ton-miles freight | CFD * | ||
| 249 | Revenue ton-miles mail | CFD * | ||
| 270 | Available capacity payload | S | ||
| 280 | Available ton-miles | CFD * | ||
| 310 | Available seats, total | S | ||
| 320 | Available seat-miles | CFD * | ||
| 410 | Revenue aircraft miles flown | CFD * | ||
| 430 | Revenue aircraft miles scheduled | CFD * | ||
| 501 | Inter-airport distance | CFD * | ||
| 510 | Revenue aircraft departures performed | S | ||
| 520 | Revenue aircraft departures scheduled | S | ||
| 610 | Revenue aircraft hours (airborne) | S | ||
| 630 | Aircraft hours (ramp-to-ramp) | S | ||
| 650 | Total aircraft hours (airborne) | S | ||
| * CFD = Computed by DOT from detail Schedule T-100 and T-100(f) data. | ||||
(c) These reported items are further described as follows:
(1) Reporting period date. The year and month or quarter to which the reported data are applicable.
(2) Carrier, Carrier entity code. Each foreign air carrier shall report its name and code (assigned by DOT). Each U.S. air carrier shall report its name and entity code (a five digit code assigned by DOT that identifies both the carrier and its entity) for its particular operations. The Office of Airline Information (OAI) will assign or confirm codes upon request; OAI's address is in the Appendix to section 25 of this part and the Appendix to § 217.10 of this chapter.
(3) Service class code. The service class codes are prescribed in section 19-4 of this part. In general, classes are divided into two broad categories, either K (scheduled) or V (nonscheduled), where K = F + G for all carriers and V = L + N + P + R for U.S. air carriers and comprises L + P and Q for foreign air carriers. Refer to section 19-4 for the more information on service class codes F, G, L, N, P, R and Q.
(4) Record type code. This code indicates whether the data pertain to nonstop segment (record type S) or on-flight market (record type M).
(5) Aircraft type code. This code represents the aircraft types, as described in the Appendix to section 25 of this part.
(6) Origin, Destination airport code(s). These codes represent the industry designators described in the Appendix to section 25 of this part. A common private industry source of these industry designator codes is the Official Airline Guides (OAG). OAI will assign codes upon request if not listed in the OAG.
(7) 110 Revenue passengers enplaned. The total number of revenue passengers enplaned at the origin point of a flight, boarding the flight for the first time; an unduplicated count of passengers in a market. Under the T-100 system of reporting, these enplaned passengers are the sum of the passengers in the individual on-flight markets. Report only the total revenue passengers enplaned in item 110. For all air carriers and all entities, item 110 revenue passengers enplaned is reported on Form 41 Schedule T-100 in column C-1, as follows:
| Col. | All carrier groups and entities | |
|---|---|---|
| C-1 | 110 | Revenue passengers enplaned. |
(8) 130 Revenue passengers transported. The total number of revenue passengers transported over single flight stage, including those already on board the aircraft from a previous flight stage. Report only the total revenue passengers transported in item 130. For all air carriers and all entities, item 130 revenue passengers transported is reported on Form 41 Schedule T-100 in Column B-7, as follows:
| Col. | All carrier groups and entities | |
|---|---|---|
| B-7 | 130 | Revenue passengers transported. |
(9) 140 Revenue passenger-miles. Computed by multiplying the interairport distance of each flight stage by the number of passengers transported on that flight stage.
(10) 210 Revenue cargo tons enplaned. The total number of cargo tons enplaned. This data element is a sum of the individual on-flight market figures for each of the following categories: 217 Freight and 219 mail. This element represents an unduplicated count of the revenue traffic in a market.
(11) 230 Revenue tons transported. The number of tons of revenue traffic transported. This element is the sum of the following elements: 231 Passengers transported-total, 237 Freight, and 239 Mail.
(12) 240 Revenue ton-miles—total. Ton-miles are computed by multiplying the revenue aircraft miles flown (410) on each flight stage by the number of tons transported on that stage. This element is the sum of 241 through 249.
(13) 241 Revenue ton-miles—passenger. Equals the number of passengers times 200, times interairport distance, divided by 2000. A standard weight of 200 pounds per passenger, including baggage, is used for all operations and service classes.
(14) 247 Revenue ton-miles—freight. Equals the volume of freight in whole tons times the interairport distance.
(15) 249 Revenue ton-miles—mail. Equals the volume of mail in whole tons times the interairport distance.
(16) 270 Available capacity-payload. The available capacity is collected in pounds. This figure shall reflect the payload or total available capacity for passengers, mail and freight applicable to the aircraft with which each flight stage is performed.
(17) 280 Available ton-miles. The aircraft miles flown on each flight stage multiplied by the available capacity on the aircraft in tons.
(18) 310 Available seats. The number of seats available for sale. This figure reflects the actual number of seats available, excluding those blocked for safety or operational reasons. Report the total available seats in item 310. For all air carriers and all entities, item 310 available seats, total is reported on Form 41 Schedule T-100 in column B-4, as follows.
| Col. | All carrier groups and entities | |
|---|---|---|
| B-4 | 310 | Available seats, total. |
(19) 320 Available seat-miles. The aircraft miles flown on each flight stage multiplied by the seat capacity available for sale.
(20) 410 Revenue aircraft miles flown. Revenue aircraft miles flown are computed in accordance with the airport pairs between which service is actually performed; miles are generated from the data for scheduled aircraft departures (Code 520) times the interairport distances (Code 501).
(21) 430 Revenue aircraft miles scheduled. The number of revenue aircraft miles scheduled. All such data shall be maintained in conformity with the airport pairs between which service is scheduled, whether or not in accordance with actual performance.
(22) 501 Interairport distance. The great circle distance, in official statute miles as prescribed in part 247 of this chapter, between airports served by each flight stage. Official interairport mileage may be obtained from the Office of Airline Information at the address included in section 25 of this part.
(23) Revenue aircraft departures performed. The number of revenue aircraft departures performed.
(24) 520 Revenue aircraft departures scheduled. The number of revenue aircraft departures scheduled, whether or not actually performed.
(25) 610 Revenue aircraft hours (airborne). The elapsed time, computed from the moment the aircraft leaves the ground until its next landing.
(26) 630 Aircraft hours (ramp-to-ramp). The elapsed time, computed from the moment the aircraft first moves under its own power from the boarding ramp at one airport to the time it comes to rest at the ramp for the next point of landing. This data element is also referred to as “block” and block-to-block aircraft hours.
(27) 650 Total aircraft hours (airborne). The elapsed time, computed from the moment the aircraft leaves the ground until it touches down at the next landing. This includes flight training, testing, and ferry flights.
(28) 810 Aircraft days assigned to service—carrier's equipment. The number of days that aircraft owned or acquired through rental or lease (but not interchange) are in the possession of the reporting air carrier and are available for service on the reporting carrier's routes plus the number of days such aircraft are in service on routes of others under interchange agreements. Includes days in overhaul, or temporarily out of service due to schedule cancellations. Excludes days that newly acquired aircraft are on hand, but not available for productive use, days rented or leased to others (for other than interchange) and days in possession but formally withdrawn from air transportation service.
(29) 820 Aircraft days assigned to service—carrier's routes. The same as “aircraft days assigned to service—carrier's equipment,” but excluding the number of days that the reporting carrier's owned or rented equipment are in the possession of others under interchange agreements and including the number of days aircraft of others are in the possession of the reporting air carrier under interchange agreements.
(30) 921 Aircraft fuels issued (gallons). The amount of aircraft fuels issued, in U.S. gallons, during the reporting period for both revenue and nonrevenue flights.
[53 FR 46305, Nov. 16, 1988, as amended by Amdt. 241-58, 54 FR 7184, Feb. 17, 1989; 60 FR 66723, Dec. 26, 1995; 62 FR 6718, Feb. 13, 1997; 67 FR 49224, July 30, 2002]
(a) Detailed domestic on-flight market data and nonstop segment data except military data shall be made publicly available after processing. Domestic data are defined as data from air transportation operations from a place in any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, or a U.S. territory or possession to a place in any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, or a U.S. territory or possession. Domestic military operations are reported under service codes N or R.
(b) Detailed international on-flight market and nonstop segment data in Schedule T-100 and Schedule T-100(f) reports, except military data, shall be publicly available immediately following the Department's determination that the database is complete. Military operations are reported under service codes N or R. Data for on-flight markets and nonstop segments involving no U.S. point shall not be made publicly available for three years. Industry and carrier summary data may be made public before the end of six months or the end of three years, as applicable, provided there are three or more carriers in the summary data disclosed. The Department may, at any time, publish international summary statistics without carrier detail. Further, the Department may release nonstop segment and on-flight market detail data by carrier before the end of the confidentiality period as follows:
(1) To foreign governments as provided in reciprocal arrangements between the foreign country and U.S. Government for exchange of on-flight market and/or nonstop segment data submitted by air carriers of that foreign country and U.S. carriers serving that foreign country;
(2) To parties to any proceeding before the Department under 49 U.S.C. Subtitle VII, as required by the Administrative Law Judge or other decisionmaker of the Department. Parties may designate agents or consultants to receive the data in their behalf, provided the agents or consultants agree to abide by the disclosure restrictions. Any data to which access is granted pursuant to this provision may be introduced into evidence, subject to the normal rules of admissibility of evidence.
(3) To agencies and other components of the U.S. Government for their internal use only.
[Amdt. 241-59, 56 FR 2845, Jan. 25, 1991, as amended at 62 FR 6719, Feb. 13, 1997; 67 FR 49224, July 30, 2002; Doc. No. DOT-OST-2014-0140, 84 FR 15931, Apr. 16, 2019; Doc. No. DOT-OST-2018-0132, 88 FR 6160, Jan. 31, 2023]
(a) All U.S. large certificated air carriers conducting scheduled passenger operations (except helicopter carriers) shall participate in a Passenger Origin-Destination (O & D) Survey covering domestic and international operations, as described in the instructions manual entitled, Instructions to Air Carriers for Collecting and Reporting Passenger Origin-Destination Survey Statistics (Appendix A to this section), and in Passenger Origin-Destination Directives issued by the Department's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), Office of Airline Information (OAI). Copies of these Instructions and Directives are provided to each large carrier participating in the Survey. Copies are also available from the Office of Airline Information, RTS-42, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590. Copies of these Instructions and Directives are available on the BTS Web page at (http://www.bts.gov/programs/airline_information/).
(b) Reports required by this section shall be submitted to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics in a format specified in accounting and reporting directives issued by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics' Director of Airline Information.
(c) A statistically valid sample of light coupons shall be selected for reporting purposes. The sample shall consist of at least 1 percent of the total lifted ticket flight coupons for all large domestic markets listed in the Instructions and 10 percent for all others—including domestic and international markets. The sample shall be selected and reported in accordance with the requirements of paragraph (a) of their section, except that the participating O & D carriers with nonstandard ticketing procedures, or other special operating characteristics, may propose alternative procedures. Such departures from standard O & D Survey practices shall not be authorized unless approved in writing by the Director, Office of Airline Information under the procedures in Sec. 1-2 of 14 CFR part 241. The data to be recorded and reported from selected lifted ticket flight coupons, as stipulated in the Instructions and Directives shall include the following data elements: Point of origin, carrier on each flight-coupon stage, fare-basis code for each flight-coupon stage, points of stopover or connection (interline and intraline), point of destination, number of passengers, and total dollar value of ticket (fare plus tax).
(d) Data covering the operations of foreign air carriers that are similar to the information collected in the Passenger Origin-Destination Survey are generally not available to the Department, the U.S. carriers, or U.S. interests. Therefore, because of the damaging competitive impact on U.S. carriers and the adverse effect upon the public interest that would result from unilateral disclosure of the U.S. survey data, the Department has determined its policy to be that the international data in the Passenger Origin-Destination Survey shall be disclosed only as follows:
(1) To an air carrier directly participating in and contributing input data to the Survey or to a legal or consulting firm designated by an air carrier to use on its behalf O & D data in connection with a specific assignment by such carrier.
(2) To parties to any proceeding before the Department to the extent that such data are relevant and material to the issues in the proceeding upon a determination to this effect by the Administrative Law Judge or by the Department's decision-maker. Any data to which access is granted pursuant to this section may be introduced into evidence subject to the normal rules of admissability of evidence.
(3) To agencies and other components of the U.S. Government.
(4) To other persons upon a showing that the release of the data will serve specifically identified needs of U.S. users which are consistent with U.S. interests.
(5) To foreign governments and foreign users as provided in formal reciprocal arrangements between the foreign and U.S. governments for the exchange of comparable O & D data.
(e) The Department reserves the right to make such other disclosures of the O & D data as is consistent with its regulatory functions and responsibilities.
All questions, comments, extension and waiver requests should be e-mailed to ODsurvey.Support@dot.gov.
A single O&D Survey is conducted continuously by the large U.S. certificated air carriers. Foreign air carriers do not directly participate in the Survey, although some of their data are captured in the Survey, since passengers who share a ticketed itinerary between a U.S. carrier and a foreign carrier may be sampled by the U.S. carrier. The authority for these instructions is found in 14 CFR part 241, sec. 19-7.
The Survey samples revenue passenger trips moving in whole or in part on domestic and/or international scheduled services of the carriers participating in the Survey. In general, these requirements do not apply to small certificated, all-cargo and all charter carriers.
The source documents for the Survey data are passenger tickets. These data are collected from the “lifted” flight coupons of tickets (a portion of a multi-part ticket booklet of three[1] or more coupons, including one for each stage of the passenger's trip itinerary which is lifted by the carrier as the passenger boards a particular flight segment).
The Survey data are taken from the coupon that is lifted by a participating carrier, unless it is apparent from the lifted coupon that another participating carrier has already recorded and reported the data, in which instance the ticket coupon is non-reportable for the second honoring/participating carrier. The complete passenger itinerary, and related data on type of fare and dollar value of the ticket, is recorded as one entry from the sampled, reportable flight coupon.
The recording of data from the sampled flight coupon normally consists of transcribing the information exactly as indicated on the ticket. The detail recorded for each trip shows the complete routing from the origin city (airport code) to the destination city (airport code) including, in sequence from the origin, each point of transfer and stopover (intraline and interline), the summarized fare-basis code shown for each flight coupon stage of the itinerary, and the total dollar value of the fare and tax for the entire ticket.
Prior to 1987, the Survey was generally based on a 10-percent sample of passenger tickets. Beginning July 1, 1987, the Survey is collected primarily on the basis of a stratified, scientific sample of at least 1 percent of tickets in domestic major markets and 10 percent of tickets in all other domestic and in all international city-pair markets. The Survey data are taken from the selected flight coupons of the tickets sampled: single-coupon or double-coupon round trips in domestic major markets where the ticket serial number ends in double zero (00) and all other ticket coupons ending in zero (0). This procedure yields a “two-tiered” stratified sample.
Group tickets are included on the basis of a 10-percent sample when the number of passengers on such a group ticket is 10 or less. Group tickets with more than 10 passengers on each ticket are included on the basis of a 100 percent census, i.e., all such tickets are sampled, regardless of serial number, and the total data listed are conformed to a 10 percent sample for inclusion in the O&D Survey.
Following the selection of reportable flight coupons and the recording of data, each participating carrier shall edit and summarize[2] the data into a quarterly report to the Department.
These data collection and reporting instructions are effective on and after July 1, 1987 and apply to all flight coupons lifted on or after July 1, 1987.
A. Participating carriers. As defined in section 19-7 of the Department's Economic Regulations (14 CFR part 241), the participants in the O&D Survey include all large certificated air carriers conducting scheduled passenger services (except helicopter carriers). These participating carriers collect and report data in accordance with these Instructions, and supplemental Passenger Origin-Destination Directives that may be issued periodically. The list of participating carriers will be issued by reporting directive under the authority in 14 CFR 385.27(b).
B. Amendments to list of participating carriers. As new carriers begin service, they will be required to file O&D Survey Data. These carriers will not be added to the participating carrier list automatically, but will be added when the next annual review is made.
A. Period covered by reports. Reports are to be filed for each calendar quarter of the year as shown below:
| Report | Time period covered |
|---|---|
| 1st quarter | Jan. 1 through Mar. 31. |
| 2nd quarter | Apr. 1 through June 30. |
| 3rd quarter | July 1 through Sept. 30. |
| 4th quarter | Oct. 1 through Dec. 31. |
B. Filing date for reports. Reports are to be filed with the Department on or before the dates listed below. The mailing address is on the inside cover to these instructions.
| Report | Due date 1 |
|---|---|
| 1st quarter | May 15 |
| 2nd quarter | Aug. 15 |
| 3rd quarter | Nov. 15 |
| 4th quarter | Feb. 15 |
| 1 Due dates falling on Saturday, Sunday or national holiday will become effective the first following work day. | |
C. Format of the Report. Reports required by this section shall be submitted to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics in a format specified in accounting and reporting directives issued by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics' Director of Airline Information.
D. [Reserved]
E. All reports shall be filed with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics in a format specified in accounting and reporting directives issued by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics' Director of Airline Information.
A. Sampling Basis. Each participating carrier in this O&D Survey shall search all listed flight coupons, whether the coupons are its own ticket stock or on the ticket stock of another U.S. or foreign carrier (either standard IATA and ARC ticket stock or nonstandard ticket stock), and is to select for reporting purposes the following flight coupons:
(1) Major domestic markets. All single-passenger flight coupons that are either a single flight coupon ticket or part of a round trip, two coupon ticket where the ticket serial number ends in the digits double-zero (00).
The list of major domestic markets will be issued by reporting directive under the authority in 14 CFR 385.27(b).
(2) International markets and all other domestic markets. (a) All single-passenger flight coupons with ticket serial numbers ending with the digit zero (0);
(b) Those group-ticket flight coupons with 10 or fewer passengers with ticket serial numbers ending with the digit zero (0);
(c) Those group-ticket flight coupons with 11 or more passengers without regard to serial number; and
(d) Itineraries in major domestic markets that comprise more than two coupons are sampled on a uniform 10 percent basis, by selecting all ticket serial numbers ending with the digit zero (0).
B. Selection of Reportable Flight Coupons. The flight coupons identified above are to be examined to isolate the reportable flight coupons, i.e. coupons from which data are to be recorded. Flight coupon data are reported only by the first honoring and participating carrier (operating carrier). Such carriers shall report the required data for the entire ticketed itinerary.
If a participating carrier has preceded an examining carrier on any stage in the trip itinerary, including any stage in a conjunction itinerary and any stage in a reissued ticket (either before or after reissue) that coupon is not reportable.
For conjunction tickets, the ticket number for the first ticket booklet determines if the conjunction tickets should be reported in the Survey. Otherwise, conjunction tickets do not require special treatment and are governed by the rules for regular tickets.
No adjustment is made in the Survey for alterations or changes in the trip itinerary subsequent to the stage covered by the reportable coupon.
C. Optional Use of Other Sampling Procedures.
(1) Alternative sampling procedures or alternative O&D data systems may be proposed by participating carriers with nonstandard ticketing procedures, or other special operating characteristics. Data reported under proposed alternative procedures must approximate the usefulness and statistical validity of the O&D Survey.
(2) Such departures from the prescribed O&D Survey practices shall not be authorized unless approved in writing by the Director, Office of Airline Information (address inside front cover). The proposed alternative O&D Survey procedures must be described in detail in the letter requesting the waiver.
D. Recording of Data from Reportable Flight Coupons. (1) The following items are to be reported from the reportable flight coupons:
(a) Point of origin,
(b) Operating carrier on each flight stage (if unknown, identify ticketed carrier),
(c) Ticketed carrier on each flight stage,
(d) Fare-basis on each flight coupon, C, D, F, G, X or Y,
(e) Points of stopover or connection (interline and intraline),
(f) Point of destination,
(g) Number of passengers, and
(h) Total dollar value of ticket (fare plus tax and other charges, such as Passenger Facility Charges).
(2) The individual items are to be recorded in the sequence of occurrence in the itinerary as follows:
(a) All entries for points (airport codes[5] ) in an itinerary are to be recorded in three-letter airport code data to fit into the stage-length limitation (seven or twenty-three stages at the carrier's option), all airport codes are to be reported, including data on commuter, foreign, intra-state and other carriers' portions of itineraries. Normally codes are recorded as they appear on the ticket. However, if a code is obviously incorrect, record the correct code. For instance, if a ticket is coded DCA-NYC or Washington/National to New York when the flight stage actually operated from Washington, Dulles to Newark (EWR), record the correct airport code. When only name spellings of a city appear on the ticket for multi-airport cities (such as Washington, New York, San Francisco, or Los Angeles), record the specific three letter airport code. In cases where two airport codes are shown on the ticket for a point, such as when the passenger arrives at an airport such as San Francisco and departs from another local airport such as Oakland, record the code for the arrival airport, enter a surface segment indicator (—) to the departure airport, and record the departure airport code. (When the surface portion is at the beginning or end of an itinerary, the surface indicator is to be omitted). For example:
| 000001 | UCA | YV | UA | Y | JFK | TW | TW | X |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passenger(s) | Utica | Mesa Operating Carrier |
United Ticketed Carrier |
Fare Code | New York Kennedy Airport |
TWA Operating Carrier |
TWA Ticketed Carrier |
Fare Code |
| SFO | (Blank space) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | Operating Carrier | Ticketed Carrier | Fare Code |
| OAK | UA | UA | G | LAX | DL | DL | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland | United Operating Carrier |
United Ticketed Carrier |
Fare | Los Angeles | Delta Operating Carrier |
Delta Operating Carrier |
Fare Code |
| SLC | NW | NW | D | PHX | AA | AA | C | LAX | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salt Lake City | Northwest Operating Carrier |
Northwest Ticketed Carrier |
Fare Code | Phoenix | American Operating Carrier |
American Ticketed Carrier |
Fare Code | Los Angeles |
| JL | JL | C | NRT | 04596 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan Air Lines Operating Carrier |
Japan Air Lines Ticketed Carrier |
Fare Code | Tokyo Narita | Dollars of Fare + Tax |
In the above example, the passenger trip stages or segments are compressed into the maximum of 7 stages so that several intermediate city-pairs (Los Angeles to Seattle to Anchorage, or LAX—SEA—Anc) and the related carriers have not been recorded, as prescribed below in this Section V.D.(3)(e). In addition, after the fourth city-pair (Los Angeles-Salt Lake City), the passenger trip itinerary moves from the initial four-part ticket booklet onto another “conjunction” ticket, and the summary fare code data are not recorded beyond the initial four-part ticket.
(b) All entries for operating and ticketed carriers for a coupon stage of an itinerary are to be recorded using two character IATA-assigned or DOT codes, as in the above example. Note that the fare code summary was properly inserted after the ticketed carrier's code, i.e., UA for United Air Lines and Y for unrestricted coach class service. When a two-character carrier code is shown on the ticket, record that code for the ticketed carrier. However, if a code is obviously incorrect, record the correct carrier code. If the reporting carrier does not know the operating carrier on a downline code-share segment, it would use the ticketed carrier's code for both the operating and ticketed carriers. The reporting carrier is not responsible for knowing the operating carrier of a downline code-share where it is not a party to the code-share segment. Except for the infrequent compression of data to fit into the stage-length limitation (7 or 23 stages at the carrier's option), all carrier codes are to be recorded, including data on air taxis, commuters, intra-state, and other carrier portions of itineraries. On tickets involving interchange service or other cooperative carrier arrangements, the juncture point(s) where the passenger moves from one carrier system to another is to be recorded as an intermediate point in the itinerary, even when not shown on the ticket and even though the flight may overfly the juncture point.
(c) Entries for fare-basis codes are to be taken from the “fare basis” and “fare description” portions of the ticket and simplified into the appropriate category, as shown below. No attempt shall be made to determine and record fare-basis codes for that portion of a conjunction ticket appearing in the ticket. Fare-basis codes are to be recorded in one-character alphabetic codes. The fare-basis codes are recorded as follows:
C—Unrestricted Business Class
D—Restricted Business Class
F—Unrestricted First Class
G—Restricted First Class
X—Restricted Coach/Economy Class
Y—Unrestricted Coach/Economy Class
U—Unknown (This fare category is used when none is shown on a ticket coupon, or when a fare category is not discernible, or when two or more carrier fare codes are compressed into a single stage of a passenger trip).
(d) In recording the number of passengers, each single-passenger ticket is to be recorded as one passenger. Tickets for infants under two years of age not occupying a seat are not to be counted. A revenue passenger is defined in Section X.
For group tickets of 10 or fewer passengers per ticket record the actual number of passengers on each ticket, i.e., either 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10. For group tickets with 11 or more passengers (those sampled at a 100-percent rate) record the actual number of passengers traveling on each ticket, but keep these entries separate from the group ticket records with 10 or fewer passengers and from the single-passenger ticket records. Group tickets with 11 or more passengers are to be sorted and summarized to combine all passengers for all itineraries which are identical in every respect, i.e., points, carriers, fare basis codes, and average dollar value (as defined in paragraph (e), below). The total number of passengers on each summarized record is to be divided by 10, rounding to the nearest whole passenger. If the quotient ends in 0.5 or more, raise to the next whole passenger. If the quotient ends in less than 0.5, drop the fraction. These large group-ticket records, after division by 10 for compatibility with the other data, are to be merged with the single-passenger records and with the group-ticket entries from tickets of 10 or fewer passengers for the quarterly O&D Survey report.
(e) The total dollar value shall be taken from the “Total” box on each ticket and shall be the sum of the fare plus tax for the entire ticket. Record this amount in whole U.S. dollars, with the cents dropped. Do not round cents to nearest whole dollar.
Amounts on tickets stated in foreign currency are to be converted to U.S. dollar equivalents. For all group tickets, the dollar value to be recorded shall be the average amount per passenger, determined by dividing the total dollar value for the entire group by the number of passengers on the group ticket, dropping cents in the average amount.
(3) The length of the itineraries to be recorded is limited to a maximum of seven stages or twenty-three stages, at the carrier's option. This recognizes that the vast majority of tickets sampled have seven stages or fewer and that the rare occurrences of extremely lengthy itineraries do not impact the overall Survey results enough to justify their reporting burden. Therefore, trips longer than these limits are compressed to fall within the stated maximums. The ticketed origin and destination are retained, but the intermediate routing is compressed by applying the following rules, in sequence:
(a) Combine any contiguous open, unknown carrier, or surface stages eliminating the connecting point, and ignoring the fare-basis codes, if different:
(b) Combine any contiguous stages via the same non-U.S. carrier, eliminating the connecting point, and ignoring the fare-basis codes, if different;
(c) Combine any contiguous stages via different non-U.S. carrier, making the carrier “UK”, eliminating the connecting point, and ignoring fare-basis codes, if different:
(d) Combine any contiguous stages via the same U.S. carrier, eliminating the connecting point, and ignoring the fare-basis codes, if different, and;
(e) If the trip, after applying the four steps above, is still too long, record the compressed routing through to the stage length limitation city (seventh or twenty-third city), enter UK as the final carrier, and then record the ticketed destination as the next (the 8th or 24th) city.
A. General. Prior to the submission of each quarterly report to the Department, each carrier is to summarize the data in accordance with the rules in Section VI.B. In special hardship cases, carriers may submit a waiver request (with justification under Section 1-2 of 14 CFR part 241) requesting permission to report their flight coupon records exactly as represented on their lifted tickets. Waiver requests must provide the documentation described in Section VI.C. so that the Department can develop the necessary procedures and edit routines to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the overall O&D Survey results. The granting of such waivers will depend upon the availability of resources for the Department to assume this additional burden, which can only be determined on a case by case basis, after evaluating each carrier's need.
B. Rules for Summarization. Sort the recorded entries into sequence by the entire record (excluding the passenger field) i.e., by origin, complete routing (including fare-basis codes), tickets destination, and dollar value of ticket. All identical records are then to be combined into one summary record. The number of passengers on the summary record is to be the sum of the passenger amounts of all the individual records combined. Passengers are only summarized where records are identical in all respects except in the number of passengers including dollar value of ticket. Note: Do not summarize dollars over identical records. This summarization is to include the entries from group tickets, but only after the entries for group tickets with 11 or more passengers have been summarized and divided by 10, as stated in Section V.D.(2)(d).
C. Waiver Requests. Requests for permission to depart from the required O&D Survey procedures should include a procedural statement describing the process the carrier proposed to employ in examining, selecting and editing the data from reportable flight coupons for the O&D Survey, as well as a flow chart diagramming the proposed procedures.
D. Quantity and Quality Controls. Carriers are expected to establish and maintain continuous quantity and quality controls on the flow of all lifted flight coupons through their system processes to determine the total number of coupons handled and the number of reportable coupons selected. Such data controls and tests have not been specified by the Department, and necessarily must be developed by each carrier. Each participating carrier shall develop and use on a continuous basis such control tests as are necessary to ensure that all reportable coupons are being selected, recorded and reported as intended by these O&D Survey Instructions. Such controls should extend over all ADP processing, both in-house and that from external service bureaus.
A. City and Airport Codes. Prior to submission of O&D Survey reports, each carrier is to edit the recorded data to validate city and airport codes. This edit is to verify that the codes recorded are valid official codes, and it is independent of whether or not the carriers shown actually operated into or out of the airport shown. Any questions about airport codes should be addressed to the Director, Office of Airline Information (see inside of cover).
B. Edit Responsibility of Carriers. Each carrier is responsible for developing edit procedures and internal controls over its data entry and processing procedures so that valid and reliable data are captured in the O&D Survey inputs and are properly summarized in the outputs. Since the carriers have many different statistical systems, it is not practicable for the Department of Transportation to prescribe specific controls in this area, and each carrier is responsible for developing the appropriate internal control procedures to edit the O&D Survey data and ensure the integrity of these data. The Department will control the accuracy of its processing of the sampled data upon receipt from the carriers.
C. System Documentation of Edits. Carriers are required to maintain written O&D Survey procedural statements and flow charts. As provided in Section VIII, these must be established, or re-certified as of July 1, 1987, and thereafter when significant procedural revisions occur.
A. Sample Accuracy and Reliability. In order to maximize the accuracy and reliability of the sample selection and data recording, each carrier is to:
(1) Develop a written statement describing the procedures it will employ in examining and selecting reportable flight coupons and in recording, summarizing, editing, and testing the Survey data.
(2) Submit any proposed changes in the above procedures to the Department's Office of Airline Information, prior to implementation of such changes.
(3) Establish continuous quantity controls on the flow of all lifted flight coupons through the carrier's accounting processing to determine the total number of coupons handled, and the number of reportable coupons selected. Tests are to be made continuously to assure that all reportable coupons are being selected and the data recorded. Such tests should be completed while the “lifted” flight coupons (representing earned passenger revenues for flight segments operated) remain in the possession of the carrier. Establish such other internal control procedures as are necessary for supervising and monitoring the accuracy of the recording of data from reportable flight coupons.
B. Staff Review. The OAI staff will review the carrier procedures and practices and may request modifications or the use of special procedures necessary to improve the sample or to bolster the controls for accuracy and reliability.
[Reserved]
Selected terms used in the foregoing instructions are here defined and explained in the context of the O&D Survey.
ADP. An abbreviation for automated data processing, which is the term applied to all forms of machine processed data.
Carrier. Any scheduled air carrier, U.S. or foreign, that appears on a coupon stage in a ticketed itinerary, including helicopter, air taxi, commuter, intra-Alaska carriers, and intra-state carriers.
City or origin. (See origin.)
Conjunction ticket. Two or more tickets concurrently issued to a passenger and which together constitute a single contract of carriage.
Connecting point. An intermediate point in an itinerary at which the passenger deplanes from one flight and boards another flight, either on the same carrier or from the flight of one carrier to a flight of another carrier, for continuation of the journey.
Coupon stage. (See flight-coupon stage.)
Destination. The last point in the itinerary and the last point at which the passenger is to deplane at the completion of the journey. (In roundtrip itineraries, the destination and the origin are the same.)
Dollar value of ticket. (See total dollar value of ticket.)
Domestic. Itineraries within or between the 50 U.S. States and the District of Columbia are considered domestic for this Survey.
Fare basis code. The alphabetic code(s) or combination of alphabetic and numeric codes appearing in the “Fare basis” box on the flight coupon which describe the applicable service and discount to which the passenger is entitled. All fare basis codes are summarized into basic categories; namely C—Unrestricted Business Class, D—Restricted Business Class, F—Unrestricted First Class, G—Restricted First Class, X—Restricted Coach/Economy Class, Y—Unrestricted Coach/Economy Class, and U—Unknown (This fare category is used when none is shown on a ticket coupon, or when a fare category is not discernible, or when two or more carrier fare codes are compressed into a single stage of a passenger trip).
Fare ladder. The “For-issuing-office-only” box of a ticket.
Flight-coupon stage. The portion of an itinerary which lies between two contiguous points in the itinerary and between which points the passenger is to travel on a single flight.
Group ticket. A single ticket valid for the transportation of two or more passengers over the same itinerary.
Interline transfer. An occurrence at an intermediate point in an itinerary where a passenger changes from one carrier to another carrier, with or without a stopover.
Intermediate point. Any point in an itinerary, other than the origin or destination, at which the passenger makes an interline or intraline connection or stopover.
International. The world area outside the 50 U.S. States and the District of Columbia. Itineraries between points outside the 50 States are considered as international for this Survey, as well as itineraries between the 50 States and U.S. possessions, and between or within U.S. possessions.
Intraline transfer. An occurrence at an intermediate point in an itinerary where a passenger changes from a flight of one carrier to another flight of that same carrier, with or without stopover, or where the passenger changes from one class of service to another class of service on the same flight.
Itinerary. All points in the passenger journey, beginning with the origin, followed by the routing, and ending with the destination, in the sequence shown on the ticket.
Operating air carrier. Under a code-share arrangement, the air carrier whose aircraft and flight crew are used to perform a flight segment.
Origin. The first point in the itinerary and the point where the passenger first boards a carrier at the beginning of the itinerary.
Participating carrier. A carrier which is governed by the Survey data collection and reporting instructions contained herein and which is required to file Survey reports with the Department of Transportation.
Point. A city or airport (always identified by its airport code).
Reissued ticket. A ticket issued in exchange for all or part of the unused portion of a previously issued ticket.
Reportable flight coupon. A flight coupon in an itinerary in which the carrier examining the coupon is the first participating carrier to lift a flight coupon in the itinerary and from which coupon the examining carrier records the Survey data.
Reporting carrier. The carrier in a given itinerary which has lifted the reportable flight coupon in that itinerary and which carrier is required to record the Survey data for that itinerary for the report to the Department.
Routing. The carrier on each flight-coupon stage in an itinerary and the intermediate points of routing stopover or connection (interline or intraline) in the sequence of occurrence in the movement of the passenger from origin to destination. The routing also includes fare-basis summary codes on each flight-coupon stage, to the extent these are available from the ticket.
Scheduled service. Transport service operated on a certificated large air carrier's routes pursuant to published flight schedules, including extra sections of scheduled flights.
Stage. (See flight-coupon stage.)
Ticketed air carrier. Under a code-share arrangement, the air carrier whose two-character air carrier code is used for a flight segment, whether or not it actually operates the flight segment.
Total dollar value of ticket. The sum of the fare plus tax for the entire ticketed itinerary, in whole U.S. dollars with cents dropped. For a group ticket, the amount is the average per passenger. For fares stated in foreign currency, it is the equivalent in U.S. dollars.
Transfer. (See interline transfer and intraline transfer.)
[1] Each ticket booklet is comprised of one or more flight coupons for passenger travel in a city-pair market, plus a passenger coupon (the traveler's receipt) and the auditor coupon (for the carrier's internal controls).
[2] These summarization procedures include showing two or more passengers with the same itinerary as one O&D record and compressing extremely lengthy itineraries (such as around-the-world tickets) into a standard trip stage length limit (which may be either seven or twenty-three stages, at the carrier's option), as explained in Section V.D.
[4] Upon approval of the Director, Office of Airline Information, carriers may continue current reporting procedures (up to twenty-three stages of a passenger flight) and may report a uniform 10 percent sample of tickets lifted (each zero ending lifted coupon) without reducing the sample size from 10 percent to 1 percent for domestic major markets. Note that the domestic major markets will be reviewed each year at June 30, based on the prior 12 months O&D data, and the list amended as necessary. The list could remain static for more than a year, although it will be reviewed annually. Necessary amendments will be effective on January 1 of the following year.
[5] Codes to be used are those appearing in the Official Airline Guide at the time the data are being recorded. If a code is not found in the OAG, contact the Director, Office of Airline Information (address inside front cover).
[Reserved]
[Amdt. 241-55, 52 FR 6529, Mar. 5, 1987, as amended at 60 FR 66723, 66724, Dec. 26, 1995; 62 FR 43280, Aug. 13, 1997; 67 FR 58690, Sept. 18, 2002; 75 FR 41584, July 16, 2010; Doc. No. DOT-OST-2014-0140, 84 FR 15931, Apr. 16, 2019]
The purpose of this part is to set forth required data that certain air carriers must submit to the Department, either themselves or via third party vendors, so that information on air carriers' ticket pricing, passenger volumes, and trip routings can be made available to consumers of air transportation.
For purposes of this part:
Airport see Origin or Destination.
As Sold means to report ticket information as it appears on the ticket at the time the ticket was issued or reissued just prior to first known flown lift usage. For purposes of this part, any change to an existing ticket prior to the first segment being flown that results in a change to the ticket amount should be considered as requiring the ticket to be reissued. Any changes made to the ticket after the first segment is flown or that are incidental to the ticket value should not be considered as requiring the ticket to be reissued. For example, a last-minute schedule change by the carrier to an itinerary before first known flown lift usage that does not result in a change in the amount paid and does not change the intended trip destination should not be considered as a reissued ticket in this context. Partial reissued tickets shall not be included in the collection.
Commuter Air Carrier means a commuter air carrier as defined in 14 CFR 298.2.
Connecting point means an intermediate point in a sequence of travel at which the passenger deplanes from one flight and boards another flight, either on the same carrier or from the flight of one carrier to a flight of another carrier, for continuation of the journey.
Coupon Stage (See Flight-Coupon).
Destination means the airport code or terminus in the ticket sequence of travel where a passenger deplanes from a flight stage. Qualifying airports or terminus will be specified periodically in accounting and reporting directives issued by the OAI. Airport, or terminus, codes are most commonly assigned by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and occasionally by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) or the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) depending on the jurisdiction of the airport. A common private industry source of these industry designator codes is 3rd party schedule products and OAI will use one of these products as a source where possible. Where none exists, OAI will furnish a code upon request.
Dwell Time means scheduled elapsed time (in minutes) between each ticketed coupon. Dwell time is not required to be reported at Via Airport stops. When dwell time exceeds 1,440 minutes, or 24 hours, report “9999”.
Eligible Ticket means a ticket that meets the 40% sampling criteria where the right-most digit is equal to “0” (zero), “2” (two), “7” (seven) or “9” (nine) when following the standard sampling procedure. For ad-hoc procedures, an eligible ticket is any ticket that meets the approved sampling procedure selected.
Flight Coupon means a defined origin and destination for a single stage of flight provided by a single Operating Carrier. Tickets are composed of one or more flight stages, also known as coupons or coupon stages.
First Reporting Carrier Rule means a rule applied during the Reporting Event Evaluation. The rule states that the first Reporting Carrier in the sequence of travel for a Category Two ticket is designated as the carrier responsible for reporting the ticket.
Flown Lift Usage is a record or indicator in the accounting system of the issuing carrier that represents a passenger ticket coupon that has been used by the passenger for travel on a flight.
International Ticket means a ticket that involves an international point and is submitted by a Reporting Carrier, or a ticket submitted under 49 U.S.C. 41308 and 41309 for certain foreign air carriers granted antitrust immunity that includes a Reporting Carrier (or affiliate) operated leg in an itinerary. An international point is a point that resides outside of the 50 States. U.S. possessions are considered International Points.
Issuing Carrier means an air carrier or foreign air carrier that issues an air travel ticket.
Marketing Carrier means the air carrier that markets the seat on the aircraft, regardless of whether it operates the flight segment.
Operating Carrier means the carrier that has operational control over the aircraft that is scheduled to depart from an airport. Under a code-share arrangement, the air carrier whose flight crew are used to perform a flight segment.
Origin means an airport or terminus in the ticket sequence of travel where a passenger boards a flight stage. Qualifying airports or terminus will be specified periodically in accounting and reporting directives issued by the Office of Airline Information. Airport, or terminus, codes are most commonly assigned by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and occasionally by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) or the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) depending on the jurisdiction of the airport. A common private industry source of these industry designator codes is 3rd party schedule products and OAI will use one of these products as a source where possible. Where none exists, OAI will furnish a code upon request.
Purchase Window Group means one of three groups indicating the advance purchase window of the ticket. “21AP” is less than or equal to 21 days prior to departure, “2290” is 22 to 90 days prior to departure, and “91UP” is more than 90 days prior to departure.
Record Identification Number (RIN) means an air carrier assigned number that uniquely identifies each ticket within each reporting period.
Reporting Carrier means the U.S. Certificated Air Carrier or Commuter Air Carrier that is required to report O&D data and reported a given itinerary to the Department.
Reporting Event means the occurrence of a Reporting Carrier recognizing that a ticket has been flown and evaluating the ticket to determine if it should be reported to the O&D.
Reporting Carrier List means a list maintained and published by the Office of Airline Information (OAI). Carriers report O&D data consistent with these regulations, but a carrier is not required to report until OAI adds the carrier to the Reporting Carriers List. Carriers must also determine the responsible reporting carrier for Category Two tickets using the first reporting carrier rule and should use the Reporting Carriers List to determine the responsible reporting carrier.
Reporting Month means the month applicable to the ticket submission.
Reportable Ticket means that the combination of flown lift usage, sampling process criteria, and the Category One and Category Two ticket evaluation determines if a ticket is reportable.
Reporting Year means the year applicable to the ticket submission.
Revenue Passenger has the same meaning as the definition in 14 CFR 241 Section 03—Definitions for Purposes of This System of Accounts and Reports—Passenger, Revenue.
Routing means the sequence of travel for each flight stage including all intermediate points of routing stopover or connection (interline or intraline) in the movement of the passenger from the first airport in the sequence of travel to the last airport in the sequence of travel for the ticket.
Scheduled Flight Month means month for a departure from an airport in the sequence of travel for a ticket.
Scheduled Flight Year means year for a departure from an airport in the sequence of travel for a ticket.
Scheduled Service means transport service held out and operated on a certificated air carrier or commuter carrier's routes pursuant to published flight schedules, including extra sections of scheduled flights.
Tax Amount means all aggregated taxes and fees imposed by the U.S., government entity, or a foreign government, such as, but not limited to, Federal excise taxes, flight segment taxes, U.S. passenger facility surcharges, September 11 security fees, U.S. or international departure and arrival charges, and immigration charges. Taxes and mandatory fees charged by other foreign authorities, such as passenger service charges and airport taxes, are also considered part of Tax Amount.
Ticket means a legal contract between an Issuing Carrier and a Revenue Passenger for transportation.
Total Amount means:
(1) Gross total of funds collected on a ticket by the Issuing Carrier for the transportation of a passenger, inclusive of taxes and fees imposed by non-carrier entities or air carriers, and exclusive of ancillary fees not required to board the plane charged by the air carrier. Factors considered in determining what should be included in the Total Amount are as follows:
(i) Total Amount includes charges required to board the aircraft (domestic and international) that are recognized as revenue at the time of purchase of the ticket and at the time of first lift of the ticket.
(ii) Where a charge assessed at the time of purchase of the ticket is associated with a choice, such as seat assignment, where the consumer must pay the fee or charge regardless of the choice made, the charge is considered part of the Total Amount.
(iii) The Total Amount does not include charges for optional services (services offered which the consumer may choose not to utilize and thus not incur the fee or charge) such as baggage fees, seat upgrade fees, or ticket change fees. When a fee is assessed and there is a no cost option, that fee is considered an ancillary fee. When a fee is assessed for a service that provides something distinct from the air travel product then that fee is considered an ancillary fee.
(iv) The term Total Amount should align with standard passenger ticket documents; however, for air carriers that do not follow such standards or have, or may have, created new fees that may not be included in the standard passenger ticket document and yet are required to be paid to board the aircraft, these must also be included in Total Amount.
(2) Based on the criteria, the following is a non-exhaustive list of carrier-imposed fees and charges that must be reported as part of the Total Amount of the ticket: fuel surcharges, carrier usage charges, carrier interface fees, check-in fees, electronic usage charges, peak/holiday travel fees, transaction processing charges, and credit card surcharge fees. When a customer is assessed a fee based on how the customer acquires a ticket to board the aircraft, a booking fee, the fee is included in the Total Amount. Being required to pay a fee or charge for electronic or phone booking where there is no fee for purchase at the counter must be reported in the Total Amount. Being charged a call center fee for booking by phone when the customer could have booked online at no charge is not an example of a booking fee that must be reported. Carriers must also include all taxes and fees imposed by the U.S. or a foreign government, such as, but not limited to, Federal excise taxes, flight segment taxes, U.S. passenger facility surcharges, September 11 security fees, U.S. or international departure and arrival charges, and immigration charges. Carriers must also include taxes and mandatory fees charged by other foreign authorities, such as passenger service charges and airport taxes.
USD means United States Dollars.
Via Airport (Point(s)) means any point(s) of stopover at intermediate airports as part of a “direct” or “through” flight. These are points that are not usually recorded on a ticket as the passenger does not generally deplane from the aircraft at the intermediate point.
(a) All U.S. certificated and commuter air carriers conducting scheduled passenger services (except helicopter carriers) shall participate in a Passenger Origin-Destination (O&D) Survey covering domestic and international air carrier operations, as prescribed by the Department's Office of Airline Information (OAI) in the instructions manual entitled, Instructions to Air Carriers for Collecting and Reporting Passenger Origin-Destination Survey Statistics and in Passenger Origin-Destination Directives issued by OAI. Copies of these Instructions and Directives are available on the BTS web page and will be provided to each reporting carrier at the time it becomes a reporting carrier.
(b) Air carriers are not required to begin reporting O&D until placed on the Reporting Carrier List that will be published by BTS/OAI 75 days prior to the beginning of each period of reporting. The Reporting Carrier List will identify each U.S. Certificated and Commuter Air Carrier required by this part to report O&D as designated by BTS OAI. Carriers may be added to this list as a result of consideration under this part or under 49 U.S.C. 41308 and 41309 for certain Foreign Air Carriers granted antitrust immunity. Foreign Air Carriers granted antitrust immunity under 49 U.S.C. 41308 and 41309 are not considered Reporting Carriers under this part but do report the same data under different legal authority.
(c) This section applies for air transportation taking place on or after July 1, 2025. Reporting pursuant to section 19-7 of this part is not required for air travel taking place on or after April 1, 2025.
(a) Each reporting carrier must file O&D data with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics Office of Airline Information (BTS/OAI) on a monthly basis for each of its reportable O&D tickets as follows. Collect the ticket information once there is an indication that the ticket has been flown, i.e. first known Flown Lift Usage. Report routing (and other ticket information) As Sold. Reporting carriers must determine the points ticketed and integrate the ticketed information required for reporting. It is at each reporting carrier's discretion whether to use a third-party provider to manage their O&D data submissions. The use of a third-party provider will not remove the responsibility of the reporting carrier to ensure that their data is reported accurately and on schedule.
(b) A statistically valid sample of flight coupons must be selected for reporting purposes. Flight coupons should only be sampled from tickets:
(1) issued for scheduled service itineraries;
(2) issued to revenue passengers who are individually ticketed (i.e. no group tickets, no infants flying without their own tickets); and
(3) that involve a U.S. airport or a U.S. air carrier operation at some point in the scheduled itinerary. The sample must consist of 40 percent of the total lifted ticket flight coupons for all domestic and international markets. Partially reissued tickets, which are tickets issued for changes to an itinerary after the first segment is flown, should not be included in the total lifted ticket flight coupons for all domestic and international markets from which the sample is drawn.
(c) The data recorded and reported from selected lifted flight ticket coupons must include the following information elements:
(1) Reporting Carrier,
(2) Reporting Month and Reporting Year,
(3) Record Identification Number (RIN),
(4) Issuing Carrier,
(5) Total Amount,
(6) Tax Amount,
(7) Airport code,
(8) Operating Carrier code,
(9) Marketing Carrier code,
(10) Scheduled Flight Year,
(11) Scheduled Flight Month,
(12) Dwell Time,
(13) Via Airport (if any),
(14) Purchase Window Group.
(d) Report Total Amount and Tax Amount in United States Dollars (USD) rounded to two decimal places.
(e) A Reporting Event evaluation occurs when a Reporting Carrier's revenue accounting system recognizes that any portion of a ticket has been flown, i.e., first known lift usage. This evaluation will inform the Reporting Carrier if a ticket in their system has been recognized that meets criteria that may require the ticket be reported. Situations may occur where the Reporting Carrier's revenue accounting system identifies a ticket from a flight that occurs after the first flight in the ticket sequence. This may occur when the first flight in the ticket sequence is not used for travel, or the Reporting Carrier's revenue accounting system does not recognize the first flight in the ticket for some other reason. When this occurs, the second (or subsequent) flight is the first known lift usage and becomes the Reporting Event. The Reporting Carrier is responsible for reporting the complete ticket information as it appears at the time of the Reporting Event which should correspond with the information at the time the ticket was sold. Reporting carriers should not report ticket information as flown if the ticket information changes after first known lift usage.
(f) Ticket reporting.
(1) A ticket will be reported when:
(i) The criteria of the sampling process are met, and
(ii) The ticket meets either the criteria of a Category One or Category Two ticket.
(A) Category One ticket reporting process. Tickets issued by a Reporting Carrier are known as Category One tickets. These tickets will be reported by the Reporting Carrier if the sampling process criteria conditions are satisfied. The carrier that issues the ticket remains the Reporting Carrier regardless of which flight from the ticket is first recognized by the revenue accounting system as the first flown lift usage.
(B) Category Two ticket reporting process. Tickets issued by carriers that do not appear on the published Reporting Carrier List but are recognized by a carrier that participates on the ticket and is on the Reporting Carrier List are known as Category Two tickets. The examining Reporting Carrier must apply the “First Reporting Carrier” rule: The first carrier in a ticket's sequence of travel that also appears on the Reporting Carrier List is responsible for submitting the ticket to the O&D if the sampling criteria are also met. The first Reporting Carrier in the sequence of a Category Two ticket remains the Reporting Carrier regardless of which flight from the ticket is first recognized by the revenue accounting system. For the purposes of the First Reporting Carrier Rule, any carrier that appears on the Reporting Carrier List is considered a Reporting Carrier.
(iii) Additional provisions for Category Two tickets. Reporting Carriers should use all reasonable efforts to determine the required information from Category Two tickets. If the information for Operating Carrier, Via Airports, Dwell Time, Tax Amount, and Purchase Window Group is unavailable to the Reporting Carrier, however, then leave the fields for which information is unavailable blank. In cases where a carrier is unable to determine Dwell Time between coupons insert a “B” (for Break) in the appropriate dwell time slot where the reporting carrier provides an estimate of where in the itinerary the trip break occurs. Record a surface segment indicator (--, dash dash) where two consecutive stops within the itinerary have no air carrier operator. Record surface segments at the beginning and end of itineraries when the segments are designated with an airline flight number, appear on the ticket, and have a designator code that appears in an airline schedule source.
(g) The primary ticket's right-most digit of the standard ticket document number forms the basis for the random sample size. All required information associated with a primary ticket must be reported, which may include information from a related conjunction ticket. A conjunction ticket is a ticket that is a continuation of a primary ticket itinerary. Conjunction tickets should not be included in the sample process on their own. Any Reporting Carrier that does not assign ticket numbers to passenger journeys, does not assign ticket numbers such that the final, right-most digit is not randomly assigned, or otherwise seeks to use an alternative method must develop an alternative method of creating a valid 40 percent sample. Those Reporting Carriers would need to submit their alternative sample methods to DOT for approval within 90 days of the date that the Reporting Carrier recognizes that it must make use of the alternative sample selection method to comply with the proposed reporting regulation for determining a Reportable Ticket.
Reporting carriers should report individual tickets as separate records where the Record Identifier Number (RIN) uniquely identifies each record in a submission. Except where otherwise noted, all reports required by this part shall be filed within 45 days of the end of the month for which data are reported. The reports should be submitted to the Office of Airline Information in a format specified in the Instructions to Air Carriers for Collecting and Reporting Passenger Origin-Destination Survey Data or accounting and reporting directives issued by BTS/OAI.
(a) Each Reporting Carrier shall maintain its prescribed reportable records in a manner and at such locations as will permit ready accessibility for examination by representatives of DOT. The record retention requirements are prescribed in part 249 of this chapter.
(b) [Reserved]
Any Ticket that is submitted that involves a Reporting Carrier and an International Point providing service in whole or in part under this part are generally not available to the Department, the U.S. carriers, or U.S. interests. Therefore, because of the damaging competitive impact on U.S. carriers and the adverse effect upon the public interest that would result from unilateral disclosure of international ticket survey data that involves a Reporting Carrier, the Department will not disclose international ticket data that involves a Reporting Carrier in the Passenger Origin-Destination Survey to citizens or non-citizens except:
(a) To an air carrier directly participating in and contributing input data to the Survey under this part or to a legal or consulting firm designated by a directly participating air carrier to use on its behalf and in connection with a specific assignment by such carrier;
(b) To parties to any proceeding before the Department to the extent that such data are relevant and material to the issues in the proceeding upon a determination to this effect by the Administrative Law Judge or by the Department's decision-maker. Any data to which access is granted pursuant to this section may be introduced into evidence subject to the normal rules of admissibility of evidence;
(c) To agencies and other components of the U.S. Government;
(d) To other persons upon a showing that the release of the data will serve specifically identified needs of U.S. users which are consistent with U.S. interests; and
(e) To foreign governments and foreign users as provided in formal reciprocal arrangements between the foreign and U.S. Governments for the exchange of comparable O&D data.
(a) Period of coverage by submission. Reporting carriers must file data for each calendar month as shown in Table 1 to paragraph (a).
| Data report | Time period covered |
|---|---|
| January | Jan 1 through Jan 31. |
| February | Feb 1 through Feb 28/29. |
| March | Mar 1 through Mar 31. |
| April | Apr 1 through Apr 30. |
| May | May 1 through May 31. |
| June | Jun 1 through Jun 30. |
| July | Jul 1 through Jul 29. |
| August | Aug 1 through Aug 31. |
| September | Sep 1 through Sep 30. |
| October | Oct 1 through Oct 31. |
| November | Nov 1 through Nov 30. |
| December | Dec 1 through Dec 31. |
(b) Filing date for data. Reporting carriers must file data with the Department on or before the dates listed below, 45 days after the end of each reporting period. Reporting carriers must file all data through BTS approved channels as specified in accounting and reporting directives issued by BTS/OAI.
| Report | Due date 1 |
|---|---|
| January | March 17. |
| February | April 15. |
| March | May 16. |
| April | June 15. |
| May | July 16. |
| June | August 15. |
| July | September 15. |
| August | October 16. |
| September | November 15. |
| October | December 16. |
| November | January 15. |
| December | February 15. |
| 1 Due dates falling on Saturday, Sunday or national holiday will become effective the first following workday. | |
(c) Waiver requests. Requests for permission to depart from the required O&D Survey procedures should include a procedural statement describing the process the carrier proposes to employ in examining, selecting, and editing the data from reportable flight coupons for the O&D Survey, as well as a flow chart diagramming the proposed procedures.
(d) Quantity and quality controls. Carriers are expected to establish and maintain continuous quantity and quality controls on the flow of all lifted flight coupons through their system processes to determine the total number of coupons handled and the number of reportable coupons selected. Such data controls and tests have not been specified by the Department, and necessarily must be developed by each carrier. Each participating carrier shall develop and use on a continuous basis such control tests as are necessary to ensure that all reportable coupons are being selected, recorded, and reported as intended by these regulations, the Instructions to Air Carriers for Collecting and Reporting Passenger Origin—Destination Survey Data, and any related accounting and reporting directives. (Instructions and accounting and reporting directives are available from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics Office of Airline Information. Please visit https://www.bts.gov/ or call 800-853-1351 for more information.) Such controls should extend over all ADP processing, both in-house and that from third-party service providers.
(a) City and airport, or terminus, codes. Prior to submission of O&D, each carrier is to edit the recorded data to validate city and airport or terminus codes. This edit is to verify that the codes recorded are valid official codes, and it is independent of whether the carriers shown operated into or out of the airport or terminus shown. Any questions about airport or terminus codes should be addressed to the Director, Office of Airline Information.
(b) Edit responsibility of carriers. Each carrier is responsible for developing edit procedures and internal controls over its data entry and processing procedures so that valid and reliable data are captured in the O&D inputs. Since the carriers have many different statistical systems, it is not practicable for the Department of Transportation to prescribe specific controls in this area, and each carrier is responsible for developing the appropriate internal control procedures to edit the O&D data and ensure the integrity of these data. The Department will control the accuracy of its processing of the sampled data upon receipt from the carriers or their third-party providers.
(c) System documentation of edits. Carriers are required to maintain written O&D procedural statements and flow charts.
Sample accuracy and reliability. To maximize the accuracy and reliability of the sample selection and data recording, each carrier is to:
(a) Develop a written statement describing the procedures it will employ in examining and selecting reportable flight coupons and in recording, summarizing, editing, and testing the Survey data;
(b) Submit any proposed changes in the procedures specified in paragraph (a) of this section to the Department's Office of Airline Information, prior to implementation of such changes;
(c) Establish continuous quantity controls on the flow of all lifted flight coupons through the carrier's accounting processing to determine the total number of coupons handled, and the number of reportable coupons selected. Tests are to be made continuously to assure that all reportable coupons are being selected and the data recorded. Such tests should be completed while the “lifted” flight coupons (representing earned passenger revenues for flight segments operated) remain in the possession of the carrier. Establish such other internal control procedures as are necessary for supervising and monitoring the accuracy of the recording of data from reportable flight coupons.
The OAI staff will review the carrier procedures and practices and may request modifications or the use of special procedures necessary to improve the sample or to bolster the controls for accuracy and reliability.
[Doc. No. DOT-OST-2018-0132, 88 FR 6160, Jan. 31, 2023]