[Federal Register: May 22, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 99)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 27948]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22my03-32]
[[Page 27948]]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary
14 CFR Part 255 and Part 399
[Dockets Nos. OST-97-2881, OST-97-3014, OST-98-4775, and OST-99-5888]
RIN 2105-AC65
Computer Reservations System (CRS) Regulations; Statements of
General Policy
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Department of Transportation.
ACTION: Notice of change in time of public hearing; notice of
procedures for hearing.
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SUMMARY: On Thursday, May 22, 2003, at 9 a.m., the Department will
conduct a public hearing on its pending rulemaking on computer
reservations systems (CRSs). The public hearing will be held at the
Marriott at Metro Center, 775 12th Street, NW., Washington, DC. This
notice changes the beginning time from 9:30 a.m. to 9 a.m., sets forth
the procedures for the hearing, and lists the speakers in order of
appearance.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Ray, Office of the General
Counsel, 400 Seventh St., SW., Washington, DC 20590, (202) 366-4731.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department is conducting a rulemaking to
determine whether its rules governing CRS operations, 14 CFR part 255,
remain necessary and, if so, whether the current rules are effective.
Our notice of proposed rulemaking set forth our tentative proposals
regarding the existing rules and our tentative belief that we should
not extend the rules to cover the sale of airline tickets through the
Internet. 67 FR 69366, November 15, 2002. While interested persons have
the opportunity to file comments and reply comments, we are also
holding a public hearing on May 22 where interested persons may present
their views on the major issues. 68 FR 25844, May 14, 2003. Michael
Reynolds, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International
Affairs, will preside. We must limit each speaker's time and the number
of persons who may speak, because the hearing will last only one day.
Persons who are unable to speak at the hearing may, of course, present
their views on the issues (and on statements made at the hearing) in
their reply comments.
We initially planned to begin the hearing at 9:30 a.m. We have now
decided to begin at 9 a.m., which will allow us to give each speaker
more time for his or her presentation.
We asked persons who wished to speak at the hearing to submit
requests to us as soon as possible. We received 26 requests by noon on
Friday, May 16. We have determined to allow all 26 persons to speak.
Each of them will have fifteen minutes to speak, which will include any
time needed for answering questions from Mr. Reynolds. If we have
additional time at the end of the hearing, we may allow others to speak
as well. We are not allowing rebuttals, and we have decided that
organizing the hearing in panel form would be impracticable due to the
number of speakers and the complexity of the issues.
We plan to have the following persons speak in the morning session,
in the following order: Sabre, Amadeus, Worldspan, TechNet Texas,
Galileo, Orbitz, America West, American, Travelers First, and United.
The speakers in the afternoon session will be as follows: Delta,
Continental, U.S. Airways, Northwest, Southwest, Shepherd Systems, Air
Carrier Association, Travelocity, American Society of Travel Agents,
Expedia, Large Agency Coalition, Stratton Travel Management,
Interactive Travel Services Association, Competitive Enterprise
Institute, Progress & Freedom Foundation, and Mercatus.
Speakers need not provide written statements at the hearing. If
they choose to do so, they must also submit a copy to the docket for
this proceeding.
A transcript of the hearing prepared by a court reporter will be
put in the docket for this rulemaking, so that anyone who is unable to
attend the hearing can learn what was said. We plan to place the
transcript in the docket within one week of the hearing.
Issued in Washington, DC, on May 19, 2003.
Read C. Van de Water,
Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs.
[FR Doc. 03-12943 Filed 5-20-03; 8:53 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-62-P