Classification of Single Class of Service Fares
For Form 41 and the Passenger Origin and Destination Survey
Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Office of
Airline Information
Number 258
Issue Date: 1/24/02
Effective Date: IMMEDIATELY
Part: 241
Section: 03 and 12
This directive rescinds
Accounting and Reporting Directives No.257 "Fare Basis Codes as Reported in the
Passenger Origin-Destination Survey," and reissues the reporting guidance on
the that is contained in Accounting and Reporting Directives No. 82,
"Classification of Single Class Fares," which became effective January 1, 1986,
and remains in effect.
At the time Directive No.
82 was issued, single class of service fares were classified as “S” fares.
Although the fare basis code “S” is no longer used to signify fares for single
cabin service, the guidance and intent of Directive No. 82 is still applicable
to the reporting of fare basis codes for ticket coupons used on flights
operated with a single class of service such as first class or coach.
Until the issuance of
Directive No. 82, single class service had been considered first class, as
required by Departmental regulations.1 The theory behind this approach
was that the highest quality service that a carrier offered was first class.
If a carrier offered only single class service it was the highest quality
offered and therefore considered first class.
Before issuing Directive
No. 82, we had performed an evaluation of some of the air transportation
services being provided by air carriers as a single class of service. Our
evaluation disclosed the existence of a wide variation in the services being
provided. For instance, a carrier may be offering a super luxury service with
reservations and advance seat selections, free gourmet meals, free drinks,
etc. On the other hand, another carrier may be using a no frills or low frills
approach, with no reservations (first come-first serve boarding) where the
passengers get a sandwich and/or a soda. In today’s deregulated environment,
air carriers continue to exercise marketing freedom in offering the traveling
public a wide variety of service level choices.
Based on the above facts,
we believe, as stated in Directive No. 82, that to require air carriers to
account for diverse levels of service as only first class does not provide for
meaningful comparisons in the Form 41 report. Therefore, this Directive
continues to grant carriers flexibility in determining whether their offerings
of a single level of service are to be recorded and reported as either first
class or coach. This flexibility also applies the Passenger Origin and
Destination Survey where the reporting of fare basis codes are to be
consolidated under the first class or coach categories.
In the application of this
Directive, carriers are directed to maintain consistency in their reports.
That is, the revenue and traffic statistics must be reported in the same
manner, either first class or coach, to preserve data uniformity. When
circumstances change, such as when a premium service is converted to a lesser
quality service, we expect that carriers will reclassify the related revenues
and traffic statistics, consistent with their shift in marketing plans.
If you have any questions
regarding this Directive, please contact Clay Moritz by telephone at (202)
366-4385 or by e-mail at clay.moritz@bts.gov.
This action is taken under authority delegated in Sections 14 CFR
385.19(b) and (c) of Part 385 of DOT's regulations.
(original signed by)
Donald W. Bright
Assistant Director
Airline Information
1 Refer to the definition of "Service, first class
in Section 03 "Glossary" and "Passenger-First Class" in section
12-01 of 14 CFR Part 241."
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