1、462 SUBCHAPTER FPOLICY STATEMENTS PART 398GUIDELINES FOR INDI-VIDUAL DETERMINATIONS OF BASIC ESSENTIAL AIR SERVICE Sec. 398.1 Purpose. 398.2 Number and designation of hubs. 398.3 Specific airports. 398.4 Equipment. 398.5 Frequency of flights. 398.6 Seat guarantees. 398.7 Timing of flights. 398.8 Num
2、ber of intermediate stops. 398.9 Load factor standards. 398.10 Overflights. 398.11 Funding reductions. AUTHORITY: 49 U.S.C. Chapters 401, 417; Air-port and Airway Safety and Capacity Expan-sion Act of 1987 (Pub. L. 100223, Dec. 30, 1987). SOURCE: Docket No. OST95397, 60 FR 43529, Aug. 22, 1995, unle
3、ss otherwise noted. 398.1 Purpose. The purpose of this part is to estab-lish general guidelines for the deter-mination of basic essential air service for each eligible place under 49 U.S.C. 41731 and 41732. Procedures for the de-termination of the essential air service level for a place are containe
4、d in part 325 of this chapter. 398.2 Number and designation of hubs. (a) What is a hub? The Department considers hubs as belonging to any one of three classifications: (1) A large hub is a place accounting for at least 1.00 percent of the total enplanements in the United States; (2) A medium hub is
5、a place account-ing for at least 0.25 percent but less than 1.00 percent of the total enplanements in the United States; and (3) A small hub is a place accounting for at least 0.05 percent but less than 0.25 percent of the total enplanements in the United States. (b) How many hubs? (1) As a general
6、matter, the Department will require service to one large or medium hub. (2) In Alaska or when the nearest large or medium hub is more than 400 miles from the eligible place, the De-partment may instead require service to a small hub or nonhub. (3) In some cases, the Department may require service to
7、 two hubs, of which at least one will be a large or medium hub. The Department will re-quire service to two hubs if an eligible place has close commercial, geo-graphic, and political ties to both hubs and if there is sufficient traffic from the eligible place to support two round trips a day to both
8、 hubs. If traffic is not sufficient, the Department may re-quire one round trip a day to both hubs if the community requests such serv-ice. (4) In no event will essential air serv-ice consist of service to more than two hubs. (c) Which hub? (1) In designating hubs, the Department will weigh all of t
9、he following factors: (i) The extent to which candidate hubs provide access to the national air transportation system; (ii) The commercial, geographic, and political ties of candidate hubs to the eligible place; (iii) The traffic levels to candidate hubs, as shown by traffic studies and origin and d
10、esignation data; (iv) The distance of candidate hubs from the eligible place; and (v) The size of candidate hubs. Large size will be a positive factor, but prin-cipally as substantiating the access and community-ties factors. (2) For Alaska, rather than requiring service to a hub, the Department may
11、 instead require that service from an el-igible place be provided to a nearby focal point for traffic which, in turn, has service to a hub. 398.3 Specific airports. (a) At an eligible place, essential air service may be specified as service to a particular airport. In the case of hy-phenated places,
12、 essential air service will be specified as service to more than one airport only if clearly nec-essary and if the multi-airport service is economically feasible and justified on the basis of traffic levels at those airports. VerDate Mar2010 13:23 Feb 23, 2011 Jkt 223046 PO 00000 Frm 00472 Fmt 8010
13、Sfmt 8010 Y:SGML223046.XXX 223046WReier-Aviles on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with CFRProvided by IHSNot for ResaleNo reproduction or networking permitted without license from IHS-,-,-463 Office of the Secretary, DOT 398.6 (b) At a hub, essential air service is not usually specified as service to a particular ai
14、rport. 398.4 Equipment. (a) Except in Alaska, service will be provided by aircraft offering at least 15 passenger seats, unless: (1) Average daily enplanements at the place did not exceed 11 passengers for any fiscal year from 1976 through 1986; (2) The requirement would neces-sitate the payment of
15、compensation in a fiscal year for service at the place when compensation would otherwise not be necessary; or (3) The affected community agrees in writing to the use of smaller aircraft to provide service at the place. (b) The aircraft must have at least two engines and use two pilots, unless schedu
16、led air transportation has not been provided to the place in aircraft with at least two engines and using two pilots for at least 60 consecutive oper-ating days at any time since October 31, 1978. (c) The aircraft must be pressurized when the service regularly involves flights above 8,000 feet in al
17、titude. (d) All aircraft must meet the appli-cable safety standards of the Federal Aviation Administration. (e) The aircraft must be conveniently accessible to passengers by stairs rath-er than over the wing. 398.5 Frequency of flights. (a) Except in Alaska, at least two round trips each weekday and
18、 two round trips each weekend. (b) In Alaska, a level of service at least equal to that provided in 1976, or two round trips each week, whichever is greater, except that the Department and the appropriate State authority of Alaska may agree to a different level of service after consulting with the a
19、f-fected community. (c) An essential air service level may be set at more than that stated in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section if: (1) Historical traffic data and studies of traffic-generating potential for the place indicate that more frequent serv-ice is needed to accommodate pas-sengers and
20、 accompanying baggage with the aircraft used at that place; (2) More flights are needed because the capacity available to the eligible place is being shared with traffic des-tined for an intermediate stop or for a place beyond the eligible place; (3) More flights are needed to accom-modate passenger
21、s because smaller air-craft are being used at the place; (4) More flights are needed in order to ensure adequate connecting opportuni-ties as provided for by 398.7; or (5) For Alaska, the appropriate state agency agrees that more frequent serv-ice is needed to accommodate cargo traffic with the airc
22、raft used at the eli-gible place. (d) For eligible places where traffic levels vary substantially with the sea-son, a two-tier level of essential air service may be established with re-quired flight frequencies changing ac-cordingly. 398.6 Seat guarantees. (a) The number of seats guaranteed at the e
23、ligible place will be sufficient to accommodate the estimated pas-senger traffic at an average load factor of 60 percent, except that an average load factor of 50 percent will be used when service is provided with aircraft having fewer than 15 passenger seats. (b) Only under unusual cir-cumstances w
24、ill an eligible places es-sential air service level be set at a number of flights that will accommo-date more than 40 passengers a day in each direction (a total of 80 inbound and outbound passengers). Generally, 40 passengers can be accommodated by guaranteeing 67 seats a day in each di-rection (a
25、total of 134 inbound and out-bound seats). (c) The Department may guarantee an eligible place more than 67 seats a day if: (1) The number of stops between or beyond the eligible place and the hub results in available aircraft capacity being shared with passengers at those other places; (2) The dista
26、nce between the eligible place and the designated hub requires the use of large aircraft; (3) The eligible place has suffered an abrupt and significant reduction in its service that warrants a temporary in-crease in the maximum guaranteed ca-pacity; or VerDate Mar2010 13:23 Feb 23, 2011 Jkt 223046 P
27、O 00000 Frm 00473 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:SGML223046.XXX 223046WReier-Aviles on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with CFRProvided by IHSNot for ResaleNo reproduction or networking permitted without license from IHS-,-,-464 14 CFR Ch. II (1111 Edition) 398.7 (4) Other unusual circumstances war-rant guaranteeing the eligi
28、ble place more than 67 seats a day. 398.7 Timing of flights. To qualify as essential air service, flights must depart at reasonable times, considering the needs of pas-sengers with connecting flights at the hub. It is the policy of the Department to consider the reasonableness of the time in view of
29、 the purpose for which the local passengers are traveling. If travel is primarily to connect with other flights at the hub, local flight times should be designed to link with those flights. If travel is primarily local (i.e., to and from the hub), there should be at least one morning flight in each
30、direction and one late-afternoon or evening flight in each direction. 398.8 Number of intermediate stops. (a) Except in Alaska, no more than one intermediate stop is permitted in providing essential air service between the eligible place and its hub, unless otherwise agreed to with the commu-nity. I
31、n cases where an eligible place receives service to two hubs, however, more than one intermediate stop is permitted between that place and its secondary hub. (b) In Alaska, more than one inter-mediate stop is permitted if required by low traffic levels at the eligible place or by the long distance b
32、etween the eligible place and its hub. (c) The Department may specify non-stop service when necessary to make the service viable. (d) Where an eligible place normally is an intermediate stop that shares available capacity with another place, it is the policy of the Department ei-ther to require addi
33、tional capacity (more flights or larger aircraft) be-tween the eligible place and its hub or to specify some turnaround operations on that route segment. 398.9 Load factor standards. The load factor standards used in this part may be raised for individual eligible places under either of the fol-lowi
34、ng circumstances: (a) The place is served by the carrier as part of a linear route; or (b) It would be in the interest of the community, the carrier, or the general public to raise the load factor standard for that place. 398.10 Overflights. The Department considers it a viola-tion of 49 U.S.C. 4173
35、2 and the air serv-ice guarantees provided under this part for an air carrier providing essential air service to an eligible place to overfly that place, except under one or more of the following circumstances: (a) The carrier is not compensated for serving that place and another car-rier is providi
36、ng by its flights the serv-ice required by the Departments essen-tial air service determination for that place; (b) Circumstances beyond the car-riers control prevent it from landing at the eligible place; (c) The flight involved is not in a market where the Department has de-termined air service to
37、 be essential; or (d) The eligible place is a place in Alaska for which the Departments es-sential air service determination per-mits the overflight. 398.11 Funding reductions. (a) If, in any fiscal year, appropria-tions for payments to air carriers re-main at or below the amounts esti-mated as nece
38、ssary to maintain sub-sidy-supported essential air service at the places receiving such service, and Congress provides no statutory direc-tion to the contrary, appropriations shall not be available for essential air service to otherwise eligible places within the 48 contiguous States and Puerto Rico
39、 that have a rate of subsidy per passenger in excess of $200.00, or are located: (1) Less than 70 highway miles from the nearest large or medium hub air-port; (2) Less than 55 miles from the near-est small hub airport; or (3) Less than 45 highway miles from the nearest nonhub airport that has en-pla
40、ned, on certificated or commuter carriers, 100 or more passengers per day in the most recent year for which the Department has obtained complete data. VerDate Mar2010 13:23 Feb 23, 2011 Jkt 223046 PO 00000 Frm 00474 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:SGML223046.XXX 223046WReier-Aviles on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with CFRPr
41、ovided by IHSNot for ResaleNo reproduction or networking permitted without license from IHS-,-,-465 Office of the Secretary, DOT Pt. 399 (b) The rate of subsidy per passenger shall be calculated by dividing the an-nual subsidy in effect as of July 1 of the prior fiscal year by the total ori-gin-and-
42、destination traffic during the most recent year for which the Depart-ment has obtained complete data. PART 399STATEMENTS OF GENERAL POLICY Subpart AApplicability and Effects of Policy Statements Sec. 399.1 Applicability. 399.2 Exclusions. 399.3 Statements in other Board documents. 399.4 Nature and e
43、ffect of policy state-ments. 399.5 Arrangement of policy statements. Subpart BPolicies Relating to Operating Authority 399.10399.11 Reserved 399.12 Negotiation by air carriers for land-ing rights in foreign countries. 399.13399.17 Reserved 399.18 Maximum duration of fixed-term route authorization gr
44、anted by exemp-tion; renewal of such authority. 399.19 Reserved 399.21 Charter exemptions (except military). Subpart CPolicies Relating to Rates and Tariffs 399.30 Definitions. 399.31 Standard industry fare level. 399.32 Zone of limited suspension for domes-tic passenger fares. 399.33 Additional far
45、e flexibility. 399.34 Intra-Hawaii and Intra-Puerto Rico/ Virgin Islands fare flexibility. 399.35 Special tariff permission. 399.36 Unreasonable discrimination. 399.37 Joint fares. 399.39 Equipment purchase deposits. 399.40 Tariffs for domestic air transpor-tation on or after January 1, 1983. 399.41
46、 Zones of limited suspension for inter-national cargo rates. 399.42 Flight equipment depreciation and residual values. 399.43 Treatment of leased aircraft. 399.44 Treatment of deferred Federal in-come taxes for rate purposes. EXAMPLE OF SIFL ADJUSTMENT Subpart D Reserved Subpart EPolicies Relating t
47、o Hearing Matters 399.60 Standards for determining priorities of hearing. 399.61 Presentations of public and civic bod-ies in route proceedings. 399.62 Target dates in hearing cases. 399.63 Role of staff in route proceedings. Subpart FPolicies Relating to Rulemaking Proceedings 399.70 Cross-referenc
48、es to the Office of the Secretarys Rulemaking Procedures. 399.73 Definition of small business for Regu-latory Flexibility Act. Subpart GPolicies Relating to Enforcement 399.80 Unfair and deceptive practices of ticket agents. 399.81 Unrealistic or deceptive scheduling. 399.82 Passing off of carrier i
49、dentity by af-filiation between carriers. 399.83 Unfair or deceptive practice of air carrier, foreign air carrier, or ticket agent in orally confirming to prospective passenger reserved space on scheduled flights. 399.84 Price advertising. 399.85 Reserved 399.86 Payments for non-air transportation services for air cargo. 399.87 Reserved Subpart HOther Policies Relating to Inter-ests, Activities, and Relationships of Air Carriers 399.91 Air ca
