United fined for violation of disclosure of code sharing arrangements

DOT 99-09
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Contact: Bill Mosley
Tel.: (202) 366-4570

DOT Fines United for Failure to Disclose Code-Sharing

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today assessed a civil penalty against United Airlines for failing to disclose to consumers when flights sold by the carrier were being operated under a code-sharing arrangement.

“When consumers buy an airline ticket, they have a right to know which airline will be operating their flight,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “We will continue to ensure that carriers are complying with the code-sharing rules.”

United was ordered to cease and desist from further violations and assessed a civil penalty of $80,000.

Under code-sharing, a carrier will sell tickets on flights that use its designator code but are operated by a separate airline. DOT rules require airlines to disclose to consumers, before they book a flight, if the flight is operated under a code-sharing arrangement. The disclosure must include the corporate name of the transporting carrier and any other name under which the flight is offered to the public.

The Department’s Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings made a number of telephone calls to United’s reservations line this past January to determine if the carrier’s employees were advising consumers of code-sharing arrangements as required by the regulations. The Enforcement Office found that United’s reservations agents failed to disclose code-sharing during a substantial number of those calls.

The consent order is available on the Internet at www.regulations.gov, docket DOT-OST-2009-0001.