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U.S. Department of Transportation

Search sites say DOT airline rules shouldn't cover them

Bart Jansen
USA TODAY
A Google sign at headquarters in Mountain View, Calif on April 9, 2010.

WASHINGTON -- Six major search sites argue they shouldn't be covered by the Transportation Department's proposal to provide travelers more detailed information while shopping for plane tickets.

The proposed regulation would require airlines and ticket agents to disclose the fees for first and second checked bags, carry-on items and seat assignments when pricing tickets. Consumer groups welcomed the proposal as a way to better show the full cost of a trip.

But major search sites -- Google, Hipmunk, Kayak, Skyscanner, Travelzoo and TripAdvisor – argue that the rule would wrongly define them as ticket agents even though the bulk of their searches aren't for airline tickets and they don't actually book the flights.

Travelers go to an online travel agent or an airline to buy their tickets, after finding a good match on one of these sites.

The sites contend the proposal would make their results look much more cluttered and there would be a disincentive to provide prices that trigger the extra details.

"The department's attempt to regulate a whole new class of entities is without precedent or authority and would have unintended consequences that would harm consumers," the companies warned.

The comments were posted Monday, the deadline for public comment about DOT's proposal known as Consumer Rule 3. There is no timetable for when the rule would go into effect, and it could still possibly be changed.

Besides requiring airlines and ticket agents to provide bag fees and seat assignments, the proposal would also:

• Require large-volume travel agents to adopt minimum customer-service standards such as responding promptly to customer complaints and holding reservations for 24 hours without payment. Travel agents range from mom-and-pop storefronts to massive online operations like Orbitz.

• Require airlines and ticket agents to disclose the airlines actually providing flights under code-share arrangements on the initial itinerary displays on their websites.

• Prohibit travel agents from ranking flights of certain carriers above others without disclosing the bias in any presentation of carrier schedules, fares, rules or availability.

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