effective date of the final rule to allow carriers to negotiate and
execute these transfers. These transactions still would be subject to
the FAA approval process and DOT review.
    Under the Orders, carriers must transfer slots among various
carriers operating on behalf of the marketing carrier. Some of these
carriers are commonly owned while others are contracted service
providers. Because the carriers operate under their own DOT and FAA
operating authorities and communicate with ATC using their discrete
call signs, the FAA has a valid interest in ensuring that carriers
operating at a slot-controlled airport have the proper slot
authorizations. The FAA proposes a simplified process in

Sec.  93.46 for managing the slot holdings of carriers with unified
inventory and marketing control. The FAA believes this process would
reduce the administrative burden on both the FAA and on carriers and
their regional partners. The marketing and operating carriers would
provide advance information to the FAA including the planned
airport(s), the flight number ranges that would be used for marketing
and ATC purposes, statements by the carriers as to which carrier would
be responsible for ensuring that a slot is available, and reporting
after the fact which carrier(s) operated the slots. Only flights
meeting the proposed criteria would be permitted an exception to the
advance transfer requirements. Carriers would retain the option to
transfer slots to carriers under their marketing control. The FAA
requests comments on whether this simplified process would reduce the
administrative burden.

E. Oversight of Competitive and Public Interest Issues

    Over the course of the last several years, the DOT has heard many
airlines, communities, and airports express concerns that incumbent
slot holders have acted to limit competitors' access to slots.
Arguments have been made that incumbent carriers have chosen not to
transact with low-cost carriers or new entrants, preferring instead to
deal with other incumbent carriers that hold a large portfolio of slots
in order to preserve a competitive position in the market and forestall
more rigorous competition. Similarly, there have been complaints that
incumbent slot holders transfer slots for short periods to avoid losing
slots under the application of the usage requirement. Consequently,
some have sought more rigorous oversight and transparency of slot
transactions.
    This section describes the DOT's proposal to draw upon existing
authority to review certain slot transactions at the New York City area
airports that may raise potential competitive or public interest
issues. First, this section will explain the DOT's authorities that
allow for review of standalone transactions.\67\ In addition, this
section will provide a summary of how DOT has previously exercised
these authorities. Next, this section will set forth the DOT's proposal
for reviewing standalone slot transactions for competition and public
interest impacts. Finally, this section will explain the DOT's proposed
processes for engaging with the public regarding tentative
determinations and protecting confidential information submitted in the
course of such reviews. Through this proposal, the DOT would establish
a more consistent, transparent, and predictable procedure for all
stakeholders.
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    \67\ A standalone slot transaction is a slot transfer by one
carrier to another carrier (whether by sale, purchase, lease, or
trade), akin to monetizing a slot. The Delta/US Airways slot swap
described below would be an example of a standalone slot
transaction, for purposes of this NPRM. A standalone slot
transaction would occur independently of any slot transfers that
would result from a carrier merger or acquisition, defined as a
transaction that combines the ownership/operation/control of two (or
possibly more) carriers into a single entity. The term ``carrier
merger or acquisition'' is drawn from the statutory provision
governing transfers of HDR slot exemptions, prohibiting their
purchase, sale, lease, or other transfers, but permitting such
transfers ``through an air carrier merger or acquisition.'' See 49
U.S.C. 41714(j). Slot divestitures undertaken in response to a DOJ
investigation of an airline merger or acquisition under the Hart
Scott Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, 15 U.S.C. 18a,
would not be considered standalone slot transactions, and thus,
would be exempt from the secondary marketplace alternatives proposed
in this rule, unless otherwise directed by DOJ.
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1. Legal Authorities for Reviewing Standalone Slot Transactions
    The DOT's authority to review slot transfers resulting from
standalone slot transactions derives from several statutory provisions.
The DOT has authority under 49 U.S.C. 41712 to prohibit airline conduct
comparable to antitrust violations. Section 41712 authorizes the DOT to
prohibit conduct that it determines is an ``unfair method of
competition.'' \68\ Although the DOT has not, in the past, relied on
Section 41712 to take enforcement action in the context of airline slot
transactions, the DOT nonetheless will consider exercising this
enforcement authority as appropriate.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \68\ See 49 U.S.C. 41712, authorizing the DOT to investigate and
prohibit any unfair or deceptive practice or an unfair method of
competition of an air carrier, foreign air carrier, or ticket agent.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In addition, the DOT is directed by statute, under 49 U.S.C.
40101(a), to carry out the pro-competitive aspects of the Airline
Deregulation Act, in the course of carrying out the agency's duties and
responsibilities. These pro-competitive objectives include maintaining
the availability of a variety of adequate, economic, efficient, and
low-priced air services; placing maximum reliance on competitive market
forces and on actual and potential competition; avoiding airline
industry conditions that would tend to allow at least one air carrier
unreasonably to increase prices, reduce services, or exclude
competition in air transportation; encouraging, developing, and
maintaining an air transportation system relying on actual and
potential competition; encouraging entry into air transportation
markets by new and existing air carriers and the continued
strengthening of small air carriers to ensure a more effective and
competitive airline industry.\69\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \69\ See 49 U.S.C. 40101(a)(9), (10), (12), (13), and (16).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Furthermore, the DOT also is directed by statute, under 49 U.S.C.
40101(a), to consider certain factors as being in the public interest,
in the course of carrying out the agency's duties and responsibilities.
Many of these public interest considerations are enumerated in the
statute, while others are left to the Secretary's discretion.\70\
Enumerated considerations include, among others, maintaining and
enhancing service to small communities and encouraging transportation
through secondary or satellite airports.\71\
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    \70\ See 49 U.S.C. 40101(a), which directs the Secretary to
consider identified matters, ``among others,'' as being in the
public interest.
    \71\ 49 U.S.C. 40101(a)(8), (11), (16).
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2. Historical Application of Authorities
    Recently, the DOT/FAA has had occasion to apply the Section
40101(a) pro-competitive policy considerations in responding to joint
requests of two carriers with large slot holdings to waive, under 49
U.S.C. 40109,\72\ the prohibition on purchasing LGA slots.\73\ In that
proceeding, Delta Air Lines and US Airways sought to exchange slot
interests at LGA and DCA. The DOT evaluated the competitive impact of
the transaction because of its unique scope and scale: the transaction
would have dramatically enhanced the respective market positions of
Delta at LGA and US Airways at DCA. The combination of an increased
concentration of slot holdings at both airports, an increase in the
number of monopoly or dominant markets in which increased pricing power
could be exercised, and the potential for use of the transferred slot
interests in an anti-competitive manner, led the DOT to seek remedy of
the potential anti-competitive effects by requiring a divestiture of
slot interest at LGA and DCA.\74\
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    \72\ Section 40109(b) authorizes the FAA to grant an exemption
from Section 40103(b)(1), the FAA's authority over use of navigable
airspace, ``when the Administrator decides the exemption is in the
public interest.''
    \73\ See Notice of a Petition for Waiver of the Terms of the
Order Limited Scheduled Operations at LaGuardia Airport, 75 FR 7306
(Feb. 18, 2010); Notice on Petition for Waiver of the Terms of the
Order Limiting Scheduled Operations at LaGuardia Airport, 75 FR
26322 (May 11, 2010); Petition for Waiver of the Terms of the Order
Limited Scheduled Operations at LaGuardia Airport, 76 FR 63702 (Oct.
13, 2011).
    \74\ 75 FR at 26324 (May 11, 2010); 76 FR 63702 (Oct. 13, 2011).
In reaching these conclusions, the DOT calculated each airline's
share of slots and departures, finding that Delta's share of slot
interests at LGA would increase substantially, while US Airways'
share of slot interests at DCA would also increase substantially.
The DOT noted that low-cost airlines have a limited presence at both
airports, and the DOT determined that the transaction would further
inhibit new entry because the airlines would have a greater interest
in maintaining price premiums by forestalling new entry. See 75 FR
at 7309-7310 (Feb. 18, 2010); 75 FR at 26329-26330 (May 11, 2010).

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In the course of that process, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and
the DOT informally agreed that the DOT would have primary
responsibility to consider the carriers' waiver request and DOJ would
consider the carriers' Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (HSR) notification and
report.\75\ Under that arrangement, the DOT obtained waivers from the
parties to the transaction and thereby gained access to the documents
submitted to DOJ pursuant to the HSR process. Using the documents and
its expertise in the airline industry, the DOT assisted DOJ in that
agency's analysis of the transaction. DOJ also participated in the
DOT's independent determination of the joint waiver request by
submitting comments, as a party, to the DOT docket. In its 2010 grant
of waiver with conditions, the DOT explained that its analysis was
complementary to that of DOJ. Rather than attempting to enforce
antitrust laws, the DOT explained that it was invoking its authority to
protect the traveling public by fostering competition in the context of
the requested waiver. Further, the DOT clarified that DOJ's authority
under Section 7 of the Clayton Act to reject anticompetitive
transactions ``did not remove the DOT's responsibility to carry out its
programs consistently with the public interest criteria'' under the
pro-competitive considerations in Section 40101.\76\ DOJ's submissions
and analyses of the effects of the requested waiver on the availability
of slots, competition between US Airways and Delta, low-cost carrier
competition, fares, and mitigations of the anticompetitive effects were
helpful to the DOT's decision-making process.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \75\ See 15 U.S.C. 18a.
    \76\ See 75 FR at 26327.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Review of Standalone Slot Transactions for Competitive and/or Public
Interest Factors
    With respect to standalone slot transactions between or among
carriers, the DOT proposes to conduct reviews for purposes of
evaluating the effects of the transaction based on competitive, or
other public interest, factors. For purposes of the DOT's review based
on competitive factors, the DOT proposes to limit its review to
circumstances where the standalone slot transaction has the potential
to substantially reduce competition or create unreasonable
concentration. For purposes of the DOT's review based on public
interest factors, the review may examine the adverse effects of the
slot transfers on service to small communities, the traveling public,
or other statutory public interest objectives.\77\ The DOT, however,
would not review, on either competitive or public interest factors,
certain routine types of actions involving small numbers of slots or a
lease of slots to new entrants or limited incumbents, as explained
further below.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \77\ See 49 U.S.C. 40101(a).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The FAA would forward each request for a standalone slot
transaction approval and the final terms of the transaction, required
under proposed Sec.  93.45, to the Office of the Secretary. The DOT
would determine, within 14 days of receiving the request for approval,
whether it needed to request and evaluate additional information for
either competitive or public interest concerns, or both. As part of the
Secretary's determination of those slot transactions for which
additional review is necessary, the Secretary would specifically
identify the additional information required. If the DOT requests
additional information, the FAA would not approve the transaction, and
any slots involved could not be operated by the transferee until the
DOT notifies the parties and the FAA of its approval or non-objection.
If the Secretary did not notify the parties and the FAA within 14 days
of the DOT's receipt of the request for approval, the FAA could approve
the transaction.
    The DOT would review the additional information as expeditiously as
possible. The DOT's review process would be facilitated by the parties'
timely information responses provided in a readable and workable
format. For standalone slot transactions reviewed due to competition
concerns, because the competitive factors would take antitrust law
standards and policies into consideration, the DOT intends to
coordinate and cooperate with DOJ to avoid unnecessary duplication of
effort and burden by agencies and the parties concerned. If, after
reviewing the additional information, the DOT determines the slot
transaction raises no concerns, the Secretary would notify the parties
and the FAA that the transaction may proceed. If the transaction raises
concerns, the DOT would notify the parties of its concerns, propose
remedies or other actions, and set appropriate procedures and timelines
for review.
    For standalone slot transactions that raise competitive issues, the
DOT would coordinate and consult with DOJ throughout the review
process, to minimize the burden on the affected parties and to utilize
Government resources efficiently. With respect to standalone slot
transactions, the DOT would conduct a separate review under 49 U.S.C.
40101, and may consider using its Section 41712 enforcement authority,
as appropriate. The DOT requests comments and suggestions as to how
best to minimize the burden on parties that may be subject to these
reviews. The process that the DOT would use to conduct these reviews is
proposed in Sec.  93.47 and further explained below.
    The DOT proposes to review competitive issues arising from
standalone slot transactions having the potential for significant anti-
competitive effects, such as those that would significantly change the
market structure at one of the slot-controlled airports, allow
unreasonable industry concentration, permit one or two airlines to
excessively dominate a market, or create an environment that would
facilitate monopoly powers or practices that would tend to cause a
carrier to unreasonably raise fares, reduce services, or exclude
competition. Such transactions raise concerns because they may impede
the pro-competitive goals of the Airline Deregulation Act.
    Among the issues that the DOT may consider in determining whether a
particular standalone slot transaction merits further competitive
review are those analyzed in connection with the Delta-US Airways slots
swap, including whether:
     The transaction would increase the airline's already
dominant position in a significant manner, or place the airline in a
significantly dominant position;
     the transaction would significantly enhance an airline's
ability to unreasonably increase its airfares in a manner unconstrained
by competitors; or
     the transaction would enable slot interests to be used in
an anti-competitive manner, such as by targeting smaller competitors.
The DOT requests comments on the use of these and other criteria to
address competitive concerns.
    The DOT believes that the transparency of the transfer mechanisms
proposed in some of the secondary market alternatives discussed earlier
would allow a better understanding of the dynamics behind slot
transactions. That additional transparency may protect against the kind
of behavior

complained of by some. If the proposed transparent system to implement
slot transfers reveals standalone slot transactions that have the
potential to substantially reduce competition or create unreasonable
industry concentration, the DOT has authority to investigate further
and disapprove or approve with remedies that address the potential
harm. The DOT also may monitor bulletin board postings, if that option
is adopted in a final rule, to determine whether it suspects anti-
competitive behavior. These procedures for reviewing slot transfer
transactions do not limit the Secretary's authority under 49 U.S.C.
41712 to investigate and prohibit unfair or deceptive practices or
unfair methods of competition.
    To prevent harm to the public interest pertaining to factors other
than competition, the DOT is proposing to review standalone slot
transactions for purposes of analyzing effects that may be inconsistent
with the public interest objectives. The DOT's public interest review
could consider adverse effects on the traveling public, service to
small communities, service through secondary or satellite airports, or
other areas covered by the public interest. The DOT requests comments
on the use of these and other criteria to address public interest
concerns.
4. Exceptions to Reviews of Standalone Slot Transactions
    The DOT expects very few proposed standalone transactions would
raise significant competitive or public interest concerns. Accordingly,
the DOT proposes to exempt from its review the more routine types of
transactions involving small numbers of slots (such as those consisting
of fewer than eight slots in total), involving limited terms (such as
those extending over two or fewer scheduling seasons), involving one-
for-one trades among incumbents at any of the three airports, or
involving a sale or lease entirely to a new entrant or incumbent that
holds or operates a relatively small proportion of the slots at an
airport. However, the DOT would consider multiple transactions within a
period of a few years, including slot transfers to multiple carriers
under the marketing or operational control of a single entity, as
constituting a single aggregate transaction that could be subject to
review. As with HSR filing guidance published by DOJ and the Federal
Trade Commission, the DOT would seek to ensure that carriers not enter
into multiple small transactions with the purpose of evading the review
process; multiple transactions within a three-year period could be
reviewed if they constituted a pattern and raised competitive or public
interest issues.
    The DOT does not intend to review transactions that would be
excepted from the bulletin board process. Nevertheless, it may conduct
such reviews if it believes carriers have engaged in multiple
transactions or have structured transactions to circumvent the
competitive or public interest review process.
    The DOT requests comments on whether the exceptions described above
create a sufficient safe harbor so that transactions enhancing
competition and providing public benefits are encouraged, while still
providing the DOT with an opportunity to review transactions that could
impede competition, promote monopoly markets, unreasonably raise fares,
reduce service, cause undue harm to small communities or service to
secondary or satellite airports, or otherwise adversely impact the
public interest. Are there alternative ways to describe the sorts of
slot transfers that may be excluded from the review (that is, measured
by the percentage gain in market share by an acquiring carrier)? Do the
proposed timeframes for additional review permit carriers to plan slot
transfers without discouraging those transactions?
5. Process
    With respect to the proposals outlined above regarding reviews of
standalone transactions for competitive or public interest factors, if
upon first examination, the DOT determines that review is necessary,
the DOT anticipates using expedited procedures to conduct that review.
The procedures may include an opportunity for public comment as in the
Delta/US Airways slot swap proceeding, or, for example, as in a
potential proceeding involving a tentative DOT decision that seeks
public comment. The DOT intends to harmonize such proceedings with DOJ.
The DOT requests comments on appropriate procedures to synchronize the
process with DOJ and to avoid undue burden and duplication on the
parties.
    With respect to information submitted by the parties to a
transaction, the DOT proposes that parties could request that any
information submitted to the DOT for review and designated as
confidential not be disclosed to the public. The DOT, subject to the
procedures at 49 CFR part 7, would keep such designated information
confidential and not include it in any public proceeding. The DOT would
treat a request to examine or copy this information as any other
request under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552, and process
the request under the DOT's procedures at 49 CFR part 7. The DOT would
use the procedures described in proposed Sec.  93.47(e) for receiving,
handling, and disclosing such confidential information. The procedures
at 14 CFR 302.12 (commonly known as Rule 12) would not apply. The DOT
requests comments on these proposed procedures, including the handling
of confidential documents or alternative procedures, to ensure that
decisions are made in a timely, effective, and transparent manner.

F. Retiming, Suspension, and Withdrawal of Slots for Operational
Reasons

    The FAA proposes to reserve the authority to retime or temporarily
suspend a slot if a reduction in operations during a particular time
period is required. Events such as a runway or taxiway closure, a
change in separation standards, or fleet mix change that could impact
throughput \78\ at the airport may reduce the airport's capacity on a
short-term basis. As it has done in the past, the FAA would first seek
voluntary cooperation to retime or reduce operations at the airport
through waivers of the usage requirements and temporary schedule
reductions. If these voluntary measures were insufficient, the FAA
would temporarily suspend slots until reaching the desired operational
level. The FAA would conduct a lottery of slot holdings in the
particular time period to determine which slot to suspend, and credit
would be given for any voluntarily suspended slot. The FAA also would
not suspend a slot held by a carrier that holds fewer than 20 slots on
any day of the week at the airport. The FAA would provide notice 45
days in advance of its intention to temporarily suspend a slot, unless
the operational circumstances necessitate a shorter notice period. Once
the situation requiring a reduction in operations ceases, any
temporarily suspended slots would be returned to the carrier that held
them provided that carrier still is operating at the airport.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \78\ A fleet mix change could affect throughput in several ways.
Introduction of larger aircraft with greater separation standards
could reduce the number of aircraft that could use a runway. A fleet
mix change also could change the runways available for use, which
could affect the throughput.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The FAA also reserves the authority to permanently withdraw slots
at an airport. The FAA first would make a determination of decreased
airport capacity that it does not expect to increase for an indefinite
period of time.

The FAA expects to use a permanent withdrawal only in the most unusual
circumstances when voluntary cooperation and a temporary suspension of
slots is determined insufficient to address capacity constraints. The
FAA would conduct a lottery of slot holdings in the particular time
period to determine which slots to withdraw. The FAA would not withdraw
a slot held by a carrier that holds fewer than 20 slots on any day of
the week at the airport. The FAA would provide notice 45 days in
advance of its intention to permanently withdraw a slot, unless the
operational circumstances necessitate a shorter notice period.
Following withdrawal, the slot would cease to exist.
    The FAA believes that a carrier that ceases all operations at an
airport should not continue to hold a slot and earn rental income from
it, just as it believes that non-carriers should not be permitted to
hold slots. The FAA believes slots held in these ways undermine the
FAA's promotion of efficient use of a scarce resource controlled by the
U.S. Government. The FAA proposes to allow a carrier that ceases all
operations to hold the slot at that airport for no longer than 2 years
after the end of the season in which it ceased operations. The carrier
could lease the slot during this period so that it does not permanently
lose it. This 2-year period provides adequate time for the carrier to
determine its long-term plans for operating at the airport and either
resume operations at the airport, return the slot to the FAA, or sell
the slot to another carrier. After the 2 years elapse, the slot would
revert to the FAA, and any carrier operating the slot would have to
cease that operation. Similarly, if a carrier's DOT economic authority
or FAA operating certificate is suspended, surrendered, or revoked, any
slots held by that carrier would revert to the FAA. The FAA has
determined only operating carriers may hold slots. If that carrier had
an existing agreement under which another carrier were operating the
slots, the FAA could allocate the slots on a temporary, non-historical
basis for the remainder of the scheduling season or up to the duration
of the agreement to avoid disrupting operations or expectations of the
operating carrier.

G. Unscheduled Operations

    The FAA proposes to limit unscheduled operations into and out of
JFK, EWR, and LGA during the slot-controlled hours. Unscheduled
operations already are limited at LGA by Order, and the FAA previously
had proposed limits on unscheduled operations at JFK and EWR. Although
unscheduled operations (including general aviation, passenger and cargo
charter, ferry, and other ad hoc operations) are typically a small
percentage of overall traffic, the FAA has determined these limits are
necessary because any airport operation affects congestion and delays.
Even a few additional operations during peak hours could result in
significant additional delay, thus eroding the effectiveness of the
slot limits. Accordingly, limitations on unscheduled operations should
be part of any comprehensive plan to manage congestion and delays and
ensure the effectiveness of limits on scheduled operations. A
comprehensive plan should seek to balance airport access to all
potential operators without permitting unreasonably increased
congestion and delays in the absence of FAA oversight.
    The FAA believes most unscheduled operations can be accommodated
under this proposed rule if operators are flexible in their arrival and
departure times. Moreover, the FAA believes that general aviation
demand and a segment of flights conducted as business and private
charters can be accommodated within regional capacity, including
operating at Westchester County Airport, Islip MacArthur Airport,
Republic Airport, Stewart International Airport, Morristown Municipal
Airport, and Teterboro Airport. Based on data from the FAA's Enhanced
Traffic Management System (ETMS) for the year ended May 31, 2008,\79\
most unscheduled flights can be accommodated in the actual requested
hour or through capacity in an adjacent hour (1 hour on either side of
the actual hour of operation in the data), or through additional
reservations available in visual meteorological conditions. If an
operator cannot obtain a reservation for its preferred time, its
planned flight times may need to be revised because of the limited
available reservations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \79\ The FAA also reviewed unscheduled operations in summer
2009, 2010 and 2012 and found slightly fewer unscheduled operations
in those years. Therefore, the higher 2008 traffic is used for this
analysis.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Unscheduled operations at JFK would be limited to two per hour, at
EWR to one per hour, and at LGA to three per hour. The proposed LGA
limits are consistent with the limit that has been in place since 2009.
Although the limits for JFK and EWR are lower than that for LGA, these
limits generally correlate to actual hourly unscheduled operations at
the airports in summer 2008. To the extent possible, ATC would permit
additional operations (for example, in favorable weather conditions or
if unallocated slots exist in a particular time period). Also, a
secondary market alternative for unscheduled operations, in addition to
the existing reservation system, could allow slot holders to exchange
slots that they are not able to use on a particular day. The FAA
requests comments on whether allowing slots to be exchanged in the
secondary market to unscheduled operators would lead to a more
efficient use of limited operational capacity.
    Reservations obtained through the FAA's Airport Reservation Office
(ARO) would be required prior to conducting the operation (except in
the case of emergency operations) and could be obtained up to 72 hours
in advance. These reservations would allow an unscheduled operation
(either arrival or departure) during a 60-minute period. The
reservations would be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis,
determined by the time the request is received by the ARO. When the ARO
allocates a reservation, it would assign a unique reservation number.
Operators would primarily obtain reservations through the ARO's
interactive computer system accessed via the Internet or touch-tone
telephone system. This system is known as the e-CVRS. Operators would
provide the date and time of the proposed operation along with other
identifying information concerning the aircraft and the intended
flight. Additional reservations would be available in the e-CVRS
system, but these reservations may not appear until close to the
reservation time.
    All operations at the airport other than declared emergencies,
whether under instrument flight rules (IFR) or visual flight rules
(VFR), would require a reservation. However, non-emergency national
security, law enforcement, military, public aircraft, or other similar
mission-critical operations may be accommodated above the limits with
prior FAA approval. In the case of diplomatic or other flights in
direct support of foreign governments, the FAA would permit additional
reservations, if necessary, to accommodate these flights but may
approve an operation at a time other than the one initially requested.
    The filing of a request for reservation would not constitute the
filing of an IFR flight plan as required under other rules. However, an
IFR flight plan could not be filed until the reservation is obtained.
The operator would include the reservation number in the ``Remarks''
section of the flight plan to indicate that it has a reservation for
the operation.
    The FAA recognizes the needs of public charter operators to confirm

airport access for commercial planning and 14 CFR part 380 compliance
purposes. Accordingly, the FAA proposes to allow public charter
operators to obtain a reservation up to 6 months in advance for a
planned individual operation or a series of operations occurring fewer
than three times per month. Public charter operators planning to
conduct a series of operations more than three times per month would
need a slot for those operations.
    Public charter operations that seek a reservation more than 72
hours and up to 6 months in advance of the planned operation, would
submit their request to the FAA's Slot Administration Office. A public
charter operator would be required to provide the Slot Administration
Office with a certification that any required prospectus has been
submitted to the DOT in accordance with 14 CFR part 380; the call sign/
flight number to be used for ATC communication by the direct air
carrier conducting the operation; the date and time of the proposed
arrival or departure; and the origin airport immediately prior to JFK,
EWR, or LGA, or the destination airport immediately following JFK, EWR,
or LGA; and aircraft type. A public charter operator also would be
required to notify the Slot Administration Office of any changes to the
above information after the reservation has been allocated.
    The number of reservations available in advance for public charter
operations would be limited to one per hour at LGA and two per day at
JFK and EWR. If a public charter operator were unable to obtain an
advance reservation, it could attempt to obtain a reservation within
the 3-day window that is open to all unscheduled operations. A public
charter operator also could attempt to obtain a slot from another
carrier in the secondary market under proposed Sec.  93.45.

H. Miscellaneous Amendments

    Because the HDR no longer is in effect for JFK, EWR, LGA, and ORD,
the FAA proposes to remove references to these airports in part 93,
subparts K and S. These out-of-date references have caused confusion
for the public, and these amendments would reduce that confusion.
Accordingly, the FAA proposes to remove references to these airports in
Sec. Sec.  93.123 (including the table in Sec.  93.123(a)), 93.211,
93.223, 93.226. The FAA also proposes to remove Sec. Sec.  93.133,
93.215, 93.217, 93.218, and 93.221(e) because they do not apply to DCA,
which is the only airport for which the HDR applies. None of these
amendments would substantively change how the HDR applies to DCA.

IV. Regulatory Notices and Analyses

A. Regulatory Evaluation

    Changes to Federal regulations must undergo several economic
analyses. First, Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 direct that each
Federal agency shall propose or adopt a regulation only upon a reasoned
determination that the benefits of the intended regulation justify its
costs. Second, the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (Pub. L. 96-354)
requires agencies to analyze the economic impact of regulatory changes
on small entities. Third, the Trade Agreements Act (Pub. L. 96-39)
prohibits agencies from setting standards that create unnecessary
obstacles to the foreign commerce of the United States. In developing
U.S. standards, this Trade Act requires agencies to consider
international standards and, where appropriate, that they be the basis
of U.S. standards. Fourth, the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
(Pub. L. 104-4) requires agencies to prepare a written assessment of
the costs, benefits, and other effects of proposed or final rules that
include a Federal mandate likely to result in the expenditure by State,
local, or tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private
sector, of $100 million or more annually (adjusted for inflation with
base year of 1995). This portion of the preamble summarizes the FAA's
analysis of the economic impacts of this proposed rule. We suggest
readers seeking greater detail read the full regulatory evaluation, a
copy of which we have placed in the docket for this rulemaking.
    In conducting these analyses, the FAA has determined this proposed
rule has benefits that justify its costs, and is a ``significant
regulatory action'' as defined in section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866
because it raises novel policy issues contemplated under that executive
order. The rule is also ``significant'' as defined in the DOT's
Regulatory Policies and Procedures. The proposed rule, if adopted,
would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of
small entities, would not create unnecessary obstacles to international
trade and would not impose an unfunded mandate on state, local, or
tribal governments, or on the private sector.
Total Benefits and Costs of This Rule
    The FAA developed this analysis using 2009 data to model the
behaviors of carriers based on meeting the minimum requirement of the
proposed rule. Under this assumption, carriers would incrementally
increase actual operations in year one to meet the new use-or-lose
requirement and this new operating level would grow by the FAA's
Terminal Area Forecast (TAF) until it reached the daily limits. In the
first year carrier utilization of slots will be at least 80%. After
this year, any increase in operations and slot utilization is due to an
increase in forecasted demand. Total benefits and costs for the
regulatory case are estimated at $74,696,596 ($65,242,900 Present Value
at 7%) for benefits and $53,056,768 ($46,341,836 Present Value at 7%)
for costs, assuming the highest cost secondary market alternative
(either alternative four or five) is adopted. Moreover, the FAA
believes that this rule would improve utilization of existing slots,
possibly increase a carrier's penalty for retaining slots of limited
value and thus result in the return of some slots, and would result in
net benefits over one year.

                    Total Cost and Benefits of Alternatives Four or Five of the Proposed Rule
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                   Present value                   Present value
            Year 2012                Benefits          (7%)            Costs           (7%)        Net benefits
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Regulatory Case.................     $74,696,596     $65,242,900     $53,056,768     $46,341,836     $18,901,064
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Who is potentially affected by this rule?
     Operators of scheduled and non-scheduled, domestic and
international flights, and new entrants who do not yet operate at JFK,
LGA, and EWR.
     All communities with air service to JFK, LGA, and EWR.
     Passengers of scheduled flights to JFK, LGA, and EWR.
     The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which
operates the airports.
     FAA Air Traffic Control.

Assumptions
     All costs and benefits are in 2010 dollars.
     Costs and benefits estimated for the first year.
     Additional flights added to meet new usage requirement
excludes weekends (Saturday and Sunday).
     Assume some flights rescheduled to meet new usage
requirement.
     Present value discount rate of 7 percent is applied.
     Some unscheduled flights would be redirected.
     Carriers that would need to add a large number of flights
in less desirable hours (hours 0600 and 2100) would return or sell
those slots.
    The majority of the costs and benefits from this proposed rule are
from changes to the usage requirement. The secondary market and new
administrative and reporting requirements result in minor benefits and
costs. Benefits include consumer benefits (measured as consumer
surplus) from additional flights at JFK, EWR, and LGA. Costs are
attributed to the additional operating costs carriers incur for these
added flights to meet the proposed usage requirement, the additional
minutes of delay and any administrative and reporting costs.

B. Regulatory Flexibility Determination

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (Pub. L. 96-354) (RFA)
establishes ``as a principle of regulatory issuance that agencies shall
endeavor, consistent with the objectives of the rule and of applicable
statutes, to fit regulatory and informational requirements to the scale
of the businesses, organizations, and governmental jurisdictions
subject to regulation. To achieve this principle, agencies are required
to solicit and consider flexible regulatory proposals and to explain
the rationale for their actions to assure that such proposals are given
serious consideration.'' The RFA covers a wide-range of small entities,
including small businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and small
governmental jurisdictions.
    Agencies must perform a review to determine whether a rule will
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities. If the agency determines that it will, the agency must
prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis as described in the RFA.
    The initial regulatory flexibility analysis addresses:
     Description of reasons the agency is considering the
action;
    The purpose of this rulemaking is to replace the current temporary
Orders limiting operations at LGA, JFK, and EWR with a permanent rule.
Under the existing Orders the hourly scheduled operations are limited
to 81 at JFK, 81 at EWR, and 71 at LGA, and unscheduled operations are
limited to 3 at LGA. This proposal, if adopted, would replace those
Orders and continue the existing limits on scheduled operations in
addition to limiting unscheduled operations to 2 per hour at JFK and 1
at EWR and establishing daily scheduled operations limits. The FAA also
intends to increase the use of slots through a revised usage
requirement and secondary market.
     Statement of the legal basis and objectives of the
proposed rule;
    This rulemaking is promulgated under the authority described in
Title 49 U.S.C. Subtitle VII, Part A, Subpart I, Sections 40101, 40103,
40105, and 41712 and in Title 15 U.S.C. Section 21. The FAA has broad
authority under 49 U.S.C. 40103 to regulate the use of the navigable
airspace of the United States. This section authorizes the FAA to
develop plans and policy for the use of navigable airspace and to
assign the use the FAA deems necessary for safe and efficient
utilization.
     Identification, to the extent practicable, of all relevant
Federal rules which may duplicate, overlap or conflict with the
proposed rule;
    This rule would replace existing FAA Orders and does not duplicate,
overlap, or conflict with other federal rules.
     Description of the recordkeeping and other compliance
requirements.
The FAA proposes a secondary market and offers five alternatives. The
secondary market would permit a carrier to buy, sell, or lease a slot
to another carrier or to trade a slot with another carrier. For all
five alternatives, each carrier party to the negotiated transaction
would be required to submit a request for approval to the FAA along
with the final terms of the transaction including the names of all
parties to the transaction, the consideration offered by each party,
the effective date of the transfer, and, if appropriate, the length of
the lease. For four of the alternatives, carriers would also submit
information that would be submitted to the bulletin board through
either the carrier or the FAA.
    The scheduled carrier would incur reporting costs for buying,
selling, leasing or trading a slot. While these costs for an operator
are minimal, largely voluntary, and can provide revenue opportunities
for small operators, a full discussion of these costs now follows. For
all five alternatives, each carrier party to the negotiated transaction
would be required to submit a request for approval to the FAA along
with the final terms of the transaction including the names of all
parties to the transaction, the consideration offered by each party,
the effective date of the transfer, and, if appropriate, the length of
the lease. Each respondent would require 30 minutes, that includes 30
minutes for the transferring carrier and 30 minutes for the receiving
carrier. Given the legal nature of the agreement a lawyer would be
retained with an hourly burden labor rate \80\ of $89.89.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \80\ http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes532011.htm; Bureau of
Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wages Statistics;
Lawyer (May 2009); In May 2009, the Employee Benefit Research
Institute, using a Bureau of Labor Statistics Survey of employee
benefits estimated the total 2009 benefit as a percentage of payroll
at 30.2 percent.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    For alternatives that require the bulletin board the FAA estimates
that carriers would need at least one hour to report the buying,
selling, or trading of a slot. As mentioned above the FAA estimates
that carriers would post up to 25 trades. To estimate the annual
reporting costs to carriers for buying, selling, or trading on the
bulletin board, the FAA multiplied the estimated number of annual
reports by the number of hours needed per report and the wage. The
hourly burden labor rate was for a computer support specialist \81\ at
$30.74. Total yearly cost to carriers, at all three airports, is
estimated to be between $461 and $2,305. For alternative 4, there is
also the added cost to carriers of submitting bids on the bulletin
board. The bidding period would last 14 days, and the FAA estimates
that bidders would spend approximately 2 hours dealing with the bid
over the course of 14 days. Given the public nature of the bid,
carriers would seek legal review before postings bids for an hourly
burden labor rate for a lawyer \82\ of $89.89. The rate multiplied by 2
hours per bid sums to $179.78. Again, the FAA estimated that there
would be roughly 25 notices per airport a year with approximately 5
bids per notice for a total of bids a year.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \81\ http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes151041.htm, Occupational
Employment and Wages, May 2009; (15-1041 Computer Support
Specialists).
    \82\ http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes532011.htm; Bureau of
Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wages Statistics;
Lawyer (May 2009); In May 2009, the Employee Benefit Research
Institute, using a Bureau of Labor Statistics Survey of employee
benefits estimated the total 2009 benefit as a percentage of payroll
at 30.2 percent.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     A description and estimated number of small entities to
which the rule would apply.
    Any scheduled carrier, employing less than 1,500 employees, with
existing slots or wanting a slot today would be affected by this rule.
There are two

carriers operating scheduled service with less than 1,500 employees and
one carrier with scheduled service that has slightly more than 1,500
employees. Also, unscheduled operators that employ less than 1,500
employees would be considered small entities.
    The delay costs for the small entities at the New York City area
airports would not result in a significant economic impact. The annual
delay cost equals the average of delay per flight, multiplied by the
total number of flights, then by 50 percent attributed to ground delay,
and then multiplied by the average airplane operating cost. When this
total delay cost is divided by annual revenue the result is less than 2
percent for the small entity scheduled operators. The FAA believes that
compliance cost less than two percent of annual revenue is not a
significant economic impact.
    A small number of unscheduled passenger flights planning to operate
at EWR or JFK may have to operate at another New York City area
airport, such as Teterboro, if they are unable to obtain a reservation.
This change in plans may result in an additional ground transportation
cost to or from the alternative airport. However, when considering the
cost of travel by private jet compared to commercial passenger service,
any additional ground transportation cost is not significant.
    The FAA believes the nonscheduled cargo carriers would not have a
significant economic impact, as their flights would continue and most
of their flights occur at night and would not incur delay costs.
    The FAA considered two alternatives to the proposed rule. The first
alternative was to simply extend the existing Orders. This alternative
was rejected because the FAA wanted to increase competition by making
slots available to more operators. The FAA believes these operators are
likely to be small entities. The second alternative was to remove the
existing Orders. This alternative would result in unacceptable delay
costs from the increase in operations.
    Thus, the FAA certifies that this proposed rule would not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.

C. International Trade Impact Assessment

    The Trade Agreements Act of 1979 (Pub. L. 96-39), as amended by the
Uruguay Round Agreements Act (Pub. L. 103-465), prohibits Federal
agencies from establishing standards or engaging in related activities
that create unnecessary obstacles to the foreign commerce of the United
States. Pursuant to these Acts, the establishment of standards is not
considered an unnecessary obstacle to the foreign commerce of the
United States, so long as the standard has a legitimate domestic
objective, such the protection of safety, and does not operate in a
manner that excludes imports that meet this objective. The statute also
requires consideration of international standards and, where
appropriate, that they be the basis for U.S. standards. The FAA has
assessed the potential effect of this proposed rule and determined that
it would impose the same costs on domestic and international entities
and thus has a neutral trade impact.

D. Unfunded Mandates Assessment

    Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-
4) requires each Federal agency to prepare a written statement
assessing the effects of any Federal mandate in a proposed or final
agency rule that may result in an expenditure of $100 million or more
(in 1995 dollars) in any one year by State, local, and tribal
governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector; such a mandate
is deemed to be a ``significant regulatory action.'' The FAA currently
uses an inflation-adjusted value of $143.1 million in lieu of $100
million. This proposed rule does not contain such a mandate; therefore,
the requirements of Title II of the Act do not apply.

E. Paperwork Reduction Act

    The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507(d)) requires
that the FAA consider the impact of paperwork and other information
collection burdens imposed on the public. According to the 1995
amendments to the Paperwork Reduction Act (5 CFR 1320.8(b)(2)(vi)), an
agency may not collect or sponsor the collection of information, nor
may it impose an information collection requirement unless it displays
a currently valid OMB control number.
    This action contains the following proposed information collection
requirements. As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. 3507(d)), the FAA has submitted these proposed information
collection amendments to OMB for its review.
    Title: Slot Management and Transparency for LaGuardia Airport, John
F. Kennedy International Airport, and Newark Liberty International
Airport.
    Summary: The FAA proposes to replace the current temporary Orders
limiting operations with a permanent rule to address the issues of slot
management at JFK, EWR, and LGA airports. The rule would limit
scheduled and unscheduled operations. The FAA also proposes to adjust
the usage requirements at the New York City area airports, establish a
cap on unscheduled operations at JFK and EWR, and develop a secondary
market for the exchange of slots. More information on the proposed
requirements is detailed elsewhere in today's notice.
    Use of: The information is reported to the FAA by carriers holding
slots at JFK, EWR, or LGA. This information is used to allocate, track
usage, withdraw, and confirm transfers of slots among the operators and
facilitates the transfer of slots in the secondary market. The FAA uses
this information in order to maintain an accurate accounting of
operations to ensure compliance with the operations permitted under the
rule and those actually conducted at the airports.
    The FAA also uses this information to help provide access to
unscheduled operators seeking access to these airports.
    The slot exchange information posted on the FAA's electronic
bulletin board is designed to enhance competition by making the
availability of slots known to new entrant and incumbent carriers
seeking to serve these markets.
    Respondents: Respondents would be carriers with existing service at
JFK, EWR, and LGA and new carriers initiating service at those airports
in the future (by acquiring slots through slot allocation or the
secondary market). Various carriers included in these totals have
service at all three airports. There are 26 operating carriers at LGA,
46 at EWR, and 75 at JFK.
    Respondents also would be unscheduled operators seeking to operate
at LGA, JFK, or EWR. For the period from May through August 2010, there
were approximately 50 unscheduled operators at LGA, 25 at JFK, and 30
at EWR that used the respective airports for more than five operations.
    Frequency: The information collection requirements of the rule
involve carriers notifying the FAA of their use of slots. Each carrier
must notify the FAA of its: (1) Slot requests for the upcoming season;
(2) slot usage (operations); (3) requests for approval of one-for-one
slot trades; (4) requests for approval of slots transferred between
carriers under the same marketing control; and (5) submissions of
bulletin board notices of intent to transfer slots and requests for
approval of secondary market transactions. The information collection

requirements also include reservation requests from unscheduled
operators seeking access to the three airports during the slot-
controlled hours.
    Slot requests for the upcoming scheduling season would take place
twice per year, before the winter and summer IATA scheduling seasons.
Slot usage reporting would occur four times per year, with interim and
final usage reports for each scheduling season. Requests for approval
of one-for-one trades, request for approvals for slots transferred
between carriers under the same marketing control, and submission of
bulletin board notices regarding the intent to transfer slots would all
be event-driven and would occur as frequently as secondary market
transactions warrant. The FAA estimates there would be approximately
2,700 secondary market transactions per year for all three airports.
Similarly, reservation requests by unscheduled operators would also be
event-driven and could occur as frequently as the hourly limit at the
respective airport,
    Annual Burden Estimate: The annual reporting burden for each
subsection of the rule is presented below. These burden estimates
consist of costs that would result from the imposition of this proposed
rule. These include: A reservation system for unscheduled operations at
JFK, EWR, and LGA, schedule requests for the upcoming season, reporting
and monitoring of the usage requirement, and the documentation required
for the secondary market bulletin board at all three airports.
    Reservation system: 51 unscheduled operations per day (34 at JFK,
17 at EWR). From prior experience with the reservation system at LGA
the reporting time per reservation is two minutes. LGA would continue
to have up to 48 unscheduled operations per day.
    JFK:
 (34 reservations per day) * (2 minutes per reservation) * (365
days per year) = Total Annual Hourly Burden = 414 hours
    EWR:
 (17 reservations per day) * (2 minutes per reservation) * (365
days per year)--Total Annual Hourly Burden = 207 hours
    LGA:
 Monday-Fridays: (48 reservations per day) * (2 minutes per
reservation) * (5 days per week) * (52 weeks per year) = Total Annual
Hourly Burden = 416 hours
 Sundays: (30 reservations per day) * (2 minutes per
reservation) * (1 day per week) * (52 weeks per year) = Total Annual
Hourly Burden = 52 hours
 Total burden (Mon-Fri, Sunday): = Total Annual Hourly Burden =
468 hours
    Schedule Requests for Upcoming Season: The FAA estimates it would
take each carrier approximately two hours per scheduling season to
submit the required schedule request reports. These reports would be
submitted to the FAA on a semiannual basis, corresponding with the
winter and summer IATA scheduling seasons. There are 26 operating
carriers at LGA, 46 at EWR and 75 at JFK for a total of 147 operating
carriers at the three NY airports.
    (147 carriers) * (2 hours per report) * (2 scheduling seasons) =
Total Annual Hourly Burden = 588 hours \83\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \83\ This analysis does not assume that a carrier operating at
more than one of the affected airports would recognize an economy of
scale, thus reducing the estimated amount of time required to comply
with the proposed requirements.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Usage requirement: To confirm adherence to the usage requirement,
the FAA proposes to require carriers to submit an interim and final
usage report to the FAA, for each scheduling season. The interim report
would be due by September 1 for the summer scheduling season and
February 1 for the winter scheduling season. The final report would be
due no later than 30 days after the end of the respective scheduling
season. The interim and final reports should detail slot usage for each
day of the respective scheduling season and report the following
information for each slot held: the slot number, airport code, time,
and arrival or departure designation; the operating carrier; the date
and scheduled time of the actual operation, the flight number, origin
and destination, and aircraft type identifier; and whether the flight
was actually conducted.
    (147 carriers) * (1.5 hours per submittal) * (4 occurrences per
year) = Total Annual Hourly Burden = 882 Hours
    Secondary market transactions: Reporting costs for the secondary
market would vary according to which of the five alternatives the FAA
chooses. Alternative 1 is the least costly. This alternative is very
similar to current practices for lease agreements. This alternative
does not include the costs for a bulletin board, rather carriers would
privately-negotiate buy, sell, lease, and trade transactions.
Alternatives 2, 3, 4, and 5 alternatively propose a bulletin board to
post information on buy, sell, trade, and lease transactions. Costs
include the reporting by carriers to the FAA.
    From prior experience, the FAA estimates that there would be
approximately 2,700 slot transfer transactions yearly for all three
airports. This amounts to roughly 575 transactions for EWR, 1480 for
LGA, and 645 for JFK. Many transactions include trades among carriers
with unified marketing control, and those carriers could use the
simplified process under proposed Sec.  93.46 to reduce the reporting
burden. The proposed oversight of secondary market competition may
require submission of additional information, but the DOT expects few
transactions would be reviewed.
    Secondary Market Trades (not via Bulletin Board):

 2,700 (total transactions) - 75 (bulletin board transactions)
= 2,625 secondary market trades
2,625 (secondary market trades) * 1 hour per transaction (or 30 minutes
per party) = 2,625 hours
    The FAA estimates that there would be roughly 25 notices per
airport per year that would be posted to a bulletin board under
alternatives 2, 3, and 4. The FAA estimates carriers would spend 2
hours preparing and submitting those notices. For alternative 4, the
FAA estimates approximately 5 bids per notice for a total of 375 bids
at the three airports per year. The FAA estimates that bidders would
spend approximately 2 hours dealing with each bid.
    Secondary Market Bulletin Board Transactions:
(125 bids per airport) * (2 hours to respond to bids) * (3 airports) =
Total Annual Hourly Burden = 750 hours

Summary

    The agency requests comments to--
    (1) Evaluate whether the proposed information requirements are
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency,
including whether the information will have practical utility;
    (2) Evaluate the agency's estimate of the burden;
    (3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and
    (4) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
    Individuals and organizations may submit comments on the
information collection requirement by March 9, 2015, and should direct
them to the address listed in the ADDRESSES section of this document.
Comments also should be submitted to the Office of

Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, via facsimile at (202) 395-
6974, Attention: Desk Officer for FAA.
    According to the 1995 amendments to the Paperwork Reduction Act (5
CFR 1320.8(b)(2)(vi)), an agency may not collect or sponsor the
collection of information, nor may it impose an information collection
requirement unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.
The OMB control number for this information collection will be
published in the Federal Register, after the Office of Management and
Budget approves it.

F. International Compatibility and Cooperation

    In keeping with U.S. obligations under the Convention on
International Civil Aviation, it is FAA policy to conform to
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Standards and
Recommended Practices to the maximum extent practicable. The FAA has
determined that there are no ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices
that correspond to these proposed regulations.
    Executive Order 13609, Promoting International Regulatory
Cooperation, promotes international regulatory cooperation to meet
shared challenges involving health, safety, labor, security,
environmental, and other issues and to reduce, eliminate, or prevent
unnecessary differences in regulatory requirements. The FAA has
analyzed this action under the policies and agency responsibilities of
Executive Order 13609, and has determined that this action would have
no effect on international regulatory cooperation.

G. Environmental Analysis

    FAA Order 1050.1E, Environmental Impacts: Policies and Procedures,
identifies FAA actions that are categorically excluded from preparation
of an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement under
the National Environmental Policy Act in the absence of extraordinary
circumstances. The FAA has determined this rulemaking action qualifies
for the categorical exclusion identified in paragraph 312d ``Issuance
of regulatory documents (e.g., Notices of Proposed Rulemaking and
issuance of Final Rules) covering administration or procedural
requirements (Does not include Air Traffic procedures; specific Air
Traffic procedures that are categorically excluded are identified under
paragraph 311 of this Order.)''. It has been determined that no
extraordinary circumstances exist that may cause a significant impact
and therefore no further environmental review is required. A documented
categorical exclusion has been filed in the docket.

V. Executive Order Determinations

A. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563

    See the ``Regulatory Evaluation'' discussion in the ``Regulatory
Notices and Analyses'' section elsewhere in this preamble.

B. Executive Order 13132, Federalism

    The FAA has analyzed this proposed rule under the principles and
criteria of Executive Order 13132, Federalism. The agency has
determined that this action would not have a substantial direct effect
on the States, or the relationship between the Federal Government and
the States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among
the various levels of government, and, therefore, would not have
Federalism implications.

C. Executive Order 13211, Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy
Supply, Distribution, or Use

    The FAA analyzed this proposed rule under Executive Order 13211,
Actions Concerning Regulations that Significantly Affect Energy Supply,
Distribution, or Use (May 18, 2001). The agency has determined that it
would not be a ``significant energy action'' under the executive order
and would not be likely to have a significant adverse effect on the
supply, distribution, or use of energy.

VI. Additional Information

A. Comments Invited

    The FAA invites interested persons to participate in this
rulemaking by submitting written comments, data, or views. The agency
also invites comments relating to the economic, environmental, energy,
or federalism impacts that might result from adopting the proposals in
this document. The most helpful comments reference a specific portion
of the proposal, explain the reason for any recommended change, and
include supporting data. To ensure the docket does not contain
duplicate comments, commenters should send only one copy of written
comments, or if comments are filed electronically, commenters should
submit only one time.
    The FAA will file in the docket all comments it receives, as well
as a report summarizing each substantive public contact with FAA
personnel concerning this proposed rulemaking. Before acting on this
proposal, the FAA will consider all comments it receives on or before
the closing date for comments. The FAA will consider comments filed
after the comment period has closed if it is possible to do so without
incurring expense or delay. The agency may change this proposal in
light of the comments it receives.
    Proprietary or Confidential Business Information: Commenters should
not file proprietary or confidential business information in the
docket. Such information must be sent or delivered directly to the
person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of
this document, and marked as proprietary or confidential. If submitting
information on a disk or CD-ROM, mark the outside of the disk or CD-
ROM, and identify electronically within the disk or CD-ROM the specific
information that is proprietary or confidential.
    Under 14 CFR 11.35(b), if the FAA is aware of proprietary
information filed with a comment, the agency does not place it in the
docket. It is held in a separate file to which the public does not have
access, and the FAA places a note in the docket that it has received
it. If the FAA receives a request to examine or copy this information,
it treats it as any other request under the Freedom of Information Act
(5 U.S.C. 552). The FAA processes such a request under Department of
Transportation procedures found in 49 CFR part 7.

B. Availability of Rulemaking Documents

    An electronic copy of rulemaking documents may be obtained from the
Internet by--
    1. Searching the Federal eRulemaking Portal (http://www.regulations.gov);
    2. Visiting the FAA's Regulations and Policies Web page at http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies or
    3. Accessing the Government Printing Office's Web page at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html.
    Copies may also be obtained by sending a request to the Federal
Aviation Administration, Office of Rulemaking, ARM-1, 800 Independence
Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591, or by calling<PHONE_NUMBER>.
Commenters must identify the docket or notice number of this
rulemaking.
    All documents the FAA considered in developing this proposed rule,
including economic analyses and technical reports, may be accessed from
the Internet through the Federal eRulemaking Portal referenced in item
(1) above.

VII. The Proposed Amendment

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 93

    Air traffic control, Airports, Navigation (air).

    In consideration of the foregoing, the Federal Aviation
Administration proposes to amend chapter I of title 14, Code of Federal
Regulations as follows:

PART 93--SPECIAL AIR TRAFFIC RULES

0
1. Revise the authority citation for part 93 to read as follows:

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(f), 106(g), 40101, 40103, 40105, 40106,
40109, 40113, 41712, 44502, 44514, 44701, 44715, 44719, 46301; 15
U.S.C. 21.

0
2. Amend part 93 by adding subpart C to read as follows:

Subpart C--LaGuardia Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport,
and Newark Liberty International Airport Slot Management Rules
Sec.
93.35 Applicability.
93.36 Definitions.
93.37 Slots for scheduled arrivals and departures.
93.39 Determination of historic precedence.
93.41 Allocation of slots.
93.43 Reversion, suspension, and withdrawal of slots.
93.44 Reporting requirements.
93.45 Transfer of slots.
93.46 Operation of slots by carriers under common marketing control.
93.47 Oversight of competitive issues.
93.49 Unscheduled operations.

Subpart C--John F. Kennedy International Airport, Newark Liberty
International Airport, LaGuardia Airport Slot Management Rules

Sec.  93.35  Applicability.

    (a) This subpart prescribes the air traffic rules for the arrival
and departure of aircraft used for scheduled and unscheduled service,
other than helicopters, at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK),
Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), and LaGuardia Airport
(LGA).
    (b) This subpart prescribes procedures for the assignment,
transfer, lease, and withdrawal of slots issued by the FAA for
scheduled operations at JFK, EWR, and LGA.
    (c) This subpart applies to operations at:
    (1) JFK, daily from 0600 through 2259, Eastern time;
    (2) EWR, daily from 0600 through 2259, Eastern time; and
    (3) LGA, Monday through Friday from 0600 through 2159, Eastern
time, and Sunday from 1200 through 2159, Eastern time.
    (d) A U.S. or, to the extent provided for by international
agreements, foreign air carrier conducting operations solely under
another carrier's marketing control with unified inventory control is
not considered a separate carrier under this subpart.

Sec.  93.36  Definitions.

    For purposes of this subpart:
    Airport Reservation Office (ARO) is an operational unit of the
FAA's David J. Hurley Air Traffic Control System Command Center. Its
responsibilities include the administration of reservations for
unscheduled operations at JFK, EWR, and LGA (excluding reservations for
public charter operations allocated under Sec.  93.49(d)).
    Carrier is a U.S. or foreign air carrier with authority to conduct
scheduled service or regularly conducted commercial service under parts
121, 129, or 135 of this chapter and the appropriate economic authority
under 14 CFR chapter II and 49 U.S.C. chapter 401, 411, and 413.
    Enhanced Computer Voice Reservation System (e-CVRS) is the FAA
system used to make an arrival or departure reservation at JFK, EWR, or
LGA. Reservations are made through a touch-tone telephone interface, an
Internet Web interface, or directly through the ARO.
    New entrant is a U.S. or foreign air carrier that holds or operates
fewer than 20 slots on any day of the week, in any combination during
the slot-controlled hours, at the respective airport, with that number
including any slots that have been returned to the FAA after the slot
return deadline or had slots revoked by the FAA for insufficient use,
during the two corresponding scheduling seasons immediately preceding
the scheduling season for which a slot allocation is conducted.
    Public charter is defined in 14 CFR 380.2 as a one-way or roundtrip
charter flight to be performed by one or more direct carriers that is
arranged and sponsored by a charter operator.
    Public charter operator is defined in 14 CFR 380.2 as a U.S. or
foreign public charter operator.
    Reservation is an authorization received from the FAA to operate an
unscheduled arrival to or departure from JFK, EWR, or LGA for a
specific 60-minute period during the slot-controlled hours.
    Scheduled operation is the arrival or departure segment of any
operation regularly conducted by a carrier between JFK, EWR, or LGA and
another airport regularly served by the carrier.
    Scheduled series of flights is at least 5 operations on the same
day-of-week that represent substantially the same scheduled service.
These operations generally would be at the same time within a specific
30-minute period, have the same flight number, serve the same market,
and be distributed regularly throughout the season.
    Slot is the operational authority assigned by the FAA to a carrier
to conduct one scheduled operation or a series of scheduled operations,
or a series of public charter operations that are operated more than
three times per month, at JFK, EWR, or LGA on a particular day(s) of
the week during a specific 30-minute period.
    Slot-controlled hours are:
    (1) For JFK, daily from 0600 through 2259, Eastern time;
    (2) For EWR, daily from 0600 through 2259, Eastern time;
    (3) For LGA, Monday through Friday from 0600 through 2159, Eastern
time, and Sunday from 1200 through 2159, Eastern time.
    Slot return deadline is the date by which a carrier must return a
slot that it does not intend to operate. For the summer season, the
deadline is January 15. For the winter season, the deadline is August
15.
    Standalone slot transaction is a slot transfer by one carrier to
another carrier (whether by sale, purchase, lease, or trade), akin to
monetizing a slot. A standalone slot transaction would occur
independently of any slot transfers that would result from a carrier
merger or acquisition, defined as a transaction that combines the
ownership/operation/control of two (or possibly more) carriers into a
single entity. Specifically, slot divestitures undertaken in response
to a DOJ investigation of an airline merger or acquisition under the
Hart Scott Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, 15 U.S.C. 18a,
would not be considered standalone slot transactions.
    Summer scheduling season begins on the last Sunday of March.
    Unscheduled operation is an arrival or departure segment of any
operation that is not regularly conducted by an air carrier, foreign
air carrier, or other operator of an aircraft, excluding helicopters,
between JFK, EWR, or LGA and another service point. Certain types of
air carrier and foreign air carrier operations are considered
unscheduled operations under this subpart including: on demand, public
and other charter flights; hired aircraft services; extra sections of
scheduled flights; ferry flights; and other non-passenger flights.
    Winter scheduling season begins on the last Sunday of October.

Sec.  93.37  Slots for scheduled arrivals and departures.

    (a) No person may operate certain public charters or any scheduled
arrival into or departure out of JFK, EWR, or LGA during the slot-
controlled hours

without first obtaining a slot under this subpart.
    (b) Except as otherwise approved by the Administrator, the number
of slots are limited to no more than 81 per hour at JFK, 81 per hour at
EWR, and 71 per hour at LGA.
    (1) At JFK, the number of slots may not exceed 44 in any 30-minute
period, 81 in any 60-minute period, or a total of 1,205 between the
slot-controlled hours of 0600 and 2159.
    (2) At EWR, the number of slots may not exceed 44 in any 30-minute
period, 81 in any 60-minute period, or a total of 1,205 between the
slot-controlled hours of 0600 and 2159.
    (3) At LGA, the number of slots may not exceed 38 in any 30-minute
period, 71 in any 60-minute period, or a total of 1,136 during the
slot-controlled hours.
    (4) The FAA may adjust the number of arrival and departure slots in
any period as necessary based on the actual or potential delays created
by such number or other considerations relating to congestion, airfield
capacity, and the air traffic control system.

Sec.  93.39  Determination of historic precedence.

    (a) Any carrier holding operating authorizations (except for
temporary, one-season-only, or other contingent operating
authorizations) allocated under the Order limiting operations at JFK,
the Order limiting operations at EWR, or the Order limiting operations
at LGA, as evidenced by the FAA's records, will be assigned
corresponding slots in 30-minute periods consistent with the limits
under Sec.  93.37(b) and the carrier's summer and winter season
schedules as approved by the FAA. The carrier will have historic
precedence, subject to the requirements of this section, for these
slots for the subsequent corresponding season.
    (b) To be eligible for historic precedence, an allocated slot must
be used at least 80% of the time for which it is allocated during the
scheduling period, subject to the following:
    (1) Absent approval by the FAA, the same flight or series of
flights must be reported as used for an allocated slot throughout the
summer or winter season.
    (2) For a series of flights operated on more than one day-of-week,
each day-of-week is considered a separate series of flights.
    (3) The FAA will treat as used a slot held by a carrier that ceases
operations using that slot due to a strike.
    (4) The FAA may waive these usage requirements in the event of a
highly unusual and unpredictable condition which is beyond the
carrier's control and which affects carrier operations for a period of
five or more consecutive days.
    (5) The FAA may waive these usage requirements for a period of up
to 180 days if a slot is allocated to or otherwise acquired by a new
entrant carrier.
    (c) A slot allocated by the FAA under Sec.  93.41(i) does not have
historic precedence for the subsequent corresponding season.

Sec.  93.41  Allocation of slots.

    (a) Requests for slots must be submitted to the FAA Slot
Administration Office at the address and by the deadline published by
the FAA in a Federal Register notice for each summer and winter
scheduling season. The request must include the following minimum
information:
    (1) The requesting carrier must submit its entire schedule at JFK,
EWR, and LGA, as appropriate, for the particular season, noting which
requests, if any, are in addition to, or changes from, the previous
corresponding season at the respective airport.
    (2) Each slot request must indicate the effective dates of the
request, proposed days of operation, proposed time of operation
(indicated as either UTC or local time), whether the operation is for
an arrival or departure, flight number, and aircraft type.
    (b) The FAA first will accommodate requests for slots for which the
carrier has historic precedence and are for the same time period as the
previous corresponding season.
    (c) After accommodating historic precedence slots, the remaining
slots available for allocation will be divided into two pools:
    (1) Not less than 50% of the available slots will be for new
entrants that have not returned slots to the FAA after the slot return
deadline, or had slots revoked by the FAA for insufficient use, during
the two corresponding scheduling seasons immediately preceding the
scheduling season for which a slot allocation is being conducted; and
    (2) The remainder will be for any carrier.
    (d) Within each pool, the FAA first will accommodate carrier
requests to retime slots for operational reasons.
    (e) Within each pool, the FAA next will accommodate carrier
requests to extend an allocated seasonal slot to year-round service.
    (f) Within each pool, the FAA then will accommodate any remaining
carrier requests. If all requests cannot be accommodated, the FAA will
consider the following factors:
    (1) The effective period of operation;
    (2) The extent and regularity of intended slot use with priority
given to year-round service;
    (3) Schedule constraints of carriers requesting slots; and
    (4) The operational impacts of scheduled demand, including the
distribution of flights and the mix of arrivals and departures.
    (g) If an available slot cannot be allocated according to the
factors in paragraph (f) of this section, the FAA may consider the
following factors:
    (1) Airport facilities constraints including gates, terminals,
parking, customs and immigration, and curfews; and
    (2) Competition and impacts to markets served.
    (h) A carrier allocated a slot under paragraph (f) of this section
must operate that slot and may not transfer it for two corresponding
seasons, except that carrier may engage in a one-for-one trade for
operational reasons.
    (i) Notwithstanding paragraphs (a) through (g) of this section, the
FAA may assign an available slot to a carrier on a non-permanent,
first-come, first-served basis subject to permanent assignment under
this subpart. Any remaining unassigned slots may be made available to
unscheduled operations on a non-permanent basis according to the
procedures in Sec.  93.49.
    (j) The FAA will assign each slot a designation that consists of
the airport code, slot number, 30-minute time period, frequency, summer
or winter season, and arrival or departure designation.
    (k) If directed by the Office of the Secretary of Transportation,
the FAA will not apply the provisions of this section to any foreign
air carrier or commuter operator of a country that provides slots to
U.S. air carriers and commuter operators on a basis more restrictive
than provided under this subpart.

Sec.  93.43  Reversion, suspension, and withdrawal of slots.

    (a) Absent prior approval by the FAA and except as otherwise
provided in this subpart, a carrier that ceases all operations at an
airport may transfer, sell, or lease any slots to another carrier as
provided in Sec.  93.45, but the carrier may not hold any slots for a
period exceeding 2 years after the season in which it ceases all
operations at the respective airport.
    (b) If a carrier's DOT economic authority or FAA operating
certificate is suspended, surrendered, or revoked, any slots held by
that carrier revert to the FAA. If another carrier is operating

the slots under an agreement with the holding carrier, the FAA may
allocate those slots on a temporary basis not exceeding the duration of
the agreement.
    (c) The FAA may retime or temporarily suspend slots at any time to
fulfill operational needs. The FAA will provide a 45-day notice, unless
shorter notice is required for operational needs, to an affected
carrier prior to temporarily suspending a slot that specifies the date
by which operations using that slot must cease. The FAA will determine
the suspended slots by lottery of slot holdings in the particular time
period during which slots are being suspended. The FAA will reassign a
suspended slot, if at all, only to the carrier from which it was
suspended, provided the carrier continues to conduct scheduled
operations at the respective airport.
    (d) If the FAA determines to reduce the number of allocated slots
following a determination of decreased airport capacity, it may
permanently withdraw slots to reach the accepted limit. The FAA will
determine the withdrawn slots by lottery of slot holdings in the
particular time period during which slots are being withdrawn.
Following withdrawal, those slots would cease to exist.
    (e) The FAA will not retime, suspend, or withdraw slots, under this
section, of a carrier that holds fewer than 20 slots on any day of the
week at the respective airport.

Sec.  93.44  Reporting requirements.

    (a)(1) No later than September 1 for the summer scheduling season
and February 1 for the winter scheduling season, each carrier holding a
slot must submit an interim report of slot usage for each day of the
applicable scheduling season.
    (2) No later than 30 days after the last day of the applicable
scheduling season, each carrier must submit a final report of the
completed operations for each day of the entire scheduling season.
    (b) The report required under paragraph (a) this section must
contain, in a format acceptable to the FAA, the following information
for each slot:
    (1) The slot number, airport code, time, and arrival or departure
designation;
    (2) The operating carrier;
    (3) The date and scheduled time of each of the operations conducted
with the slot, including the flight number, origin and destination, and
aircraft type identifier; and
    (4) Whether the flight was actually conducted.
    (c) The FAA may withdraw the slots of any carrier that does not
meet the reporting requirements of paragraph (a) of this section.

Sec.  93.45  Transfer of slots. [ALTERNATIVE ONE]

    (a) Except as otherwise provided in this subpart, a carrier may
buy, sell, or lease a slot to another carrier for any consideration and
for any time period, and a carrier may trade a slot with another
carrier for a slot at any U.S. or foreign slot-controlled airport.
    (b) Requests for FAA approval of transfers under this section must
be submitted in writing by all parties to the transaction to the FAA
Slot Administration Office in a manner acceptable to the Administrator.
Requests must provide the names of the transferor and recipient;
business address and telephone number of the person representing the
transferor and recipient; whether the slot is to be used for an arrival
or departure; and the slot designation of the slot as described in
Sec.  93.41(j).
    (c) The request for FAA approval also must include the final terms
of the transaction including:
    (1) The names of all parties to the transaction;
    (2) The consideration offered by each party;
    (3) The effective date of the transfer; and
    (4) The length of the lease, if applicable.
    (d) Prior to approving the transfer, the FAA will confirm the
transferred slots come from the transferor's FAA-approved slot holdings
and that no transfer limitations apply.
    (e) The Secretary may review the final terms of the transaction for
any anti-competitive effects or adverse public interest effects under
Sec.  93.47. The FAA may not approve the transfer until the Secretary
notifies the FAA of the Secretary's approval or non-objection or the
14-day notice period under Sec.  93.47(b) elapses.
    (f) The slot may not be used by the transferee until the conditions
of this section have been met, and the FAA provides notice of its
approval of the transfer.

Sec.  93.45  Transfer of slots. [ALTERNATIVE TWO]

    (a) Except as otherwise provided in this subpart, a carrier may
buy, sell, or lease a slot to another carrier for any consideration and
for any time period, and a carrier may trade a slot with another
carrier for a slot at any U.S. or foreign slot-controlled airport.
    (b) Except as permitted under paragraphs (c), (d), (e), (f), and
(g) of this section, a carrier must provide notice to the FAA four
months before its intended transaction date of its intent to transfer a
slot prior to negotiating with another carrier. The notice of intent to
transfer must include the slot number and time, effective date of the
transfer, and, if applicable, the duration of the lease. The FAA will
post a notice of the offer to transfer the slot and relevant details on
the FAA Web site at http://www.faa.gov. The notice will state the
opening and closing dates for bids and the contact information of the
transferring carrier for bid submission. The offering carrier may
accept any bid and negotiate the final terms of the transfer, but it
may consider only bids submitted during the bidding period.
    (c) A carrier may trade a slot with another carrier on a one-for-
one basis without providing notice to the FAA under paragraph (b) of
this section provided the request for FAA approval also includes a
certification by both carriers that no consideration or promise of
consideration was provided by either party to the trade.
    (d) A carrier may lease a slot to another carrier without notice to
the FAA under paragraph (b) of this section provided the lease is
effective for no longer than two scheduling seasons.
    (e) Carriers with agreements where one carrier operates solely
under the other's marketing control may transfer a slot with another
party subject to that agreement without notice to the FAA under
paragraph (b) of this section provided the request for FAA approval
also includes a certification of that agreement by both carriers.
    (f) Prior to [90 DAYS AFTER EFFECTIVE DATE], a carrier may buy,
sell, or trade with another carrier a slot that was subject to a lease
or short-term trade under the Order limiting operations at JFK, Order
limiting operations at EWR, or Order limiting operations at LGA without
notice to the FAA under paragraph (b) of this section.
    (g) Requests for FAA approval for transfers under this section must
be submitted in writing by all parties to the transaction to the FAA
Slot Administration Office in a manner acceptable to the Administrator.
Requests must provide the names of the transferor and recipient;
business address and telephone number of the person representing the
transferor and recipient; whether the slot is to be used for an arrival
or departure; and the slot designation of the slot as described in
Sec.  93.41(j).
    (h) The request for FAA approval also must include the final terms
of the transaction including, as applicable:

    (1) The names of all parties to the transaction;
    (2) A description of the transaction;
    (3) The consideration offered by each party;
    (4) The names of all bidders and consideration offered by each
bidder;
    (5) The effective date of the transfer; and
    (6) The length of the lease.
    (i) Prior to approving the transfer, the FAA will confirm the
relevant slots are part of the carrier's FAA-approved slot holdings and
that no transfer limitations apply.
    (j) The Secretary may review the final terms of the transaction for
any anti-competitive effects or adverse public interest effects under
Sec.  93.47. The FAA may not approve the transfer until the Secretary
notifies the FAA of the Secretary's approval or non-objection or the
14-day notice period under Sec.  93.47(b) elapses.
    (k) The slot may not be used by the transferee until the conditions
of this section have been met, and the FAA provides notice of its
approval of the transfer.

Sec.  93.45  Transfer of slots. [ALTERNATIVE THREE]

    (a) Except as otherwise provided in this subpart, a carrier may
buy, sell, or lease a slot to another carrier for any consideration and
for any time period, and a carrier may trade a slot with another
carrier for a slot at any U.S. or foreign slot-controlled airport.
    (b) Except as permitted under paragraphs (c), (d), (e), and (f) of
this section, a carrier may negotiate tentative terms of a transfer
without providing advance notice to the FAA. A carrier must provide
notice to the FAA four months before its intended transaction date of
these tentative transfer terms that includes the slot number and time,
effective date of the transfer, consideration offered, and, if
applicable, the duration of the lease. The FAA will post a notice of
the relevant details of the transfer on the FAA Web site at http://www.faa.gov. The notice will state the opening and closing dates for
bids and the contact information of the transferring carrier(s) for bid
submission. The offering carrier may accept the tentative transaction
or any counterbid and then negotiate the final terms of the transfer,
but it may consider only bids submitted during the bidding period.
    (c) A carrier may trade a slot with another carrier on a one-for-
one basis without providing notice to the FAA under paragraph (b) of
this section provided the request for FAA approval also includes a
certification by both carriers that no consideration or promise of
consideration was provided by either party to the trade.
    (d) A carrier may lease a slot to another carrier without notice to
the FAA under paragraph (b) of this section provided the lease is
effective for no longer than two scheduling seasons.
    (e) Carriers with agreements where one carrier operates solely
under the other's marketing control may transfer a slot with another
party subject to that agreement without notice to the FAA under
paragraph (b) of this section provided the request for FAA approval
also includes a certification of that agreement by both carriers.
    (f) Prior to [90 DAYS AFTER EFFECTIVE DATE], a carrier may buy,
sell, or trade with another carrier a slot that was subject to a lease
or short-term trade under the Order limiting operations at JFK, Order
limiting operations at EWR, or Order limiting operations at LGA without
notice to the FAA under paragraph (b) of this section.
    (g) Requests for FAA approval for transfers under this section must
be submitted in writing by all parties to the transaction to the FAA
Slot Administration Office in a manner acceptable to the Administrator.
Requests must provide the names of the transferor and recipient;
business address and telephone number of the person representing the
transferor and recipient; whether the slot is to be used for an arrival
or departure; and the slot designation of the slot as described in
Sec.  93.41(j).
    (h) The request for FAA approval also must include the final terms
of the transaction including:
    (1) The names of all parties to the transaction;
    (2) The consideration offered by each party;
    (3) The names of all bidders and consideration offered by each
bidder, if applicable;
    (4) The effective date of the transfer; and
    (5) The length of the lease, if applicable.
    (i) Prior to approving the transfer, the FAA will confirm the
transferred slots come from the transferor's FAA-approved slot holdings
and that no transfer limitations apply.
    (j) The Secretary may review the final terms of the transaction for
any anti-competitive effects or adverse public interest effects under
Sec.  93.47. The FAA may not approve the transfer until the Secretary
notifies the FAA of the Secretary's approval or non-objection or the
14-day notice period under Sec.  93.47(b) elapses.
    (k) The slot may not be used by the transferee until the conditions
of this section have been met, and the FAA provides notice of its
approval of the transfer.

Sec.  93.45  Transfer of slots. [ALTERNATIVE FOUR]

    (a) Except as otherwise provided in this subpart, a carrier may
buy, sell, or lease a slot to another carrier for any consideration and
for any time period, and a carrier may trade a slot with another
carrier for a slot at any U.S. or foreign slot-controlled airport.
    (b) Except as permitted under paragraphs (c), (d), (e), and (f) of
this section, a carrier must provide notice to the FAA four months
before its intended transaction date of its intent to transfer a slot
prior to negotiating with another carrier. The notice of intent to
transfer must include the slot number and time, effective date of the
transfer, and, if applicable, the duration of the lease. The FAA will
post a notice of the offer to transfer the slot and relevant details on
the FAA Web site at http://www.faa.gov. The notice will state the
opening and closing dates for bids and the contact information of the
transferring carrier. Bids must be submitted through the bulletin board
for public posting. The offering carrier may accept any bid and
negotiate the final terms of the transfer, but it may consider only
bids submitted during the bidding period.
    (c) A carrier may trade a slot with another carrier on a one-for-
one basis without providing notice to the FAA under paragraph (b) of
this section provided the request for FAA approval also includes a
certification by both carriers that no consideration or promise of
consideration was provided by either party to the trade.
    (d) A carrier may lease a slot to another carrier without notice to
the FAA under paragraph (b) of this section provided the lease is
effective for no longer than two scheduling seasons.
    (e) Carriers with agreements where one carrier operates solely
under the other's marketing control may transfer a slot with another
party subject to that agreement without notice to the FAA under
paragraph (b) of this section provided the request for FAA approval
also includes a certification of that agreement by both carriers.
    (f) Prior to [90 DAYS AFTER EFFECTIVE DATE], a carrier may buy,
sell, or trade with another carrier a slot that was subject to a lease
or short-term trade under the Order limiting operations at JFK, Order
limiting operations at EWR, or Order limiting

operations at LGA without notice to the FAA under paragraph (b) of this
section.
    (g) Requests for FAA approval for transfers under this section must
be submitted in writing by all parties to the transaction to the FAA
Slot Administration Office in a manner acceptable to the Administrator.
Requests must provide the names of the transferor and recipient;
business address and telephone number of the person representing the
transferor and recipient; whether the slot is to be used for an arrival
or departure; and the slot designation of the slot as described in
Sec.  93.41(j).
    (h) The request for FAA approval also must include the final terms
of the transaction including:
    (1) The names of all parties to the transaction;
    (2) The consideration offered by each party;
    (3) The names of all bidders and consideration offered by each
bidder, if applicable;
    (4) The effective date of the transfer; and
    (5) The length of the lease, if applicable.
    (i) Prior to approving the transfer, the FAA will confirm the
transferred slots come from the transferor's FAA-approved slot holdings
and that no transfer limitations apply.
    (j) The Secretary may review the final terms of the transaction for
any anti-competitive effects or adverse public interest effects under
Sec.  93.47. The FAA may not approve the transfer until the Secretary
notifies the FAA of the Secretary's approval or non-objection or the
14-day notice period under Sec.  93.47(b) elapses.
    (k) The slot may not be used by the transferee until the conditions
of this section have been met, and the FAA provides notice of its
approval of the transfer.

Sec.  93.45  Transfer of slots. [ALTERNATIVE FIVE]

    (a) Except as otherwise provided in this subpart, a carrier may
buy, sell, or lease a slot to another carrier for currency only and for
any time period, and a carrier may trade a slot with another carrier
for a slot at any U.S. or foreign slot-controlled airport.
    (b) Except as permitted under paragraphs (c), (d), (e), and (f) of
this section, a carrier must provide notice to the FAA four months
before its intended transaction date of its intent to transfer a slot.
The notice of intent to transfer must include the slot number and time,
effective date of the transfer, and, if applicable, the duration of the
lease. The FAA will post a notice of the offer to transfer the slot and
relevant details on the FAA Web site at http://www.faa.gov. The notice
will state the opening and closing dates for bids but not the identity
of the transferring carrier. Bids must be submitted through the
bulletin board for public posting. The identity of the bidders may not
be disclosed during the bidding period. The offering carrier must
accept the highest bid submitted during the bidding period.
    (c) A carrier may trade a slot with another carrier on a one-for-
one basis without providing notice to the FAA under paragraph (b) of
this section provided the request for FAA approval also includes a
certification by both carriers that no consideration or promise of
consideration was provided by either party to the trade.
    (d) A carrier may lease a slot to another carrier without notice to
the FAA under paragraph (b) of this section provided the lease is
effective for no longer than two scheduling seasons.
    (e) Carriers with agreements where one carrier operates solely
under the other's marketing control may transfer a slot with another
party subject to that agreement without notice to the FAA under
paragraph (b) of this section provided the request for FAA approval
also includes a certification of that agreement by both carriers.
    (f) Prior to [90 DAYS AFTER EFFECTIVE DATE], a carrier may buy,
sell, or trade with another carrier a slot that was subject to a lease
or short-term trade under the Order limiting operations at JFK, Order
limiting operations at EWR, or Order limiting operations at LGA without
notice to the FAA under paragraph (b) of this section.
    (g) Requests for FAA approval for transfers under this section must
be submitted in writing by all parties to the transaction to the FAA
Slot Administration Office in a manner acceptable to the Administrator.
Requests must provide the names of the transferor and recipient;
business address and telephone number of the person representing the
transferor and recipient; whether the slot is to be used for an arrival
or departure; and the slot designation of the slot as described in
Sec.  93.41(j).
    (h) The request for FAA approval also must include the final terms
of the transaction including:
    (1) The names of all parties to the transaction;
    (2) The price offered by each bidder;
    (3) The effective date of the transfer; and
    (4) The length of the lease, if applicable.
    (i) Prior to approving the transfer, the FAA will confirm the
transferred slots come from the transferor's FAA-approved slot holdings
and that no transfer limitations apply.
    (j) The Secretary may review the final terms of the transaction for
any anti-competitive effects or public interest effects under Sec.
93.47. The FAA may not approve the transfer until the Secretary
notifies the FAA of the Secretary's approval or non-objection or the
14-day notice period under Sec.  93.47(b) elapses.
    (k) The slot may not be used by the transferee until the conditions
of this section have been met, and the FAA provides notice of its
approval of the transfer.

Sec.  93.46  Operation of slots by carriers under common marketing
control.

    A carrier that operates solely under the marketing control of
another carrier may operate the other carrier's slots without
transferring the slots provided that:
    (a) The marketing carrier is responsible for ensuring that there
are slots assigned for the planned operations of the carrier under its
marketing control. The marketing carrier must submit information in
advance to the FAA Slot Administration Office, at least on a seasonal
basis, detailing the airport, carrier, marketed and operational flight
number ranges, and effective dates.
    (b) The marketing carrier must submit changes throughout the
reporting period.
    (c) The marketing carrier is responsible for submitting the usage
reports required under Sec.  93.44.

Sec.  93.47  Oversight of public interest and competitive issues.

    (a) The Secretary may review a standalone slot transfer transaction
conducted under Sec.  93.45, to determine adverse public interest and/
or anti-competitive effects, as described in 49 U.S.C. 40101(a). Small
transactions of fewer than 8 slots in total or transfers extending for
2 or fewer seasons) would not be subject to review under this section.
However, the Secretary may consider multiple transactions within a
three-year period as constituting a single aggregate transaction,
including transactions that involve the transfer of slots to carriers
under the marketing or operational control of a single entity.
    (b) The following procedures are used when conducting a review for
public interest or competitive factors under paragraph (a) of this
section.
    (1) Within 14 days of receiving from the FAA the final terms of a
transaction under Sec.  93.45, the Secretary will notify

the parties of the Secretary's determination of whether to request and
evaluate additional information. If the Secretary decides to request
and evaluate additional information, the DOT will request the
additional information.
    (2) After receiving notice of a slot transfer under Sec.  93.45,
the FAA may not approve the transaction without further notice from the
Secretary.
    (3) If the Secretary does not notify the parties and the FAA within
14 days of the intent to request and evaluate additional information,
the FAA may approve the transaction.
    (c) The procedures for objections to public disclosure of
information at 14 CFR 302.12 do not apply to information submitted to
the DOT under paragraphs (a) or (b) of this section. Any person seeking
confidential treatment for information submitted to the DOT under
paragraphs (a) or (b) of this section must clearly designate the
information for which confidential treatment is sought by including
appropriate markings on each page of the submission. The DOT will not
disclose such designated information to the public, except as required
under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552, and pursuant to the
procedures in 49 CFR part 7.
    (d) Nothing in this section limits the authority of the Secretary
to investigate and prohibit any unfair or deceptive practice or an
unfair method of competition, as provided by 49 U.S.C. 41712.

Sec.  93.49  Unscheduled operations.

    (a) During the slot-controlled hours, no person may operate an
aircraft other than a helicopter to or from JFK, EWR, or LGA unless he
or she has received, for that unscheduled operation, a reservation that
is assigned by the ARO or, in the case of certain public charters, in
accordance with the procedures in paragraph (d) of this section. The
FAA will accept requests for reservations through the e-CVRS beginning
72 hours prior to the proposed time of arrival to or departure from the
respective airport. Additional information on procedures for obtaining
a reservation is available on the Internet at http://www.fly.faa.gov/ecvrs.
    (b) Reservations, including those assigned to certain public
charter operations under paragraph (d) of this section, will be
available to be assigned by the ARO on a 60-minute basis as follows:
    (1) At JFK, two reservations per hour during the slot-controlled
hours.
    (2) At EWR, one reservation per hour during the slot-controlled
hours.
    (3) At LGA, three reservations per hour during the slot-controlled
hours.
    (c) The ARO will receive and process all reservation requests for
unscheduled arrivals and departures and assign reservations on a first-
come, first-served basis determined by the time the request is received
by the ARO.
    (d) One reservation per hour at LGA and two reservations per day at
JFK and EWR will be available for assignment to certain public charter
operations prior to the 72-hour reservation window in paragraph (a) of
this section.
    (1) A public charter operator may request a reservation up to six
months in advance of the date of the flight operation for a planned
individual operation or a series of operations occurring fewer than 3
times per month. Reservation requests must be submitted to the Federal
Aviation Administration, Slot Administration Office, AGC-200, 800
Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591. Requests may be made via
facsimile at<PHONE_NUMBER> or by email at<EMAIL_ADDRESS>    (2) The public charter operator must certify that its prospectus
has been accepted by the Department of Transportation in accordance
with 14 CFR part 380.
    (3) The public charter operator must identify the call sign/flight
number or aircraft registration number of the direct air carrier; the
date and time of the proposed operation; the airport served immediately
prior to or after JFK, EWR, or LGA; aircraft type; and the nature of
the operation (e.g., ferry or passenger). Any changes to an approved
reservation must be approved in advance by the Slot Administration
Office.
    (4) A series of operations occurring more than 3 times per month is
required to have a slot allocated by the FAA as provided in Sec.
93.37.
    (5) If all reservations available under paragraph (d)(1) of this
section have been assigned, the public charter operator may request a
reservation under paragraph (a) of this section.
    (e) The filing of a request for a reservation does not constitute
the filing of an IFR flight plan as required by regulation. The IFR
flight plan may be filed only after the reservation is obtained, must
include the reservation number in the ``Remarks'' section, and must be
filed in accordance with FAA regulations and procedures.
    (f) Air Traffic Control will accommodate declared emergencies
without regard to reservations. Non-emergency national security, law
enforcement, military, public aircraft, or other similar mission-
critical operations may be accommodated above the reservation limits
with the prior approval of the Vice President, System Operations
Services, Air Traffic Organization. Procedures for obtaining the
appropriate waiver will be available on the Internet at http://www.fly.faa.gov/ecvrs.
    (g) Notwithstanding the limits in paragraph (b) of this section, if
conditions are favorable, and significant delay is unlikely, the FAA
may determine that additional reservations may be accommodated for a
specific time period. Unused slots also may be made available
temporarily for unscheduled operations. Reservations for additional
operations must be obtained through the ARO.
    (h) No reservations may be bought, sold, or leased.
    (i) A Reservation must be canceled if it will not be used as
assigned.
0
3. Amend Sec.  93.123 to revise paragraphs (a), (b)(4) to read as
follows:

Sec.  93.123  High density traffic airports.

    (a) Each of the following airports is designated as a high density
traffic airport and, except as provided in Sec.  93.129 and paragraph
(b) of this section, or unless otherwise authorized by ATC, is limited
to the hourly number of allocated IFR operations (takeoffs and
landings) that may be reserved for the specified classes of users for
that airport:

                         IFR Operations per Hour
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                          Ronald  Reagan
                                                             Washington
                      Class of user                          National
                                                              Airport
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air carriers............................................              37
Commuters...............................................              11
Other...................................................              12
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (b) * * *
    (4) The allocation of IFR reservations for air carriers except
commuters at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport does not include
extra sections of scheduled flights. The allocation of IFR reservations
for scheduled commuters at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
does not include extra sections of scheduled flights. These flights may
be conducted without regard to the limitation upon the hourly IFR
reservations at those airports.
* * * * *

Sec.  93.133  [Removed and Reserved]

0
4. Remove and reserve Sec.  93.133.
0
5. Amend Sec.  93.211 to revise paragraph (a) to read as follows:

Sec.  93.211  Applicability.

    (a) This subpart prescribes rules applicable to the allocation and
withdrawal of IFR operational authority (takeoffs and landings) to
individual air carriers and commuter operators at the High Density
Traffic Airports identified in subpart K of this part.
* * * * *

Sec.  93.215, 93.217 and 93.218  [Removed and Reserved]

0
6. Remove and reserve Sec. Sec.  93.215, 93.217, and 93.218.
0
7. Amend Sec.  93.221 to remove paragraph (e).
0
8. Amend Sec.  93.223 to revise paragraph (b) to read as follows:

Sec.  93.223  Slot withdrawal.

    (b) Separate slot pools shall be established for air carriers and
commuter operators at each airport. The FAA shall assign, by random
lottery, withdrawal priority numbers for the recall priority of slots
at each airport. Each additional permanent slot, if any, will be
assigned the next higher number for air carrier or commuter slots, as
appropriate, at each airport. Each slot shall be assigned a designation
consisting of the applicable withdrawal priority number; the airport
code; a code indicating whether the slot is an air carrier or commuter
operator slot; and the time period of the slot. The designation shall
also indicate, as appropriate, if the slot is daily or for certain days
of the week only; is limited to arrivals or departures; and is
allocated for international operations or for EAS purposes.
* * * * *
0
9. Amend Sec.  93.226 to revise paragraph (a)(3) introductory text to
read as follows:

Sec.  93.226  Allocation of slots in low-demand periods.

    (a) * * *
    (3) For Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport:
* * * * *

    Issued in Washington, DC, on December 19, 2014.
Susan L. Kurland,
Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs.
Richard M. Swayze,
Assistant Administrator for Policy, International Affairs, and
Environment.
[FR Doc. 2014-30378 Filed 1-6-15; 11:15 am]
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