14 CFR Parts 382 and 399; 49 CFR Part 27 - Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in Air Travel: Accessibility of Web Sites and Automated Kiosks at U.S. Airports - Preamble

7. Online Disability Accommodation Request

The SNPRM: Following up on a similar inquiry we had made to the public in the 2004 Foreign Carrier NPRM, we asked in the September 2011 SNPRM whether the Department should require carriers and ticket agents to provide a mechanism for passengers to provide online notification of their requests for disability accommodation services (e.g., enplaning/deplaning assistance, deaf/hard of hearing communication assistance, escort to service animal relief area, etc.).

Comments: The comments the Department received on this question were starkly split. The disability advocacy community and some individual members of the public strongly favored adopting a requirement for carriers to allow passengers to submit a request online for a disability accommodation. Representatives from industry opposed any mandate for them to provide this service. Disability advocacy commenters observed that online service request notification would be advantageous for passengers with disabilities, who would have a written record of their requests and for carriers, who would have the request in writing in case there was a need for additional information. The Open Doors Organization (ODO) stated that “everyone in the industry,” including travel agents, should be using special service requests uniformly. ODO observed that passengers with disabilities who book their tickets with online travel agents oftentimes must still call the carrier to set up the service request. ODO also pointed out that when the option is available to make a disability service request online when booking with an online travel agent, the service request often does not transfer to the carrier. The carrier associations noted that several carriers already provide an online accommodation request function. They stated that carriers generally still prefer for passengers to speak with a customer service representative about their accommodation needs. The carrier associations believe that any requirement to provide an online service request function will serve to mislead passengers into believing that no other communication with the carrier about their accommodation needs is necessary, thus preventing carriers from getting all the information necessary to properly accommodate passengers.

DOT Decision: The Department believes that having online capability for requesting a disability accommodation has a number of potential benefits both to passengers with disabilities and to carriers. Aside from the advantage to a passenger of having an electronic record of providing notice to the carrier of a service request, an online service request will serve as a flag to the carrier of the passenger's accommodation needs. The Department is therefore requiring carriers to make an online service request form available for passengers with disabilities to request services including, but not limited to, wheelchair assistance, seating accommodation, escort assistance for a visually impaired passenger, and stowage of an assistive device. We also note the carrier associations' argument that simply making an online service request may not be sufficient to ensure the correct accommodation is provided. We agree with their assertion that additional information may be needed at times from the passenger. Therefore, carriers will be permitted to require that passengers with disabilities making an online service request provide information (e.g., telephone number, email address) that the carrier can use to contact passengers about their accommodation needs. Carriers that market air transportation online will be required to provide the service request on their Web sites within two years after the effective date of this rule.

We view an online service request form as a useful tool to assist carriers in providing timely, appropriate assistance and reducing service failures that lead to complaints. Furthermore, aggregate data on online service requests would potentially be useful in helping carriers to understand the volume and types of service requests across time periods and routes.