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For the most part, ASTA lauded the Department of Transportation’s latest proposed new consumer protection rules for air travelers.

“I would say overall this is a very big moment in our industry’s history,” said Paul Ruden, ASTA’s senior vice president of industry and consumer affairs, of the 118-page proposal. “It breaks new ground on critically important issues related to the treatment of consumers. It’s important to agents that consumers be treated right — not just by them but by airlines as well.”

While Ruden stressed that ASTA is still studying and absorbing the proposal, he said one thing is clear. “The most important thing is that the DOT clearly recognizes the importance of consumers being informed about the major ancillary services and associated fees that exist at the time of ticket purchase,” he said. “For ASTA’s part, we’re very encouraged by that conclusion on their part. We’re very excited that they have recognized that this step needs to be taken.”

Nonetheless, Ruden expressed concern that the DOT is not placing equal importance on “concurrent transactability,” the power of equipping travel agents to sell ancillary services to consumers at the same time that they’re selling air. “It’s our view long held and many times expressed that withholding the ability to sell ancillary services concurrent with the ticket purchase is plainly contrary to the public interest,” Ruden said.

He said ASTA will “redouble its efforts to persuade” the DOT “that consumers need not only have the information at time of ticket purchase but also the capacity to complete the entire transaction if they want to, and buy whatever ancillary services that they choose that are available currently at the time of ticket purchase,” Ruden said.

In other developments, Ruden said that ASTA is closely evaluating the proposal to require travel agents to offer consumers a 24-hour hold for the right to cancel fare purchases. “Airlines are required to do that today and travel agents are not required to do that today,” he said.  

“It sounds easy to say travel agents should have to do the same thing that gives the public additional options,” he said, adding that this is not something that agents can unilaterally control. “There are fare rules and fare policies that apply to travel agents enacted by the carriers in pursuit of their own business policies — so if the DOT continues down this road and imposes this kind of a rule on the travel agency sector, some consideration is going to have be given to requiring the airlines to do their part and the GDSs as well in making these kinds of practices possible.”