Part 207

"Charter trip" means air transportation performed in accordance with § 207.11.

"Charter flight" means air transportation performed in accordance with § 207.11.

"Charter group" means that body of individuals who shall actually participate in the charter flight.

"Charter organization" means that organization, group, or other entity from whose members (and their immediate families) a charter group is derived.

"Combination carrier" means an air carrier holding a certificate of public convenience and necessity issued pursuant to section 401(d) (1) or (2) which authorizes the carriage of persons, property and mail or persons and property only.

"Islands of the Caribbean" means points in Jamaica, the Bahama Islands, Bermuda, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, the Cayman Islands, Aruba, the Leeward and Windward Islands, Barbados, and Curacao.

"Mixed charter" means a charter, the cost of which is borne, or pursuant to contract may be borne, partly by the charter participants and partly by the charterer.

207.53

Commissions paid to travel agents. Statement of Supporting Information.

Subpart D-Provisions Relating to Mixed Charters 207.60 Applicable rules.

Subpart E-Direct Sales by Air Carriers
Applicability of subpart.

207.70

207.71 Terms of service.

207.72 Board powers.

"All-cargo carrier" means an air carrier holding a certificate of public convenience and necessity issued pursuant to section 401(d) (1) or (2), which authorizes the carriage of property only or property and mail only.

"Base revenue seat-mile" means the total available revenue seat-miles on flights operated by an air carrier in scheduled services, extra sections, and on-route charter trips or special services.

"Base Revenue Plane Miles" means revenue mileage operated by an air carrier in scheduled services, extra sections, and on-route charter trips or special services.

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NOTE: Charter services for the Department of Defense conducted between points between which the carrier is not otherwise

(ER-1190, 9-6-80)

"Point" means any airport or place where an aircraft may be landed or taken off, including the area within a 50-mile radius of such airport or place.

"Pro rata charter" means a charter, the cost of which is divided among the passengers transported.

"Single entity charter" means a charter, the cost of which is borne by the charterer and not by individual passengers, directly or indirectly.

"Special services" are all services rendered in air transportation which are authorized by section 401(e) (6) of the Act by an air carrier holding a certificate of public convenience and necessity other than (1) services rendered in air transportation over the route or routes designated in its certificate(s), (2) charter services as defined in this section, and (3) services authorized by special exemption under section 416(b) of the Act.

(e) Rates, fares, and charges applicable to the charter trip, including the charter price, live and ferry mileage charges, and layover and other nonflight charges; and

(f) The name and address of either the surety whose bond secures advance charter payments received by the carrier or of the carrier's depository bank to which checks or money orders for advance charter payments are to be made payable as escrow holder, pending completion of the charter trip.

(g) A statement that unless the charterer files a claim with the carrier, or, if he is unavailable, with the surety, within sixty (60) days after the cancellation of a charter trip with respect to which the charterer's advance payments are secured by the bond, the surety shall be released from all liability under the bond to such charterer for such charter trin (see § 207.17(e))

ECONOMIC REGULATIONS

No air carrier shall perform any special service in interstate, overseas or foreign air transportation unless at the time of filing of a tariff applicable to such special service or at the time of filing of an application for a special tariff permission, such air carrier shall have submitted to the Board a statement setting forth a full description of the proposed service and shall have mailed copies thereof to the air carriers authorized by certificates of public convenience and necessity to render service to any point designated to receive the proposed special service. The proposed special service shall not be inaugurated if prior to the effective date of the tariff applicable to such special service, or at the time of action on the application for special tariff permission, the Board shall have notified such air carrier that the performance of such special service does not appear to be consistent with the public interest.

§ 207.9

(1) Name of direct carrier performing the charter and name of direct carrier for which the charter was performed;

(2) Date of flight or flights; (3) Points of origin and destination, and intermediate points, in any;

(4) Number of passengers and/or tons of cargo transported;

(5) Description of circumstances creating the emergency;

(6) Date of initial contact by the chartering carrier regarding the charter;

(7) Reasons why the traffic in question was not or could not be carried by other carriers certificated to serve the particular market.

§ 207.11 Charter flight limitations.

(a) Passenger charter flights (trips) in air transportation shall be limited to the. following

(1) Air transportation pursuant to contracts with the Department of Defense where all of that portion of the capacity configured for passengers of an aircraft has been engaged by the Department

(2) Air transportation performed on a time, mileage, or trip basis where all or part of the capacity of an aircraft has been engaged by any of the following persons, except that the passenger charterers must together engage all of that portion of the capacity of the aircraft configured for passengers other than any portion intended by the carrier for direct sales to the general public under paragraph (a)(3) of this section; (i) By a person for his own use (including a direct air carrier or a direct foreign air carrier when such aircraft is engaged solely for the transportation of company personnel and their personal baggage, or in cases of emergency, of commercial traffic: Provided That emergency charters for commercial traffic shall be reported in accordance with § 207.10);

(ii) By a person (no part of whose business is the formation of groups or the consolidation of shipments for transportation or the solicitation or sale of transportation services) for the transportation of a group of persons, as agent or representative of such groun

(iii) By an overseas military personnel charter operator as defined in Part 372 of this chapter.

(iv) By a charter operator or foreign charter operator as defined in Part 380 of this chapter.

(3) Air transportation performed on a time, mileage, or trip basis by a direct air carrier in accordance with Subpart E Any person may engage all or any portion of an aircraft from a direct carrier. However, the direct carrier mus specify in its charter prospectus

T.S. 44

207.12

(380.28) the number of seats available for sale directly to the general public, and if that number is less than the entire capacity of the aircraft configured for passengers, the remaining seats must be engaged as provided in paragraph (a)(2) of this section.

(b)(1) Each person engaging less than the entire capacity of an aircraft for the movement of persons and their persona baggage pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of this section shall contract and pay for 20 or more seats.

(c) Cargo charter flights in air transportation are permitted without limitation, except that emergency charters of commercial traffic by a direct air carrier or a direct foreign air carrier shall be reported in accordance with § 207.10. Charter cargo may be transported both on schedule flights carrying individually-ticketed and/or individually-waybilled traffic and on flights carrying charter traffic only.

shall be refunded. For the purpose of this paragraph payment to the carrier's depository bank, as designated in the charter contract, shall be deemed payment to the carrier.

(c) Where four or more round trip flights per calendar year are conducted on behalf of a chartering organization by a carrier,or carriers, one-way passengers shall not be carried except that up to 5 percent of the charter group may be transported one way in each direction, there shall be no intermingling of passengers and each planeload group, or less than planeload group (see

207.11(a)(3)), shall move as a unit in both directions, except as provided in § 207.14. This provision shall not be construed as permitting knowing participation in any plan whereby each leg of a round trip is chartered separately in order to avoid the 5percent limitation aforesaid

$207.12 [Reserved]

207.13 Terms of service.

(a) [Reserved]

(b) The carrier shall require full payment of the total charter price, including payment for the return portion of a round trip, or the posting of a satisfactory bond for full payment, prior to the commencement of any portion of the air transportation:

Provided, however. That in the case of a passenger charter for less than the entire capacity of an aircraft pursuant to 207.11(a)(3), the carrier shall require full payment of the total charter price, including payment for the return portion of a round trip, from the passenger charterers not less than 10 days prior to the commencement of any portion of the transportation, and such payment shall not be refundable unless the charter is canceled by the carrier or unless the carrier accepts a substitute charterer for one which has canceled a charter, in which case the amount paid by the latter

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(a) A carrier shall be permitted to transport a passenger on a charter flight with a group other than his own or on a ferry flight (as defined in § 241.03 of this subchapter) under the following circumstances:

(1) The passenger was transported by the carrier on an outbound charter flight;

(2) The transportation is for return passage only;

(3) When the passenger is required to return at a different time than his own charter flight due to emergency circumstances beyond the passenger's control; and

(4) The charter group with which the passenger is to travel expresses no objection to his participation in the charter flight.

For the purposes of this paragraph, "emergency circumstances beyond the passenger's control" shall mean illness or injury to the passenger or a member of his immecliate family; death of &

(ER-1190, 9-6-80)

member of the passenger's immediate family; or weather conditions or unforeseeable and unavoidable delays in ground transportation or connecting air transportation.

(b) In cases where such substitute transportation is furnished, the carrier shall file a report with the Director, Bureau of Operating Rights, within 30 days after the substitute transportation is provided setting forth the circumstances of the carriage. Such report shall include the name of the passenger; the name of his chartering organization; the name of the chartering organization with whom he traveled in substitute transportation; the date he was originally scheduled to return and the date on which he actually returned; a description of the circumstances which made the substitute transportation necessary; and the evidence which the carrier obtained to substantiate the need for substitute transportation (e.g., a doctor's certificate).

(a) Neither a carrier nor a travel agent shall make any payments or extend gratuities of any kind, directly or indirectly, to any member of a chartering organization in relation either to air transportation or land tours OI otherwise.

(b) Neither a carrier nor a travel agent shall make any donation to a chartering organization or an individual charter participant.

(c) Nothing in this section shall preclude a carrier from paying a commission (within the limits of §§ 207.23 and 207.52) to a member of a chartering organization if such member is its agent, or restrict a carrier or a travel agent from offering to each member of the charter group such advertising and goodwill items as are customarily extended to individually ticketed passengers (e.g., canvas traveling bag or money exchange computer).

(a) A waiver of any of the provisions of this part may be granted by the Board upon the submission by an air carrier of a written request therefor not less than 30 days prior to the flight to which it relates provided such a waiver is in the public interest and it appears to the Board that special or unusual circumstances warrant a departure from the

provisions set forth herein. Notwithstanding the foregoing, waiver applications filed less than 30 days prior to a flight may be accepted by the Board in emergency situations in which the circumstances warranting a waiver did not exist 30 days before the flight.

(b) A request for a waiver of any of the provisions of § 207.25 shall be accompanied by a list of the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all the passengers on the flight to which the request relates.

§ 207.17 Protection of customers' deposits.

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, no air carrier shall perform any charter trip (over than & cargo charter trip) originating in the United States or any overseas military personnel charter trip, as defined in Part 372 of this chapter, nor shall such air carrier accept any advance payment in connection with any such charter trip, unless there is on file with the Board a copy of a currently effective agreement made between said carrier and a designated bank, by the terms of which all sums payable in advance to the carrier by charterers, in connection with such charter trip to be performed by said carrier, shall be deposited with and maintained by the bank, as escrow holder, the agreement to be subject to the following conditions:

(1) The charterer (or its agent) shall pay the carrier either by check or money order made payable to the depository bank. Such check or money order and any cash received by the carrier from a charterer (or his agent) shall be deposited in, or mailed to, the bank no later than the close of the business day following the receipt of the check or money order or the cash, along with a statement showing the name and address of the charterer (or his agent): Provided, how ever, That where the charter transportation to be performed by a carrier is sold through a travel agent, the agent may be authorized by the carrier to deduct his commission and remit the balance of the advance payment to the carrier either by check or money order made payable to the designated bank.

(2) The bank shall pay over to the carrier escrowed funds with respect to a specific charter only after the carrier has certified in writing to the bank that such charter has been completed: Provided, however, That the bank may be required by the terms of the agreement to pay over to the carrier, upon the latter's written certification that the outbound segment of a round-trip charter has been completed, a specified portion of such escrowed funds representing the amount of the charter price allocable to such seg

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(3) Refunds to a charterer from sums in the escrow account shall be paid directly to such charterer or its assigns. Upon written certification from the carrier that a charter has been canceled, the bank shall turn over directly to the charterer or its assigns all escrowed sums (less any cancellation penalties, as provided in the charter contract) which the bank holds with respect to such canceled charter: Provided, however, That, in the case of a charter for less than the entire capacity of an aircraft (see § 207.11(c)) escrowed funds shall be turned over to a charterer or its assigns only if the carrier's written certification of cancellation of such charter includes a specific representation that either the charter has been canceled by the carrier or, if the charter has been canceled by the charterer, that the carrier has accepted a substitute charterer. (4) The bank shall maintain a separate accounting for each charter flight.

(5) As used in this section the term "bank" means a bank, savings and loan institution, or other financial institution insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation.

(b) The escrow agreement required under paragraph (a) shall not be effective until approved by the Board. Claims against the escrow may be made only with respect to nonperformance of air transportation.

(c) The carrier may elect, in lieu of furnishing an escrow agreement pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section, to furnish and file with the Board a surety bond which guarantees to the United States Government the performance of all charter trips (other than cargo charter trips) originating in the United States and of all overseas military personnel charter trips, as defined in Part 372 of this chapter, to be performed in whole or in part by the carrier pursuant to any contract entered into by such carrier after the execution date of the bond. The amount of such bond shall be unlimited. Claims under the bond may be made only with respect to the nonperformance of air transportation.

(d) The bond permitted by paragraph (c) of this section shall be in the form set forth as Appendix A to this part. Such bond shall be issued by a bonding or surety company (1) whose surety bonds are accepted by the Interstate Commerce Commission under 49 CFR 1084.6; or (2) which is listed in Best's Insurance Reports (Fire and Casualty) with a general policyholder's rating of "A" or better. The bonding or surety company shall be one legally authorized to issue bonds of that type in the State in which the carrier is incorporated or in which it maintains its principal place of business. For the purposes of this section, the term "State" includes any territory or possession of the United States, or the District of Columbia. If the bond

Ed. 12/77