DOT Fines United Airlines for Failure to Disclose Code Sharing

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has assessed a civil penalty against United Airlines for failing to disclose to consumers when flights sold by the carrier were being operated under a code-sharing arrangement. United was ordered to cease and desist from further violations and assessed a civil penalty of $80,000.

Under code sharing, a carrier will sell tickets on flights that use its designator code but are operated by a separate airline. DOT rules require airlines to disclose to consumers, before they book a flight, if the flight is operated under a code-sharing arrangement. The disclosure must include the corporate name of the transporting carrier and any other name under which the flight is offered to the public.

The Department’s Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings made a number of telephone calls to United’s reservations line this past January to determine if the carrier’s employees were advising consumers of code-sharing arrangements as required by the regulations. The Enforcement Office found that United’s reservations agents failed to disclose code-sharing during a substantial number of those calls.