Under the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, the FAA required the Aviation Administration to initiate a rulemaking to require air carriers conducting domestic, flag, and supplemental operations to make available on their websites information meant to enable passengers to determine which child safety seats can be used on aircraft in these operations.
To fulfill the requirements of the Act, on April 1, 2014, the FAA issued a notice of proposed rulemaking which will require air carriers operating under 14 CFR part 121 that have websites to post on their websites information regarding aircraft seat dimensions. Specifically, affected air carriers must post the width of the widest passenger seat in each class of service for each airplane make, model and series operated in passenger-carrying operations that the air carrier permits to be used to accommodate a CRS. By requiring air carriers to make this information available, the agency expects caregivers to have more information about whether a specific CRS can be used on the aircraft on which they expect to travel.
Current regulations regarding the use of a child restraint system (CRS) on airplanes operating under part 121 are found in Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) ยง 121.311. Under the current rules air carriers are not required to disclose seat dimension information on their websites. The FAA believes that some caregivers choose not to travel with a CRS due to concern that the seat will not fit the particular equipment being flown. According to the FAA, this rule will benefit caregivers by making seat dimension information accessible, which in turn will allow them to determine if a particular CRS will fit in a seat of an aircraft. A caregiver may be inclined to purchase a separate ticket for a child knowing that the child can be secured in a CRS during flight.
The FAA emphasized that this NPRM proposes an information disclosure requirement only. It does not propose to create any new operational requirements for air carriers or flight attendants. It does
not change any existing provisions regarding the use of CRSs on board airplanes or existing regulations regarding passengers under the age of 2 traveling on board airplanes with or without the use of a CRS.
In addition, the FAA notes that the proposal does not require an air carrier to identify the specific airplane that it will use on a given flight. Finally, the FAA noted that while this rule requires air
carriers to post certain information to their websites, it does not require air carriers that do not have websites to establish a website for the purposes of this rule.
The FAA recognizes that different operators will need different lengths of time to comply with this regulation due to variations in information technology systems, variations in the data that is currently published, and the range of numbers of airplane make, model and series in each operator's fleet. Therefore, the FAA is proposing an effective date of 150 days after the date of publication of the final rule in the Federal Register. Compliance would be required on the effective date. The FAA seeks comment regarding the proposed effective date.
The FAA is inviting commenters to address whether they agree with the approach taken in the NPRM. Comments must be submitted on or before June 30, 2014. The FAA will file in the docket (FAA-2014-0205) all comments it receives, as well as a report summarizing each substantive public contact with FAA personnel concerning this proposed rulemaking.
For more information on the proposed rulemaking and submitting comments, please contact Glenn Wicks or Ronce Almond at (202) 457-7790.