Notice to industry: Reminder to air carriers to file tariff amendments by February 15, 2015

The Canadian transportation Agency's interline baggage rules approach for air carriers was clearly specified in Decision 144-A-2014 and Order No. 2014-A-158.

To summarize, these rules are effective for tickets issued on or after April 1, 2015, when participating in an interline itinerary issued on a single ticket, where the origin or ultimate destination is a point in Canada. This approach requires that:

• a single set of baggage rules be applied to the entire itinerary; and,
• the baggage rules be disclosed to the passenger.

The Agency’s decision provides for a harmonized North American approach with respect to how baggage rules should be applied and is consistent with the United States Department of Transportation’s (U.S. DOT) baggage rules requirements.

To align with the Agency’s approach, carriers involved in interline arrangements must reflect in their tariffs how they will:

• select the baggage rules applicable to an interline itinerary;
• apply the baggage rules selected by another carrier participating in an interline itinerary; and
• disclose the applicable baggage rules to a passenger on any summary page at the end of an online purchase and on e-tickets.

Subsection 115(1) of the Air Transportation Regulations (ATR) requires that every tariff or amendment to a tariff be filed with the Agency at least 45 days before the tariff or amendment comes into force. Filing of the amended tariff by February 15, 2015 will allow carriers to have their interline baggage rules in effect in time to apply the Agency's approach for tickets issued on or after April 1, 2015.

For assistance in establishing interline baggage rules tariff information, carriers may refer to the Agency's Sample Tariff.

For information concerning how air carriers and ticket sellers should disclose the applicable baggage rules to passengers, or for additional information concerning the Agency's approach for interline and code-share baggage rules, please consult the Interline Baggage Rules for Canada: Interpretation Note.

Carriers are advised that failure to file interline baggage rule provisions that reflect the Agency's decision 144-A-2014 may result in enforcement action.

For further information:

Canadian Transportation Agency
Ottawa, ON K1A 0N9
Tel.: 1-888-222-2595
TTY: 1-800-669-5575
Web:  www.otc-cta.gc.ca
E-mail:  info@otc-cta.gc.ca