Mark Pestronk
Q: From time to time, our agency's travel advisors are contacted by prospective travelers with disabilities who want us to book their travel. I understand that, as a retail business, we are subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) so we cannot discriminate against such clients and must make reasonable accommodations if they want to visit our office or communicate with us. However, I understand that there are a lot more laws and regulations that apply to airlines, including making special arrangements for them to travel in some instances and tailoring websites so that they are accessible. Are travel agencies, as agents for the airlines, also subject to any of those airline laws and regulations?
A: The DOT apparently intended that the airline rules apply to travel agencies, but they do not in fact apply. Therefore, you are subject only to the ADA, with one small exception.
The federal statute that requires airlines to accommodate the needs of disabled airline travelers is the Air Carrier Access Act of 1986, which mandated that the DOT issue rules to protect airline passengers with disabilities. The DOT finally got around to issuing those rules 22 years later, in Part 382 of its regulations.
Part 382 is over 25,000 words long. You would have to be an expert in disability law to maintain familiarity with all the detailed requirements of the rules.
Does Part 382 apply to travel agencies? Apparently, the DOT wanted them to apply, as one rule states: "As a U.S. carrier, you must also include such an assurance of compliance in your contracts or agreements of appointment with U.S. travel agents."
Oddly, there is no such "assurance" in effect in any "contract or agreement" today. ARC did include the following in the Agent Reporting Agreement (ARA) starting in 2008: "In accordance with the Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 and 14 C.F.R. Part 382, the agent shall not discriminate on the basis of handicap in performing services for air carriers subject to said Act."
The same sentence appears in the 2010 version of the ARA, but by the time the 2013 version appeared, the clause was gone, never to return. Nor can you find it anywhere in the Industry Agent's Handbook, the 254-page document that is legally a part of the ARA.
Getting back to the ADA, what are your obligations? First, the Act applies only if you have 15 or more employees, no matter where they are located. Even if all 15 work from home, the law still applies.
You can find a good guide for travel agencies in the travel and tour agents section of the Access Equals Opportunity page.
Finally, a special DOT regulation applies to operators of travel websites if your annual revenue exceeds $25 million. "Revenue" is measured as your commissions and fees, not your sales.
The website rule is that, if you offer Web-only fares, and if a prospective client is unable to use your website because of a disability, then you must offer the fares through other channels, such as the phone.