WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department advocated near-complete
deregulation of GDSs, saying the existing regulations have proven
ineffective and costly for consumers.
In its final comments on the Transportation Department's plan to
rewrite the rules, the Justice Department also said the airlines'
growing use of the Internet has created some distribution
competition.
"[The] DOT therefore should rely largely on market forces to
lower costs and improve service quality in the distribution of
airline tickets," the DOJ said.
The DOJ said it agreed with the DOT that GDSs continue to have
market power over airlines but said it has seen "no evidence that
regulations designed to erode that power have succeeded in the past
or are likely to improve the situation in the future."
The DOJ, however, did recommend keeping the rules against
display bias because those rules appear to have helped consumers
without "harmful side effects."
The DOJ's suggestions came amid a flurry of last-minute filings
to meet the DOT's June 9 deadline for final comments.
Among them was a letter from the Senate Committee on Small
Business and Entrepreneurship, calling for a more detailed analysis
of the GDS rules' impact on small businesses, particularly small
agencies.
The letter was signed by committee chair Sen. Olympia Snowe
(R-Maine) and ranking minority member Sen. John Kerry
(D-Mass.).
Also, Travelers First -- an eclectic coalition of consumer,
business and other interest groups -- got some travel agents to
sign on to a June 10 letter to President Bush urging deregulation
with assurances of enforcement of existing antitrust and consumer
protection.
The DOT is expected to issue final rules before Jan. 31, when
the current rules expire.