Special Event Tours

PART 381—SPECIAL EVENT TOURS

§ 381.1 Purpose.

The purpose of this part is ensure that air travelers who have purchased tours to special events will receive the promised admission to the event. This part expands the “Super Bowl rule” to other events.

§ 381.3 Applicability.

This part applies to Special Event Tours that are in interstate air transportation, or in foreign air transportation originating at a point in the United States. This part applies to U.S. and foreign operators of Special Event Tours, whether they be air carriers or ticket agents. This part applies to scheduled, charter, and other air transportation.

§ 381.5 Definition.

Special Event Tour means a tour that is organized for the purpose of attending a sporting, social, religious, educational, cultural, political or other event of a special nature and limited duration, which exists for reasons apart from the tour itself, and which is represented by the operator of the tour as including admission to that event. Examples of such events include, but are not limited to, college and professional sporting events, the Olympics, concerts, the Passion Play in Oberammergau, etc.

§ 381.7 Advertising.

No operator of a Special Event Tour or agent of such an operator shall conduct, or cause or allow to be conducted, any advertising, solicitation or other promotion for a Special Event Tour unless:

(a) The operator is in physical possession of enough tickets for admission to the event to provide such tickets for a substantial number of seats on the tour; or

(b) The operator has entered into a written contract with an organization that is the distributor of such tickets or an organization that receives such tickets directly from the distributor (e.g., a bowl committee; football conference, league or team; concert promoter or arena; etc.), the terms of which provide for that organization to furnish the operator enough admission tickets to provide such tickets for a substantial number of seats on the tour; or

(c) The operator has entered into a written contract with another person or organization that has a written contract or series of written contracts with the distributor of such tickets or with an organization that receives such tickets directly from the distributor, the terms of which provide for that organization (the organization with which the operator has contracted) to furnish the operator enough admission tickets to provide such tickets for a substantial number of seats on the tour.

§ 381.9 Sales.

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section:

(1) No operator of a Special Event Tour shall accept money for a seat on a Special Event Tour, or authorize an agent to accept such money, unless the operator has physical possession of, or written contracts (in the manner described in § 381.7) for, a ticket for admission to the event for that individual. To the extent that the operator receives an unsolicited booking for which the operator does not have physical possession of or written contracts for a ticket for admission to the event, any payment accompanying that booking must be returned within 3 business days.

(2) Upon acceptance of the money for a sale, the operator must reserve one event ticket for that individual. An operator may not sell more seats on the tour than it has event tickets in hand or under contract. (An operator need not continue to reserve an event ticket for an individual who withdraws from the tour by providing notice to the operator or by being notified by the operator that the individual's participation has been canceled due to failure to remit a required installment payment.)

(b) An operator of a Special Event Tour may accept a booking and payment from an individual for whom the operator does not have an event ticket in hand or under contract if that individual agrees in writing that he or she understands that no event ticket has been reserved for him or her. This agreement shall specify whether the person has agreed to participate in the tour without an event ticket and/or the operator has agreed to attempt to acquire an event ticket for this person. If the two parties agree that the operator will attempt to acquire an event ticket, the agreement shall specify any penalties that will apply if the individual later cancels because an event ticket did not become available. If the operator notifies this person that an event ticket has become available, that person shall enjoy all the other protections of this part from that time.

§ 381.11 Refunds.

If promised admission to the primary event for which a Special Event Tour was organized is not furnished by the tour operator, at the tour price agreed to before departure (including any increases that the participant has accepted pursuant to § 381.13(a)), the operator must provide each tour participant affected in this way a refund of the total tour price. This refund is to be provided within 14 calendar days after the scheduled return date of the tour.

§ 381.13 Price increases.

(a) Should the tour operator increase a participant's tour price by more than 10 percent (aggregate of all increases to that participant), that participant shall have the option of canceling his or her participation in the tour and receiving a full refund within 14 days after the cancellation.

(b) The tour operator shall not increase the tour price to any participant less than ten days before departure.