The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings (Aviation Enforcement Office) recenty filed a formal complaint with the Department’s Office of Hearings against Delta Air Lines (Delta), alleging that the carrier violated the requirement that airlines and ticket agents give notice that a flight will be operated by an airline’s code-share partner.

According to the complaint, Delta telephone reservation agents failed to disclose required code-share information during telephone calls to prospective consumers during 2013 and 2014. The complaint further alleges that Delta violated a 2010 order directing it to cease and desist from further code-share violations. Delta could be fined up to $660,000 if found responsible for these violations.

Code-sharing is a common industry practice in which an airline sells seats on flights using its own designator code, but the flights are operated by a separate airline. This action is part of an ongoing effort by the Department’s Aviation Enforcement Office to ensure that airlines and ticket agents comply with the code-share disclosure rules that promote transparency in the airline industry.

The Aviation Enforcement Office filed its complaint after settlement negotiations to resolve the matter proved unsuccessful. Details of the complaint are available at www.regulations.gov, docket DOT-OST-2014-0229.

The Aviation Enforcement Office takes enforcement action when necessary against companies that sell air transportation based on complaints and the Office’s own internal investigations, and has issued fines against airlines and ticket agents for code-sharing violations since 2011 totaling nearly $1.6 million. Delta has 15 days to file an answer responding to the allegations.