The U.S. Department of Transportation has given the public three more weeks to comment on a proposed rewrite of how airlines and ticket sellers may advertise air fares.
A July 31, 2026 Federal Register notice extends the comment deadline on the Enhancing Flexibility of Air Fare Price Advertising notice of proposed rulemaking from July 31, 2026, to August 21, 2026.
The extension is not a final rule. It keeps open a live window for travelers, consumer groups, airlines, and travel tech firms to file on docket DOT-OST-2025-0831 before DOT decides what advertising rules change next.
- Agency: U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of the Secretary.
- New deadline: Comments now close August 21, 2026, instead of July 31, 2026.
- Docket: DOT-OST-2025-0831 on regulations.gov.
- Proposal stakes: Full-fare display rules, component prominence, and nine advertising guidance documents.
- Traveler job: Comment if fare-ad clarity matters to you; keep reading total prices until any final rule changes the market.
What DOT extended and why
DOT published the underlying NPRM on July 1, 2026, with a 30-day comment period that was set to end July 31, 2026.
Airlines for America asked on July 20 for 21 more days, citing complex price-advertising and constitutional issues and saying the Regulatory Impact Analysis was not yet in the docket.
Southwest Airlines asked on July 22 for the same 21-day extension and flagged the possible recission of nine guidance documents plus discussion of repealing the full fare rule as highly disruptive.
The Travel Technology Association asked on July 28 for 30 days, citing the range of changes and the late RIA posting.
DOT says it received no comments opposing an extension, posted the RIA on July 24, 2026, and granted a 21-day extension to August 21, 2026.
Late-filed comments will be considered to the extent practicable, according to the Federal Register notice.
What the July 1 proposal would change
The NPRM would amend DOT air fare advertising rules to allow the total fare, including taxes and fees, to be displayed with the same prominence as any individual components.
It also proposes eliminating a prescriptive rule that components of a fare may not be presented in the same or larger size as the total price.
DOT further proposes rescinding nine air fare price advertising guidance documents that it now describes as outdated, unnecessary, or de facto regulations issued without full notice-and-comment procedure.
Separately, the Department solicited comment on whether to repeal the full fare rule that requires the advertised price of passenger air transportation to be the entire price the consumer will pay, including taxes.
DOT did not propose specific rule text for a full repeal in the same package, and it noted that a provision of the Internal Revenue Code already sets standards for displaying taxes in air transportation advertisements.
Until a final rule publishes, the current full-fare advertising framework remains the baseline travelers should assume when they shop.
Why this matters for fare shoppers now
For more than a decade, the full fare rule has pushed airlines and OTAs to show an all-in price early in the shopping path rather than a bare base fare plus tax footnotes.
A looser prominence standard or a repeal fight would change how sticky base fares, carrier-imposed charges, and government taxes appear on search results and mobile cards.
Travelers who compare fares only by the first number on a results page could see more fragmented displays if advertisers gain flexibility, even when the legal total remains required somewhere on the page.
Consumer groups and individual travelers can use the open docket to document confusion, dark patterns, or helpful redesigns with screenshots and itineraries from current shopping tools.
Fare product choices still matter after price display. Deep Arrival's Basic Economy versus Main Cabin 2026 guide covers what the cheapest branded fare gives up once you click through an advertised total.
For American inventory specifically, the American Basic Economy versus Main Cabin page remains the product layer after you lock a displayed total fare.
How to file a useful comment before August 21
Open the docket on regulations.gov under DOT-OST-2025-0831 and follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
The Federal Register notice also lists mail and hand-delivery options at DOT Docket Management Facility in Washington, DC, for people who cannot file online.
Useful traveler comments pair a concrete shopping path with evidence: the first price shown, the all-in total, taxes, carrier charges, and any size or color hierarchy that hid the total.
Include the booking date, route, and tool name so reviewers can tell whether the example is an airline site, an OTA, a metasearch, or a mobile app card.
Privacy rules apply. Comments are public, so strip names, confirmation codes, and payment details before you upload screenshots.
If you represent a group, state that clearly and keep the traveler impact front and center rather than filing only a legal abstract.
What is confirmed versus still undecided
Confirmed in the July 31 notice: the comment period for the July 1 NPRM is extended to August 21, 2026, after A4A, Southwest, and Travel Tech extension requests.
Also confirmed: DOT posted its Regulatory Impact Analysis to the docket on July 24, 2026, later than the NPRM itself.
Still undecided: whether DOT will keep, loosen, or rewrite full-fare advertising requirements, and whether it will rescind all nine guidance documents.
Still undecided: whether a future proposal will attempt to repeal the full fare rule outright or only adjust prominence and guidance around the current total-price framework.
For day-to-day booking through August, travelers should still expect current full-fare advertising rules to govern public ads until DOT issues a final action.
- August 21 close: File comments on DOT-OST-2025-0831 before the extended deadline.
- RIA review: Stakeholders are still digesting the analysis DOT posted July 24.
- Full fare debate: Watch whether DOT moves from soliciting repeal ideas to proposing specific repeal text.
- Guidance recission: Nine advertising guidance documents remain on the table for removal.
- No final rule yet: Shopping tools should still obey current full-fare advertising law until DOT finishes.
If you only need a practical booking habit while the docket stays open, keep capturing the total price, the base fare, and the tax line on the same screenshot before you pay.
That record is useful for both personal disputes and any comment you file on how displays actually work in the wild.
Practical shopping habits while the docket is open
Sort and filter tools still optimize for the first number on a card, so force the total into view before you rank options.
When two carriers look 20 dollars apart on base fare, open both checkout totals and compare bag, seat, and change rules before you commit.
Save the final payment page total, not only the search-result teaser, especially on multi-city and mixed-cabin itineraries.
If an ad shows a component as large as the total, document it now with a dated screenshot while current rules still apply.
Those records help personal refund disputes and give the docket concrete examples rather than abstract preference statements.
When do comments on the air fare advertising NPRM close?
August 21, 2026, according to the July 31 Federal Register extension notice.
Did DOT already change how fares must be advertised?
No. The July 31 action only extends the comment period on a proposal published July 1.
What is the full fare rule at stake?
It generally requires the advertised price of air transportation to be the entire price the consumer will pay, including taxes, under current DOT practice.
Who asked for more time?
Airlines for America, Southwest Airlines, and the Travel Technology Association filed extension requests in July 2026.
Where do travelers file comments?
On regulations.gov under docket DOT-OST-2025-0831, or by the mail and hand-delivery paths listed in the Federal Register notice.
