FY23 ARC JOFOC.pdf

Justification for Other than Full & Open Competition

1. Identification of the agency and contracting agency:

Contracting activity Customer agency

Department of Labor Department of Labor

OSPE BLS/OPLC, PPI

200 Constitution Ave NW 2 Massachusetts Ave, NE.

Washington, DC 20210 Washington, DC 20212

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved:

This justification authorizes and approves the issuance of a purchase order with a base year of

September 29, 2023 – September 28, 2024 and one twelve-month option year of September 29, 2024

– September 28, 2025. The PPI Program Office has a need to purchase aggregated current month airline price data to research the feasibility of replacing some traditionally collected price data from respondents with similar data purchased from a vendor. This data would potentially be used in the calculation of PPI published indexes in the future.

3. Description of supplies/services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the estimated value):

The vendor will provide two monthly files of aggregated revenue and passenger data representing at least 60% of U.S. airline passenger trips: one with data for US airlines/carriers exclusively, based on

Departure Date and one with data for US and foreign airlines/carriers, based on Date of Issue. The following variables will be included in the files:

• Origin and Destination Airport

• Cabin Class (first class and coach)

• Trip Type, (one-way or roundtrip)

• Transaction Code, (New Sale = I, Exchange = E, Refund = R

• Departure Month

• Fare in USD

• Tax in USD

• Passenger count

The Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE) for the base year of this contract is $66,000. The pricing for the option period was estimated to increase 5% to $69, 300 based upon an estimated inflation factor. The total estimated price is $135,300.

4. An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition:

Identification of the justification rationale is FAR 6.302-1, “Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.” Market research showed that Airlines

Reporting Corporation (ARC) is the only vendor that will be able to provide this data. A RFI for these requirements was published on sam.gov and eBuy in July 2023. No responses were received.

5. A demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited:

ARC is the only firm known with the capability to provide the requested data/services. ARC is the only known provider of this data at the necessary detail and is the only provider that would be able to provide current month data in a timely manner each month. ARC is also the only known firm to provide data for at least 60% of U.S. airline flights. See number 8 below.

6. A description of efforts to obtain competition to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by subpart 5.2 and if not, which exception under 5.202 applies:

DOL/BLS has surveyed the market through internet searches over the last year and from industry trade groups (Airlines for America (A4A)) and has been unsuccessful in finding other sources that could provide the unique and highly specialized data that meets PPI requirements. See #8 below.

7. A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the government will be fair and reasonable:

The Contracting Officer will ensure that the anticipated cost is fair and reasonable based upon historical purchases, market research and other various methods to determine price reasonableness.

8. A description of market research conducted (part 10) and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted:

The BLS/OPLC reviewed 3 potential data sources to determine the most accurate and detailed data set. The potential sources include Department of Transportation (DOT), Semi Automated Business

Research Environment (SABRE) and Airlines Reporting Corporation. The DOT prices are lagged 3-

4 months and represent only a 10 percent sample of airline tickets. The SABRE data consists of offered prices, there is no information available on whether the tickets were actually purchased. The

ARC data is timely and covers approximately 60 percent of the airline markets. The ARC data is the most comprehensive data set available as it includes micro level transaction price data for both ticketed and flown passengers and able to be accessed monthly in a timely manner to publish the

BLS monthly indexes without the need for revisions. The other data sets could not meet these same requirements.

No other additional potential data sources were identified.

9. Any other supporting facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition:

N/A

10. A listing of sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition:

Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) has provided pricing for historical data and is capable and interested in providing the requirement.

11. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required:

BLS will continue to perform market research and survey the market to determine if there are any capable vendors that can provide the required services.