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If you are an FAS employee,
regulatory compliance will be
reviewed by the International
Travel Section (ITS) prior to
releasing your passport.
GovTrip
Authorization
Itinerary and your travel
authorization to verify that you
are authorized to travel to the
specified destinations and that
you are doing so from your
assigned duty station.
Contract
Carriers
Federal employees must use U.S.
certified air carriers which are
under contract with the
Government to furnish Federal
employees and other persons
authorized to travel at
Government expense with
passenger transportation
services.
It also includes
reviewing compliance related to
non-contract and non-American
(Foreign Flag) carriers.
ITS may ask you or your
Travel Arranger for more
information regarding your
travel plans if they find your
justifications to be
insufficient.
Please follow the instructions
in the
How to Guide for Complying
with International Travel
Regulations to comply with FAS regulatory compliance review for your
international travel.
Country
Clearance
International travel must be
cleared in the country of
destination to ensure that all
post responsibilities, including
official traveler support, can
be carried out effectively and
to protect your health and
welfare while in official travel
status.
You CANNOT travel without an
approved
Country Clearance (eCC) from the Post.
Other than
Economy-/Coach-Class
Transportation
FAS directive,
PREMIUM CLASS TRAVEL:
Policy and Procedures for FAS
and FAS Sponsored Travel, requires economy-/coach-class travel
accommodations be used when
performing official government
travel. Other Than
Economy-/Coach-Class
Transportation (any travel other
than economy-/coach-class) at
government expense is permitted
on an exception basis only.
The use of the
Other Than
Economy-/Coach-Class
Transportation Approval
Checklist is required when making a determination on authorization/approval
for the use of Other Than
Economy-/Coach-Class
Transportation. The checklist
must be used and submitted as
part of the approval
documentation and serves as a
record of accountability in
which the Approving Official
must certify that all decision
factors and other alternatives
were considered prior to
recommending approval. Important
items to note:
- Authorization
must be obtained on a
case-by-case basis.
- Blanket
authorization and justification
for Other Than
Economy-/Coach-Class Travel is
prohibited.
-
Other Than
Economy-/Coach-Class
Transportation must be
authorized in advance of the
travel. If extenuating
circumstances or emergency
situations prevent advanced
authorization, a traveler has 7
days within the completion of
travel to obtain approval.
-
Other Than
Economy-/Coach-Class
Transportation, due to a medical
disability/special need, may
only be used when there is no
other means to accommodate a
traveler’s condition, such as
bulkhead/aisle seating or use of
two adjoining seats. A
traveler’s condition must be
certified by a competent medical
authority and authorized by an
authorizing official.
- Failure to
receive approval for Other Than
Economy-/Coach-Class
Transportation may result in a
traveler being financially
responsible for costs over the
economy/coach airfare.
In addition, the traveler is
required to fill-out a
Premium Class Approval form and a
Premium Class Cost
Comparison form.
Actual
Subsistence
Actual subsistence is the actual costs of lodging and/or meals that exceed the GSA established per diem rate. Actual subsistence must be authorized in advance of travel on a trip-by-trip authorization. Employees should make every effort to obtain lodging at the established rate. For a complete list of domestic per diem rates by location go to the U.S. General Services Administration and for international per diem rates go to the U.S. Department of State.
The steps needed to complete
this request in GovTrip and how
to edit the per diem amounts to
the actual cost incurred are
explained in the
Actual Subsistence attachment.
Restricted
Airfares
The Federal Travel Regulation
(FTR) requires that employees
who are traveling on official
business use Government contract
airfare unless an exemption
applies. One exemption is when a
lower cost airfare is available.
Because of the need for
flexibility for last minute
cancellations and changes, the
FTR allows the use of
non-refundable/restricted
airfares (non-government
contracted airfares) in limited
situations.
Non-refundable/restricted fares
require immediate ticketing.
When an authorizing official
approves the use of
non-refundable/restricted fares,
the agency is committed to
paying for the cost of the
ticket immediately, even if the
travel is subsequently canceled.
As a result, upon ticketing, the
cost of the
non-refundable/restricted fare
results in a non-cancelable
obligation on the part of the
Government.
GSA Controlled
City Pair Fares – You can also significantly
reduce airfare costs by either
choosing GSA Contract City Pair
Fares or GSA City Pair Fares
w/Capacity Limits.
Ask your Agency Travel
Coordinator for guidance on
using restricted fares, or visit
the Federal Travel Regulations
for a list of exceptions to the
use of a contract city-pair
fare.
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