One of the goals of the President’s Management Agenda E-Gov Travel Service was to provide a cost savings to the agencies. The agencies can only achieve these cost savings by promoting and encouraging self-service reservations whenever possible. A simple trip from Washington Dulles to Atlanta should not require agent intervention. Yet it does even if booked online, because the City Pair carrier is Air Tran. It is conceded that Air Tran and another similar carrier, Jet Blue offer very low city pair fares, some of the lowest in all the markets. In this day and age of automation and 3GB I-phones, a Government traveler should be able to book any city pair fare online as a self-service transaction.

by Jacqueline Lynch

By:  J Borja,

Disclaimer: The contents of this message are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the Government or my agency

In the old days and before the 1978 Airlines Deregulation Act, the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) used to decide the fares between any two cities. They decided which airline flew from/to cities and how much they should charge.

Well, the 1978Airline Deregulation Act changed the dynamics and working ways of the airline industry. It allowed airlines to decide where to fly and how much they can charge. Competition was the name of the game.

What was the government reaction to the deregulation act?

In 1980, the government using the sheer volume of business it controls was able to negotiate and establish “government fares or CITY PAIR PROGRAM”. “Fly America Act” requires the use of US flag carriers or US Code Share flights.

These fares were to become the backbone of huge savings for the government and were published under the code of YCA. (Special government Business Class fare was also established to be used under special circumstances). TMC /CTO’s can report all government travels easy now with the use of E-Ticketing. These fares are very low, based on one way and very flexible and fully refundable.

The government also looked into the accommodation of the staff on duty and their use of car rentals & established rules and regulations about their use with additional benefits to government travelers.

The government requires from hotel/car rental companies to provide usage reports to DTMO.

On top of that, the government established Per Diem expenses for TDY allowances published in the FTR. Those rates are reviewed and adjusted by 3 entities:

• GSA for CONUS
• DoD for Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and any other non-foreign location
• The Department of State for OCONUS

Electronic Travel Systems:

Both the Dept. of Defense & GSA decided to invest and establish new electronic systems utilizing the new technology breakthroughs. A new Defense Travel System (DTS) by the DoD for the use of Military personnel and the E-GOV (or ETS) by GSA were developed for use of civilian government employees.

Federal Travelers are required by law to use Travel Management Service (TMS); otherwise they will be responsible for any cost associated with not using the system.

Chapter 301 from the FTR describes the minimum capabilities of the system which basically include the availability of Travel Management Center (TMC) or Commercial Ticket Office (CTO) to perform: Bookings, lodging and car rentals. In addition to basic management reporting system  providing for example number of bookings by type of service (carrier, lodging & car rental) and compliance with policy and reasons for non compliance , statistics on origin/destinations, number of lodging nights and where & locations of car rentals used. The last thing is possibility of reconciliation of charges on CBA and refund tracking and processing.

After airlines stopped paying the TMC’s commission, the TMC’s established 2 methods of collecting fees for their work; Transaction Fees (fees on each action they take) or Administration Fees (a lump sum for all their actions say during a month).

Contracting:

The DoD issue an RFP and GSA Travel Services Solutions (TSS) Multiple Award Schedule (MAS). The awarding of services will go to the winners with the experience, professional accreditation and specific capabilities.

The other method of contracting is Full & Open competition for TMC or CTO to conduct Government travel services. Government will issue a task force order sent to 3 schedule contractors for bids. The best one with value and price is usually selected. Also the Government will always put aside some contracts for small businesses. The TSS Schedule RFP means travel agents have 90-120 days to respond to a bid.

Once TMCs/CTOs are functioning then they will be using GDS which are called front office. TMCs/CTOs reporting systems linked to GDS data like: Airline ticketing, Hotel Bookings, Car Rentals, Destinations, Fares and other data like CPP usage, CPP expense, unused tickets to provide full reporting to the government.

Payment Methods:

Beside GTR (Government Transportation Request), which is being phased out as a method of payment, a new law was introduced in 1998, to mandate the use of charge cards to pay for travel expenses; thus the GSA SmartPay was introduced.

The SmartPay cards are uniquely numbered for recognition as Government issued charge cards. Cards issued to agencies or organizations are called CBA (Centrally Billed Accounts- liability rest with the government) and those issued to individuals are called IBA (Individual Billing Accounts- liability rests with the individual).

Enhancements & benefits of using these cards include: one method of payment, minimize cash advances, Electronic Payments to vendors and Electronic reimbursement to travelers, tracking data, faster transactions, new look with anti-misuse / abuse features & increased security methods such as email supervisor once card is used. Airlines will only issue tickets with Government/military fares against these cards.

Frequent Flyer Program:

Government employees are allowed to accumulate either miles on airlines or points at hotels/cars.

Conclusion:

Whoever wants to be a travel manager or a government travel professional must have a ticketing/reservation background and master all the information mentioned above from all the sources that deal with government travel from web training to access to all the government travel rules published. He should have high ethics and communicate clearly and effectively with all government individual travelers and branch managers. Well versed in dealing with the DTS/ETS SYSTEMS for authorization and issuance of vouchers.

By:  Metri Altwal

Did you know?

•         GSA provides the City Pair Program for the federal government.

•         Usually remains the same for the entire period of the contract (typically one year)

•         The City Pair Program saves money

•         There are no penalties for cancellations or changes in itinerary

•         Advance purchases are not required

•         There is last seat availability

•         The tickets are fully refundable

•         Fares are priced on one –way routes permitting multiple destinations planning

•         The two basic fare codes that identify the GSA City airfare are YCA and-CA

Our travelers are mandated to use City Pair Program unless otherwise authorized. The Defense Travel System actually triggers an audit flag which ask you to explain why you didn’t take a contract flight. There are always exceptions. Our travelers are allowed to use non-contract fares only if meets the mission of our agency or if space is not available on a scheduled contract flight.  GSA cannot require a carrier add non-stop service. This is because while the City Pair program has sales well over $1 billion per year, it still represents only about 2% of the airlines business. If the commercial traffic warrants it, a carrier will not add a new route or improve service levels for the government. Although, non-stop service is well favored, it is not always available or the best value.

By: Stacey Clark

The E-Gov Travel Service (ETS) vendors include Carlson Wagonlit Government Travel’s E2 Solutions, EDS’s FedTraveler and Northrop Grumman Mission System’s GovTrip. The vendor hosts and maintains the software and GSA administers the contract. This service replaces more than 250 different travel booking, authorization and financial systems and cuts costs by an estimated 50% saving $450 million over 10 years.
In order for the continued success of this initiative, all parties must work together to achieve the vision and goals of E-Gov Travel. At my agency, we place great value in building strong, meaningful relationships with industry leaders. We establish partnerships with entities that can complement our travel program, understand Government requirements, and promote good government practices and processes. We view our partnerships as additional resources for our agency and recognize the value of all parties working closely together.

The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States Government. The new model aligns all of GSA travel programs including Fedrooms, the Government’s premiere lodging program; the Government City Pair Program, which offers Government travelers lower airfare and other benefits; and the GSA Travel Charge Card Program. GSA also sets the Continental United States (CONUS) per diem and Privately Owned Vehicle (POV) mileage rates; administers the E-Gov Travel Services (eTS) contract; and plays a key role in developing and implementing travel-related policies including the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR). Our partnership with GSA is a critical component of our travel program. We participate in the monthly GSA eTS User Group meetings to share deployment experiences, functional experiences, and collaborate with other Federal agencies to discuss system issues that can be elevated as a group to the eTS vendor for resolution. System enhancements that are funded by one Federal agency can benefit the other agencies as well. We participate in many other GSA-sponsored work groups and events. This gives us the opportunity to share best practices and network with other Federal agencies.

We also have a long-term relationship with our eTS vendor. The eTS vendor hosts and supports the travel system. We meet and collaborate with the vendor staff routinely to discuss system issues, new enhancements, testing, and problem resolution. We also attend monthly User Group meetings along with representatives from the entire Government-wide community for that eTS vendor. These meetings allow us to communicate directly to the vendor and GSA any system or performance issues and allows us to be involved in the decision making process for upcoming enhancements and improvements to the system. In addition to the regular meetings, the eTS vendor hosts on-site bi-annual customer meetings and educational sessions to allow for face-to-face time with the vendor staff. We also participate in various eTS vendor coordinated Six Sigma projects in an effort to continually improve the eTS travel systems.

We have also developed strong working relationships with our designated Travel Management Centers (TMC). These relationships allow us to collaborate with our TMC partners to define a reservation process that ensures the business needs are met. We also participate in on-site visits with the TMCs. These face-to-face meetings allow us to gain a better understanding of TMC business practices, their automated systems, as well as industry practices that affect reservation processing. This partnership also gives us the opportunity to provide input on proposed enhancements to the eTS reservation module. This communication network with the TMCs allows us to receive information such as flight cancellations or delays, airport closings due to adverse weather, and travel industry trends that we share with our other agencies. Additionally, our team works closely with the stakeholders on the TMC Business Rules Document (BRD), which details the various business functions of the TMC and their processes.

As a Shared Service Provider, my agency also conducts quarterly User Group meetings to share information amongst our customer community on all areas of the travel program. This collaboration allows us to discuss specific issues relating to the travel system for their agency and act as a liaison with GSA and the eTS vendor for resolution. On a routine basis, we send email communications to our customers on any issues that affect their travelers relating to the travel process. We also conduct travel system training and FTR training to our customer’s travelers and approving officials. Government travelers and approving officials play an important role in supporting the travel program and need to be actively included in the E-Gov Travel communication network.

As President George W. Bush quoted, “our success depends on agencies working as a team across traditional boundaries to better serve the American people, focusing on citizens rather than individual agency needs.” We have come a long way since the beginning of E-Gov Travel but still have a ways to go to ensure the success of the E-Gov Travel initiative. We need to keep the larger vision in mind when working through day-to-day issues with the eTS vendor. In conclusion, the E-Gov Travel Service will provide significant value through its consolidation, standardization, and automation of federal travel planning and management over the long term. Partnerships are more important than ever in order to keep the communication lines open and agencies working together toward a common goal.

by Julie Gilchrist

“The contents of this message are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the Government or my agency.

The Federal Travel Regulations (FTR) requires government travelers to use a contract fare when available, use coach class service unless otherwise authorized, and to use a U.S. Flag Air Carrier.  Contract fares must be used unless you have a valid justification.  Some of the justifications are:  1. There are no seats available on a contract flight(s), or the flights departure/arrival times do not enable you to meet your mission requirements, or would cause you to incur overnight lodging costs.  2.  The contract carrier would require travel during non-work hours.  3.  A non-contract carrier offers a lower fare available to the general public and using it reduces the total cost to the government.  4.  Rail service is available and is cost effective and meets mission requirements.  5.  Smoking is permitted on the contract flight.  The justification must be entered by the traveler in the Passenger Name Record (PNR) to justify usage of a non-contract fare.  This must be approved by the approving official.

There are several advantages to using a contract fare such as:

1.  No advance purchase required.  2.  No minimum or maximum length of stay required.  3.  Fully refundable tickets and no charge for cancellations or changes.  4.  Capacity fares availability.   5.  No blackout periods.  6.  Lock-in fares assist in travel budgeting.  7.  70% savings over regular walk-up fares.  8.  Fares are priced on one-way routes enabling agencies to plan multiple destinations.  9.  Contract business fares available. 10.  Prices in effect for one full year.

The City Pair Program fares can only be purchased with the government issued charge card, and in special circumstances, the Government Transportation Request (GTR).

By: Kathy Runion

The contents of this message are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the Government or my agency.

When our agency moved to a eTS and required that we book Fedrooms hotels when possible, many travelers felt like their choices would be limited and at that time they were right.  Although many travelers continued to book rooms directly with the hotel out of habit, many were discouraged when they used the eTS to find a limited number of choices and glitches with the eTS that caused not all inventory to be displayed.

As the number of hotels that participate in the Fedrooms program increased and travelers become educated as to the benefits of the program, Fedrooms adoption increased.  GSA has done a considerable amount of marketing to promote the program to federal travelers but the best marketing is word of mouth.  In addition to guaranteeing the rates to be at or below per diem and being FEMA and ADA compliant, hotels must have at least a two star Mobil Travel Guide or AAA rating, accept government credit cards, have a 4:00PM or later cancellation policy on the day of arrival and may have last room availability and some other amenities.   As travelers have good experiences with the program, more travelers have begun to use Fedrooms.  The eTS systems have also improved over the years to display Fedrooms properties first and improved the search engines to properly display Fedrooms inventory and listing of amenities.  ETS search features help travelers to find the right hotel in the right location with the amenities they desire.

With the economy affecting tourism, I feel more and more hotels will want to attract government travelers and join the Fedrooms program.  And as travel budgets tighten up, more agencies will require that their travelers give first consideration to a Fedrooms property, which will be more plentiful, and eliminate paying for hotels that charge over per diem.  With increased participation from both the hotels and the travelers, I believe the program will continue to grow and become as well known for hotels as the City Pair program is for airfare.

by Diana Bonnell

Disclaimer: The contents of this message are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the Government or my agency.  Use of this equipment is consistent with the agency’s policy governing limited personal use.