In sections 3b and 3c of the Certified Government Travel Professional Training Course, the areas of Travel Management Centers and Contracting for Travel Services are more involved than what I had thought. When I worked directly for the airlines, it seemed like a fairly easy process to understand how fares were created. The Postal Service contracts their travel needs to Omega World Travel. Our online system is called “Trip Manager for Government” and it is an easy and convenient system to make our travel reservations. We don’t normally use the hotel feature but occasionally use the rental car feature. My biggest issue is the current contacted government fares. The disparity between certain city pair fares is unreal. It is cheaper to travel to larger cities like Los Angeles, CA than smaller ones like Grand Rapids, MI. I understand the frequency of flights to certain destinations factors into the pricing but it does get crazy at times. I also found it interesting to read of the capability requirements TMCs and CTOs need to pass before contracts are awarded. All the details listed are certainly important but you don’t realize how each item is important until they are listing. An item such as “Cancellations and Changes” is critical to the traveler. Knowing how this process will be handled is crucial for a TMC or CTO. Then there is the listing for the overhead costs and how difficult would it be to determine the cost if “Quality Control?” Overall, this information was something as a meeting and travel planner I need to know and understand.
Joyce Wahoski, USPS Stamp Development