The travel industry continues to experience challenges related to surges in travel combined with staffing shortages. This includes changes to airline schedules, flight delays & cancellations, and long in-person wait times to check in, obtain rental cars, and to pass through security. These industry challenges are impacting Travel Management Companies (TMCs) with the resulting increased demands for assistance.
Contacting TMCs
TMCs are reporting continued high call volume and requests for assistance. Travelers are reporting continued extended call wait times and delays in TMC response times.
If you experience an extensive hold time when contacting your TMC, consider alternative modes of communication. Some TMCs have a desktop or mobile live chat tool that allows travelers to connect with an online agent to handle change requests, cancelling a trip, or requesting an invoice copy. Often simpler issues can be handled faster through a TMC chat session than by calling directly. Some also offer email service for change requests.
What Travelers Can Do
In many cases, travelers may self-service and contact travel providers directly, bypassing the TMC. In other cases, Approving Officials can certify that the individual traveler is experiencing excessive wait time to contact the TMC, which allows the traveler more flexibility in correcting issues on their own.
Local travel rules may impose further limitations. All travel should be completed in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulation and Joint Travel Regulations.
Overview
If you are traveling and experience travel disruptions, you may contact the travel providers directly with no prior approval to:
- Book alternative flights with the same airline
- Book alternative flights with a different airline that your original airline has reserved for you
- Book, change, or cancel rental car reservations
- Book, change, or cancel hotel reservations
You need your Approving Official to certify that you are experiencing an excessive wait time with your TMC to book an alternative flight directly with a different airline than your original carrier.
Detail
Booking travel
Use the DoD booking systems for all travel whenever possible, including new bookings, changes, and cancellations.
- Book travel and approve authorizations in a timely manner.
Booking and/or approving travel within a week of departure minimizes the need to rebook or contact the TMC. If you have changes to travel with a departure date more than a week away and cannot make the changes in the DoD booking system(s), email the TMC with your request, including your travel date in the subject line as it helps prioritize the requests.
- Ensure travel cards are activated.
Travel cards that are deactivated or have insufficient credit limit result in card declines and increased calls to the TMC. Prior to booking travel, travelers should work with their organization’s travel card Agency Program Coordinator (APC) to ensure their Travel Card is activated and has sufficient credit limit. Defense Travel Administrators should also be proactive by reviewing the Accounts Info List and the Departure Report in the Defense Travel System (DTS) to identify travelers who may need their travel cards activated or credit limits increased.
- Allow 24 hours for DTS authorizations to be worked/ticketed.
If your request has been in “CTO Submit” status for more than 24 hours, contact the Travel Assistance Center (TAC) via Live Chat. Please keep in mind that the TAC is unable to assist with new reservations, “TMC assist” requests, reservation cancellations, or ticketing and can only intervene if the authorization/reservation status is not updating as it should.
- If you can’t cancel using DTS or MyTravel, use TMC Live Chat.
Some TMCs have a desktop or mobile live chat tool that allows travelers to connect with an online agent to handle simpler requests like cancelling a trip or requesting an invoice copy. Often simpler issues can be handled faster through a TMC chat session than by calling directly.
Before you travel
- Sign-up for airline, rental car, and lodging loyalty programs.
Brand loyalty accounts often come with benefits like priority rebooking, dedicated contact channels, priority check-in lines, and more.
Download any apps offered by the airlines, train companies, rental car companies, and lodging chains that you will utilize during your travel. This will allow you to interact directly with the service provider if you experience an excessive TMC hold time or there’s a disruption and it will also allow the travel companies to reach out to you directly if/when they experience irregular operations.
- Confirm your seat assignment.
As soon as your airline reservations are ticketed and your invoice has been issued, confirm your seat assignment using the airline app or website. You only need your last name and airline confirmation number for most websites and apps. Passengers with a confirmed seat assignment are far less likely to be bumped from a flight due to overbooking.
When traveling
In many cases, travelers may self-service and contact travel providers directly, bypassing the TMC. In other cases, Approving Officials can certify that the individual traveler is experiencing excessive wait time to contact the TMC, which allows the traveler more flexibility in correcting issues on their own.
Local travel rules may impose further limitations. All travel should be completed in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulation and Joint Travel Regulations.
Certification Required
Flight disruptions – rebook different airline. You are in transit, experience a flight disruption, or you arrive at the airport to discover that your reservation was not ticketed, and your original airline cannot accommodate you or rebook you on an alternate airline.
You may interact with other airlines directly to book a replacement flight, but you will need to obtain excessive TMC hold wait time certification from your Approving Official. Excessive TMC hold time is certified on an individual basis by Approving Officials in accordance with guidance provided by the Joint Travel Regulations paragraph 020207.
Make sure you request to be booked on a U.S. Government airfare, if available, and ensure that you have access to your travel orders (if applicable), and an active travel card. The lowest cost economy or coach class fares must be used. Any upgraded accommodations must be authorized or approved as stated in JTR, par. 020206-J and all travel must be booked and completed in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulation and Joint Travel Regulations.
(Be sure to keep a record of your original unused ticket number.)
NOTE 1: The requirement to obtain Approving Official certification applies even if the new ticket is on the original airline you were supposed to fly under a code-share ticket with a different airline name.
NOTE 2: If you are flying internationally, either on a U.S. air carrier or on a U.S. air carrier’s ticket on a code share with a foreign air carrier, you must rebook the ticket through a U.S. air carrier and not through any foreign air carrier. For example, if you have an American Airlines ticket to fly on British Airways, and British Airways is unable to accommodate your requested change, once you have your AO’s approval to procure a new ticket on another airline, you must contact American Airlines, or another U.S. air carrier to rebook you. You cannot be reimbursed for a ticket on a foreign air carrier without documentation that a U.S. air carrier was not available.
No Prior Certification Required
You may contact the travel providers direct under these circumstance without prior approval, contingent on local travel rules.
- Flight disruptions – rebook same airline. You are in transit, experience a flight disruption, and your original airline can accommodate you.
You may interact with the airline directly to rebook your flight on the same airline, maintaining your government airfare. Using the airline app or self-service kiosk in the airport can help you avoid lines at the airport or hold times with the airline reservation center.
Note: If you are flying internationally on a U.S. air carrier’s ticket on a code share with a foreign air carrier, and you need a new ticket, you must rebook the ticket through the U.S. air carrier and not through the foreign air carrier. For example, if you have an American Airlines ticket to fly on British Airways, and British Airways is unable to accommodate your requested change, you must contact American Airlines to rebook you. If you purchase a new ticket on a foreign air carrier, you cannot be reimbursed.
- Flight disruptions – rebook different airline. You are in transit, experience a flight disruption, and your original airline cannot accommodate you.
If your original airline has a customer service representative available (in person, phone, or through chat on an app/website), inform them you are on official US Government travel and need to be rebooked on a different airline to meet your mission. If the airline is able to transfer your ticket and maintain your government airfare, or if they can reserve a ticket for you on a government rate on another airline, then you can finalize your arrangements directly with the new airline. It is always better if you can provide a suggestion on which alternate flight/route you can take.
NOTE 1: If your original airline can’t rebook you on an alternate airline, you must obtain Approving Official certification of excessive TMC hold times to book directly with an alternate airline.
NOTE 2: If you are flying internationally, either on a U.S. air carrier or on a U.S. air carrier’s ticket on a code share with a foreign air carrier, you must rebook the ticket through a U.S. air carrier and not through any foreign air carrier. For example, if you have an American Airlines ticket to fly on British Airways, and British Airways is unable to accommodate your requested change, you must contact American Airlines to rebook you. If you purchase a new ticket on a foreign air carrier, you cannot be reimbursed.
- Rental Car reservations – rebooking or new reservations in transit.
If you need a new rental car reservation or to rebook an existing reservation due to travel disruption, you may interact with the rental car company directly. Book your new reservation or rebook your existing reservation through their app, website, reservation number, or in person at the rental car counter. Be sure to ask for the government rate under the U.S. Government Rental Car program and confirm that the Government Administrative Rate Supplement (GARS) fee ($5/day) is included on the contract.
- Rental Car reservations – cancellations.
If you need to cancel your rental car reservation while in transit, you can do so directly with the rental car company using their app, website, reservation number, or in person at the rental car counter.
- Hotel reservations. If you need to change, cancel, or book a hotel reservation while in transit:
Change/Cancel: You can cancel or change the reservation directly with the hotel. Be aware of your hotel’s cancellation policy and note the cancellation number, date/time of the call, and the name of the person who processed your change/cancellation. If you cancel after the hotel cancellation timeframe, regardless of the cause of the cancellation, you may still be charged for one-night room and tax. Hotels that are booked under the (Integrated Lodging Program (ILP) offer you the most flexibility.
Book: You can book a reservation directly with the hotel. Check the local lodging per diem rate before booking.
- If the site is an Integrated Lodging Program (ILP) site, you are directed to book DoD Lodging or Privatized lodging first. If neither are available and the ILP site offers DoD Preferred lodging, book an approved hotel and request the DoD Preferred rate.
- Otherwise, book the applicable FedRooms or Government rate, keeping at or under the local lodging per diem. Be aware of any hotel policies and fees, particularly deposits and cancellations.
Thank you for your attention and patience as we navigate these challenges.