§ 301-3.4 - Special fares.

(a) [Reserved]

(b) Reduced rates—(1) Use of special lower fares. (i) Through-fares, special fares, commutation fares, excursion fares, and reduced-rate round-trip fares shall be used for official travel when it can be determined before the start of a trip that this type of service is practical and economical to the Government. Round-trip tickets for special lower fares which are restricted or have specific eligibility requirements shall be secured only when, on the basis of the journey as planned, it is known or can be reasonably anticipated that these tickets will be used. The use of special lower fares under these provisions does not take precedence over the mandatory use of contract air fares between selected city-pairs as prescribed in paragraph (b)(1)(ii) of this section.

(ii) For the use of contract air carriers for official travel between certain cities/airports, all agencies, except DOD, shall follow the policies, procedures, and requirements provided in part 301-15, subpart B. DOD must follow procedures established in the Defense Traffic Management Regulation, AR 55-355/NAVSUPINST 4600.70/AFR 75-2/MCO P4600.14B/DLAR 4500.3.

(2) Reduced group or charter fares offered by travel agents. (i) Reduced fares for group or charter arrangements available only through travel agents may be used by individuals or a group of employees provided an administrative determination has been made by the agency on a case-by-case basis before the travel that use of the reduced group or charter fares will result in a monetary savings to the Government and will not interfere with the conduct of official business. In such instances, if payment for transportation cannot be made to a carrier with a Government transportation request but must be made to the travel agent, the traveler shall pay for the transportation from his/her own funds or from a travel advance (see part 301-10) and shall obtain a receipt (when required under § 301-11.3(c)) for the cost of the transportation necessary in the performance of offical business which shall accompany his/her voucher along with a copy of the required administrative determination. Reimbursement shall not exceed the cost of accommodations authorized under § 301-3.3.

(ii) The infrequent traveler, unaware of the general prohibition against the use of travel agents, who inadvertently purchases transportation with personal funds from a travel agent without the required advance administrative approval, may be granted an exception to the preclusive provisions on a one-time basis and may be paid for the travel costs incurred not to exceed the cost which would have been properly chargeable to the Government if the transportation service had been purchased directly from the carrier. In such cases, the traveler will be advised that recurrence of such use of travel agents will result in denial of reimbursement unless it can be demonstrated that the traveler had no alternative.

(c) Unequal fares available. Except as provided in part 301-15, subpart B, when common carriers furnish the same method of travel at different fares between the same points for the same type of accommodations, the lowest cost service shall be used unless use of a higher cost service is administratively determined to be more advantageous to the Government. (See § 301-2.2(c).)