Work for Govern't - looooong flight for work

[Anonymous]

I work for DOJ and have been asked to fly across the globe (think Australia) for a big meeting. My travel department isn't the greatest so I want to get information before I go to them. Can I justify traveling business class working for the government? The thought of sitting on the plane for that long is killing me.

[Anonymous]

I don’t know but you’re probably outing yourself by posting these details (if you care).

[Anonymous]

It’s not that bad.

[Anonymous]

14+ hours qualifies for either business or layover overnight.

[Anonymous]

Lol. No. You don’t get to fly business and you definitely don’t get to book the shortest travel day.

[Anonymous]

I flew to China for the Treasury department and I sat in a middle seat in coach. I hope you get to go up front but doubt they will let you.

[Anonymous]

Back in the day, yes. Now, no. AFAIK the only way to get an upgrade on gov travel is to have a doctors note.

What’s worse is you can’t pay to upgrade yourself. Government fare tickets are non-upgradeable on almost all airlines. They are a special ticket code with carve out rules.

[Anonymous]

The govt sucks you need to quit.

[Anonymous]

I lived in Sydney for a while and travelled back and forth. My job paid for one first class ticket a year but the rest were on me. Honestly, especially if you do quantas or air nz from la, it’s not that bad at all. Decent seats, truly good food & beverages, Wi-Fi, etc

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:14+ hours qualifies for either business or layover overnight.

I think this is correct. I also know people who upgrade with personal points.

[Anonymous]

I just fell off my chair laughing. We recently had to travel to Africa for field work and they booked us in economy on African carriers because it was the cheapest. Everyone including the big boss.

[Anonymous]

Depends on the agency. Call your travel people. Yes, there is the 14 hr rule but some agencies don't follow it. Also, sometimes you end up in economy if someone else is paying for the ticket and will only buy economy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depends on the agency. Call your travel people. Yes, there is the 14 hr rule but some agencies don't follow it. Also, sometimes you end up in economy if someone else is paying for the ticket and will only buy economy.

14 hours and you have to report to work within 6? or 12? hours of arrival.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Back in the day, yes. Now, no. AFAIK the only way to get an upgrade on gov travel is to have a doctors note.

What’s worse is you can’t pay to upgrade yourself. Government fare tickets are non-upgradeable on almost all airlines. They are a special ticket code with carve out rules.

+1. Above is exactly correct.

You can request to have an overnight stay mid-way but only if you ask for it. Example: if flights are WAS-LAX-SYD, then can request to have a 1 night stay at LAX.

[Anonymous]

Also, USG requires use of a US flag carrier if exists on that route. So likely you will be on DL or UA, not on QF or Air NZ.