Work for Govern't - looooong flight for work

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Incorrect. The FTR allows agencies to provide business class OR a 24 hour rest stop for flights over 14 hours. Business class is not an entitlement, however, and can only be authorized when a rest period is not practical and you must report for duty no later than the following day. Many agencies don't allow business class for either budgetary issues or optics, but some do. Also, a rest period can either be at an intermediary stop or at the destination (e.g., you arrive in the final destination a day early to rest). Agencies are given a lot of discretion under the FTR to craft their own travel policies within certain parameters so policies vary substantially between agencies.

[Anonymous]

I have declined travel when it wasn't possible for me, so feel free to decline. When I was a GS7, work had me on a crazy travel schedule to rural America (terrible per diem rates). Even if I ate pop tarts and saved all my per diem, it wasn't enough to cover the cheapest dog boarding I could find. And I didn't have savings yet to draw from to be able to travel for work. Basically I just couldn't afford it.

DH travels for work nonstop internationally as a fed and it's rough. I think they expect him to have a SAHM. We're often paying extra to babysitters or daycare to make it work, extra aftercare for my other DD. We try our hardest to make it work, but it's not easy. Luckily he's nearly always bumped to business class because he flies so much, so there's that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Incorrect. The FTR allows agencies to provide business class OR a 24 hour rest stop for flights over 14 hours. Business class is not an entitlement, however, and can only be authorized when a rest period is not practical and you must report for duty no later than the following day. Many agencies don't allow business class for either budgetary issues or optics, but some do. Also, a rest period can either be at an intermediary stop or at the destination (e.g., you arrive in the final destination a day early to rest). Agencies are given a lot of discretion under the FTR to craft their own travel policies within certain parameters so policies vary substantially between agencies.

Well said. This nicely sums up the breadth of what’s allowed and the reality of what is actually done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Incorrect. The FTR allows agencies to provide business class OR a 24 hour rest stop for flights over 14 hours. Business class is not an entitlement, however, and can only be authorized when a rest period is not practical and you must report for duty no later than the following day. Many agencies don't allow business class for either budgetary issues or optics, but some do. Also, a rest period can either be at an intermediary stop or at the destination (e.g., you arrive in the final destination a day early to rest). Agencies are given a lot of discretion under the FTR to craft their own travel policies within certain parameters so policies vary substantially between agencies.

Well said. This nicely sums up the breadth of what’s allowed and the reality of what is actually done.

+1

My agency did allow business class until the optics caught up with them. I had to do a trip to Australia with a senior political who was 6'2", 300+ pounds and we ALL had to sit in economy. Poor guy was even in a middle seat. I've seen enough of the world at this point, that I decline those trips and let others have the experience.

[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.

Not entirely true. Government YCA fares are treated as Y fares, which are full cost coach fares from the airline’s perspective. If you have status and are booked on a YCA fare you are placed on the upgrade list. Whether you get the upgrade depends on your status level and how many folks are on the upgrade list. And you should be able to pay to upgrade (using your own funds, of course).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have declined travel when it wasn't possible for me, so feel free to decline. When I was a GS7, work had me on a crazy travel schedule to rural America (terrible per diem rates). Even if I ate pop tarts and saved all my per diem, it wasn't enough to cover the cheapest dog boarding I could find. And I didn't have savings yet to draw from to be able to travel for work. Basically I just couldn't afford it.

DH travels for work nonstop internationally as a fed and it's rough. I think they expect him to have a SAHM. We're often paying extra to babysitters or daycare to make it work, extra aftercare for my other DD. We try our hardest to make it work, but it's not easy. Luckily he's nearly always bumped to business class because he flies so much, so there's that.

How is that any of your husbands boss’s problem?

Most executives don’t have these issues.

[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.

United let me pay for an upgrade with a gov ticket.

[Anonymous]

I had to travel to Hawaii multiple times for DOJ for court. I could only fly coach, but I did use miles to upgrade one flight back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have declined travel when it wasn't possible for me, so feel free to decline. When I was a GS7, work had me on a crazy travel schedule to rural America (terrible per diem rates). Even if I ate pop tarts and saved all my per diem, it wasn't enough to cover the cheapest dog boarding I could find. And I didn't have savings yet to draw from to be able to travel for work. Basically I just couldn't afford it.

DH travels for work nonstop internationally as a fed and it's rough. I think they expect him to have a SAHM. We're often paying extra to babysitters or daycare to make it work, extra aftercare for my other DD. We try our hardest to make it work, but it's not easy. Luckily he's nearly always bumped to business class because he flies so much, so there's that.

How is that any of your husbands boss’s problem?

Most executives don’t have these issues.

Way to miss the point.

[Anonymous]

Try arranging your own international travel at State. It’s an absolute mess with each bureau doing their own thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

United let me pay for an upgrade with a gov ticket.

Delta does too. PP doesn't know what they are talking about. Now, the upgrade costs are non-refundable, but that is to be expected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

I’ve taken many flights to Africa in economy for my fed job. On the loveliest of carriers (😂). Also laughing. Business class might be allowed where OP is but it’s not universal.

[Anonymous]

My spouse traveled for UST and it was always economy, even to Korea, Indonesia, India etc. So the 14 hr rule was not respected. No rest days either. And terrible routes too because of the carrier requirements.

Pretty miserable.

[Anonymous]

I see this is still going and I want to chime in that as a taxpayer who works for private, you should absolutely be doing these long hauls business class and then go to work within however many hours it takes you to freakin recover. I won't even go to these places for pleasure--that's how miserable these flights are for me. If work needed me there they had better make it a pleasant experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I'm the PP. I've done 14 hour flights, showered and changed into dress clothes at an airport and walked into a business meeting at the other end. Even in business class, it was brutal.