I worked for an org. that required us to fly out of BWI if it was more than $100 (or maybe it was $150) cheaper than National of Dulles. But they provided car service to/from BWI. No one ever asked to stay extra nights.

I have not done that although for international travel I have done a Sat night stay to reduce the cost significantly. That's the only time it seemed to be worthwhile and sometimes I don't mind the extra day to acclimate.

Flying to an airport 4 hours away seems crazy.

What about video conferencing, or doing the trip later to avoid whatever peak pricing you are hitting. Saving $1000 seems like it must be a super high airfare - I travel all over the country and rarely have flights over $1000.

I think its ok, but by the time you pay for car rental/parking and a hotel with the time issue, its not worth the extra cost.

I do sometimes fly into another airport if the flight is still cheaper when you add in the rental car cost and if the additional time works with my schedule.

we are supposed to use a travel agency and it's understood that all the prices balance out in the end. i'm not convinced of that myself but whatever.

No company I've worked for has had this policy, but I've only worked for larger companies, or large law firms. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if a very small company has this policy.

If you travel for work, do you have guidelines on flight prices that are acceptable? Is it reasonable for your company to have you stay an extra night or drive a few hours further to a different airport, in order to save money on the flight?

I just told my boss what the flight costs were for a trip & he's having me look at other options, which would include an additional overnight plus 4 more hours of driving to save about $800 -$1,100. I'm just wondering if that's standard or out of line.