Travel Update 04-05

In the past few years, commercial airlines have eliminated commissions paid to travel agents for booking flights on their airline. To offset this loss of revenue, travel agencies now charge a service fee for the issuance of airline tickets. These fees range from $20-$30 per ticket.

A large percentage of flights booked by state employees are for flights between Chicago and Springfield. Since there are limited fares and scheduling options available for these flights, the Governor’s Travel Control Board does not believe it is in best interest of the State to allow these service fees to be reimbursable. Therefore, effective for all tickets issued on December 1, 2003 or any date thereafter, service fees for tickets issued for flights between Chicago and Springfield will not be considered a reimbursable expense.

This change in policy will apply to all Chicago/Springfield flights on ATA and United Airlines booked through a travel agency and/or through any on-line system where a service fee is assessed.

Any agency or employee wishing to claim reimbursement for the type of service fee noted above will be required to submit a request for an exception to the Board. To be considered, this request must be personally signed by the Agency Head and must contain a full justification as to why it was necessary to pay the fee.

Agencies and employees do have alternatives to travel agencies in making reservations for the Chicago/Springfield flight.

Employees should always seek the lowest fare, including those that are non-refundable, when making flight reservations. The state government unrestricted fare, if available, is not always the lowest.

As the appointed Travel Coordinator for your agency, it is your responsibility to disseminate this information to all appropriate personnel within your agency. If you have any questions, please contact Kelley Shaw at (217) 782-4705.