Overview
Federally funded travel must be conducted on a US air carrier, unless an exception is documented and, in some cases, approved by the federal agency funding the travel.
Restrictions related to the Fly America Act are dependent on two factors:
- Funding source for the travel
- Destinations involved in the trip
For domestic travel, no exceptions to the Fly America Act are permitted. Federally funded air travel within the 50 United States, the District of Colombia, and the territories or possessions of the United States (including American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands) is considered domestic travel and must be conducted on a US carrier.
International travel outside the United States, must be performed by a US carrier or under a codesharing arrangement with a US carrier flight number. There are limited exceptions to the Fly America Act that permit the use of a non-US carrier for one or more segments of an international trip. Exceptions to the Fly America Act must be documented by the traveler (or their designated arranger) in coordination with CIRES Travel and at the time that the trip is approved.
Any federally-funded travel that is conducted on a non-US air carrier is considered an exception to the Fly America Act. Some exceptions to the Fly America Act require specific approval from the federal awarding agency, although the most common exception-use of an Open Skies Partner-typically does not.
Non-federally funded travel is not subject to the restrictions of the Fly America Act.
International Travel Approval Process
Quotes, Itineraries Reviewed by CIRES Travel
When requesting approval for an international trip, provide quotes from Concur or CBT showing your actual intended route for the trip. CIRES Travel will review your quotes as part of your trip request to confirm each segment of the trip complies with the Fly America Act.
If the use of a foreign air carrier is required because an exception to the Fly America Act applies to a trip, the exceptions must be documented by the traveler (or their designated arranger) in coordination with CIRES Travel and at the time that the trip is approved. The required documents for exceptions to the Fly America Act are:
- A completed Fly America Act Exception form.
- Detailed travel itinerary from CBT or from Concur, which includes the flight numbers for each segment of the trip.
Fly America Act FAQ
1 - How do I know if my travel is being supported by a federally funded award?
- If you are traveling on a Task II speedtype, your travel is being supported by a federally funded award.
- In general, if you are traveling on any speedtype that begins with the numbers '130' or '131', your travel is being supported by a federally funded award.
- If your travel costs are being supported by an NSF, NOAA, DOE, NASA, etc. award, your travel is being supported by a federally funded award.
2 - Does Christopherson Business Travel (CBT)/Concur know if my flight will be compliant with the Fly America Act?
No. Neither CBT or Concur know the specific award terms & conditions of the speedtype that you are using to purchase airfare.
If you are working with CBT to book airfare, it is the responsibility of the traveler to be clear with CBT that you are looking for a flight that uses all US Air Carriers, for every leg of travel, to the greatest extent possible. (Cost and convenience are not exceptions to the FAA). Please use this language when communicating with CBT.
Unfortunately, you may hear from CBT that 'only flights over the water are subject to compliance with the Fly America Act'. This is not accurate. Again, please be clear in stating the above.
Domestic flights should always be conducted on a US carrier. The CIRES Travel team does not review intended domestic flight itineraries for this reason.
3 - What if there are no options to book an itinerary that uses all US Air Carriers for my international trip?
The Fly America Act does allow for exceptions. If the use of a foreign air carrier is required because an exception to the Fly America Act applies to a trip, the exception(s) must be documented by the traveler in coordination with CIRES Travel and at the time that the trip is approved. The required documents for exceptions to the Fly America Act are:
- A completed Fly America Act Exception form.
- Detailed travel itinerary from CBT or from Concur, which includes the flight numbers for each segment of the trip.
4 - What if the dates for my international trip and/or flight details change after my trip has been approved, but before my trip begins?
Please recall your approved travel request in the InsideCIRES Travel application, update the details of your trip, attach your new intended airfare itinerary, and the CIRES Travel team will re-review your travel request and intended airfare.
5 - What if the dates for my international trip and/or flight details change while I'm already in travel status?
It is understood that plans can change while folks are in travel status. The traveler needs to ensure that when they are communicating with CBT that they are clear that their travel is supported by federal funds and they need to be booked on an itinerary that uses all US Air Carrier's to the greatest extent possible. This needs to be clearly communicated by the traveler to CBT.
Changes to flight itineraries do not need to be approved by CIRES Travel once someone is already in the field, prior to a change in the itinerary being made. We assume that when folks are rearranging their travel while in travel status that there is something necessitating this change relating to the business-travel. If changes are made to an itinerary while folks are in travel status, details about the change in flight need to be included in the final travel report when folks return. The CIRES Travel Team will assess what documentation may need to be completed after the fact, assuming there was a valid business need for the change in itinerary.
6 - My travel is being supported by a Task II speedtype - what do I specifically need to know?
Task II funds are part of the CIESRDS Cooperative Agreement. This award is federally funded from NOAA, which is under the Department of Commerce (DOC). The CIESRDS Cooperative Agreement is governed by several layers of Terms & Conditions, one of which includes the Department of Commerce Financial Assistance Standard Terms & Conditions.
The Department of Commerce Financial Assistance Standard Terms & Conditions require that any exception to the Fly America Act receive sponsor prior-approval. This means that for any travel supported by Task II funds (or any other NOAA award), any exception to the Fly America Act requires that we both document the exception and submit that documentation to the sponsor for prior-approval
If we do not document the exact flight(s) that require an exception to the Fly America Act, the cost is ultimately not an allowed cost to be charged to the award. Please ensure that the itinerary that you provide to the CIRES Travel Team matches the itinerary that is actually booked once your trip is approved!
7 - Why do I have to book the exact itinerary that I provide as part of my travel request?
If we do not document the exact flight(s) that require an exception to the Fly America Act (dates of travel, name of air carrier & flight numbers for each leg), the cost is ultimately not allowed to be charged to the sponsored project/award.
8 - What happens if I book an international itinerary that doesn't match the itinerary I provided as part of my travel request?
Travelers are responsible for ensuring that all travel costs incurred and assigned to the funding sources supporting their trip are reasonable, allowable, allocable, and appropriate. CIRES Travel can help inform travelers on applicable rules for conducting travel and can help ensure that the intended airfare that travelers plan to book through CBT or Concur will be compliant with the FAA during the trip approval process. Travelers that do not complete the trip approval process in accordance with CIRES policies and procedures may be held financially responsible for the cost of non-compliant or unallowable airfare charges, if they were incurred without review and approval from CIRES Travel.