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Marcelle Green

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  1. Please share your thoughts on the interpretation of the allowability of Business Class Travel for an excessively long flight (i.e. from California to the Middle East)

    FAR 31.205-46(:rolleyes: "Airfare costs in excess of the lowest priced airfare available to the contractor during normal business hours are unallowable except when such accommodations require circuitous routing, require travel during unreasonable hours, excessively prolong travel, result in increased cost that would offset transportation savings, are not reasonably adequate for the physical or medical needs of the traveler, or are not reasonably available to meet mission requirements. However, in order for airfare costs in excess of the above standard airfare to be allowable, the applicable condition(s) set forth above must be documented and justified."

    A Branch Manager at DCAA informed me that the reason that they questioned the travel eventhough the flight period is over 20 hours is as follows: "What the FAR cite is saying is that airfare costs in excess of the lowest priced fares would be allowable IF the cheaper fare caused the flight to be excessively longer than the business class fare. However, the contractor provided no evidence that the business class fare got them there significantly faster than the coach fare. I.e., the coach fare got them to the site as fast as business class, thus the coach fare did not excessively prolong the flight, and thus is not allowable on that basis."

    Do you concur or disagree with the DCAA interpretation of FAR 31.205-46(:angry: and why?

    Why did the Branch Manager cite just one of several possible justifications from the regulation? If the traveler had a medical or physical reason to require the additional room of Business Class -- size of the individual, for example -- that would seem to meet the justification. The Branch Manager's reading of the regulation seems very narrow to me.

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