Entitlement to First-Class Air Fare

An employee of the Forest Service, Department of Agriculture (USDA), requested an opinion as to his entitlement to first-class air fare for official duty travel. The issue was whether the employee's use of first-class accommodations should have been approved under an exception to the requirement that Federal employees fly below first-class. The employee, while on temporary duty, traveled to three worksites in Arizona, finishing at Phoenix, before returning to his permanent duty station at Albuquerque, New Mexico. Because his travel between stopovers was delayed by weather, the employee canceled his coach reservations from Phoenix to Albuquerque for the scheduled day of departure. When his temporary duty was completed, the employee arrived at Phoenix and attempted to obtain coach accommodations. Finding no coach space available and not wishing to spend the night in Phoenix, the employee booked first-class space to Albuquerque. USDA deducted the difference between the coach and first-class fares from the employee's travel allowance for three reasons: the employee had not attempted to obtain coach space when he canceled his original reservations, his presence at his permanent duty station the next day was not urgently required, and the estimated per diem savings from a layover did not warrant first-class travel. Federal statutes require the use of less than first-class accommodations depending on the nature and purpose of the employee's duties. Since the employee did not try to obtain coach space when he canceled his reservation, he was not entitled to reimbursement of the first-class fare and the deduction by USDA of the extra cost from his travel expenses was proper.