Fly America Act

1. Fly America Act Clare Hansen-shinnerl Sr. associate dean, administration & finance School of Engineering clarehs@stanford.edu

2. Fly America Act: Origins & Key Amendments • Instituted in 1974 to require use of U.S. airlines • Federal Acquisition Regulations; Subpart 47.4 • Applies to federally-funded international travel • Includes Canada and Mexico • Contractors, sub contractors, and federal employees • Some of the Act’s provisions remain inflexible • E.g. lower cost is not an exception • Two key amendments have made Act more flexible • Code Sharing Amend. (1991) • Open Skies Amend.  (2010) … SU not yet ready

3. Fly America Act: Compliance Responsibility • Travelers and their administrators are responsible for buying tickets in compliance • University suggests use of contracted travel agencies to help ensure compliance at point-of-sale (agencies listed on Fingate) • ERA needs to know the rules to help travelers / administrators - before tickets are purchased • ERA needs to confirm compliance by opening attachment/receipt when reviewing/approving IOUs– after the fact

4. Code Share Amendment: Meaning • Code sharing occurs when two or more airlines “code” the same flight as if it was their own • The designator code and flight number that prints on the ticket will tell you whether it was coded as a foreign carrier (not allowed) or US carrier (allowed) • In other words, to be in compliance the international flight can be on a foreign air carrier (Singapore Airlines, China Airlines, etc.) - provided the designator code / flight # printed on the ticket is coded as operated by the U.S. carrier

5. Code Sharing: Ticket Example (Compliant)

6. Code Sharing: Ticket Example (Non-Compliant)

7. Code Sharing: US Carrier Codes • On the right is a list of the most common US Carriers providing service to major cities in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and South America • If you see one of these codes on an international ticket, it will be in compliance • Airtran Airways (FL) • Alaska Airlines (AS) • American Airlines (AA) • Continental Airlines (CO) • Delta Airlines (DL) • Hawaiian Airlines (HA) • JetBlue (B6) • United Airlines (UA) • US Airways (US)

8. Open Skies Amendment: Meaning • Stanford / Fingate has not updated its policies/website to allow/explain this, but the Open Skies Amendment is in effect - per Federal Travel Regulation (FTR), Bulletin 11-02 • We will need to wait until the SU has a position on this until we use • This is a ‘heads up’

9. Open Skies Amendment: Meaning • Open Skies allows use of European Union, Australian, and Swiss carriers • To transport federal contractors (still doesn’t apply to federal employees) • Given bilateral agreements between these governments and US • When using an open skies carrier • Designator / flight number does not need to be a US carrier • Can be LH - Lufthansa, OS - Austrian, etc.

10. Fly America: Exceptions • There are a limited number of exceptions that allow use of a foreign carrier (beyond code sharing and open skies). Here are some examples: • Necessity: • No U.S. flag carrier provides service on a particular leg of your trip • Medical or safety reasons • Required class of service on US carrier is not available • US carrier involuntarily reroutes you to a foreign carrier • Inconveniences: • Use of a U.S. carrier will unreasonably delay your travel time: extends trip by more than 6 hours, extends connection time by 4 or more hours, increases aircraft changes by 2 or more

11. Fly America: Exceptions • Fingate has a Checklist showing allowable exceptions • If an exception is warranted, must submit Certification of Exception (on Fingate) with IOU • Questions? • Liane Pfeiffer: lpfeiffer@stanford.edu / Disbursements • Clare Hansen-Shinnerl: clarehs@stanford.edu / SoE