Fly America Act

Fly America Act and what it Means for Federal Grantees

The Fly America Act was originally enacted in 1974. This act mandates that any foreign travel that is paid from federal funds, including foreign travelers coming to the U.S. must be accomplished through U.S. Flag Air Carriers.  There have been many modifications to this act, the latest of which can be accessed at http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/21222, the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) web page.

One common misreading of these regulations is that when a foreign airline has a code-sharing agreement with a U.S airline then that airline may be used when purchasing foreign travel.  However, this is only true if the airline ticket was issued through a U.S. airline. In such cases the ticket or itinerary will show the name of the U.S. airline involved first, and then the name of the airline operating the flight.  If a ticket does not show being issued by a U.S. Flag Carrier this it is generally not allowable to be paid with federal dollars.  For example, Delta Airlines has a code-share agreement with KLM Airlines. If the boarding pass (flight coupon) or e-ticket identifies a flight as DL##, the requirements of the Fly America Act would be met, even though the flight was on a KLM Airlines airplane.  If, however, the boarding pass (flight coupon) or e-ticket identifies the flight as a KL##, then the requirements of the Federal Travel Regulations would not be met.

There are further exceptions to the Fly America Act that can be found on the UI Fly America Act Waiver Request Form.  For example, there are instances when: A U.S. Flag Air Carrier reroutes a traveler involuntarily onto a foreign air carrier; no U.S. Carrier provides service on a particular leg of your route (note that U.S. carriers must still be used on all legs of a trip where service is provided); use of a U.S. carrier increases the number of aircraft changes outside of the U.S. by two or more; or use of a U.S carrier requires a connecting time of four hours or more at an overseas Gateway airport to the traveler’s final destination abroad.  The checklist allows the traveler to provide documentation of why a foreign carrier was used.

Please be advised that when you book travel on Cheap Flights, Expedia, Orbitz, or other websites the cheapest flights often are in violation of the Fly America Act and will not be allowed on any travel funded through federal or federal flow-through awards. If in doubt, please check with the Cost Accounting Unit of OSP before travel is booked.