The FTR authorizes premium class accommodations other than first class  (business class) when at least one of the following conditions exists:  regularly scheduled flights between origin/destination points provide only  premium class, and this is certified on the travel voucher; coach class is not available in time to accomplish the mission, which is  urgent and cannot be postponed; premium class travel is necessary to accommodate the traveler’s disability  or other physical impairment, and the condition is substantiated in writing  by competent medical authority; premium class travel is needed for security purposes or because  exceptional circumstances make its use essential to the successful  performance of the mission; coach class accommodations on authorized/approved foreign carriers do  not provide adequate sanitation or meet health standards; premium class accommodations would result in overall savings to the  government because of subsistence costs, overtime, or lost productive  time that would be incurred while awaiting coach class accommodations;  transportation is paid in full by a nonfederal source;  travel is to or from a destination outside the continental United States, and  the scheduled flight time (including stopovers) is in excess of 14 hours  (however, a rest stop en route or a rest period upon arrival is prohibited  when travel is authorized by premium class accommodations); or when required because of agency mission. Extent of Governmentwide Improper Premium Class Travel Is Significant

For 12 months of travel from July 1, 2005, through June 30, 2006, the  government spent more than $230 million on over 53,000 airline tickets  that contained at least one leg of premium class travel. Table 1 shows the results of our analysis of the frequency at which  selected agencies purchased premium class tickets for flights involving  airports in the United States and locations in Africa, the Middle East, and  parts of Europe that likely lasted more than 14 hours. We also estimated, based on statistical sampling, that another  38 percent (a total of 67 percent) of premium class travel was not properly  justified. Ineffective Oversight and Internal Control Weaknesses Contributed to Improper and Abusive Premium Class Travel

A weak control environment further exacerbated breakdowns in specific  controls that led to at least $146 million in estimated improper premium  class travel. Many agencies did not capture data related to business class  travel, and therefore did not know the extent of premium class travel. Officials at several  agencies we interviewed generally informed us that they did not track, and  thus were not aware of, the extent of their business class travel. For  example, officials at USDA and Treasury were not aware of the extent of  business class travel at their respective agencies. For example, FAS’s and Treasury’s policies allowed employees to use  “mission critical” or “exceptional circumstances” as criteria for premium  class travel less than 14 hours. Data mining we  performed at these agencies found that the mission critical criterion is  typically used by senior executives to justify less than 10-hour trips to  Western Europe. A comparison between these two  agencies’ use of premium class travel to the same locations found that  MCC travelers flew to these locations in premium class 83 percent of the  time, compared to DOD’s use of premium class travel to the same  locations only 3 percent of the time. For example a deputy director of FDIC flew business  class from Washington, D.C., to London and back at a cost of $7,200 while  a coach class ticket would have cost $800. These cases illustrate the improper and abusive use of  premium class travel. We  interviewed officials from the General Services Administration (GSA),  Department of Defense (DOD), Department of State (State), Department  of Agriculture, and Millennium Challenge Corporation.
Why GAO Did This Study

Previous GAO work on widespread improper premium class travel at the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of State (State) have led to concerns as to whether similar improper travel exists in the rest of the federal government. Consequently, GAO was asked to (1) determine the magnitude of premium class travel governmentwide and the extent such travel was improper, (2) identify internal control weaknesses that contributed to improper and abusive premium class travel, and (3) report on specific cases of improper and abusive premium class travel. GAO analyzed bank data and performed statistical sampling to quantify the extent premium class travel was improper. GAO also performed data mining, reviewed travel regulations, and interviewed agency officials.

What GAO Found

Breakdowns in internal controls and a weak control environment resulted in at least $146 million in improper first and business class travel governmentwide. The federal government spent over $230 million on about 53,000 premium class tickets from July 1, 2005, through June 30, 2006. Premium class tickets are costly--for example, a Department of Agriculture (USDA) executive flew business class from Washington, D.C., to Zurich, Switzerland, at a cost of $7,500 compared to $900 for a coach class ticket. Based on statistical sampling, GAO estimated that 67 percent of premium class travel was not properly authorized, justified, or both. While business class travel accounted for 96 percent of all premium class travel, many agencies informed us that they did not track, and thus did not know the extent of, business class travel. OMB and GSA also did not require reporting of business class travel. GAO found large differences in premium class guidance governmentwide, with some agencies issuing less restrictive guidance that were tailored for executive travel. For example, the FTR allows premium class travel for flights over 14 hours if properly authorized. However, executives at the Foreign Agricultural Service frequently used "mission critical" to justify flights to Western Europe that typically lasted less than 10 hours. Other agencies, such as State and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), automatically approved premium class travel for all flights over 14 hours. GAO's analysis of flights involving destinations in the United States and Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Europe lasting 14 hours or more showed that 72 and 83 percent, respectively, of State's and MCC's flights involving these locations were in premium class. In contrast, 3 percent of all DOD's and the Department of Homeland Security's flights to the same locations were in premium class. There are examples representing specific cases of improper and abusive use of premium class, including employees of entities not subject to the Federal Travel Regulations that have issued policies that resulted in the purchase of costly premium class travel.