Policy Notes:  Fly America Act (U.S. Air Carrier Requirement)

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General Requirement of the Fly America Act

Generally, all flights charged to federal projects must be taken on U.S. flag air carriers or on foreign air carriers that code share with a U.S. flag carrier on the flight taken. This includes flights within the U.S. If there is no U.S. carrier to your destination, you must travel on a U.S. carrier as far as possible. By law, additional cost for U.S. carrier flights is not sufficient justification to fly on foreign carriers. Please note that the same rules apply to a foreign visitor’s flights.

See list of U.S. Flag Air Carriers and Code Share Alliances.

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Exceptions

There are strictly limited circumstances in which an exception may be appropriate. For example:

  • a U.S. flag carrier does not provide service on a particular leg of your trip,
  • the use of a U.S. carrier will unreasonably delay your travel time as defined by GSA Regulations,
  • you are involuntarily rerouted, or
  • medical or safety reasons, GSA Regulations.

Use of the Fly America Act Waiver Checklist can help you identify legitimate exceptions for use of a non-U.S. carrier.

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Documentation of Compliance

To satisfy regulatory requirements for charges to a federally sponsored project, a U.S. flag carrier designator code must be present on documentation for a flight; for example, UA1776 for United Flight 1776 or AA1787 for American Flight 1787. If you believe that you were on a code share flight, but there is no documentation showing the U.S. flag carrier code and flight number, you cannot charge the flight to a federally sponsored project.

A paper ticket or documentation for an e-ticket normally provides this proof. However, in some code sharing situations, we have found that only the boarding pass showed the U.S. flag carrier code. In this case, the boarding pass should be retained for documentation.

If you are claiming an exception under the Act, GSA Regulations 301-10.141 and 301-10.142 detail the certification requirements for federal audit purposes. When requesting reimbursement for a flight that does not comply, you must document the reason for the exception by submitting a Certification of Exception to Fly America Act Form. Submitting this information with a reimbursement request will speed the payment process.

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Booking Travel

Stanford’s preferred travel agencies, Summit Travel Group and Carlson Wagonlit Travel, have agents that are well versed in the Fly America Act. If you advise them that your trip is federally funded, they will provide flight options that comply with the Act and will provide certification of that compliance for you.

For questions related to compliance with the Act, contact the Buying and Paying Support Center:

Orbitz for Business or other travel web sites cannot provide certification of compliance with Fly America.

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