The Fly America Act is a federal regulation that requires travelers to book on a U.S. flag carrier for travel that is reimbursed from federal grants/funds regardless of ticket cost or convenience.
There are exceptions to the Fly America Act when it is not reasonable to fly on a U.S. flag carrier*. The most common exceptions are the use of Code Sharing and the Open Skies Agreement. A full list of exceptions can be referenced on the GSA website, and are as follows:
*All exceptions must be documented on the Fly America Exceptions Form. Attach the form to the expense report with relevant receipts for the Grant Manager to review.
- When a U.S. air carrier is not available.
- When using a U.S. carrier service would extend the travel time by 24 hours or more.
- When a U.S. carrier does not offer a nonstop or direct flight between origin and destination, and using a U.S. carrier:
- Increases the number of aircraft changes outside the United States by two or more;
- Extends travel time by six hours or more; or
- Requires a connecting time of four hours or more at an overseas interchange point.
- When the flight time from origin to destination is less than three hours and using a U.S. flag carrier doubles the flight time.
- When there is an applicable Open Skies Agreement in effect that meets the requirements of the Fly America Act.
The exceptions provided by the Open Skies Agreements for government-funded travel do not apply if your transportation is funded by the Department of Defense (DOD).