Defense Travel System use of restricted airfare in conjunction with the GSA City Pair Program to effectively reduce TDY travel costs within DoD

Abstract

This thesis discusses the Naval Postgraduate School's use of the Defense Travel System (DTS) and examines a process of using the GSA City Pair Program in conjunction with restricted airfare as a means to effectively reduce travel costs and conserve Department of Defense dollars. The thesis starts off with a brief introduction of travel at NPS, and is followed by a section on the Defense Travel System to include NPS's history with electronic travel systems. The third chapter highlights NPS's current travel process to include the Commercial Travel Office and GSA City Pair Program. Next I outline the process whereby NPS would use a combination of the City Pair Program and restricted airfare to reduce travel expenditures. Specifically, this section discusses obstacles to effectively using restricted fares and how to overcome those obstacles such as gaining approval from CNO's office (OPNAV N413B) to designate NPS as a test platform, using a decision matrix to help customers decide if a restricted fare is right for their trip, implementing the process with assistance from the DTS program office, reporting requirements and evaluation for determining if the process should be implemented for all of DoD. Finally, the thesis closes with a recap and some recommendations for improving DTS to increase stakeholder and customer satisfaction.