Frequently Asked Questions

SLAC pays for air travel in coach or economy class for all domestic and most international flights. SLAC defines coach or economy class as the lowest economy airfare which includes a reserved seat, one personal item, one carry-on bag, and one checked bag. Business class is permissible for international flights with a duration of 14 hours or more (including connecting domestic legs, excluding layover time).

Other classes of travel may be allowed based on documented medical needs. The disability or special need must be substantiated in writing by a medical authority and be pre-approved by the SLAC Occupational Health Center.

Other exceptions include:

• Upgraded through the redemption of personal points/miles (must be clearly documented on the itinerary attached to your Concur expense request)
• No space available in coach class within the period of business days. Documentation of this is required and is subject to the Controller’s approval.

No, you are not required to choose basic economy fares. These fares are not what is expected of our travelers and do not need to be included in any fare comparison documentation for expense reimbursement.

You can book Airline "A" if you document the cost of Airline "B" and pay the incremental difference with your personal funds or miles/points.

To get reimbursed for airfare that wasn't used, you will need to fill out an Unused Ticket Affidavit and attach it to your expense report along with the canceled flight itinerary.  Please note that any credit you receive for the cancellation must be used in the future for SLAC-related travel.

Our mandated travel booking channels do not offer vacation packages for employees.

For those with an affiliation that is defined as an exception to our booking channel policy, they should only utilize booking tools that offer a clear itemization of expenses. Most often the organizations offering travel packages need to itemize individual components (i.e. airfare, lodging, etc). 

Such reservations for business travel should only be booked after the traveler has confirmed that each component will be separately itemized (i.e. itemized hotel charges and airfare). Non-itemized receipts are not sufficient documentation for reimbursement.

Yes, travel must not exceed the equivalent airfare. A traveler may choose to use an automobile or other surface transportation for personal reasons even if air travel is the appropriate mode of transportation. 

For this situation, surface transportation expenses may not exceed the airfare SLAC would have paid if air travel had been used, along with the normal cost of ground transportation to and from airports. 

The per diem cost of meals, lodging, tolls, ferries, and parking while in transit via surface transportation may be expensed if the total amount reimbursed does not exceed the equivalent airfare.

• Coach class fare plus ground transportation.
• U.S. flag carrier and at least seven days advance purchase.
• Screenshot of the airfare comparison attached to the Concur expense report.
• For two or more individuals traveling together on business, the sum of all airfare and ground transportation amounts are used.

An itinerary, invoice, ticket, or receipt (including printouts of electronic versions of these documents) that shows proof of payment (e.g., the card being charged) must be included when reporting airfare expenses. The receipt for airfare must be attached to your Concur expense request.

Documentation must include all the following information or the request will be returned:

• Dates of travel
• Time of departure
• Flight numbers
• Class of service
• Fare basis
• Ticket number or confirmation code
• Cost of ticket
• Proof of payment (the type of card used and the last 4 digits of the card number)

Yes, you may travel on an upgraded class at your own expense or through the redemption of your personal frequent flier miles. Please note on your expense report when an upgraded class is taken and the way this class was paid (personal expense, mileage, ETC).

To ensure that these are separate, you can book your initial flight through our SLAC Travel booking channels. You can visit the airline website directly with your ticket/confirmation number to process the upgrade.

Note: SLAC will not reimburse for any sort of upgraded class, seat upgrade, or preferred seat.