Issue 5 | April 10, 2002

Service Charge for Airline Tickets

To: UTB/TSC Employees

From: Rosemary R. Martinez, CPA

Date: April 10, 2002

Subj: Service Charge for Airline Tickets

Due to major US airlines eliminating commissions paid to travel agencies for processing of airline tickets, a service charge will now be assessed to all airline ticket purchases and changes. UTB/TSC will be paying the lowest service fees of all U.T. Components. Other components are paying between $22.35 and $32.00 per transaction. Depending on how you purchase your tickets, the following will apply:

PURCHASE THROUGH TRAVEL AGENCY
Effective 4/8/02 Shands Travel Agency will charge a $15.00 service fee for all transactions. This fee will be billed for issuing a ticket (electronic or paper), exchanging a ticket, or refunding a ticket. There will be no transaction fee for car or hotel reservations only. The service fee will be billed as a separate item on the invoice you receive when you pick up your airline ticket.

ON-LINE TICKETS PURCHASED BY EMPLOYEES
If an electronic ticket is purchased on-line, with funds to be reimbursed after the travel, the following conditions must be met:

The cost of the ticket cannot exceed the State of Texas contracted airfare. Information on contracted airfares can be found at: http://www.gsc.state.tx.us/travel/fy2002air.html . If your requested departure/destination is not located, please contact Lupita Farrell at extension 6598. The traveler is responsible for all changes or cancellations. The university will not reimburse the traveler for cancellations; however, unused tickets are good for one year from date of purchase. If changes are made, the total cost of the ticket cannot exceed the state contracted rate. 

If you have any questions regarding the new charges, please contact Brian Bochenek, Director of Purchasing at extension 3822. Thank you.