Army Wives Life: PCS Airline Travel Arrangements and Changes

PCS ing to a new duty station for the first time can be a little overwhelming, and answers to your questions may be hard to come by.   As in my case, Not all of my questions were answered, even through the FRG.

Yesterday I went to the Travel Dept. on Post to finalize our travel arrangements.  Due to our situation, we weren't too sure if the Army would allow us to make changes to our itinerary.  Our PCS orders have us traveling from our current duty station (Schofield Barracks) to our new duty station (Fort Campbell).

Since we have two vehicles, (military only ships one)... and our moving expenses that keep adding up, it was in our best interest to ship the second vehicle only to Oakland rather than to St. Louis (the closest port to Fort Campbell).  Then drive it cross country to our final destination.

I tried to do my research online, but couldn't find anything helpful regarding this.  So I'm here to share some valuable information for families, and soldiers in the same situation.

hint:  This can also apply if you wish to divert to another city to visit family.



Initial Steps to Get Started!

• MAKE AN APPT WITH HOUSEHOLD GOODS FIRST.  Before making any travel arrangements, you must set up an appt with household goods to receive your travel slip. Just call ahead to schedule one.  Depending on the post, and the time of year, appt's may be booked up to a week out.
• GATHER ALL YOUR PAPERWORK.  Once you've received your travel slip, you can now make your travel arrangements.  Paperwork you'll need to take along with you:  Travel Slip, 2 copies of your orders, your gov't ID, and the names of each traveler over the age of 18.  (names must be exactly as shown on gov't ID that each passenger will be using at check-in.  Including middle names).  note:  This is all I needed as a family member.  But when a soldier is filing for travel arrangements, other paperwork may be needed. 

Understanding how the travel process works!

ENTITLEMENTS:  When you are given PCS orders, you are also assigned an allotted amount of money used for your travel arrangements.  The Army covers your airline tickets from your current duty station to the final destination only.  The amount is mostly determined by your destination miles, and also season airline rates.  We'll call this amount $A.

GOV'T issued airline tickets:  When PCS ing to a new duty station, you and your family are given a Gov't Issued Airline ticket.  Which means, the Army covers any unforseen charges a regular customer might accrue.  Such as luggage fees, flight cancellations, etc.  (destinations only specified on your orders)

hint: When traveling on a Gov't issued ticket, your luggage may exceed the normal allotted weight limit.  Just show your orders at the time of check-in to void any fees. 



MAKING CHANGES TO YOUR RESERVATIONS 

The Travel Dept will First have to issue you a ticket according to your orders.  From the current duty station, to the new duty station:   This is mandatory to determine your travel route, cost of travel, and to issue you a travel voucher for reimbursements once you report to the new duty station.  More information on Travel Vouchers

•  Once the ticket is issued, you may see your route to your new duty station, and they will also give you the $ amount you are entitled to for travel.  ($A)  hint: if you have a layover city, you may change the layover city, and tell them you want an extended stay at your layover city.  If this is the case, and there is no fare difference, you will still be considered a Gov't Issued Ticket.
• Final destination City Change:  Any Changes to this gov't issued airline ticket will now change it's status from a Gov't Issued ticket to a penalty ticket.  A Penalty ticket is a non-refundable ticket, and any travel changes will need to be made with the Airline.  The Army is no longer responsible for your travel.  Any luggage fees, flight fees, etc, are now an out-of-pocket expense that you are responsible for.  If you are the Active Duty Soldier, it is now your responsibility to get to your duty station on your report date!
• Out-of-Pocket Expenses:  The Travel Dept will charge a $30 per ticket change fee that you must pay at the time of the exchange.  The amount of the new ticket will be covered by the Army ONLY UP TO the entitled travel $A.  If your exchange is more expensive than your entitled amount, you will need to cover the difference out-of-pocket.  hint: If your ticket is less expensive, then there is no fees other than the initial $30 per ticket change fee.

TRAVEL CONFIRMATION
You are now all set for travel.  And if you are now traveling on a Penalty Ticket, please remember that any changes to your ticket, flight times, fees, etc, are all handled directly through the airline, and the expenses are now out-of-pocket expenses.

It's definitely a lot of information, but I hope it helps at least ONE family.  If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to comment here, or email me at designer@tionitaylor.com 

GOOD LUCK! and GOD SPEED!