Omega World Travel Fee-for-Service Fact Sheet

A requirement of the NIH Travel Management Center contract is that non-refundable service fees will be charged for each transaction which involves an airline ticket being issued. This includes all travel booked through Omega World Travel (patient, official government, and travel for authorized non-government travelers). These fees are a necessary part of the contract due to the continually decreasing commissions paid to the travel agencies by the airlines. Also, please remember to send your travel orders to Omega at least 2 weeks in advance.

If a hotel and/or car rental reservations is added to the air/train reservations, it is not considered a transaction and no additional service fee will be charged. However, a fee of $11.05 will be charged when booking a hotel/car reservation only. This is a change from the old contract. A fee does not apply for changing a air/train reservation prior to the issuance of the ticket.

Listed below, please find the applicable fees and examples.

Official Government Travel

A non-refundable service fee for each ticket transaction, based on the reservation method used, will be applied for all travel that is for NIH Patients or authorized Official Government travel. The fee is applied for each airline or Amtrak ticket issued, but not for making or changing train or air reservations prior to the ticket being cut by Omega. Any hotel or car rental reservations may be added to air or train reservations with no additional charge.

Please remember to have sufficient funds obligated to cover all applicable fees so that Omega can issue the tickets in a timely manner.

Examples:

1. A Clinical Center patient has been requested by her doctor to return to the NIH for a follow-up treatment in six weeks. The reservations were prepared in person at the Omega Patient Travel Office located in Building 10. A non-refundable service fee of $30.50 would be applied for this transaction.


2. Your supervisor has requested that you attend a five day conference in Utah. The Travel Assistant in your office faxed the reservation request to Omega. Upon reservation confirmation and pricing information from Omega, she can then prepare your Official Government Travel Order which should include the service fee of $23.55 for this transaction.


3. Dr. Li made Official Government Travel reservations by phone with Omega to fly to Boston to attend a medical conference. Omega issued the ticket and a service fee of $23.55 was applied. However, two days prior to leaving, he discovered that work demands necessitate departing on a later flight. Dr. Li may call Omega, and they will book him on a later flight. Dr. Li can go ahead and use the same ticket that was issued previously. However, if Dr. Li wants a new ticket to be issued, a second service fee of $23.55 will be charged to reissue the amended ticket.
4. Dr. Brown made Official Government Travel reservations a month in advance by phone with Omega to fly to Minneapolis. Omega issued the ticket and a service fee of $23.55 was applied. A week later, Dr. Brown found out she could not go on the trip and had to cancel. Omega cancels the reservations but will not refund the service fee. However, a week before she was originally supposed to go, Dr. Brown found out she can go again, and she emails Omega and reserves the exact same seat as before. A second service fee of $23.55 will be charged.
5. Dr. Green makes a reservation for an Official Government trip, DC-San Diego-DC. She also wants to add a personal leg B from San Diego to Seattle. Two service fees apply here. One service fee (which the Government pays for ) is to cover the ticket issued for the official travel portion of the trip. The second service fee (which the traveler is responsible for) applies when Omega issues the ticket which includes the personal travel.
6. In June, Dr. Adams makes a reservation from DC-Boston on United and from Boston-DC on US AIRWAYS. Two service fees apply since the airlines will not allow this to be entered onto one ticket order, and Omega has to create two separate transactions.

Meeting Travel
(travel reservations made via PO/BPA)

The reservation method dictates the dollar amount of the non-refundable service fee which will be applied to all travel paid for through a purchase order or blanket purchase agreement (BPA). For purposes of the service fee, a "Transaction" is each issuance of any airline or Amtrak ticket. The fee will be added as a line item on the invoice, and therefore should be included as an appropriate separate line item on the corresponding purchase order.

Examples:

1. In December, Dr. Smith makes a reservation for a February meeting, round trip LA-DC-LA. She makes changes to her air schedule twice in mid-January. Omega issues her ticket in late January. One service fee applies.
2. In December, Dr. Jones makes a reservation for a February meeting, San Diego-DC-San Diego. Omega issues his ticket in late January. One service fee applies. He then cancels the trip. One week before the meeting, he calls to re-arrange for the trip since he can now attend the meeting. Omega issues a second ticket for the same trip. A second service fee applies.

Ticket Delivery Fees

The ticket delivery fees are also non-refundable and are determined by the requester's choice of delivery mode. The delivery fees are based on a per ticket delivery rate, and should be included as a separate line item on the travel and purchase orders. However, if a ticket has to be reissued (an additional transaction due to schedule change etc.), Omega may charge an additional ticket delivery fee.

Examples:

1. Dr. Doolittle has just learned that she needs to fly to Seattle in two days. She requests that the ticket be mailed to her via overnight delivery. Therefore, a ticket delivery service fee of $9.80 would apply.
2. Mr. Barrymore will be taking an official government trip to London in three weeks. Because he has ample time to obtain the tickets, he has requested that he pick up the tickets at the Building 10 travel office. No service delivery fee would be applied.