Auto-cancellation rule

The City Pair Program contract’s auto-cancellation rule gives airlines the discretion to cancel reservations under the following conditions:

• For YCA and _CA fare reservations booked more than 72 hours before departure, the airline can cancel reservations that have not been “ticketed” 48 hours before departure. To avoid auto-cancellation of these reservations, we recommend ensuring your travel authorization is approved and ticketed at least 3 business days before departure.
• For Business Class (_CB) and Premium Economy (_CP) fare reservations booked more than 8 calendar days before departure, the airline can cancel reservations that have not been “ticketed” 7 days before departure. To avoid auto-cancellation of these reservations, we recommend ensuring your travel authorization is approved and ticketed at least 8 calendar days before departure.

There are no fees or penalties associated with auto-cancellation of your reservation or rebooking your reservation that was subjected to auto-cancellation.

Possible exceptions to the auto-cancellation rule

Auto-cancellation is at the airline’s discretion for reservations made closer to departure. The auto-cancellation rule may not apply to:

• YCA and _CA reservations booked less than 72 hours before departure and may require ticketing 6 hours before departure at the airline’s discretion.
• _CB and _CP reservations booked 7 calendar days or less before departure and may require ticketing 6 hours before the departure at the airline’s discretion.
• Groups of 10 or more are non-mandatory users of the City Pair Program. To maintain group integrity, the travel arranger will work with the TMC to book the group fares with the airlines. If the airline allows the group to use CPP fares for the travel, the auto-cancellation rule would apply as described above. If not using CPP fares, the rule would not apply.
• Non-contract Discounted Government fares (DG).

Why the auto-cancellation rule exists

The auto-cancellation of unticketed reservations allows contract airlines to re-claim the flight inventory for resell. This also provides government travelers an opportunity to obtain last minute travel reservations for emergency type travel.

What to do if your trip is canceled and you still need to travel

1. Work with your authorizing official to re-establish your reservation.

   This may include calling your agency’s Travel Management Company directly, which can result in increased fees to your agency.

2. Consult your agency’s policy for booking last-minute travel.

   Note that the new reservation may be made at a different fare (YCA), which could be higher than the original booked fare. The new booking may require additional approval on your travel authorization depending on your agency’s policy.

3. Allow time to issue a ticket before heading to the airport.

   Keep in mind that if you are rebooking within 48 hours prior to departure, most airlines require ticketing within six hours prior to departure.

4. Make sure your approving official is aware of the changes to your travel.