Re: Finally got our flights...

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Finally got our flights...

by Quick Question

Jul 27, 2016

but, of course, trying to ship our pets is going to be a little tricky. The flights they booked us on are Delta and Air France. To ship our pets internationally, they require us to go through one of those pet transporting companies. Their fees all seem to be quite high (I put in for a quote with one that gives a military discount to current or former military that seems more reasonable, but still waiting to hear back). One someone recommended stated that their fees for international start off at a minimum of $2500-$3000 for a small pet internationally. With one cat and a large dog, there's just no way we could afford this. UGH!!

I used to work for an airline and have friends that still do, so one of my friends are trying to find out the rules for if I fly non-rev (using her passes) if I can take the pets and what the fees would be. If I do that though, I would have to fly into Rome and then find a way to get to Naples with a large dog and a cat.

Sigh......the fun neve...See More

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HelpOthers If the kids are in high school, I think it is a good idea
to send them with Dad, so they can start classes on time.
If you are delayed due to heat, or any other reason, at
least you won't have the stress of school start days added
to your time line.

On 7/28/16, Nathan wrote:
> Hey, keep one or both of your kids with...See More

Jul 28, 2016

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Couple of Questions Actually, all the AMC flights ended up being a bust. No
availability for 3 weeks. Don't want to leave any later
than that (wouldn't be there to help find the house, get
the kids registered for school, etc.).

As to my friends benefits, it's not a problem and she
wouldn't get in any kind of trouble. I'm a former employee
of t...See More

Jul 28, 2016

report post

It's not even a stretch for me to predict you're going to be disappointed about even one rental car being approved, much less two rental cars. Anyway, it's not TMO that "approves" rental cars during PCS (or TDY) official travel. Rather, the agency itself must pre-approve a rental car at gov't expense - it's just not ging to happen - but, ...See MoreIt's not even a stretch for me to predict you're going to be disappointed about even one rental car being approved, much less two rental cars. Anyway, it's not TMO that "approves" rental cars during PCS (or TDY) official travel. Rather, the agency itself must pre-approve a rental car at gov't expense - it's just not ging to happen - but, I've been wrong before, so, give it a try...you, and I, could be surprised).

~Should~ DoDEA approve you to rent a car on its dime (and that approval would be required no matter the distance and no matter the start & end points) then also realize that your husband's official orders would have to be officially "amended" to make even one rental car authorized.

So, Milan is a big city and so is Naples. If TMO will book your family & pets to Milan's airport (or Rome's or Venice's, or ??) then plan instead to take a train to Naples, dozens daily, and trains are very much approved for official travel and/or reimbursement. Enjoy the scenery without you also being required to drive. Italy's super highways are excellent but traffic customs there can be, shall I say surprising. A fast train connection can get you from Milan to Naples in under 5 hours! Why even think oif driving when it's possible to travbel th edistance much more rapidly than driving, while also allowing your pets cages to come along. If you are not in a hurry to get to Naples, try to plan to stop in Rome for a day or two or three, perhaps a several hours stop in Pisa to tak in the Tower; if that's possible, then a day or two, at least, in Firenze. Here's a link, fmi:

https://www.italiarail.com/pages/routes/naples-to-milan

Talk to TMO to see what they can do to book both air and train bookings using your husband's orders - they can definitely book the air tickets, but might tell you to go online to book your train tickets yourself. Definitely book your train tickets in advance, i.e. don't just show up at the train station. Do avoid doing air bookings/payments yourselves due to you never being able to get the low, low gov't rates that TMO can get in your behalf - eventual Travel Voucher settlement amount will be based on the rates the gov't can get for your travel, which is often FAR less than what you would pay yourselves, so you'd risk being "out-of-pocket" when you do your own official travel bookings.

On 7/28/16, Quick Question wrote: > Actually, all the AMC flights ended up being a bust. No > availability for 3 weeks. Don't want to leave any later > than that (wouldn't be there to help find the house, get > the kids registered for school, etc.). > > As to my friends benefits, it's not a problem and she > wouldn't get in any kind of trouble. I'm a former employee > of the same airline(as of about 2 weeks ago), and we get > one kind of passes for spouses/kids, etc., and then others > we can give to anyone. Unfortunately, she checked today > and if I flew on her passes I'd be what's classified as a > D3. Unfortunately, D3s cannot travel with pets, so that's > out now. > > We're looking at now changing to fly out of JFK non-stop > to Milan (all 4 of us at the same time, plus the two > pets), then renting 2 vehicles and driving from Milan to > Naples. Going through USAA for the car rental discount > makes it really cheap to rent the vehicles. We have to > call the travel office tomorrow to see if they approve of > this change. > > >

Jul 29, 2016

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Couple of Questions We ended up just changing my husband's flight so he's flying out of JFK directly into Naples with both pets. The kids and I are staying on the regular booked flights (of course, it'll take us 3 flights to get to Naples-UGH!). We're paying for my husband's flight ourselves, which was very reasonable including the charges for the pets, so we're happy...See MoreWe ended up just changing my husband's flight so he's flying out of JFK directly into Naples with both pets. The kids and I are staying on the regular booked flights (of course, it'll take us 3 flights to get to Naples-UGH!). We're paying for my husband's flight ourselves, which was very reasonable including the charges for the pets, so we're happy with it. It's really not a major concern for us if we get reimbursed for it or not. It would have been a MINIMUM of $400 to ship the dog and cat ($200 each), however with the dog having to go in cargo (not in the cabin) it would have been much more (for international they require you to go through a pet shipper). My husband's direct, along with the charges for the 2 pets, comes to around $525. Definitely worth it for us. Plus, he'll arrive a day before us so he can get settled into the room and get the pets settled.

On 7/29/16, Nathan wrote: > It's not even a stretch for me to predict you're going to be > disappointed about even one rental car being approved, > much less two rental cars. Anyway, it's not TMO that > "approves" rental cars during PCS (or TDY) official travel. > Rather, the agency itself must pre-approve a rental car at > gov't expense - it's just not ging to happen - but, I've been > wrong before, so, give it a try...you, and I, could be > surprised). > > ~Should~ DoDEA approve you to rent a car on its dime > (and that approval would be required no matter the > distance and no matter the start & end points) then also > realize that your husband's official orders would have to be > officially "amended" to make even one rental car > authorized. > > So, Milan is a big city and so is Naples. If TMO will book > your family & pets to Milan's airport (or Rome's or Venice's, > or ??) then plan instead to take a train to Naples, dozens > daily, and trains are very much approved for official travel > and/or reimbursement. Enjoy the scenery without you also > being required to drive. Italy's super highways are > excellent but traffic customs there can be, shall I say > surprising. A fast train connection can get you from Milan > to Naples in under 5 hours! Why even think oif driving > when it's possible to travbel th edistance much more > rapidly than driving, while also allowing your pets cages to > come along. If you are not in a hurry to get to Naples, try to > plan to stop in Rome for a day or two or three, perhaps a > several hours stop in Pisa to tak in the Tower; if that's > possible, then a day or two, at least, in Firenze. Here's a > link, fmi: > > https://www.italiarail.com/pages/routes/naples-to-milan > > Talk to TMO to see what they can do to book both air and > train bookings using your husband's orders - they can > definitely book the air tickets, but might tell you to go online > to book your train tickets yourself. Definitely book your train > tickets in advance, i.e. don't just show up at the train > station. Do avoid doing air bookings/payments yourselves > due to you never being able to get the low, low gov't rates > that TMO can get in your behalf - eventual Travel Voucher > settlement amount will be based on the rates the gov't can > get for your travel, which is often FAR less than what you > would pay yourselves, so you'd risk being "out-of-pocket" > when you do your own official travel bookings. > > > On 7/28/16, Quick Question wrote: >> Actually, all the AMC flights ended up being a bust. No >> availability for 3 weeks. Don't want to leave any later >> than that (wouldn't be there to help find the house, get >> the kids registered for school, etc.). >> >> As to my friends benefits, it's not a problem and she >> wouldn't get in any kind of trouble. I'm a former employee >> of the same airline(as of about 2 weeks ago), and we get >> one kind of passes for spouses/kids, etc., and then > others >> we can give to anyone. Unfortunately, she checked today >> and if I flew on her passes I'd be what's classified as a >> D3. Unfortunately, D3s cannot travel with pets, so that's >> out now. >> >> We're looking at now changing to fly out of JFK non-stop >> to Milan (all 4 of us at the same time, plus the two >> pets), then renting 2 vehicles and driving from Milan to >> Naples. Going through USAA for the car rental discount >> makes it really cheap to rent the vehicles. We have to >> call the travel office tomorrow to see if they approve of >> this change. >> >> >>

Jul 29, 2016

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Good to hear you have a plan to get the pets directly to Naples. That will minimize the stress for them.

Ensure your husband knows to keep all his personal flight and travel related receipts and then submit them in his Travel Voucher. Uncle Sam will allow actual expenses up to what they would have paid for his travel had they booked him. T...See MoreGood to hear you have a plan to get the pets directly to Naples. That will minimize the stress for them.

Ensure your husband knows to keep all his personal flight and travel related receipts and then submit them in his Travel Voucher. Uncle Sam will allow actual expenses up to what they would have paid for his travel had they booked him. That amount ~could~ be more that what you will actually pay for his travel so you'd get back what you pay, but of course, not more than what you actually pay.

Don't throw away the pet transporttion receipts either (but don't submit those costs for reimbursement, doh!), nor throw away any other out-of-pocket receipts related to this move because if you decide to file long form taxes for this year then those unreimbursed moving costs can be deducted on Form 3903F - the form to claim unreimbursed moving expenses for a foreign move - so, depending on your overall tax situation, it may or may not reduce your taxes but it's sure better to have those receipts and not need them than the other way around.

On 7/29/16, Quick Question wrote: > We ended up just changing my husband's flight so he's flying out > of JFK directly into Naples with both pets. The kids and I are > staying on the regular booked flights (of course, it'll take us > 3 flights to get to Naples-UGH!). We're paying for my husband's > flight ourselves, which was very reasonable including the > charges for the pets, so we're happy with it. It's really not a > major concern for us if we get reimbursed for it or not. It > would have been a MINIMUM of $400 to ship the dog and cat ($200 > each), however with the dog having to go in cargo (not in the > cabin) it would have been much more (for international they > require you to go through a pet shipper). My husband's direct, > along with the charges for the 2 pets, comes to around $525. > Definitely worth it for us. Plus, he'll arrive a day before us > so he can get settled into the room and get the pets settled. > > On 7/29/16, Nathan wrote: >> It's not even a stretch for me to predict you're going to be >> disappointed about even one rental car being approved, >> much less two rental cars. Anyway, it's not TMO that >> "approves" rental cars during PCS (or TDY) official travel. >> Rather, the agency itself must pre-approve a rental car at >> gov't expense - it's just not ging to happen - but, I've been >> wrong before, so, give it a try...you, and I, could be >> surprised). >> >> ~Should~ DoDEA approve you to rent a car on its dime >> (and that approval would be required no matter the >> distance and no matter the start & end points) then also >> realize that your husband's official orders would have to be >> officially "amended" to make even one rental car >> authorized. >> >> So, Milan is a big city and so is Naples. If TMO will book >> your family & pets to Milan's airport (or Rome's or Venice's, >> or ??) then plan instead to take a train to Naples, dozens >> daily, and trains are very much approved for official travel >> and/or reimbursement. Enjoy the scenery without you also >> being required to drive. Italy's super highways are >> excellent but traffic customs there can be, shall I say >> surprising. A fast train connection can get you from Milan >> to Naples in under 5 hours! Why even think oif driving >> when it's possible to travbel th edistance much more >> rapidly than driving, while also allowing your pets cages to >> come along. If you are not in a hurry to get to Naples, try to >> plan to stop in Rome for a day or two or three, perhaps a >> several hours stop in Pisa to tak in the Tower; if that's >> possible, then a day or two, at least, in Firenze. Here's a >> link, fmi: >> >> https://www.italiarail.com/pages/routes/naples-to-milan >> >> Talk to TMO to see what they can do to book both air and >> train bookings using your husband's orders - they can >> definitely book the air tickets, but might tell you to go online >> to book your train tickets yourself. Definitely book your train >> tickets in advance, i.e. don't just show up at the train >> station. Do avoid doing air bookings/payments yourselves >> due to you never being able to get the low, low gov't rates >> that TMO can get in your behalf - eventual Travel Voucher >> settlement amount will be based on the rates the gov't can >> get for your travel, which is often FAR less than what you >> would pay yourselves, so you'd risk being "out-of-pocket" >> when you do your own official travel bookings. >> >> >> On 7/28/16, Quick Question wrote: >>> Actually, all the AMC flights ended up being a bust. No >>> availability for 3 weeks. Don't want to leave any later >>> than that (wouldn't be there to help find the house, get >>> the kids registered for school, etc.). >>> >>> As to my friends benefits, it's not a problem and she >>> wouldn't get in any kind of trouble. I'm a former employee >>> of the same airline(as of about 2 weeks ago), and we get >>> one kind of passes for spouses/kids, etc., and then >> others >>> we can give to anyone. Unfortunately, she checked today >>> and if I flew on her passes I'd be what's classified as a >>> D3. Unfortunately, D3s cannot travel with pets, so that's >>> out now. >>> >>> We're looking at now changing to fly out of JFK non-stop >>> to Milan (all 4 of us at the same time, plus the two >>> pets), then renting 2 vehicles and driving from Milan to >>> Naples. Going through USAA for the car rental discount >>> makes it really cheap to rent the vehicles. We have to >>> call the travel office tomorrow to see if they approve of >>> this change. >>> >>> >>>

Jul 29, 2016

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