Regarding your editorial "State workers shouldn't be flying business class" on January 12, it's always easy to take shots at government services, but while you are accusing Maryland officials of such travesties, private and public companies, associations, non-profits, etc. all have similar policies. The economic downturn has caused many organizations to reevaluate their travel policies and ultimately eliminate business/first class altogether. However, your question, "what is cost efficient" is entirely too general. Cost efficiency in travel is the combination of acquiring the lowest fare combined with the most efficient use of time. Would you purchase the lowest fare that forced you to have a six-hour international layover? Probably not. Your comment about using the "lowest logical fares" is not a contradiction since taking the six-hour connecting flight is clearly an illogical fare.

We see these issues all the time where such obscure travel industry phrases are essentially meaningless and often get organizations in trouble. The only way to hold travelers of any kind accountable for their travel purchase decisions is to have specific parameters. For example, simply use a dollar figure of $500 for domestic travel and $1,000 for international, and should anyone require a ticket greater in cost they would need to receive approval. Such approval processes are easily installed through automation.

So, before bricks are thrown at the government or any other organization, keep in mind, the ability to restrict or monitor such behavior exists and ultimately saves a lot of money (and face) for the organization through easy to understand policies.

Jay Ellenby

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