Tickets wherever possible, should be bought through the University's approved travel management company. Travel insurance should be taken out at the time of making the booking (see Travel Insurance [1] for more details).
Economy class service should be used at the fare giving the best value for money. This applies even when the cost is being charged to a research grant or from a funding source that was generated by the work of the individual. If the lowest fare is not accepted then justification must be made to the person authorising the expenditure for another class to be used, however connecting flights should be considered. Subject to the approval of the Head of Department an employee may travel premium economy or business cabin class if:
An individual may fund an upgrade of ticket from their own pocket or from their personal air-miles.
See the Procurement Services web site for details of the travel management company. For air travel in particular attention should be paid to the following:
Bargains can certainly be found on the internet, but there are also risks and difficulties.
On the face these fares may be cheaper but full consideration of the above must be given when prices are compared to those of the travel management company.
E ticketing means that you are sent an e-mail acknowledgement containing a reference number for your booking and you can go straight to the airline's check-in at the airport to collect your boarding pass. They should be taken where offered by the agent/airline. Surcharges are levied when paper tickets are requested on e-ticket route. These charges are often upward of £50 and are set to rise.
However, please remember if booking tickets on-line or purchasing 'e' tickets to still ensure that you print out a receipt and if booking on behalf of a colleague you follow the University Finance regulations and seek quotes/raise purchase orders where appropriate.
Air fares for business journeys are included in the University's dispensation and do not have to be included on the P11D.
Links
[1] https://www.insurance.admin.cam.ac.uk/travel-insurance