Do I have to use DTS to book flights?

DoD travelers are required to use DTS for some, but not all, types and circumstances of travel [PDF, 5 pages]. Service Members and DoD civilian employees, as well as their dependents and invitational travelers, may use DTS for local and TDY, or government-funded leave.



People Also Ask

Third-party booking platforms can offer great airfare deals but fewer traveler protections. Experts recommend booking directly with your airline or a personal travel agent. Travelers say customer service can be hard to reach at online travel agencies if something goes wrong.

MORE DETAILS

Depending on your airline's rules, however, you'll only need to “walk up” if you want to book extremely close-in. If you don't need to fly any sooner than 2-3 hours in the future (in most cases), you should be able to book and receive confirmation as you would any other itinerary.

MORE DETAILS

Lackluster customer service. Travelers who book on third-party platforms also often can't contact the airline directly for customer service. Generally speaking, airfare policies dictate that whoever sold you the ticket is responsible for servicing the reservation.

MORE DETAILS

You may not get the same service and perks as when booking directly from the airline. Take this into account when looking for a flight. You might be missing out on points or miles. You might miss exclusive fares and promotions.

MORE DETAILS

In the Defense Travel System, or DTS, users can search for airline, hotel, and rental car reservations, check per diem rates, and prepare personal travel documents or, with the proper permissions, documents for others.

MORE DETAILS

Skyscanner, Momondo, and Google Flights consistently find the cheapest flights and routes, but booking through the airline is always best in case there are delays or cancellations.

MORE DETAILS

Payments are never made through Skyscanner. So basically, Skyscanner redirects users to a third-party website to complete travel reservations.

MORE DETAILS

You are usually better off booking direct with the airline. If you book through a travel agency and something goes wrong then the airline may well refer you back to the travel agency to fix the problem. That can be tricky if the agency is either thousands of miles away or only contactable via the internet.

MORE DETAILS

Skyscanner forbids caching on your side. In other words, you can't store old prices to build, say, a flex-fare search based on previous user requests. You still have to use their cache, which is limited to 500 fares per minute.

MORE DETAILS

Average domestic airfare price by day
  • Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the cheapest days to fly domestically.
  • Saturday and Monday flights can help you avoid the Sunday rush.
  • Wednesdays and Thursdays are the cheapest day to fly internationally.
  • Book one to three months in advance.
  • Set a price alert.


MORE DETAILS

There's no sugarcoating it: Airfare is expensive. And while waiting until the last minute might sound like a good idea, it typically is cheaper to book your flights in advance. We are seeing fewer last-minute deals than in years past, especially when it comes to flights, a Kayak spokesperson tells Travel + Leisure.

MORE DETAILS

Generally, airlines will offer cheaper tickets directly from their website as they don't have to pay a commission to the travel agency. However, some travel agencies may be able to offer discounts or special deals that can make them cheaper than buying directly from an airline's website.

MORE DETAILS