With the university’s updated travel policy, SPG 507.10-1, U-M business airfare must be booked through Collegiate Travel Planners (CTP) for all flights booked on or after July 1, 2025. We recognize, however, that there may be rare situations where booking outside of CTP is unavoidable.
When Can You Request an Exception?
Employees may submit the Airfare Booking Exception request form before making any purchase outside of CTP under specific, extenuating circumstances such as:
- The required airline cannot be booked through CTP because it is not made available to travel agencies by the carrier.
- You must make a change to a flight originally booked outside of CTP (such as a flight first purchased before July 1, 2025) that results in an additional out-of-pocket expense.
- You encounter a same-day flight change with an out-of-pocket cost (e.g., needing to switch flights after check-in). While generally allowable, the exception form is required for reimbursement and can be submitted retroactively after travel.
Important Notes:
- Any out-of-pocket travel expense purchased without an approved exception (including same-day itinerary changes with an additional cost) will require an approved exception before it can be reimbursed.
- Exception requests are not valid for price differences. If you find a lower airfare on the airline’s website, please follow the Airline Price Matching guidance instead.
- The requestor and the approver must be different individuals (e.g., supervisor, expense approver, or other authorized administrator).
- After unit approval, exceptions are reviewed by the Travel Program Team in 48–72 hours.
- Once approved, attach the PDF of your exception approval to your Emburse expense report and enter the TDX ticket number in the appropriate field.
For full details and instructions, see the Airfare Booking Exception form or contact the Travel Program Team at [email protected] with questions.