Originally Posted by
MSPeconomist
I've been told that government fares have a contract provision which essentailly says that the traveler cannot be IDBed
This is not true, though so many of them book into Y or other high fare buckets that IDBs essentially never happened even before the Dr. Dao incident.
Originally Posted by
MSPeconomist
normal government rules (which very somewhat by agency) seem to permit taking a VDB on the way home if it's during your time off from work, but not when you're on your way to something and not if you're on the clock.
You can take a VDB in either direction and keep the compensation, so long as it doesn't interfere with your work, you do it on your own time and don't charge any additional expenses to the taxpayers.
https://www.gsa.gov/policy-regulatio...22660#i1205031
I used to do these all the time because my usual route to a temporary project included an E120 LAX-SAN leg that was always overweight and often oversold. The "correct" flight got me in after the workday was over anyway, so it hurt no one for me to show up to my hotel room 2-3 hours later--either way, I was at work on time the next morning.