1. If you have a contact in the company, perhaps someone you earlier in the process and with whom you hit it off, why not call and ask her?
2, There is never a problem in asking simple questions without making the pre-conditions unless you mean them to be. If flying <J is a problem, might as well surface it now. However, I would not rationalize or get into a policy discussion because that seems arrogant. It is a question and nothing more, E.g., "what is your air travel policy?" The answer is the answer. Whether you will work overnight, show up from the airport and so on, is not relevant to this discussion.