Your money: Pentagon travel system under attack
Being the world's foremost buyer of airline tickets, the United States Department of Defence acquired a booking system of its own known as the defence travel system. Its original function was to purchase the least expensive airline seat and to avoid additional expenses on paperwork and travel agents.
A republican senator from Oklahoma named Tom Coburn, noted that the booking system was already lagging four years behind schedule and at the same time two hundred million dollars over budget.
The Department of Defence's inspector general suggested the botching of the defence travel system four years ago, but its implementation still pushed through. Researchers calculated that about seventy percent of department officials refuse to apply the booking system either because of flawed software or they consider a better price available somewhere else.
Citizens Against Government Waste’s Tom Schatz admitted that in most instances the defence personnel still prefer to book a reservation from travel agents.
Many detractors also stressed that the use of internet websites is much more effective than the new system because numerous travel websites, like Travelocity and Expedia, are now offering cheaper prices.
The developer of the system, Northrup Grumman was nonetheless undeterred, stating that the system will ultimately help the Department of Defence save funds.
Senator Coburn, however, was not satisfied with the company’s forecasts.