ISU RFQ S-IZ110-12-Q-0001.docx

RFQ No. S-IZ110-12-R-0001

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Section 1 - The Schedule

· SF 1449 cover sheet

· Continuation To SF-1449, RFP Number S-IZ110-12-R-0001, Prices, Block 23

· Continuation To SF-1449, RFP Number S-IZ110-12-R-0001, Schedule Of Supplies/Services, Block 20 Description/Specifications/Work Statement

· List of Attachments to Description/Specifications/Statement of Work, Government Furnished Property

· Attachments

Section 2 - Contract Clauses

· Contract Clauses

· Addendum to Contract Clauses - FAR and DOSAR Clauses not Prescribed in Part 12

Section 3 - Solicitation Provisions

· Solicitation Provisions

· Addendum to Solicitation Provisions - FAR and DOSAR Provisions not Prescribed in Part 12

Section 4 - Evaluation Factors

· Evaluation Factors

· Addendum to Evaluation Factors - FAR and DOSAR Provisions not Prescribed in Part 12

Section 5 - Offeror Representations and Certifications

· Offeror Representations and Certifications

· Addendum to Offeror Representations and Certifications - FAR and DOSAR Provisions not Prescribed in Part 12

SECTION 1 - THE SCHEDULE

CONTINUATION TO SF-1449, RFQ NUMBER S-IZ110-12-R-0001

PRICES BLOCK 23

1.0 Description

The Contractor shall provide travel management services to the U.S. Embassy, Baghdad, Iraq and U. S. Consulates in Basrah, Erbil and Kirkuk, represented by the Iraq support unit (ISU) located at the U. S. Embassy in Amman, Jordan, as described in this solicitation. The contract type is a requirements type contract for all travel management services required by the agencies set forth in Section 1, paragraph 27.0. The contract will be for a one-year period from the date to start services, set forth in the Notice to Proceed, with two one-year options to renew.

2.0 Transaction Fees and Commission Refund Process

2.1 Transaction Fee: The Government shall pay the Contractor a transaction fee based on a fixed rate per transaction. See also Section 1, continuation of block 20, paragraph 2.0, Definitions, and paragraph 17.0 for further information on handling of transaction fees. See also paragraph 15.0 for a further description of Government Travel Charge Card, Centrally Billed Account (CBA), and Government Travel Request (GTR) sales.

2.2 Reserved

2.3. Pricing in JD (Jordanian Dinars)

Period 1 Option Period 2 Option Period 3 Option Period 4

Within City Limits Services – Domestic/International Transaction Fee

On-site Services - Domestic/International Transaction Fee

On-line Booking Fee – Domestic/International

Overnight Delivery Fee

Courier Delivery Fee

Table of Contents Continuation to SF-1449, Block 20

· 1.0 - Scope of Work

· 2.0 - Definitions and Acronyms

· 3.0 - Contractor Requirements for Providing Official Travel Services

· 4.0 - Contractor Priority

· 5.0 - Furnishing of Equipment/Property

· 6.0 - Space for Performance of Required Services

· 7.0 - Minimum Personnel Requirements

· 8.0 - Contractor’s Quality Control Plan

· 9.0 - Transition Requirement and Continuity of Services

· 10.0 - Deliverables

· 11.0 - Notice to Proceed, Period of Performance and Options

· 12.0 - Place of Performance

· 13.0 - Hours of Service

· 14.0 - Basis of Compensation to the Contractor

· 15.0 - Billing and Payment Procedures

· 16.0 - Refund Procedures

· 17.0 - Transaction Fee Procedures

· 18.0 - Security

· 19.0 - Government Approval and Acceptance of Contractor Employees

· 20.0 - Key Personnel

· 21.0 - Personal Injury, Property Loss or Damage (Liability)

· 22.0 - Insurance

· 23.0 - Bonding of Employees

· 24.0 - Permits

· 25.0 - Post Award Conference

· 26.0 – Task Order Issuance

· 27.0 – Requiring Activity

CONTINUATION TO SF-1449, RFQ NUMBER S-IZ110-12-R-0001

SCHEDULE OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES, BLOCK 20

DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/WORK STATEMENT

1.0 Scope of Work

1.1. The Contractor shall provide corporate travel services for official international travel of Government employees and their dependents. International travel includes travel outside of the country of Iraq in which the U. S. Embassy Baghdad and U. S. Consulates Basrah, Erbil and Kirkuk are located and travel outside that country, including travel within the U. S. and other countries. Current workload is approximately 450 transactions per month. The corporate travel services that the Contractor shall provide include:

* Travel reservations, issuance and delivery of tickets for air, rail, bus and steamship carriers; and where possible, advance seat assignments and advance boarding passes;

* Reservations for lodging accommodations;

* Commercial automobile rental services;

* Assistance in obtaining passports, visas, and advice regarding health requirements;

* Detailed travelers' itineraries;

* Management information and billing reports derived from the booking database;

* Automated reconciliation of travel charges incurred through the Government's CBA accounts;

* Seminars, meetings and workshops at sites selected by the Government (including conference rooms, lodging, meals, ground transportation, audio-visual equipment, and related services); and,

* Information pamphlets for Government travelers who use the contract.

1.2. Each of these items is discussed in detail in Section 1, continuation of block 20, paragraph 3.0, "Contractor Requirements for Providing Official Travel Services".

1.3. The Contractor shall also provide travel services for any individual sponsored by a participating agency under this contract, including personnel on temporary duty. Additionally, the Government is often called upon to assist U.S. citizens who wish to return to the U.S. The Contractor may be called upon to assist with the travel arrangements in such cases. The Contractor shall direct any question as to whether or not a service should be provided to a particular person, to the Contracting Officer or the Contracting Officer’s Representative.

1.4. The Contractor shall also provide travel services for any individual sponsored by a participating agency under this contract, including personnel on temporary duty. Additionally, the Government is often called upon to assist U.S. citizens who wish to return to the U.S. The Contractor may be called upon to assist with the travel arrangements in such cases. The Contractor shall direct any question as to whether or not a service should be provided to a particular person, to the Contracting Officer or the Contracting Officer’s Representative.

1.5. Upon the request of employees or other persons with disabilities traveling on official business, the Contractor must arrange necessary and reasonable accommodations, including but not limited to airline seating, in-terminal transfers, ground transportation and barrier-free or otherwise accessible lodging.

2.0 Definitions and Acronyms

Agency – U.S. Government activity at post, such as State Department, Foreign Commercial Service, or Foreign Agricultural Service.

ARC - Airlines Reporting Corporation. Website: http://www.arccorp.com.

Business Day - Sunday through Thursday, 0800 - 1630 except holidays listed in Section 2, DOSAR 652.237-72, “Observance Of Legal Holidays And Administrative Leave”.

CBA - Centrally Billed Account. Account established by a charge card Contractor at the request of an agency as defined in this document. Consolidated airline ticket charges accrued through use of centrally billed accounts shall be billed monthly. Expenses billed against centrally billed accounts are paid to the Government travel charge card program Contractor.

Commission - Amount paid to the Contractor by another entity not a party to this contract, such as an airline, for each airline ticket the Contractor books for that airline.

COR - Contracting Officer's Representative. See Section 2, DOSAR 652.242-70, Contracting Officer's Representative (COR)

CRS - Central Reservation System. A major airline computer reservations system, such as Apollo, Sabre or Worldspan.

Embassy – Refers to U.S. Embassy Baghdad, Iraq represented by ISU Amman, located in Amman, Jordan. Also refers to any consulates listed in paragraph 1.1 above.

Emergency - An unforeseen combination of circumstances that calls for immediate action. The term emergency includes, but is not limited to, disasters, forest fires, evacuations, floods, and civil unrest.

Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) - See 41 CFR Chapters 300-304. Chapter 301 governs travel and transportation allowances for Federal civilian employees. Available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402-9325: (1) as a bound volume of the Code of Federal Regulations (41 CFR, Chapter 201 to end); and (2) in a loose-leaf edition. Also available on the internet at: http://www.policyworks.gov

Fly America Act - See 49 U.S.C. 40118. The Fly America Act requires Federal employees and their dependents, consultants, contractors, grantees and others performing United States-financed air travel to travel by U.S. flag carriers. Details contained in 41 CFR 301-10.131 through 301-10.143 and 14 FAM 583.

Government - U.S. Government, including all participating U.S. Government agencies.

Government Excess Baggage Authorization/Ticket (GEBAT) - Issued by the carrier to the traveler when presented with a GTR that authorizes the carriage of excess baggage. The GEBAT is used by the carrier(s) to support subsequent billing of charges. Excess baggage is reimbursable up to the weight authorized. NOTE: GEBAT’s are gradually disappearing. If the traveler is not using a GTR, the traveler will pay for excess baggage with a credit card or cash.

Government Travel Charge Card - General Services Administration (GSA) Contractor-issued charge card to be used by travelers of an agency to pay for passenger transportation services, subsistence expenses and other allowable travel and transportation expenses incurred in connection with official travel. Although the employee is liable for payment of all charges incurred, including those for ATM withdrawals, the employee shall be reimbursed by his/her agency for all authorized and allowable travel and transportation expenses.

GSA - U.S. Government General Services Administration.

GTR - Government Travel Request issued on a SF-1169 which is provided to a carrier or a carrier’s agent to procure passenger transportation services for the account of the U.S. Government. The GTR shall be used as a supporting document with the bill for the transportation charges.

Lowest Available Fare - Except for the constraints of the airline contract program described in Section 1, continuation of block 20, paragraph 3.2.2 and the Fly America Act, Section 1, continuation of block 20, paragraph 3.2.3, the Contractor shall book the lowest available fare in accordance with agency policy, if any, as expressed in the contract. If reservations made by the Contractor are not at the lowest available rate allowed, at the time of ticketing, the Contractor shall refund the difference to the Government.

Media - A broad spectrum of methods used to provide a permanent record of communications (examples include paper, EDI, electronic, floppy disk, optically stored media, computer disks, microfiche, microfilm, computer to computer communications via mode, Networks (value added), facsimile or any other acceptable method of available communication).

OAG - Official Airline Guide. Official Airline Guide (both Flight and Travel Guides). The OAG is available on the internet at http://dos.oag.com/reg.htm

Official Travel - Travel that is paid for and/or for which the traveler is reimbursed by the Government.

Personal Travel - Travel that is paid for by the employee/dependent and for which reimbursement will not be provided by the Government.

PNR - Passenger Name Records

Refund - Ticket refund consists of the value of the ticket, but does not include transaction fee or other service fee associated with issuing of the ticket. For billing purposes under this contract, a refund is not a separate transaction.

Service Fee - Pricing, if any, for a value-added service.

Standard Carrier Alpha Code (SCAC) - Used by the Government to audit the Contractor’s billings. SCAC code may be obtained from the National Motor Traffic Association, Inc. 2200 Mill Road, Alexandria, VA 22314; telephone (703) 512-1800. The current cost is $28.00 ($24.00 to renew). The SCAC is only applicable if a GTR is used for payment.

Taxes and Fees - Charges for transportation imposed on travelers by other authority, such as U.S. Government federal taxes, airport passenger facility charges.

Transaction - Issuance of a ticket for common carrier transportation, or changes to that ticket after issuance. Other travel reservations associated with the travel under that ticket, including but not limited to, hotel reservations, car rental, and other traveler services, are not considered a transaction for purposes of charging a transaction fee.

Transaction Fee - Fee, charged by the Contractor, for issuance of a ticket for common carrier transportation or changes to that ticket, after issuance. Paragraph 17.0 addresses when a transaction fee may be charged for a transaction.

Travel Authorization - Document authorizing official Government travel.

Travel Management Center (TMC) - A commercial travel firm under contract to Embassy Baghdad, represented by ISU Amman, located at the U. S. Embassy Amman – Jordan that provides reservations, ticketing and related travel management services for Federal travelers.

Travel Services - Transportation reservations, issuance and delivery of tickets for all modes of transportation; reservations for lodging and vehicle rental services; and ancillary support related to travel.

Traveler’s Checks - GSA Government travel charge card program Contractor-issued traveler’s checks.

User Friendly - Ease of use geared towards those with a rudimentary or limited knowledge of computer systems and operations. The knowledge base includes how to log on and off the system, simple menu-based functions in a typical graphical user interface Windows-like environment, (for example, as point and click functions such as file, open, close), simple one-step commands, such as search, print and save.

3.0 Contractor Requirements for Providing Official Travel Services

3.1. Taxes

When reservations are made for official business, the Contractor shall ensure that rate does not include taxes for which diplomatic personnel are exempt.

3.2 Transportation

3.2.1 The Contractor shall comply with mandatory Government programs for air travel. Except for the constraints of the “City Pairs” contract program noted below, and the Fly America Act, the Contractor shall book the lowest available fare that satisfies the agency’s mission requirements. If reservations made by the Contractor are not at the lowest available rate allowed by policy, the Contractor shall refund the agency the difference.

3.2.2. City Pairs Program

3.2.2.1. GSA has awarded contracts to certain airlines for reduced air fares between numerous city/airport pairs. The contract air service (e.g., 'YCA', '_CA') is mandatory for official Government travel (which includes all travel funded by the Government), unless the Government approves the use of non-contract fares under the exceptions specified in the FTR. In cases of separate contract awards between specific airports in cities, the traveler may use the airport that best meets their needs without further justification. These contract fares may be obtained only with a GTR, a Government Travel Charge Card or a CBA.

3.2.2.2 Promotional or other types of discount fares can be used on contract city/airport pair routes if they are offered by the contract carrier and are lower in cost than contract fares. Contract fares shall not be used for any personal travel, including those instances where portions of personal travel are substituted for a leg of an officially authorized trip.

3.2.2.3. There are a limited number of non-contract fares (YDG or similar), restricted to official Government travelers, which are obtainable only with a GTR, Government Travel Charge Card, or CBA. Such fares can only be used when contract fares are not available or when offered by the contract carrier in that city/airport pair route at a lower cost than the contract fare.

3.2.2.4. When non-contract carriers offer restricted or unrestricted coach fares to the general public which are lower than the Government contract fares, the Contractor may only use such lower fares on the application of exceptions contained in the current GSA Airline City-Pair Program. GSA contracts annually for air passenger transportation services between designated city/airport pairs. Since the contract is awarded annually the contractor must check the most current contract found on the Internet at http://www.gsa.gov, then click on “Travel on Government Business”.

3.2.2.5. It should be noted, however, that any restricted fare which provides for a monetary penalty for itinerary changes or flight cancellations shall not be used without the written consent of the using agency.

3.2.2.6. Full coach fares may be used if no reduced fares are available.

3.2.3 The Fly America Act generally precludes use of non-US flag carriers, except as provided in the FTR and the Foreign Affairs Manual, Volume 6.

3.2.4. The Contractor shall provide the Government with the reservation and ticketing services which industry practice normally accords corporate or private travelers, to include new and improved reservation and ticketing technologies. These shall include a 24-hour number available to travelers to perform emergency itinerary changes and emergency services outside regular business hours. The Contractor shall be responsible for ensuring that any subcontractor providing such emergency service complies with all conditions of the contract. Contractor must provide the USG with a means to be able to procure airline tickets and make reservations on airlines that only accept online credit card payments on the spot, such as Fly Dubai, Easy Jet, and other airlines (locally or internationally) that do not subscribe the reservation system used by the Contractor. In the event where this is applicable and necessary by the USG, the contractor is to arrange for the procurement of this airline ticket, and bill the USG via the same means as all other types of invoices.

3.2.5. The Contractor may only issue premium class tickets for which the Government will have to pay an additional amount when the accompanying travel orders or other official documentation provide authority for that travel. This does not apply to situations in which frequent flyer benefits will be used to obtain the premium class tickets. The Contractor is to provide options and prices to upgrade to business class to the traveler, the latter would have to pay the difference out of pocket, in cash or credit card. Contractor must clearly lay out what the mechanism to make this upgrade happen, what class of economy is the traveler booked on, and how much does it entail. Contractor must also provide feasible connections in the event a traveler wishes to cost construct travel, in other words, add more than one stop to his route. Again, the different in money involved to add the extra stops is the traveler’s responsibility. Meticulous attention must be provided by the local TMC to every specific trip type, as each one is different.

3.2.6. Back-to-back faring, or hidden city ticketing are prohibited under this contract.

3.2.7. The Contractor shall provide the traveler with last seat availability, advance seat assignment, and advance boarding passes on all airlines for which the Contractor can offer these services.

3.2.8. The Contractor shall make adjustments for any change(s) in flight, train, bus or steamship schedules. Tickets and billings shall be modified or reissued to reflect these changes.

3.2.9. The Contractor shall make a timely effort to notify travelers of airport closings, canceled or delayed flights.

3.3. Electronic Information Pamphlets:

3.3.1 In compliance with the “Go Green” initiative, vendor is to provide information brochures that describes the services offered, electronically. This must be updated frequently to provide accurate and up to date information to the customer. The e-pamphlets will list procedures for traveler use of the services under this contract, Contractor phone numbers and other relevant information. The Contractor shall prepare the electronic pamphlets as required by the Government, subject to approval by the COR, who shall review the e-pamphlet before it is delivered to the Government.

3.3.2 Additionally, the Contractor shall produce this electronic pamphlet during the first quarter of the contract period (first three months), and will be revised, as necessary, during at the first quarter of any option years extended under the term of any resulting contract(s).

3.3.3. Contractor must have its own website that the USG can post on its intranet. This website is to be updated and maintained by the Contractor’s IT personnel, and provides USG customers with information that includes but is not limited to the following: updates on baggage fees, contact information for airlines locally and internationally, contact information at airport worldwide, all required forms and paperwork, contact information for travel agents, services offered (inside and outside Jordan), etc..

3.4. Traveler's Itineraries

The Contractor shall provide to each traveler a complete, printed itinerary document including, but not limited to the following:

* carrier(s);

* flight, number(s);

* if applicable, annotate that the traveler refused the contract or lowest fare offered;

* departure and arrival time(s) for each segment of the trip;

* Local cell phone and alternate numbers for the servicing office, and the after-hours emergency services location. The emergency services location number shall be answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

* a statement associated with the transportation ticket, including the ticket number, price, fees charged and a description of those fees.

* Indicate type of ticket, electronic or paper.

* if use of a non-contract carrier is authorized, the Contractor shall annotate one or more of the following reasons to show contract city-pair coverage and agency justification for non-use. The Contractor may use alpha or numeric codes for representation;

* Space or scheduled flights are not available in time to accomplish the purpose of travel, or use of contract service would require the traveler to incur unnecessary overnight lodging costs which would increase the total cost of the trip; or

* The Contractor's flight schedule is inconsistent with explicit policies of individual Federal departments and agencies, where applicable, to schedule travel during normal working hours; or

* A non-contract carrier offers a lower fare available to the general public, the use of which will result in a lower total trip cost to the Government, to include the combined costs of transportation, lodging, meals, and related expenses. Note: This exception does not apply if the contract carrier(s) offers a comparable fare and has seats available at that fare, or if the lower fare offered by a non-contract carrier is restricted to Government and Military travelers on official business and may only be purchased with a GTR or Government contractor issued general charge card, such as, YDG, MDG, ODG, VDG and similar fares.

3.5. Ticket Delivery

3.5.1. Reserved

3.5.2. Contractor is to provide detailed travelers’ itineraries, this includes information such as: exact route, seat numbers, airline and airline number, ticket number, payment method and amount, names of travelers. Software used must provide the option of viewing this itinerary online, saving as PDF, and e-mailing an electronic copy. Travelers shall be provided an itinerary and confirmation number in advance of travel. Prepaid tickets shall not be used as a routine method of providing tickets.

3.6. Reserved.

3.7. Management Reports and Deliverables

Contractor must minimize unnecessary paperwork, and try to make electronic all required data to comply with the “Go Green” initiative. The Contractor shall provide the Government with management information reports. As a minimum, the Contractor shall develop the following reports which shall be delivered within the time frames set forth in Section 1, continuation of block 20, paragraph 10.0:

3.7.1. QUARTERLY PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS REPORT - A concise quarterly narrative (no more than one page) of the Contractor's activities. This report shall identify problems and recommend solutions. The report shall include suggestions to enhance service, where appropriate. The Government encourages interim reports, as deemed necessary by the Contractor;

3.7.2. QUARTERLY SALES ACTIVITY REPORT - A quarterly summary of sales activity data. The Contractor shall prepare the report in accordance with the sample in Section 1, Attachment 1. This summary shall reflect all official sales activity for each agency using the contract, whether the travel was purchased using a GTR, Government Travel Charge Card or CBA.

3.7.3. RECONCILIATION REPORT OF TRANSPORTATION BILLINGS

3.7.3.1. Provide Bi-weekly invoices to reconciliate charges incurred on Government Centrally Billed Accounts Credit Card (CBA) as well as bi-weekly reconciliation for invoices charged against a Government Transportation Request (GTR). Reliance must be on the use of CBA, GTR is limited to those airlines that do not accept credit card mechanisms yet. The Contractor shall provide computerized reconciliation of transportation billings charged through user agencies' CBA accounts. The Contractor shall use an automated accounting system with direct interface among the reservation, ticketing and accounting elements so that all passenger reports and summary data are automatically generated from point-of-sale information.

3.7.3.2. Agencies participating in the Government's charge card program have agency CBA accounts established with the charge card company. The charge card company will provide the Contractor with information in electronic format of a month's CBA billings for each participating agency, at the agency’s request. In order to perform computerized reconciliation of accounts, the Contractor must have sufficient computer capacity and the ability to read and process the information. The Contractor shall run this data against its own record of transactions to provide each agency with reconciled charges, no later than five (5) working days from receipt of the charge card vendor’s billing information.

3.7.4. MONTHLY TRANSACTION FEE REPORT

3.7.4.1. A monthly report based on the transaction fee schedule of the contract. This report shall list all transaction fees to be paid by user agency. The fees shall be broken down, not only by agency, but also by type of transaction, following the line items in the pricing portion of this contract. Information that this should include is: Reports of any refunds filed and to what agency they belong as well as their dollar amount; Reports of Business Class Travel, Reports of how many tickets have been issued, names, section, purpose of travel, dollar amount. For example, if a courier is used, the transaction fee associated with courier delivery shall be listed separately from the standard transaction fee.

3.8. Communications System and Emergency Services

3.8.1. The Contractor shall provide service from Sunday through Thursday, compatible with the Embassy’s standard workday. Section 1, continuation of block 20, paragraph 13.0, below sets forth the normal working hours for Contractor personnel providing services under this contract. The Contractor shall provide dedicated telephone service for the account(s) at no cost to the Government, to include:

* a local 24-hour cell number available to travelers which will allow immediate access to a reservation agent to perform emergency itinerary changes outside regular business hours;

3.8.2. The Contractor shall not use a subcontractor to fulfill responsibilities to ISU Amman.

3.8.3. In the event of emergencies (e.g., Presidential-declared disasters, forest fires, evacuations, floods, hurricanes, etc.), the Contractor shall maintain operations necessary to support the Government under this contract. This includes manning the office 24 hours a day as required by the Government responding to the emergency/evacuation and providing necessary delivery of tickets.

3.8.4. The Contractor shall answer at least 80 percent of calls within 20 seconds and provide a recorded message for those calls not answered in 20 seconds. The recorded message shall give the traveler at least two options:

· To leave a message for a call back.

Return calls shall be made within one (1) hour. The Contractor shall respond to facsimile or e-mail requests by close of business on the following business day, unless travel is scheduled on a weekend, holiday, or business day subsequent to the day of the request.

3.8.5. Many times services required outside normal working hours are as a result of visits by U.S. Government officials to the Embassy. In providing this service, the Contractor may be required to provide Travel Counselors/Reservationists on weekends, holidays and/or weekdays before or after normal office hours. In adhering to this requirement, the Contractor shall comply with all local labor laws including the payment of staff overtime when applicable. Additionally, the Contractor shall provide travelers' assistance services to official visitors. The average annual number of visitors requiring traveler’s assistance services is 100. Services would be of a "Visitors Bureau" type that, as a minimum, could include the following:

· Travel Reservations, Changes and Confirmations

3.8.6. The Contractor shall be capable of accepting most major credit cards for payment of travel services.

3.8.7. If the Contractor's reservation center is remote from the Embassy, the Contractor shall provide toll-free numbers for use by agencies’ employees to make reservations during the Embassy’s regular hours of operations. Remote is defined as areas where agencies would have to make long-distance calls to reach the Contractor.

3.8.8. Emergencies - The Contractor shall continue to provide services during emergencies or contingencies. In connection with evacuations or large scale air movements of noncombatants, refugees or troops, the Contractor shall establish temporary office or expand existing services, as appropriate, to expedite travel (such as, Noncombatant Evacuation Operation missions). The Government will provide its own facilities during emergencies, as required.

3.8.9. The Contractor is to provide a 24/7 emergency telephone number which must transfer a call to a travel agent in country, and who knows the history of all bookings. This travel agent must be one of the embedded travel agents on site to ensure the person calling for help gets the attention and support he needs, without having to explain the case from scratch to an agent who does not work on this contract, but works for the travel agency in its head office. For calls outside normal business hours of 0800-1630 Sundays-Thursdays, the duty officer must have a laptop connected to the internet and to the reservation software used, that enables him to view bookings, and make any changes, new reservations if need to be. In other words, must be fully equipped with the means to provide assistance outside the office and its hours.

3.9. Media

In addition to the required reports, the Contractor shall produce, within reasonable parameters, other management reports in formats and media requested from time to time by the Contracting Officer. To compile such reports, Contractor's back-office computer shall be capable of collecting all data from reservation and ticketing records in the format requested. The Contractor shall also have the capability to capture data for reports when the CRS is not operating and for airlines that do not subscribe to a CRS.

3.10. Telefax Capability

The Contractor is required to have international FAX capability at each site from which services are provided under this contract.

3.11. Project Management

The Contractor shall provide reservation agents, personnel and equipment necessary to assure that the highest quality of service is provided. The Contractor shall have the capability to make reservations and provide tickets at its servicing office(s) when its Centralized Reservation System (CRS) is not operating and when reservations cannot be made on an airline through a CRS.

4.0. Contractor Priority

The Government's travel requirements shall be accorded the highest priority. The Contractor must ensure that non-Governmental travel considerations do not delay, impede, or frustrate the Contractor's timely effective processing of official Government travel.

5.0 Furnishing of Equipment/Property

5.1. The Government will provide the property listed in Section 1, Attachment 3. The Contractor has the option to reject any or all Government furnished property or items. However, if the Government furnished property is rejected, Contractor shall provide all necessary property, equipment or items, adequate in quantity and suitable for the intended purpose, to perform all work and provide all services at no additional cost to the Government. The Contractor shall use all Government furnished property or items only in connection with performance under this contract. The Contractor is responsible for the proper care, maintenance and use of Government property in its possession or control from time of receipt until properly relieved of responsibility in accordance with the terms of the contract. Negligent use of Government furnished property that results in damage or destruction is cause for repair or replacement at the Contractor's expense.

6.0 Space for Performance of Required Services

6.1. On-site Services -For the provision of On-site Travel Management Center (TMC) Services, the Contractor shall operate out of the Government’s facility, on Government property, located at the address set forth below in the paragraph, “Place of Performance”. Any renovation to the space shall be conducted by the Government. All plans for space renovation must be approved by the COR and all arrangements for renovation work must be made by or through the COR. Until such time as office space and telecommunications arrangements are completed within the Government location, the Contractor shall arrange for delivery of travel documents to the Government location. If working in Government- provided space, the Contractor's employees shall abide by the Government's smoking policies.

6.2. The Government will pay the utilities used in the government-supplied office space.

6.3. The Contractor shall ensure that its employees and agents working on the U.S. Government premises shall observe all health and safety codes including participation in safety drills when directed either orally or by established signals, fire alarms, bomb threat alarms, etc. The Contractor’s employees shall know the Embassy’s fire regulations and shall report fires immediately upon detection by using the nearest fire alarm or by telephoning the Marine guard. The Contractor’s employees shall participate in a security briefing about security measures required at the Embassy and the safe guarding of private information about any Embassy travelers.

7.0 Minimum Personnel Requirements

All Contractor personnel providing services under this contract shall be fluent in English as well as the local language and meet the following requirements. See also paragraph 20.0 below, “Key Personnel”, for requirements regarding Key Personnel.

7.1. Contractor's Project Manager – The Contractor shall provide a Project Manager who shall be responsible for the administration, supervision, and coordination of its Government operations. The Project Manager shall have experience in the management of travel services and shall have adequate authority to make decisions for the timely resolution of problems. The Project Manager shall coordinate closely with the COR.

7.2. Site Manager(s) - At each site, the Contractor shall provide a Site Manager who is experienced in operating automated reservation and ticketing equipment to arrange transportation via all modes, lodging, and vehicle rentals. The Site Manager shall have supervisory experience with travel accounts, and be experienced in operating the automated reservation and ticketing systems proposed for this account.

7.3. Travel Counselors/Reservationists - The Contractor shall provide two full-time travel counselors/reservationists. The Travel Counselors/Reservationists shall have been trained in operating the proposed automated reservation and ticketing equipment. The Contractor shall provide qualified substitute personnel for absent permanent employees, when service levels are negatively impacted, as determined by the Government.

7.4. Other Personnel - The Contractor shall provide whatever other personnel are necessary to comply with the requirements of this contract.

7.4.1 Backup Personnel – The Contractor shall provide back-up personnel in the event that primary personnel take vacations or are absent from the office.

7.5 Other Considerations – All Contractor personnel who provide services under this contract shall be acceptable to the Government in terms of personal conduct. Employment and staffing difficulties shall not be justification for failure to meet established schedules.

8.0 Contractor’s Quality Control Plan

8.1. General. The Contractor shall maintain procedures to continually monitor the quality of travel services, with the goal of providing and maintaining the highest level of customer service/satisfaction. These procedures shall ensure compliance with communication requirements, Section 1, continuation of block 20, paragraph 3.10 and include:

* an internal method for monitoring, identifying and correcting deficiencies in the quality of service furnished the Government and

* Quality Service survey form that addresses travel services to be furnished under this contract.

8.2. Specifics. The Contractor’s Quality Control plan shall outline procedures to ensure that the lowest applicable fares are obtained and that the Contractor complies with contract city-pair fares. To ensure compliance, the Contractor shall, as necessary:

* make adjustments for any change(s) in flight schedules;

* modify or reissue tickets and billings to reflect any changes;

* provide timely notification to customers of changes to tickets/itineraries, particularly those which occur after ticket issuance (e.g., fares, routing, delays, closings), and;

* provide courteous and prompt resolution of customer complaints.

The Contractor’s automated system shall assure reservation accuracy and lowest fares, and rebooking passengers at lower fares or reserving preferred seats if such fares or seats are not available at the first attempted booking. Additionally, the Contractor shall identify methods to check all tickets/itineraries for required data and lowest fares, to include those that cannot be checked through the automated system(s).

8.3. Within fourteen days of contract award, the Contractor shall furnish a Quality Service survey (questionnaire) to the COR for approval. The Quality Service survey shall include, as a minimum:

* measurement factors for prompt telephone response;

* courtesy and professionalism of Contractor personnel;

* reservation accuracy;

* ticket delivery and document accuracy, and;

* overall quality of service provided.

Additionally, the survey form shall identify the Contractor and provide space for customer comments. The Contractor shall periodically distribute these questionnaires to at least ten percent (10%) of ticketed travelers, but not less than twice a year. The Contractor shall make these responses available to the COR.

9.0 Transition Requirement and Continuity of Services

9.1. The Contractor shall comply with FAR clause 52.237-3, "Continuity of Services", during any transition period.

9.2. The Government requires a smooth and orderly transition between the Contractor and the successor Contractor to ensure minimum disruption and avoid decline in service to the Government. Unless otherwise specified by the Government, the Contractor shall provide to the successor Contractor copies of all bookings and Passenger Name Records (PNRs) taken on or before the contract expiration date, for travel taking place after the expiration of the contract. In addition, the Contractor shall provide the successor Contractor with copies of all agency profiles and all Government traveler sub-profiles as well as all Government travel preference profile cards currently in possession of the Contractor, as directed by the Contracting Officer or COR.

9.3. The Contractor shall book all requests it receives prior to the expiration of the contract regardless of the date of commencement of travel. Unless otherwise requested by the ordering agency, however, the Contractor shall not issue tickets for travel that commences later than two working days after the expiration of the contract.

9.4. For example, if a contract ends on Friday, the Contractor, unless otherwise requested, shall not issue tickets for travel commencing later than the following Tuesday. The Contractor is required to issue and deliver all such tickets by close of business of the last working day of its contract (in this example, Friday). Issuance of and delivery of tickets for travel beginning the following Wednesday or later, even if originally booked by the Contractor, is the responsibility of the successor Contractor. As of Monday, all new requests shall be handled by the successor Contractor.

9.5. The Contractor shall adhere to the following procedures during the transition process:

9.5.1. The outgoing Contractor shall not take travel reservations later than twelve noon on the day of operations except in cases of emergency travel. Such emergency ticketing shall be done only when authorized by the COR.

9.5.2. Afternoon hours of the final day of operation for the outgoing Contractor shall be used for the transfer of the PNR's to the incoming Contractor.

9.5.3. If the transition is for an on-site operation, the on-site office shall be closed to walk-in traffic, starting at twelve noon (local time) on the day prior to the last day of operations of the outgoing Contractor, except for emergency travel arrangements.

9.5.4. If the incoming Contractor had proposed to take over the outgoing Contractor’s CRS or other equipment, this should be finalized during the afternoon hours of the last day of the transition.

9.5.5. The Government is responsible for notifying its employees of the proposed closings and interim procedures for obtaining emergency services. Such notice shall be posted in the on-site office.

9.5.6. The outgoing Contractor shall make all seminar and meeting arrangements it receives prior to the end of the contract, regardless of the date of commencement of the meeting. Unless a purchase order has been issued to the outgoing Contractor, all arrangement information shall be turned over to the incoming Contractor. If a purchase order has been issued to the outgoing Contractor, that Contractor will continue to make the requested arrangements in accordance to the terms of the contract under which the purchase order was issued.

NOTE: Failure to effect a smooth transition will be documented, forwarded to the outgoing Contractor, and will be made available for future past performance evaluations in accordance with solicitation requirements.

10.0 Deliverables

10.1. The Contractor shall provide the following deliverables/submittals within the time frames identified below:

REFERENCE/

DELIVERABLE DUE DATE* ADDRESSEE

Ticket Delivery As applicable. Routinely, Traveler, either by no earlier than two days pickup or by contractor prior to travel, emergency delivery as outlined in prepaids to appropriate this contract airports within 2 hours.

Transaction Fee Report 25th day of each month COR

TMC Information Pamphlet 14 days after start date COR/traveler listed in Notice to Proceed and for all other

Quality Service survey 14 days after start date COR set forth in Notice to Proceed

*Days represent calendar days

10.2. Addressees

10.2.1. The address for the COR is set forth below:

10.2.2. Other addressees for the Individual Passenger Listing Report include the following:

Sr. Travel Supervisor - ISU U.S. Embassy, Amman, Jordan

11.0 Notice to Proceed, Period of Performance, and Options.

11.1. Notice to Proceed

11.1.1. Immediately upon receipt of notice of award, the Contractor shall take all necessary steps to prepare for performance of the services required hereunder. The Contractor shall have a maximum of thirty calendar days to complete these steps.

11.1.2. Following receipt from the Contractor of acceptable evidence that the Contractor has obtained all required licenses, permits and insurance and is otherwise prepared to commence providing the services, the Government shall issue a Notice to Proceed.

11.1.3. On the date established in the Notice to Proceed (this notice will allow a minimum of seven (7) calendar days from the date of the Notice to Proceed, unless the Contractor agrees to an earlier date), the Contractor shall start work.

11.2. The performance period of this contract is from the start date established in the Notice to Proceed and continuing for 12 months, with four (4), one-year options to renew. This contract also includes an additional option under FAR 52.217-8. The initial period of performance includes any transition period authorized under the contract.

12.0 Place of Performance

The Contractor is required to provide one Travel Management Center to be used to provide the services required hereunder. This center shall be staffed by at least three of the Contractor's personnel and located at: United States Embassy Amman within the Iraq support unit, south chancery.

13.0 Hours of Service

The Contractor shall provide service from Sunday through Thursday inclusive during the hours of 0800-1700. The Contractor shall provide emergency services outside regular working hours through a 24-hour phone number, available to all Government travelers. See also Section 1, continuation of block 20, paragraph 3.10.

14.0 Basis of Compensation to the Contractor

14.1. Official Travel. The Government will reimburse the Contractor for transportation services for official travel arranged by the Contractor. This reimbursement will include only the actual carrier rates and/or fares effective for air tickets issued to Government travelers for official travel. The Government will also pay the Contractor, upon receipt of a proper invoice, the applicable transaction fees. The Contractor shall comply with travel authorization requirements established by the Government to verify that transportation billed is for official travel. The Government shall issue a Travel Authorization (TA) or other official documentation, which shall be furnished by the traveler to the Contractor. The Contractor shall use this TA to document each official ticket. The Contractor shall ensure that the Government is billed for prepaid ticket charges only when required by airline tariff. Most airlines have exemptions to this charge for official Government travel.

14.2 Transaction Fee. See paragraph 17.0 for details regarding how the transaction fee shall be administered.

14.3. Personal Travel. The Government accepts no liability for the cost of any personal travel arranged by the Contractor for Government employees. The Contractor is responsible for collecting payment from the traveler for the cost of personal travel and any transaction fee, if applicable.

14.4. Commissions by Service Providers. Other compensation for services provided under this contract may be in the form of commissions received by the Contractor from carriers and other travel services. The Government accepts no responsibility or liability for payment of such concessions. The Contractor is warned that commercial practices may not apply to the payment of commissions on Government rates.

14.5. Advance Deposits. Reserved.

15.0 Billing and Payment Procedures

15.1. Billing and payment procedures for transportation expenses will differ, as noted below, according to whether the agency is participating in the Government travel card program. Only the cost of official carrier transportation and excess baggage (if authorized in official travel documentation) may be charged to the Government, plus the transaction fee, reduced by any commission.

15.2. The Contractor shall refund immediately the difference in cost if the Contractor has failed to book the lowest available fare except for the constraints noted in Section 1, continuation of block 20, paragraph 3.2.1, that satisfies agency needs.