U.S. Transportation Command Restructures Patriot Express

Scott Air Force Base, Ill. (USTCNS) --– U.S. Transportation Command will restructure the Patriot Express system in order to sustain service.

Patriot Express is the military's chartered commercial air service for transporting service members and their families on permanent change of station orders to and from overseas locations. Seats are also available to Department of Defense passengers for non-duty travel on a space available basis.

The service, which is managed by Air Mobility Command, the air component of USTRANSCOM, flew more than 267,000 passengers from October 2004 to September 2005, providing service from the United States to 17 countries.

As popular as the system is with service members and their families, Patriot Express had lost an average of $35.8 million per year for the five years prior to Operation Iraqi Freedom. Some of that loss was from declining ridership and because it had become more cost effective for the government to fly service personnel on scheduled commercial service.

As a result, a Defense Department directive was issued in December 2003 instructing USTRANSCOM to, “phase-out redundant, underutilized and inefficient Patriot Express routes.”

In response, USTRANSCOM devised a restructuring plan for the system beginning in Fiscal Year 2005. The plan, which is being phased in over four years, will eliminate some routes to Europe and the Far East, while “right-sizing” others; better matching capacity to the number of official duty passengers. Destinations in the U.S. Central Command area of operations will not be affected by the current restructuring plan.

Efforts with U.S. Pacific Command theater leaders in Japan, in particular, have reduced significant DOD financial losses while realizing commercial airline benefits of more frequent flights with convenient travel hours.

When complete in 2008, USTRANSCOM estimates the restructuring will save taxpayers $40 million per year in direct costs.