Use of Civilian Agencies' Aircraft for Passenger Transportation

GAO discussed civilian agencies' management and use of government aircraft, specifically: (1) the requirements of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circulars A-76 and A-126 as they relate to the acquisition, need, and use of government aircraft; (2) actions the agencies took in response to past reports on civilian aircraft; and (3) recent follow-up work on agencies' aircraft management practices. GAO found that: (1) civilian agencies operated about 1,200 aircraft, most of which were government-owned; (2) the aircraft have a book value of about $2 billion and cost about $750 million annually to operate and maintain; (3) leased aircraft cost about $100 million annually, including their operation and maintenance; (4) agencies generally agreed with most of the recommendations; (5) although OMB and the agencies strengthened their guiding policies and procedures for managing and using aircraft, agencies have not materially changed their aircraft practices or fully complied with the intent of the circulars; (6) most of the continuing aircraft management problems have resulted from incomplete guidance from OMB and the General Services Administration (GSA); (7) agencies did not have the necessary cost data to fully comply with the circulars' justification, cost comparison, and cost-effectiveness requirements; (8) the administration did not establish standards for aircraft use to help ensure that agencies used their aircraft for justified missions; and (9) GSA recently implemented new initiatives to assert more governmentwide leadership of aircraft management.