V302--Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Commercial Air Patient Transport

What the buyer wrote

FSS Sole Source Justification
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Transportation Program (VTP)
Page 10 of 10

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
Office of Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction
Office of Procurement, Enterprise Procurement Office (EPO)
5202 Presidents Ct, Suite 103
Frederick, MD 21703

Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) Sole Source Justification
(Prepared in accordance with RFO 8.401, GSAR 538.7104-3(b)(2) and format guidance provided within the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Companion, FC 8.401(b))

Identification of the agency and the contracting activity, and specific identification of the document as an "FSS Sole Source Justification."

This Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) Sole Source Justification supports an FSS Task Order to be executed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Enterprise Procurement Office (EPO), on behalf of the Veterans Transportation Program (VTP) within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).

Nature and/or description of the action, including a description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency s needs and the estimated value.

VA proposes to award a non-competitive FSS task order to Duluth Travel Inc. (Duluth) to provide commercial air travel booking services for Beneficiary Travel. This program arranges air transportation for eligible Veterans who must travel outside their normal commuting area to receive authorized medical care.

Supporting Beneficiary Travel, the contractor will provide:
Reserving, booking, and ticketing of refundable airfare;
Coordination of specialized airline accommodations (wheelchair assistance, etc.);
VHA-compliant processing, documentation, communications and invoicing;
Cancellations, exchanges, and itinerary management;
24/7 service support.

VA will award this task order under Duluth Travel Inc.'s existing General Services Administration (GSA) Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contract, number 47QMCB25D0001, issued under the Travel Agent Services category 561510. Duluth Travel Inc., a Small Business Administration (SBA) certified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), is located at 2860 Peachtree Industrial Blvd., Ste 1000, Duluth, GA 30097-7906. Duluth is the sole SDVOSB under this MAS, there are no other SDVOSBs under this MAS.

The value of this task order is $29,131,085.00 over a 12-month period of performance. This amount covers the cost of medically authorized Veteran airfare, refundable ticket fees, airline-imposed fees, and Duluth's per-transaction service fees for domestic and international bookings, discounted from Duluth's MAS contract.

CLINS
Description/ Est. Cost
0001: Commercial Air Transport
Actual cost of plane ticket to include taxes and airline fees
0002: Published FSS Svc. Fee (Full Service) *discounted
Domestic: Fee ($)/Ticket International: Fee ($)/Ticket
Exchanges: additional service fee is applied
Refunds: initial service fee is retained.

The authority and supporting rationale (see GSAR 538.7104-3(b)(1)) and, if applicable, a demonstration of the proposed contractor s unique qualifications to provide the required supply or service.

Authority: The statutory exception supporting the placement of this order on a sole source basis is RFO 8.401, specifically GSAR 538.7104-3(b)(1)(i): "The need is of such unusual urgency that following the procedures would result in unacceptable delays in fulfilling that need."

Supporting Rationale: This contract action is necessary to prevent interruption in medically required Veteran travel services, maintain compliance with VHA Beneficiary Travel policy, and ensure Veterans can access authorized care when they cannot self-fund initial transportation. Beneficiary Travel booking support is a continuous, high-volume function: Veterans rely on it daily to reach specialty and other medical appointments that are frequently unavailable at their local facility. Any gap in this support does not simply delay administrative processing, it directly interrupts Veterans' ability to reach medically necessary care, including time-sensitive and recurring treatment.

Many Veterans who require medically necessary travel cannot afford to purchase airline tickets up front and wait for reimbursement. This creates a significant barrier to accessing care, particularly for those needing life-saving transports. Without a contracted solution, Veterans may be unable to attend appointments, risking serious harm or adverse outcomes. The vendor is essential to ensure timely, reliable access to travel arrangements for these individuals.

A full and open competitive acquisition for a requirement of this scope, scale, and specialized operational alignment would require sufficient time for solicitation development, a meaningful proposal preparation period, technical and price evaluation, and award and transition. That timeline extends well beyond the period VA can sustain without a booking mechanism in place. Compressing a competitive process to fit within a shorter window would itself create unacceptable risk of a flawed evaluation, increased protest exposure, and further delay, outcomes that would compound rather than resolve the urgency. Awarding to Duluth under its existing MAS contract avoids this gap entirely, because Duluth already maintains VA-specific workflows and operational infrastructure and can begin performance immediately upon award, without the stand-up period a new awardee would require.

Absent this action, Veterans would be forced to self-arrange and self-fund travel to authorized care, or VA staff would need to revert to manual, non-automated processing, both of which increase the risk of missed or delayed medical appointments, disrupted continuity of care, and adverse outcomes for Veterans who depend on timely transportation to reach treatment not available locally.

Contractor's Unique Qualifications: The VA's VTP office identified an urgent and compelling need to contract with a responsible source that can immediately mobilize and meet VA's specialized operational requirements for Beneficiary Travel. These requirements exceed standard commercial travel booking and include: compliance with VHA Beneficiary Travel policy and Federal Travel Regulation eligibility and reimbursement rules; coordination of medical accommodations (e.g., wheelchair assistance, oxygen needs) for a medically vulnerable traveler population; rapid, time-critical itinerary turnaround to prevent missed medical appointments; 24/7 booking and rebooking support; VHA-compliant documentation, invoicing, and reconciliation integrated with VA's internal systems; and nationwide scalability to serve Veterans across dispersed VA and community care sites.

Market research confirmed that while 21 MAS 561510 holders offer general commercial travel services, only Duluth demonstrated existing infrastructure and experience aligned to these requirements, including established VA-specific workflows, proven nationwide scalability, and a track record supporting VA's travel programs.

Duluth is uniquely qualified due to:
VA-specific workflow experience;
Ability to rapidly deploy nationwide medical travel support;
SDVOSB socioeconomic alignment;
Proven responsiveness and operational readiness; and
Existing infrastructure already supporting VA travel programs.

No other MAS vendor demonstrated the combination of VA-specific workflow experience, nationwide operational readiness, and SDVOSB status required to stand up compliant Beneficiary Travel support without impacting Veteran care.

The impact on Veteran care is significant. While VA policy provides for medically necessary travel, the actual provision of these services is inconsistent across facilities. Due to Anti-Deficiency Act constraints, many VA facilities are unable to provide transport directly, resulting in Veterans paying out of pocket for airfare and related travel expenses. Many Veterans cannot afford to front these costs, which creates a substantial barrier to accessing authorized medical care, especially for those requiring life-saving transports. Without a contracted solution, Veterans risk missing critical appointments or foregoing necessary treatment altogether. It is essential to ensure timely, reliable access to travel arrangements for these individuals, and any delay in awarding this contract could directly impact Veteran health and safety by preventing access to care. Although no documented metrics are available, the situational need and the unique readiness of Duluth Travel Inc. provide compelling justification for limiting sources under GSAR 538.7104-3(b)(1)(i).

This capability is not merely administrative: under the standard reimbursement process, a Veteran who cannot afford airfare out of pocket has no way to book travel to a required appointment, since reimbursement occurs after the trip. This task order allows VA to book and pay for airfare directly and in advance, ensuring Veterans who cannot self-fund travel are not prevented from reach

This is the opening of the notice text. The complete version, with every amendment, is on the original.