Corporate travel: Bush and beyond: it isn't easy flying to rural Alaska communities to conduct business.

• Author: West, Gail

Travel across Alaska is unlike travel anywhere else in the country. Going between Alaska's three largest communities is much like travel between big cities anywhere, but travel beyond Anchorage, Fairbanks or Juneau becomes another matter entirely.

Many companies, from banks to oil and telecommunications corporations, send employees into the more remote areas of Alaska-to promote business, to repair equipment, to build infrastructure and to provide community planning or health assistance. The State of Alaska, itself, sends employees regularly into smaller communities and remote villages.

STATE TRAVEL

Shannon Wiley, manager of the USTravel office that handles the contract with the State of Alaska, said her office has been making travel arrangements for state employees since they were awarded the contract in January 2005.

"Our office really has two parts," Wiley said. "One part handles the recipients of Medicaid-taking them to and from medical treatments. The other handles all other travel for the State, and we're really 'full on'."

Wiley said the State departments phased into using the contract to handle their travel. The first, or pilot, agency was the Department of Health and Social Services.

"They do quite a bit of travel, and it's pretty diverse," Wiley said. "Public health nurses go into many villages around the state. They helped shape our process with this office."

Most of the State's departments currently use the USTravel contract for their travel arrangements, but Wiley said there are still a few they're not handling yet. The Department of Public Safety is scheduled to come onboard in spring, and Natural Resources and Fire Prevention will follow this summer.

Wiley said her office plans quite a lot of very rural travel across the state.

LION'S SHARE

"About 70 percent of all the travel is on Alaska Airlines," Wiley said. "We use their EasyBiz program-an online booking site that Alaska Airlines offers to corporate entities. Every dollar spent earns mileage on behalf of the State department, so the agency can use those miles for future travel. The State also has a contract fare agreement with Alaska Airlines that was not available to the State before they consolidated their travel management."

Wiley said her office knows most every rural carrier across the state, and uses the contracts held by the State with rural carriers. Often, she said, travelers request specific travel arrangements.

"They need to be somewhere at a specific time, and...