Recently, newspaper articles across the country have been investigating activities of some members of the governing boards of airports. Anyone who has checked out the taxes and fees section on their airline ticket knows that much of the costs of flying are taxes. Some of that money isn’t being spent very wisely.
In our nation’s capital, a city known for a studied restraint of spending, the Washington Post investigative reporters have uncovered unsettling spending at the board that oversees Dulles and Washington Reagan airports.
An analysis of expense reports for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority dating to 2005 shows that some members of the board of directors have billed for first-class airfare, meals with spouses and hotel rooms or suites booked beyond conference dates. And the expenditures are growing: The annual cost of board travel has nearly doubled in that time. Many of the trips have been to such attractive destinations as Paris, Hawaii, Croatia and the Mexican resort of Cancun, the analysis shows.
In Dallas, TV reporters noted that Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief was living high on the hog at taxpayer expense. He flew to Dubai first class and that his bodyguard was treated to a business class seat. Moncrief’s first class seat cost taxpayers $10,000 and they paid another $8,000 for his unarmed bodyguard to fly in business class. His hotel room on the beach added another $6,000 to the tab.
In Washington DC, several board members noted in later stories that board members work on a volunteer basis. Flying first class is what they consider an appropriate perk. One member noted that the taxpayers could take the job and “shove it” if he were to be required to fly in coach.
Airport board members are important participants in the negotiations that go into building an airport’s traffic, coordinating governmental activities and marshalling major construction programs. Whether they are paid or serving on these boards as volunteers, there should be clear travel policies when dealing with taxpayers’ money.
The rest of us who do not have state-funded budgets that allow us to fly first class to Dubai should let our politicians know that we are watching how the government is spending our money while we barely have funds to pay for coach seats and the slew of excess airline fees.
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
