Officeholders including Gov. Rick Perry use the service to fly to meetings, award ceremonies, funerals and even a neighboring GOP governor’s inauguration. Flyers say they look at cost and efficiency before deciding whether to use the aircraft, which range from $258.75 to $977.50 per flight-hour.
But critics question the necessity of the fleet, since bills are often footed by taxpayers and commercial airfare may be cheaper.
“It sure does raise the eyebrows and make the nose crinkle a bit,” said Michael Quinn Sullivan of Texans for Fiscal Responsibility. “Between two really good Texas-based airlines, there’s any number of options to get from anywhere to anywhere by air pretty quickly.”
Then-Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn and Perry talked about selling the planes during the 2003 budget crunch.
But the Texas Department of Transportation, which oversees the fleet, expects it to log 1,227 more flight hours this two-year budget period than last. The planes are expected to fly a total of 3,350 hours at a cost of $2.3 million this budget cycle.
“State agencies have seen the value of our services as an effective business tool,” said Texas Department of Transportation spokesman Chris Lippincott, noting the cost to fly on commercial airlines “continues to rise and its reliability continues to deteriorate.”
In choosing a state plane, officials say they consider factors including the number of people traveling, availability of commercial flights and whether the costs and delays of overnight stays can be avoided.
Many of the trips are paid by the state, including a $3,962 trip by Perry, a staffer and a member of his security detail to Baton Rouge for the inauguration of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a fellow Republican.
An online booking service currently shows round-trip commercial flights for less than half of what the state paid for the Louisiana trip: $480 per person or $1,458 for three people. Perry spokeswoman Allison Castle noted Perry’s schedule and commercial flight schedules play into such decisions.
Perry, who heads the Republican Governors Association, spoke at the prayer breakfast.
“I’d want to know, did he go to (Democratic New Mexico Gov.) Bill Richardson’s inauguration?” asked state Rep. Jim Dunnam of Waco, head of the House Democratic Caucus. “If he didn’t go to Richardson’s, I think it’s pretty apparent this is a partisan political trip. If he’s going to do that, he ought to do it on his own dime. ... Taxpayers shouldn’t pay for it.”
Perry spokesman Robert Black dismissed the idea that the trip was political.
“Most Texans recognize that the states of Louisiana and Texas have a unique relationship that has grown out of the natural disasters that happened a few years ago,” Black said.
Perry’s Baton Rouge trip was among a slew of state-airplane records covering the six months ending in March examined by the San Antonio Express-News and Houston Chronicle.
Among officials and departments using state money to pay for flights and billed more than $20,000 apiece for the time period were Perry ($24,537); Attorney General Greg Abbott and staff ($21,943); TxDOT ($130,568); the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality ($56,560) and Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples and staff ($50,302).
Destinations included memorial services for Texas Transportation Commission chairman Ric Williamson and for Kate Marmion, granddaughter of former Gov. Dolph Briscoe. Officials also flew to meetings on the controversial Trans-Texas Corridor by transportation officials.
Three state senators flew state planes during the six-month period examined: Sens. Carlos Uresti, D-San Antonio, Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, and Kip Averitt, R-Waco. Uresti racked up the largest bill of the three at $13,009 for trips to Marfa, Del Rio, Eagle Pass and Laredo.
