Regardless of the ethics board’s “technical” conclusion this week, Denver residents know that it is unethical for a public employee to spend $19,200 on a ticket to Spain and back to Denver even if it is for an important work-related conference.
Denver International Airport’s CEO Phil Washington was wrong to allow himself and eight other executives to fly to Madrid in first-class and business class seats that cost an average of $12,000 per person. The final cost of the travel was $108,989, enough to hire another mid-level employee to help run one of the world’s busiest airports.
We found first-class tickets directly to Spain in April of this year for around $7,000. Yes, ticket prices fluctuate, but if prices are at a record peak, the not-too-difficult decision must be made to fly coach, or to add in a layover, or to skip this year’s annual conference. We would expect our leaders at DIA to at least know how to book travel at a reasonable price.
When does expensive travel cross over from a bad business decision to an ethical lapse?
For example, it is not unethical for the owner of a private and prosperous company to spend $15,000 from the business coffers to book “The Residence” on Etihad Airlines.
If a business, however, is about to declare bankruptcy and owes debts that need to be paid, it would be highly unethical for the CEO to pay the roughly $8,700 to fly La Première, what is described as a “private suite” on Air France from Denver to Paris this month, using what essentially is other people’s money at that point.
And for employees of a public entity – like the Denver International Airport – there is a higher standard, an expectation of frugality.
Denver airport officials’ salaries are paid for by fees and taxes on airlines, which are passed directly or indirectly on to the ticket prices for passengers. The more efficient operations at DIA are, the lower the fees on airlines are, and the savings, in theory, will get passed on to users. The end goal for employees at DIA is to serve the traveling public. They are not trying to make a profit so much as raise only the money necessary to serve the public effectively and efficiently. Every dollar misspent on luxury travel accommodations is a dollar that could remain with an airline or with a passenger. These dollars are not fungible.
CBS Colorado reporter Brian Maas did good work tracking down the public records that showed the cost of these flights, and we are glad someone reported the expenses directly to Denver’s Ethics Commission for review.
But we don’t want the decision that the lavish spending did not violate the city’s ethics policy to muddy the waters.
This behavior is not acceptable for our public officials.
We understand that travel is a business perk often used to entice high-level employees to a company, like the chief operating officer who took the most expensive flight on this trip to Madrid for the Annual Passenger Terminal Expo. But there has got to be a limit on the perk, and clearly the city’s travel policy – that costs be “reasonable” – is not strong enough. It is apparent to all Coloradans that an almost $20,000 flight is not reasonable. In fact, we would call that price – prohibitive. The answer should have been “no” to those flights and the city’s policy can be updated so that if the price of travel is astronomically high, either alternatives are sought or the trip is canceled.
While the Denver Ethics Commission adhered to the letter of the ethics policy, we do not want Denver officials – even those in externally funded enterprise ventures – to believe these flights were acceptable expenditures. Clearly, officials at Denver International Airport need to have a cap applied to their travel expenses, and we are guessing officials in other cities and counties in Colorado would benefit from this warning as well. Be prudent with our dollars or expect dogged journalists like Brian Maas to expose your lavish travel.
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