Obama's Air Force One flight to Chicago and back Monday to cost $236,000
Secret Service protection, motorcades and helicopter transports not included
By John McCormick | Tribune reporter
June 15, 2009
As President Barack Obama flies Monday to Chicago for a midday speech on health-care reform, the round trip on Air Force One will run about $236,000, according to government estimates of the operating costs for one of the top symbols, and perks, of the presidency.
But that does not include such expenses as Secret Service protection, motorcades and helicopter transports.
After landing at O'Hare International Airport, Obama is scheduled to spend about 2 1/2 hours here. To avoid snarling traffic on the Kennedy Expressway, he likely will be taken from the airport by helicopter to a location near the Hyatt Regency Chicago.
A Government Accounting Office report in 2000 showed Air Force One cost $54,100 to operate each flight hour, or almost $67,000 in today's dollars. It is a tough number to estimate, however, because of so many variables and fixed costs that could be included in or excluded from the calculation.
But the bill, White House aides say, is one that is largely unavoidable because of the security and communication needs required by the modern president. Perhaps aware of the costs of Air Force One, the Obama family has used the plane for just one recreational trip to Chicago in his first five months in office.
As expensive as that trip was, it is still roughly half the distance President George W. Bush routinely flew to visit his ranch near Crawford, Texas.
The cost of Air Force One recently made national news after a backup aircraft that sometimes carries the president made a controversial, low-altitude flight over New York City as part of a government photo opportunity, panicking workers and prompting complaints from local officials. That flight cost more than $300,000, according to Air Force estimates.
Obama's air travel made news again when he and First Lady Michelle Obama traded the big bird for a much smaller Air Force jet made by Gulfstream for a recent Saturday evening "date night" in New York City. It was a lower class of service, apparently allowed because of the brevity of the trip.
Anywhere the president flies, the government picks up the tab because he is always the commander in chief and might at any time be called into a crisis. Some limited cost-sharing is done if he is traveling to a purely political event, such as a fundraiser.
"The White House is committed to following all of the relevant rules and regulations regarding the reimbursement for travel expenses," spokesman Tommy Vietor said.
The small pool of reporters and photographers that travels with Obama on Air Force One for both government and political trips reimburses the government for the cost of seats.
When Obama made his first flight to Chicago as president, on Feb. 13, it took 106 minutes from Andrews Air Force Base to O'Hare.
His flights to Chicago also are cheap by comparison with those President Ronald Reagan made to his Western White House, in Santa Barbara County, Calif., a cross-country trip that was roughly 4,700 miles round trip.
But Obama could shatter that cost with a trip to Hawaii if he decides to go there for his family's annual vacation between Christmas and New Year's. The round-trip cost of a flight from Washington to Honolulu on Air Force One would be roughly $1 million, according to the GAO estimates.
The massive blue-and-white aircraft, a specially outfitted version of a Boeing 747, makes a statement everywhere it travels. Through Friday, Obama had taken 54 Air Force One flights, according to the White House.
On his first Chicago visit as president, Air Force One landed at O'Hare from the southeast and taxied to a holding area in the airport's northeast corner. Some airfield operations were briefly stopped during the plane's departure and arrival.
Temporary flight restrictions again will be in place while Obama is here. They do not affect commercial flights, but small-plane pilots who fail to comply with certain procedures face the risk of a fighter-jet escort from a 60-nautical-mile-wide area.
mccormickj@tribune.com