DIA executives paid extra to fly to Spain than some luxurious journey choices

Regardless of the ethics board’s “technical” conclusion this week, Denver residents know that it’s unethical for a public worker to spend $19,200 on a ticket to Spain and again to Denver even whether it is for an essential work-related convention.

Denver International Airport’s CEO Phil Washington was mistaken to permit himself and eight different executives to fly to Madrid in first-class and enterprise class seats that price a median of $12,000 per individual. The ultimate price of the journey was $108,989, sufficient to rent one other mid-level worker to assist run one of many world’s busiest airports.

We discovered first-class tickets on to Spain in April of this yr for round $7,000. Yes, ticket costs fluctuate, but when costs are at a document peak, the not-too-difficult determination have to be made to fly coach, or so as to add in a layover, or to skip this yr’s annual convention. We would anticipate our leaders at DIA to at the very least know how you can e-book journey at an inexpensive worth.

When does costly journey cross over from a nasty enterprise determination to an moral lapse?

For instance, it’s not unethical for the proprietor of a personal and affluent firm to spend $15,000 from the enterprise coffers to e-book “The Residence” on Etihad Airlines.

If a enterprise, nonetheless, is about to declare chapter and owes money owed that must be paid, it could be extremely unethical for the CEO to pay the roughly $8,700 to fly La Première, what’s described as a “private suite” on Air France from Denver to Paris this month, utilizing what basically is different individuals’s cash at that time.

And for workers of a public entity – just like the Denver International Airport – there’s a larger customary, an expectation of frugality.

Denver airport officers’ salaries are paid for by charges and taxes on airways, that are handed immediately or not directly on to the ticket costs for passengers. The extra environment friendly operations at DIA are, the decrease the charges on airways are, and the financial savings, in principle, will get handed on to customers. The finish purpose for workers at DIA is to serve the touring public. They aren’t attempting to make a revenue a lot as elevate solely the cash essential to serve the general public successfully and effectively. Every greenback misspent on luxurious journey lodging is a greenback that might stay with an airline or with a passenger. These {dollars} aren’t fungible.

CBS Colorado reporter Brian Maass did good work monitoring down the general public information that confirmed the price of these flights, and we’re glad somebody reported the bills on to Denver’s Ethics Commission for overview.

But we don’t need the choice that the lavish spending didn’t violate the town’s ethics coverage to muddy the waters.

This conduct isn’t acceptable for our public officers.

We perceive that journey is a enterprise perk usually used to entice high-level staff to an organization, just like the chief working officer who took the most costly flight on this journey to Madrid for the Annual Passenger Terminal Expo. But there has bought to be a restrict on the perk, and clearly the town’s journey coverage – that prices be “reasonable” – isn’t sturdy sufficient. It is clear to all Coloradans that an nearly $20,000 flight isn’t affordable. In reality, we might name that worth – prohibitive. The reply ought to have been “no” to these flights and the town’s coverage could be up to date in order that if the value of journey is astronomically excessive, both options are sought or the journey is canceled.

While the Denver Ethics Commission adhered to the letter of the ethics coverage, we don’t want Denver officers – even these in externally funded enterprise ventures – to consider these flights had been acceptable expenditures. Clearly, officers at Denver International Airport must have a cap utilized to their journey bills, and we’re guessing officers in different cities and counties in Colorado would profit from this warning as nicely. Be prudent with our bucks, or anticipate dogged journalists comparable to Maass to show your lavish journey.

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Originally Published: October 7, 2025 at 3:23 PM MDT