A travel consultant who is in the business of helping travelers save money on flight upgrades said he was in “shock, disbelief” to learn executives from Denver International Airport spent as much as $19,000 for roundtrip airfare in April to attend an aviation conference in Madrid.
CBS 
“It is so rare that the number gets into that stratosphere,” said Rob Laney, a travel consultant who develops strategies to help travelers avoid overpaying for upgrades to first class and business class on international flights.
“You would really have to go out of your way to find numbers in that stratosphere,” said Laney.
He was referring to a CBS News Colorado investigation last week regarding how much money was spent on Denver International Airport CEO Phil Washington, and eight of his executive staff traveling first and business class to an aviation conference in Madrid from April 8-10.
While one roundtrip ticket on United cost more than $19,000, another purchased for an airport exec was just under $16,000 and several others were over $12,000. Aside from a couple of short connections, all the flights were booked on United. The funding for those tickets and the trip comes from airport revenues derived from concessions, rental car fees and other airport user fees. All told, Denver International Airport spent about $165,000 for airfares, hotels, ground transportation and meals for the nine airport execs to attend the three day conference.
Laney said with a bit more planning and diligence, he believes the Denver contingent could have flown first/business class to Madrid and back for between $4,000 to $5,000 per passenger. He said one factor likely driving up the cost of the Denver International Airport tickets was that they did not have a Saturday night stay.
“That will juice the price,” said Laney. He said airline algorithms typically categorize travelers staying over on a Saturday night as leisure travelers, while those who don’t are viewed as business travelers who are willing to pay higher fares. Most of the Denver airport travelers were gone from a Sunday through Friday.
He suggested that the Denver airport group could likely have gotten better deals on upgraded seats by being patient and shopping around.
“You wouldn’t take the first offer on a house or car,” said Laney, and he said you should view upgraded airline tickets the same way.
Laney said he was baffled by the top tier prices paid by the flyers as he noted they were flying in April — not high season — and booked their flights well in advance.
“We just don’t see people paying $10,000 to go to Europe two months in advance, in April. Those are the numbers you see a week before the flight, under duress — not months in advance.”
Phil Washington, the airport’s CEO, said, “International travel is costly. Those costs may seem high but it’s an investment in our people.”
He also noted that Denver International Airport’s travel policy allows for employee upgrades for flights over 8 hours.
“Our policy allows us to do that,” said Washington.
But other airports and government agencies seem to have stricter rules for upgrading the class of service:
– The federal government only allows workers to upgrade flights if the flight is more than 14 hours or there are other extenuating circumstances.
– Miami International Airport has a travel policy that does not routinely allow for airport employees to upgrade their flights. Employees have to provide a written explanation for why an upgrade is necessary and obtain previous approval. “Upgrades are typically not reimbursed,” said an airport spokesperson who said employees can pay for seat upgrades out of their own pockets.
– The Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas says “All air travel must be coach/economy class” unless specifically authorized.
Like Denver International Airport, the Miami and Las Vegas airports are in the top ten for U.S. airports.
Washington has said he may review the Denver International Airport travel policy.
Ultimately, he said “This trip was worthwhile. We will always look to do things at the lowest cost and we will continue to do that.”
