Pruitt traveled first class a few times as AG
Scott Pruitt, who has come under criticism in recent weeks for his firstclass airfare, traveled first class on a few occasions as Oklahoma’s attorney general, according to documents obtained by The Oklahoman.
Thousands of pages of travel logs, emails and expense reports obtained Tuesday in an open records request show the Republican attorney general took about 80 trips between 2012 and when he left office last February. On four occasions, those trips involved first-class flights, the records show.
Pruitt’s infrequent use of first class as attorney general differs from his policy of the past year, when he routinely traveled in the finer seats. The Environmental Protection Agency administrator has said first class is necessary due to security concerns and the nation’s "toxic" political environment. In September, The
Oklahoman reported that Pruitt spent $14,434 in taxpayer funds to fly from Tulsa to the Panhandle and Oklahoma City one day in July. Pruitt had received permission from an EPA attorney to use a Department of Interior plane due to his tight schedule.
Last week, Pruitt said he would begin flying in the economy class. His office did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday about his travel as attorney general.
AG travel
While attorney general, Pruitt spent $35,761 on airfare and related expenses, according to records from the attorney general’s office. For nearly all trips, Pruitt flew in the economy class of a plane, the cheapest option. On at least four occasions, however, he flew first class and on one occasion his office chose a far pricier option.
On Nov. 27, 2012, Pruitt traveled from his home in Tulsa to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in the business select seat of a Southwest Airlines flight. It cost taxpayers $579.
Pruitt also traveled business select from Tulsa on July 21, 2014, making stops in Denver and Salt Lake City, where a Conference of Western Attorneys General was held. The next day, he returned to Tulsa in the business class, billing taxpayers $999.
That August, Pruitt took a first-class American Airlines flight from Dallas to Tulsa. The 55-minute flight cost taxpayers $613, according to documents from the attorney general’s office. It’s not clear why Pruitt made the trip; his schedule for the day of the flight is partially redacted.
On Feb. 12, 2015, Pruitt took a first-class United Airlines flight from Tulsa to Denver and another from Denver to San Francisco. The flights, which included free drinks and breakfast, cost $549. Pruitt’s schedule for the day of the flight, obtained in the open records request, is blank.
Later that year, Pruitt’s preference for Delta Air Lines cost taxpayers about $1,400. Emails obtained by The Oklahoman show Pruitt’s staff was sent two economy class options for a Nov. 12, 2015, trip to Washington D.C. The first, on American Airlines, would have cost $441 roundtrip. The second, on Delta, cost $1,839.
In an email, a staffer in the attorney general’s office asked a travel agency consultant whether the state would be covering the cost of the flights. After she was told that, yes, the government would be billed, the staffer said Pruitt “prefers to fly Delta.” Billing records show Pruitt was booked on the Delta flights at a cost of $1,839.
On another occasion, Pruitt canceled his firstclass flight, though it’s not clear why. The attorney general had planned to fly first class from Tulsa to Washington, D.C., in November 2015. An email from his staff indicates he chose not to travel to the capital but another document indicates the trip was paid for by Pruitt’s political campaign.