Governor Josh Shapiro authorized more than 100 flights on the private airplane owned by the State of Pennsylvania in 2023, exceeding the controversial amount of air travel by his predecessor, a Spotlight Pennsylvania report revealed on Tuesday.
The state-owned Beechcraft King Air 350i, which generally sell for between $4.3 million and $6.7 million, was used for 113 separate trips in 2023. According to Spotlight Pennsylvania, the flight time amounted to more than 200 hours and cost the state’s taxpayers $410,000.
Though a spokesman for Shapiro claimed to the outlet, “Pennsylvanians expect their Governor to be out in their communities listening, learning, and delivering — not just sitting behind a desk in Harrisburg,” and use of the aircraft was necessary to keep “an aggressive and rigorous travel schedule that has taken him to every county in our Commonwealth several times over,” at least one flight was to a luxurious South Carolina island vacation destination.
Spotlight Pennsylvania reported the aircraft flew from Pennsylvania to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina, which the outlet describes as “a ritzy vacation spot known for beaches and golf courses,” then ferried Shapiro back to Pennsylvania in order to attend a funeral in his official capacity.
While the outlet reported that Shapiro’s air travel exceeds the annual use of the plane by his predecessor, Governor Tom Wolf, a January 2023 report by Penn Live explained the former governor only clocked in 256 flights over the course of his eight years in office.
Wolf reportedly averaged about one flight a week throughout his administration, while Shapiro’s current pace would suggest about two flights per week.
In reality, Spotlight Pennsylvania reported Shapiro has used the plane as many as seven times in one day.
Indicating a potential for the plane to be used to ferry government officials for political events, a spokesman for Wolf insisted the then-governor in 2023 only used “the state plane for state business,” but acknowledged, “if political activity occurs during that period, the governor’s office bills the campaign for that portion of the travel.”
The analysis of Shapiro’s use of the Beechcraft, which seats nine, comes as the Democratic governor faces poor polling among Pennsylvanians, with the majority indicating they are opposed to his administration’s requests for higher spending.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Gov Josh Shapiro” by Pennsylvania Governor’s Office.
