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THREAD: Elaine Chao, whose job it is to oversee the US aviation industry, flew Air China on her trip to Beijing instead of a US carrier, when US options were available. Let's take a closer look. nyti.ms/2JRCBjK
2/x: So it is the US law that government employees fly on US carriers. It's called the "Fly America Act." 
3/x: But at some point, there was an exception carved out for so-called "code shares" where flyers on US carriers can fly on a foreign carrier, and the flight number is still for the American carrier. In this case, it was United Airlines 7584, operated by Air China.
4/x: This makes sense in a way. What if there was no equivalent US carrier that flies the same route, or what if its flights are at an inconvenient time for a busy government official?
5/x: Elaine Chao left for Beijing from Newark airport on April 23, 2018 (nonstop, 13 hours, 50 mins). We obtained this flight information via a Freedom of Information Act request. Take a look.
6/x: But there was a United Airlines flight leaving Newark airport, nonstop for Beijing, UA 89. And on her return leg, which was April 28, there was UA 88, from Beijing to Newark, also nonstop. We checked with @flightradar24 and both flights left on time.
@flightradar24 7/x: What time was that? UA 89 left at 11:54am on April 23, 2018. The Air China flight Elaine Chao took, Air China Flight 820 (UA 7584), had a 12:40pm departure time, 46 mins later. So again, why would a Secretary of Transportation not fly a US carrier? Well...
8/x: What if there were no seats on UA 89 and Air China 820 was the only option. That would make sense. So we checked. An "aviation industry official" said there were open seats on UA 89 from Newark to Beijing on April 23, 2018.
9/x: And that brings up another issue...the price. Elaine Chao paid $6783.61 for her round trip, coach-class ticket to China. That's...expensive. Believe it or not, even Cabinet officials are supposed to fly economy if the flight is less than 14 hours, as this one was...barely.
10/x: We tried to find a United Airlines flight where we paid that much money for a round trip ticket Newark-Beijing. It's a route I've flown many times before. The most I pay during peak summertime is about $2100. Often tix can go for around $1000.
11/x: The same "aviation industry official" confirmed that the UA 89 economy class ticket, even if booked last minute, would not have been $6783.61. I ran some tests myself a while back on the United Airlines website.
12/x: This was a last-minute ticket. You see the Air China flight more expensive than United...$3,910. Still not $6783.61 but maybe the April 23 flight was more expensive, more peak season. So why did she fly Air China if United was cheaper? Why spend extra taxpayer dollars?
13/x: We asked the DOT spokesman. He said: "The Secretary’s travel was not purchased until April 18 for an April 23 flight. Airline pricing is dynamic and changes constantly so being able to determine exactly why the cost is that amount is beyond our ability to speculate."
14/x: But remember, UA 89, with seat available, was arriving about the same time as the flight Elaine Chao took, and, as the "aviation industry official" said, even a last minute ticket like the one Sec. Chao paid for wasn't $6783.61.
15/x: Some of you may be thinking that you sympathize with someone trying to avoid United economy for a 13 hour 50 min flight. But Air China, well, it ain't Singapore Airlines. I've flown it many times. It is about the same as United, without good movies or Gershwin.
16/x: So did she FLY coach? Would Air China officials put a US Cabinet official, arguably the most accomplished Chinese-American politician, in economy class? We asked the DOT spokesman. It seemed like an easy question.
17/x: Response: "The Secretary’s flight was booked in coach class as mentioned. We don’t track what seats she ends up in. She takes hundreds of flights each year...." MORE
18/x: MORE RESPONSE: "The office of the Secretary complied with all government guidance on the purchase of this flight through United Airlines. Government guidance treats this as a U.S. flight on an international carrier...." MORE
19/x: MORE RESPONSE: "We don’t set government fares and they shouldn’t be compared to regular commercial fares...." MORE
20/x: MORE RESPONSE from DOT: "We can’t substantiate a lower fare elsewhere or whether the differential you claim is correct, because government fares are different from commercial fares, and we are required to take them."
21/xx: So when asked if Sec. Chao flew coach, the DOT spokesman would not say, saying they "don't track what seats she ends up in." But this seems important to know, because Air China is the flag carrier of an adversarial foreign power.
22/22: So did Elaine Chao fly coach on Air China for her Beijing trip last April? And why did she chose Air China over United? These seem to be important questions that we still don't have good answers to. Who can ask those questions and expect an answer?
