# President Obama's air time **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 27, 2009, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obamas-air-time/487714 "2009-02-27T20:12:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![brix11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c37758/32.png) [@brix11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brix11)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obamas-air-time/487714/1 "2009-02-27T20:12:50Z")
I routinely check out [Politico’s coverage of the Obama presidency](http://www.politico.com/politico44/), and I am struck by how many times the President has made use of Air Force One during his first month in office. I counted eight: 1. Democratic issues conference in Williamsburg, Va. (Marine One couldn’t have handled this?) 2. Indiana 3. Florida 4. Illinois for Lincoln’s bicentennial 5. Family weekend in Chicago 6. Denver/Phoenix for stimulus bill signing/housing plan unveil 7. Canada 8. North Carolina for Iraq withdrawal announcement At first, I wondered how much all these trips cost. Then, I realized that lots of business people routinely make daily or weekly flights around the country. And I think it’s good to see a president give his constituents some face time. My main question is how Obama compares to other presidents in his travel habits so far. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obamas-air-time/487714/2 "2009-02-27T20:56:25Z")
I don’t think they use the helicopter (Marine One) to get to out of town trips. Once they arrive it is used for short hops. They only use it for trips to Camp David from what I recall (for a trip where it is used by itself.) My guess is the security is not there to fly it for anything other than a short trip. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obamas-air-time/487714/3 "2009-02-27T21:04:37Z")
From what I could quickly gather at Bush’s [old whitehouse.gov](http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/01/) website in January and February he went to: 1. Williamsburg, VA, (popular destination, I guess!) 2. Ft. Stewart, GA 3. Norfolk, VA 4. Charleston, WV, 5. OK City 6. Columbus, OH, 7. Townsend, TN Don’t know about the others. ---
**Author:** ![brix11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c37758/32.png) [@brix11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brix11)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obamas-air-time/487714/4 "2009-02-27T21:10:43Z")
Thanks for that bit of research, mack! ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obamas-air-time/487714/5 "2009-02-27T21:22:26Z")
I knew where I wanted to go, it just took a little bit longer to get there.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obamas-air-time/487714/6 "2009-02-27T21:44:28Z")
I wonder if it’s relevant to bring up ex-(yay!)-governor Blagojevich’s [state plane](http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/22/politics/main2968669.shtml) commute from home in Chicago to work in Springfield. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2009, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obamas-air-time/487714/7 "2009-02-28T09:50:03Z")
It’s a little early to make comparisons but Obama has flown roughly double the mileage given the above routes.