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  • 2016-03-29 (xsd:date)
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  • Bernie Sanders Flies Coach? (de)
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  • In late December 2015, supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders' presidential bid started the Twitter hashtag #SandersOnAPlane to highlight instances of the candidate sitting in coach — just like regular folks — as he traveled from stump to stump: Another popular, related clip depicted Sanders purportedly running to catch a train: Sanders' penchant for flying coach came up in conversation during the Democratic hopeful's March 2016 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live (which referenced a photograph of Sanders that appeared on the Internet in November 2015): Through late December 2015 photographs of Sanders flying coach intermittently peppered social media, although a few instances appeared to be cases of mistaken identity (as seen in the example block at the head of this page). Some articles contrasted Sanders with rival Democratic contender Hillary Clinton (although the latter also traveled on commercial flights at the outset of her presidential campaign): On 31 December 2015, ABC News inquired about the senator's increased use of chartered air travel, and his campaign maintained that the increasing demands of primary season made it impossible for the senator to consistently travel commercial: Around the end of December 2015 sightings of Sanders on a Plane dropped abruptly, possibly due to logistical reasons: On 30 January 2016, media outlets confirmed Sanders had been afforded Secret Service protection. Indeed, shortly after Sanders' new Secret Service detail was announced, a Vermont-based newspaper reported that his campaign had chartered a plane to travel to New Hampshire: However, traveling by charter flight wasn't entirely new to Sanders' campaign, even if it became more frequent after Sanders was assigned a protective detail. Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings for Sanders' 2015 campaign expenses listed just over $180,000 in payments to Air Charter Team, a private jet charter service. When we contacted the Secret Service to ask whether individuals under their protection were prohibited from commercial air travel (or similar transport), the representative with whom we spoke said that protectees (particularly foreign dignitaries) travel commercially all the time and mentioned that Vice-President Joe Biden was known for his use of Amtrak to travel to and from Washington, D.C. while under the protection of the Secret Service. However, a May 2015 article about Hillary Clinton's campaign travels highlighted how difficult it is for candidates to move about via commercial flights while under Secret Service protection: Bernie Sanders did fly coach for much of the early part of his presidential campaign and began using chartered air travel as the primary election season got busier. During that time, Sanders was placed under the protection of the Secret Service, which although it didn't preclude commercial air travel, likely added to the campaign's travel considerations (which already involved closely-spaced races in multiple states and the need for timely arrival at rallies and events). Whether Sanders has merely cut down or ceased flying coach entirely isn't clear, but he has flown first- or business-class (and via charter) as his campaign has progressed. In any case, Sanders isn't the only prominent political figure observed traveling in coach: In 2014, former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney (known partly for his personal wealth) was spotted by many social media users sitting in economy class. (en)
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