W

elcome to another edition of

Lifestyles of the Rich and ... Publicly Funded

.

Champagne wishes. Caviar dreams on the people's dime.

In this episode we look to the Birmingham Airport Authority, where in January board chairman (and elected Jefferson County Tax Assessor) Gaynell Hendricks was whisked away on a four-night foray to the nation's capital.

To attend the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

The $734-a-night hotel was no problem for Mrs. Hendricks. Nor was a $106 dinner or the $70 dropped in a single day on tips. This tab was born entirely by the airport authority.

It was not personal. It was public.

And the total cost came to $4,300.

In 2011 Hendricks and airport authority President and CEO Al Denson climbed aboard the Marrakesh Express, jetting away for a six-night excursion to the can't-miss

Airports Council International World & Africa Conference & Exhibition

in sunny and exotic Morocco.

Marrakesh is the perfect place for the well-heeled, publicly financed jet-setter. Just moments from the majesty of the High Atlas Mountains and the serenity of Lake Lalla Tekerkous, it opens doors to a transcendental world.

For a pricetag – for the two of them -- of $27,815.

It matters not that there are no flights to Africa from the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth "International" Airport. There are no non-stop international flights at all.

One could argue, as the airport does, that jet-setting is justified in a business that deals with... jets. You have to see the industry, know the industry, be the industry.

But there are few public boards that can match this one.

Dubrovnik. Photo by Wikimedia commons user Raime.

Denson himself has flown to Hawaii for conferences each of the last three years, at costs of $7,610, $5,603 and $8,395 successively.

That's $21,608 worth of Aloha.

He has flown to Dubrovnik in Croatia ($13,429), Grand Cayman ($5,240), Budapest, Hungary ($11,805), and more than a dozen other places since the beginning of 2011.

Board members and executive staff took 80 trips in that time, costing the authority $194,000.

The list is long:

Budapest, Chicago, Costa Rica, Dallas, Denver, Destin, Dubrovnik, Grand Cayman, Houston, Kona, Las Vegas, Long Beach, Marrakesh, Maui, Miami, Nashville, New Orleans, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Point Clear, Reno, San Antonio, San Diego, St. Louis, Tampa, Toronto, and Washington, D.C.

Not a single trip to Detroit, Hoboken or ... Peoria.

Hendricks and other airport officials argue that the trips are necessary, that Denson is well-respected in the airport industry, that Hendricks herself, as chairman of the board, is the tangible face of the airport.

"Trips are not a perk," Hendricks said. "I have work to do. It is important for Birmingham to be seen."

Others say travel is important to keep up with industry trends, network with others in the field, lobby for federal aid and "take advantage of opportunities to heighten public awareness regarding exciting developments at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport."

But there is not much to point to in terms of direct benefits from the trips to Marrakesh or the inauguration.

Kona,Hawaii. Photo by Wikimedia user W. Nowicki

As one airport spokesperson said, it is about inching forward. "Large ships turn slowly," she said.

Hendricks said she works "every day" to get international flights from Birmingham. And she rightly points out that things have gone pretty well for the airport lately.

It expects to end the year $41 million in the black, and its terminal modernization is expected to have a nine-figure impact on Alabama's economy by next year.

And that is true.

And that is good.

But it is not the point. Because every time a public official or member of a public board jets off to Morocco or dashes off to Dubrovnik on the public dime, he or she sends a loud and clear message to those who pay for it.

Champagne wishes. And caviar dreams.

John Archibald's column appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays in the Birmingham News, and on AL.com. Write him at jarchibald@al.com