Mayor Bloomberg doesn’t like to talk about his habit of jetting off to Bermuda, but his private planes, and who’s flying in them, have been the focus of media attention since it emerged several years ago that he’s given rides to Christine Quinn, Ray Kelly, and other colleagues. Apparently Bloomberg was undeterred by the negative attention, as Air Bloomberg is still in operation. The Wall Street Journal reports that Kelly took three free trips to Florida in the mayor’s private jet last year, according to financial-disclosure documents. Over the years, Kelly has taken at least another eight flights to Florida, presumably to the two-bedroom condo in Deerfield Beach that he shares with his wife.
Kelly is the only high-ranking official to report the flights, but both he and Bloomberg declined the Journal’s request for comment. In the past, Kelly was comparatively open about the perks of having a billionaire boss. In 2010 he told New York that Air Bloomberg is “the only way to travel,” and back in 2005 he recalled flying to Miami with the mayor for a meeting. “When we were ready to fly back, there was some problem with the mayor’s plane,” said Kelly. “So we got on his other plane. That was pretty good.”
