Baker Changing His Flying Habits : Expenses: The secretary of state is reportedly shocked by the cost of personal trips on military jets and acts to avert criticism.

Secretary of State James A. Baker III, hoping to insulate himself from the growing uproar over Washington perquisites, on Friday began using commercial airliners for personal trips in the United States instead of far more costly Air Force jets.

State Department spokeswoman Margaret Tutwiler said Baker was shocked by a still unpublished audit showing that his 11 private trips aboard military jets have cost taxpayers more than $300,000 since the first days of the Bush Administration in 1989.

Although President Bush has specifically authorized Baker, Defense Secretary Dick Cheney and Atty. Gen. William P. Barr to use government planes on all trips because of security requirements and because they must stay in constant touch with Washington, Tutwiler said Baker decided to use commercial flights for personal trips instead to save money.

The Pentagon said Cheney will continue to use military aircraft for all travel. Like Barr and Baker, he is required to make partial reimbursements for private trips. Capt. Sam Grizzle, a Pentagon spokesman, said Cheney is in the military chain-of-command and “that requires that he have secure communications at all times.”

A spokesman for Barr said he has never taken a personal trip on a government aircraft.

State Department security officials expressed some doubts about Baker’s decision but said they would not object if the commercial trips are brief and there are no unusual threats to his safety. Even on commercial flights, Baker will be accompanied by bodyguards whose tickets will be paid for by the government.

Tutwiler said Baker decided to change his method of travel after he was shown a draft audit by the General Accounting Office that indicated it cost the Air Force about $340,000 to operate a small executive jet on 11 personal trips, most of them to his home in Houston or to Pinedale, Wyo., where he owns a ranch. She said that Baker reimbursed the government, long before the audit, for $38,453 of that cost, a rate based on the value of a full fare coach ticket plus $1 for him and family members who accompanied him.

Sen. David Pryor (D-Ark.), chairman of the Senate federal services subcommittee, called on other executive branch officials to do the same and said of Baker:

“It sounds like he’s saying, ‘I didn’t do anything wrong and I promise not to do it again.’ But the bottom line is his change of policy is going to save the taxpayers money and I’m glad he’s reconsidered. . . . If the secretary of state can take an open mind on this, it would seem to be time for others in the executive branch to review their actions and policies.”

Baker left Washington aboard a commercial airliner Friday for a private weekend trip. The State Department refused to say where he was going or, for security reasons, to reveal the airline he used.

Tutwiler said the department would not have announced the change at this time if a leaked version of the GAO report had not appeared in the Milwaukee Journal. The newspaper put the total cost of Baker’s 11 trips at $388,758, a figure that Tutwiler said was not quite accurate but “not far off.”

Secretaries of state have used military aircraft for both official and private travel for 20 years, since former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger determined that security and communications required it.

Although Baker now considers military transportation to be too costly to the government, Tutwiler emphasized that there is nothing illegal about his earlier travel.

Tutwiler read a memo, written Thursday by Sheldon J. Krys, assistant secretary of state for diplomatic security, expressing some concern about both communications and security but concluding that it usually will be all right for Baker to use commercial aircraft.

“Our preferred means of maintaining communication is military aircraft but, if a trip is sufficiently short, you can remain in contact on an unclassified basis during your journey,” Krys wrote to Baker. “We must, however, reserve the right to review the situation and require or suggest that you travel on military aircraft where personal security dictates.”

Baker will continue using military planes for official travel.