Buying plane tickets, even first class, would probably be cheaper.
But in business, time is money. A company who can get people to places faster has an advantage. I don't know where this company flies to, but there are several companies out there who need to fly into smaller cities and airports that airlines don't service.
The economy around these parts was weathering the storm fairly well until people started getting irate about business jets, when congress started forcing people to divest their business aircraft, and started mouthing off. Now, everything is tanking...but no one stops to think what sort of impact that $50 million jet has to the overall economy. It's all about sticking it to the CEOs.
"The old ones cost us more to operate" is an excuse mantra of the most obvious sort. "The old $5,000 desk chair wasn't comfortable enough, and interfered with my efficiency at work, so I need a new $20,000 one." "My immediate staff would be able to work far more efficiently if they had a corporate retreat in the Bahamas for a week." "That Monet would go very well behind my desk, and would make my work environment so much more placid and conducive to my productivity." etc. etc.
If you had an old V8 Buick that was costing you tons in repairs, upkeep and fuel...would you think it silly to buy yourself a new car?
"Let them fly in propellor-driven airplanes."
Time is money...speed is time...and if you're trying to hold meetings in the back of a turboprop while flying to your destination, you're likely going to run into trouble.
In fact, didn't one executive from Detroit finally figure out he could drive a car to Washington instead of taking the corporate jet?
Actually, they all figured that out after Washington chided them for flying the first time.
True. However, the irony of these financial instituations hosting football bowl games after asking for and receiving bailout money is staggering.
<snip>
Everyone knows I'm a football fanatic. But I think this
op ed from George Will pretty well sums up how I feel about the bailout money and how the money was used. What's the big deal about the jet? Citibank hosted the Rose Bowl and I'll bet it cost a hell of a lot more than 50 million to do that.
But that's okay...because the general public loves sports. Most people aren't involved with business jets, their usage, or what they offer to businesses. If they didn't have the Rose Bowl because they couldn't get a sponsor to pony up, there would probably be an uprising.
The OP was do they get it? My answer is no, they don't. Luxury jets and CEO golden umbrellas are just a minute peek at the problem. The problem stems from the way these corporations view money--and the sense of entitlement they display as to how they will spend the money they were given in a time of desperation.
The trouble is, Washington is deep in these people's pockets. I'm not going to excuse CEOs, because many of them do very crooked things. But the politicians are the real ones to lay blame on here. Instead of forking over billions upon billions (with billions more to come) to big corporations, why not send that money directly into the hands of people who can spend it and thus improve the economy?
Because the general public doesn't lobby as hard as industry.
