Comments on: Corporate Jets: Luxury Or Necessity?

Jets Have Become A Symbol Of Corporate Greed, But Small Businesses Say They Rely On Them As Manufacturers Struggle

[Gene5184]

"But of course you HYPOCRITICAL republiCONS couldn't ever be accused of highly-partisan "showmanship" ............"

Who cares what party or where the showmanship comes from. Things are much more serious than that. We need to pull together and make smart decisions if we want to pass prosperity onto all our children.

[jbar116]

In this free economy those companies are supposed to be free to do business as they see fit but that doesn't include taking billions of dollars from the taxpayer and then flying home in a private jet. I think the average person believes that big corporations are all crooks but they only have to answer to the guy who owns their stock and the rest of us be dammed so if the guy who owns their stock (in some cases now the US GOV./TAXPAYER) is ok with them flying around in jets and further bankrupting their companies then so be it after all they are taking the loss. However, I for one feel that any corporation that takes tax dollars should eliminate all perks for employees making six figures or more since these are luxuries and not necessary to the survival of the company. Any corporation that is not showing a profit should not pay more than base salary; after all would you reward a child for bad school grades?

[whitemale08]

Goldman Sucks and JP Morgan are lobbying Obama as we speak to 'waiver' executive pay caps.

Bloomberg story:

http://bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aVrYgD5NiwuM&refer=home

So Goldman Sucks and JP Morgan not only want you, the taxpayer, to bailout their trillions in worthless derivatives and credit-default swaps but also pay their executives handsomely for the 'priviledge'.

How does it feel America to be SHAFTED royally by Goldman Sucks and JP Morgan?

[egresor]

dont feel very nice to me!

since when did big business care about people.
profits profits profits

even if they aren't real
:(
:(

[mrs_trepidatious]

They are a neccessity you liberals!

[Gene5184]

cbsblogger wrote:

[[[Secondly we the public are forced to subsidize the general aviation landing fees of these private aircraft with taxes on our tickets. ]]]

General Aviation pays through fuel taxes and FBO taxes which get passed on in the form of hanger rents, pilot supplies, and other revenue.

The largest user of Airports is the commercial airlines and yes, they pass their taxes off to you as the customer.

Of the 87,000 daily flights, only ~27,000 are private airplanes. 60,000 flights daily are commercial ventures which pass their taxes onto the customer.

You are not paying the way for private aviation, you are paying the way for the Airlines and commercial operators that you use. That is business.

[cbsblogger]

How can you expect CEOs and their entourages to go through the same humiliation at the security lines with the body scanners, walking barefoot, and being patted down that the average Americans do? These are important people, just ask them. Secondly we the public are forced to subsidize the general aviation landing fees of these private aircraft with taxes on our tickets.

For the CEOs and other "important" people flying is still a fun experience with none of the de-humanizing hassles and herding that it has become for Joe Average.

[payasyougo]

"Corporate Jets: Luxury Or Necessity?
Jets Have Become A Symbol Of Corporate Greed, But Small Businesses Say They Rely On Them "
-------
Just ask Nancy Pelosi why someone w/ access to public transportation can justify the more expensive use of a private jet. What she and they won't tell you is that it is because someone else is paying for it.

[Gene5184]

There really is no way to fault those executives if we understand how corporate aviation works.

The use of that jet allowed them to put that time to productive use and keep the company earning so that it either needs to borrow less or is ready to make the payments for the loan.

For example, Executives flying a private jet to see Hooters Girls is an outrage.

Executive that cinched a 10 million dollar deal while flying a private jet to see Hooters Girls is a celebration.

The aircraft are a business asset that is a catalyst to greater profitability.

?Among S&P 500 peer groups from 1992 through 1999, operators earned 141% more in cumulative returns than non-operators.?

-Business Aviation in Today?s Economy, A shareholders value perspective.
http://www.noplanenogain.org/Studies.htm?m=47&s=379

How does this work? For a 3 hours in the air on a commercial flight, 5 Executives being paid $150 hour spending 8 hrs at airports flying commercially making connections = $6,000 dollars in company funds for unproductive time not including the cost of 5 commercial tickets.

25 trips such trips a year = 150,000 dollars spent to pay people to hang out at the airport. That money comes out of the company coffers and could be used to continue to pay workers. That is 200 hours of lost productivity or five 40 hour weeks of sitting at the airport. That is time lost that our company is not earning money to pay its workers, shareholders, and grow our economy.

Attacking the jets is ignorant political showmanship and nothing more than theater for the masses.

Leadership is explaining the math to the public because the fact these companies operate them improves the bottom line. The jets are good for the company, the workers, and America.

[Dgunner]

How did the founders and fore fsthers of this caterpillar company travel before they made enough money to afford this plane and why wouldn't the same mode of travel be sufficent today? If the cost of the travel is linked to the cost of the equiptment wouldn't the equiptment be less if the buyere wasn't paying for the added cost?People this is business 101. convenience not neccesity is the baseline here.I think it would be safe to say . I will meet you where the factory is located and you can discount the deal ten thousaand.This guy may have shot his self in the foot by allowing this interview, Hope so!

[jodyrae4]

I think the rich people need to come down off their high horses and live in the REAL WORLD.

[whitemale08]

Goldman Sucks has 'corporate jets' and yet it received and still receives billions in TARP and backdoor-bailouts scams like AIG for their worthless derivatives and credit-default swaps.

Meanwhile, Obama's advisors are telling him to turn his back on health-care and peddle this krap called 'value-care' which is like buying a 'value-pack' of twinkies at local grocery store.

It means, it's packaged like health-care but the 'creamy inside' is full of junk and no real type of care whatsoever so the government can cut costs and save money for more bailouts.

FOLKS, OBAMA HAS TURNED TO THE DARKSIDE!

IT'S TIME TO CALL CONGRESS AND DEMAND GOLDMAN SUCKS AND JP MORGAN FILE FOR CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY RE-ORGANIZATION!

NO MORE BAILOUTS

OR

NO MORE HEALTH-CARE

Which is it America?

[determinedone]

Posted by lami987 at 9:26 PM : May 17, 2009

Don't get me wrong. I don't think most high-level execs should have access to a plane.

[ubrew12]

I think they should take a close look at the forces behind executive compensation.

There's something there that is non-competitive, and therefore not about capitalism.

[lami987]

Corporate jets are definitely not necessary. With the advance of electronic communification equipments we can study conditions on planet Mars without sending people there. It is true corporate jet manufacturers will reduce their work force. But at the same time corporations who buy corporate jets would spend less and give more money to their share holders. That money in turn would be spent on other real necessities not just to entertain corporate executives. Besides US executives are already by far the highest paid in the world. Enough is enough.

[determinedone]

"Corporate Jets: Luxury Or Necessity?"

The above is, esentially, a yes-or-no question.

Some execs, politicians, etc., may need a private jet, and some may not, to differing degrees - some of the time, most of the time.

No user of a private plane, certainly, needs a plane with a luxury interior that costs millions of dollars on top of the plane's overall expense, and yes there are 'business' jets like this.

If a party is using a corporate jet as a necessity, at the company's expense, then the plane should be used frugally, not strictly for conveinience when a regular airline would do.

[platteman]

When you make all govt officials fly comercial then the corporate jets can be eliminated. That means every govt official. No special flights for any govt. official. If and when that happens, fine, until then, corporate jets are fine with me.

[platteman]

If the govt is giving you my money, then fly comercial, if your on your own dime, fly whatever you want. Corporate jets employ people, ground crews, and lots of other people so if you eliminate them, then you have more unemployment. So choose what you want, unemployment or people who are paying taxes and supporting the govt with their income.

I don't see any problem with corporate jets. The time the execs save in travel pays for their use in the end.

[gravyboat45]

Luxery.

[skeezix06]

Luxury.

[ubrew12]

Wall Street bankers fly their corporate jets to Kona, Hawaii each weekend for a little R&R.

Don't believe me?: watch the Kona airport fill up with corporate jets every weekend, and then empty out by each Monday. They actually dedicate an entire end of the airport for the parking of these jets over the weekend.

Your tax dollars at 'work'.