Auto execs take private jets to DC

[OwlMBA]

I can't believe the over-reaction about auto execs taking private jets to Washington to ask for a bailout. I know it is difficult for the common worker to understand, but there are a lot of very valid reasons why CEOs use private jets.

First and foremost is security. When you have Union goons calling for your head for 50+ years, you need a private jet. These CEOs also have to have around the clock security for them and their families due to constant threats on their lives.

But beyond that, the value of their time demands private jet travel. Now there are news articles of the auto CEOs driving from Detroit to DC. Yea, thats REALLY smart. Lets take what would be a 1 hour flight and turn it into a 3 day trip out of the office when they are needed most.

I understand that private jet travel looks obnoxious in the face of bankruptcy to the average joe, but its necessary. And lets face it, for companies that burn a billion dollars a week, the private jet expense is a drop in the bucket. Decreasing costs .01% by cutting the corporate jet isn't going to make any difference.

Whats next? Complaining about the CEOs big cell phone bill? Let's take that away next. Heck, may as well send him back to the dark ages. That is a BRILLIANT way to save the industry.

Quit worrying about what is politically correct and do what is best for the business. If the average "main street" American cries about it, who cares. The average main street American has probably never left the state he lives in, and he is certainly in no position to know what is and is not a proper business expenditure for a Fortune 500 company. But they see everything on the surface because they don't understand the underlying logic behind expenses like corporate jets. They dont realize that spending money can actually save money. They would rather see the CEOs hitchhiking to DC.

DETROIT (AP) - After being skewered by Congress and lampooned on NBC's "Saturday Night Live," the CEOs of Detroit's three automakers may end up making their return trip to Washington by car as they seek a federal bailout.

The Detroit area's auto industry, whose livelihood depends on the health of Chrysler LLC, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. spent the weekend e-mailing and discussing how to set up a giant car caravan to seek help from Congress.

Absolutely ridiculous.

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/pro...124&id=9402560

[wiegenlied]

I think Pelosi wanted these CEOs to fly using regular airplanes (economy-class tickets) :D

[cat714]

Owl...you do have a point. When you look at all the money the three auto makers burn through, the cost of flying on a private jet isn't very much. I would like to know how our politicans travel. I'm sure Pelosi flies economy all the time.

[fatboynic]

I wonder what the Union Exec's fly. They are the blood suckers in all of this...

[OwlMBA]

I wonder what the Union Exec's fly. They are the blood suckers in all of this...

Its always ironic to hear Union Execs whine about high executive pay. Those guys make big money, and what do they do? What industry do they run? The extortion industry?

[RobJohnson]

Private planes create jobs! :)

[jazztech]

Does anybody think these guys like working with the unions? So isn't it possible that they want to be seen as insensitive Fat Cats so that public outrage removes any possibbility of a bailout from the minds of the Pelosians, and the only option left is the bankruptcy that will break the Union stranglehold?

[M21]

Does anybody think these guys like working with the unions? So isn't it possible that they want to be seen as insensitive Fat Cats so that public outrage removes any possibbility of a bailout from the minds of the Pelosians, and the only option left is the bankruptcy that will break the Union stranglehold?

That's an interesting strategy to gain concessions from the unions. I like it.

[JB]

Now there are news articles of the auto CEOs driving from Detroit to DC. Yea, thats REALLY smart. Lets take what would be a 1 hour flight and turn it into a 3 day trip out of the office when they are needed most.

Looks like they're caving to the "uproar".

Goodbye, jets: Ford CEO will make trip to D.C. in a car

Forget the corporate jets.

When the Big Three automakers come back to Washington for hearings later this week on the proposed auto bailout, Ford CEO Alan Mulally will be making the more than eight-hour trip from Detroit to the Capitol by car, the company said today. The company won’t say yet, however, what kind of car Mulally will take (a Ford F-150 pickup truck or a Ford Focus compact car?), whether he will be behind the wheel, or when he will arrive: “It depends on traffic,” says a spokesperson.

The other automakers, General Motors and Chrysler, haven’t yet said what the plans are for their top executives, but Ford’s announcement will make it nearly impossible for them to fly to Washington without facing blistering criticism. A General Motors official said GM CEO Rick Wagoner will definitely not be using the company’s airplane, but did not offer an alternative transportation plan, whether commercial jet, train, or car.

[Goldwater]

There does seem something rather wasteful about people using expensive means of transport so they can travel to a government to beg for desperately needed taxpayer money.

Nothing against them using private jets otherwise though.