This month I wrote an editorial on the value of corporate jets. I was surprised to find that I received several negative responses to what I thought was a no-brainer for those of us in the aviation business.
To further my point, in a recent article I read, it was pointed out that due to political indignation over the use of taxpayer dollars to fund what is perceived to be corporate perks, many companies are shying away from legitimate travel. If uncontrolled, this could lead to the loss of thousands of jobs.
The article states that there has been a demonization of corporate travel that threatens to fundamentally hurt the travel business. It states that cities like Las Vegas have become anathema to corporate meetings, because corporate heads are afraid of the public outcry. In fact I am set to leave at the end of this week to travel to Las Vegas to attend AIE, so, it appears, we are flowing against the tide of public opinion. Of course this meeting was set a year ago and I am hopeful many of our attendees will not cancel as a result of this political mess.
The travel people point out that, meetings, conventions, and other events make up 15 percent of all U.S. travel, creating $101 billion in spending, 1 million jobs, and nearly $16 billion in state, federal, and local taxes. That’s a significant hunk of our economy.
Noting this and all the jobs and dollars corporate aviation adds to our economy, not to mention the significant role sales of these aircraft play in our trade balance, I just cannot see the negative. Sure there may be a few fat cats who misuse and abuse the purposes of the company aircraft, but to condemn a whole industry because of them is, in my opinion, a big mistake. Hopefully this will change soon and the corporate aircraft will no longer be the whipping boy for a bunch of politicians looking for votes from a constituency that should be better informed.
What do you think? Let me have it if you think I am misguided regarding this issue.