Corporate Aviation Takes a PR Hit ...

... and one has to wonder if this is just the first step of a trend in which bashing business jets is in vogue. The reference here, of course, is the media hubbub around the arrival in Washington of the CEOs of GM, Ford, and Chrysler, hat in hand, via their separate corporate jets to ask Congress for a bailout two weeks ago. They returned to D.C. this week, sans the corporate jets, and subsequently Ford and GM have announced they are selling off their corporate flight departments. Says Automotive News: “The era of corporate jets is over at General Motors and Ford.†Warren Brown of The Washington Post comments, “[Detroit] doesn't know that the nation's capital places more stock in symbolism -- the grand gesture -- than it does in relevant discussions of policy. And thus the Three Unwise Men from Detroit came here -- sincere, hardworking, honest gentlemen all -- so intent on delivering their message, so desperately in need of a federal loan, they didn't know they were setting themselves up for ridicule by rushing here in separate corporate jets. “Washington loves that sort of gaffe. It provides the comic relief necessary for escaping the burden of shaping meaningful industrial and energy policies. It sparks endless commentary. It supplies ready villains in a town that rejoices in pointing fingers.†Indeed. The CEOs didn’t defend their use of corporate aviation; they cowered. But then, considering they showed up at Capitol Hill with nary a plan to justify the Congressional handouts, it’s easy to appreciate that they never thought through the public relations image that arriving in individual bizjets would bring. In all the general media coverage since their arrival in D.C., I have seen no mention of the positive impact of corporate jets … on the economy, on trade, on communities, on local airports. The editors in communities such as Concord, NC, Ft. Worth, Aurora, IL, Shreveport, LA and others need to send their reporters out to their local airports to find out how those corporate jets are attracting business, creating jobs, boosting the tax base. The bigger picture here is that corporate aviation plays a central role in commerce, nationally and globally. As the federal government gets more and more into investing in domestic business (bailouts), a concern has to be the long-term viability of this important sector, particularly as it relates to global competitiveness. Thanks for reading. jfi