Corporate jets: Defending the indefensible

Corporate jets in the US have received a considerable amount of flak in the US from the media as well as President Obama ever since the leaders of the Big Three automakers flew to Washington DC in their corporate jets in order to ask for bailout money from Congress. However and in a recent article for General Aviation News, Charles Spence attempted to make the case for owning a corporate jet.

Specifically, Spence recalled how Playboy had wanted to buy a corporate jet back in the early 1970s (see Inside Hugh Hefner’s 70s Playboy Jet) but was fearful of a backlash from readers and advertisers alike who might not see it as a useful business tool. Hence, he wrote an article for the magazine that detailed how corporate jets are used by businesses and how using one makes it possible to achieve significantly more in a much shorter amount of time.

After Playboy purchased their corporate jet, there was little if any negative reaction from readers. Spence concluded that understanding will not always bring agreement as to why a corporate jet might be needed but it can bring acceptance.

However, the best case for supporting the use of corporate jets was made by Warren Buffet in an interview where he was asked to explain why he owns and uses one. In short, Buffet explained that a corporate jet makes his life better and easier because as the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, he needs to do a considerable amount of traveling.

In fact, Buffett initially named the Bombardier Challenger 600 that he bought twenty years ago “The Indefensible” due to his previous criticisms of corporate jet purchases by other CEOs. However and after he started using one, he renamed it “The Indispensable” as he realized just how valuable of a business tool a corporate jet can be.