Written on Wednesday, November 19th, 2008 at 7:43pm by Alan Bedenko | 7 Comments

Shame on the Gulfstream Class

This sticks in my craw, and should stick in yours, too:

The CEOs of the big three automakers flew to the nation’s capital yesterday in private luxurious jets to make their case to Washington that the auto industry is running out of cash and needs $25 billion in taxpayer money to avoid bankruptcy.

The CEOs of GM, Ford and Chrysler may have told Congress that they will likely go out of business without a bailout yet that has not stopped them from traveling in style, not even First Class is good enough.

All three CEOs – Rick Wagoner of GM, Alan Mulally of Ford, and Robert Nardelli of Chrysler – exercised their perks Tuesday by flying in corporate jets to DC. Wagoner flew in GM’s $36 million luxury aircraft to tell members of Congress that the company is burning through cash, asking for $10-12 billion for GM alone.

“We want to continue the vital role we’ve played for Americans for the past 100 years, but we can’t do it alone,” Wagoner told the Senate Banking Committee.

While Wagoner testified, his G4 private jet was parked at Dulles airport. It is just one of a fleet of luxury jets owned by GM that continues to ferry executives around the world despite the company’s dire financial straits.

“This is a slap in the face of taxpayers,” said Tom Schatz, President of Citizens Against Government Waste. “To come to Washington on a corporate jet, and asking for a hand out is outrageous.”

Wagoner’s private jet trip to Washington cost his ailing company an estimated $20,000 roundtrip. In comparison, seats on Northwest Airlines flight 2364 from Detroit to Washington were going online for $288 coach and $837 first class.

When you come begging me for my tax money, fly commercial, asshole. I don’t care if you’re so important that you need to fly first class, but fly commercial. Sell the G4. $20,000 to fly from Detroit to DC is shameful for a company that’s supposedly hemorrhaging cash. Ford still operates a fleet of eight corporate jets for its kings of fail.

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7 Comments

  1. STEEL says:
    November 19, 2008 at 11:32 pm

    For basically my entire life American car companies have refused innovation. They have fought every new technology. They have fought every new safety improvement. They have fought every environmental improvement. They have fought every fuel efficiency improvement. They never plan for the future and they produce almost universally crummy design from an aesthetic view point. They have never been know for quality cars. The reason they are in the dumper right now has nothing to do with the current state of the economy and everything to do with the short term profit mentality of American corporations. Is this what the big time business schools are teaching. Maybe they should get Harvard to invest some of its gigantic endowment as a way to survive.

  2. mike says:
    November 20, 2008 at 8:33 am

    Its all the unions fault!! Hank is right again!!

  3. Jason says:
    November 20, 2008 at 1:22 pm

    How much time is lost by the GM representatives when they have to check in for a flight two hours early, or when the GM representatives are not to talk about business during the flight due to insider trading concerns?

    The question is what is lost? When 12 people fly on a private jet it costs about $20,000. When 12 fly commercially to DC it costs about $12,000. Is a $8,000 savings worth the time lost?

    Isn’t it really worth it in the long run?

    http://nomedals.blogspot.com

  4. The Humanist says:
    November 20, 2008 at 2:14 pm

    @Jason – that’s an TP, not an MP….their problem, not mine.

    Especially when they’re asking for a bailout from the government because of their shitty incompetence for the past three decades.

    They should be traveling by bus, for all I care.

  5. STEEL says:
    November 20, 2008 at 3:09 pm

    As long as it is a GM bus.

  6. Buffalopundit says:
    November 20, 2008 at 3:40 pm

    Jason’s right.

    They should have flown coach, because the cost would have been $3400 for 12 people. (Also, I have no knowledge whether 12 people flew on GM’s G-4 or not).

  7. David says:
    November 21, 2008 at 7:57 pm

    Econ 101

    Mr.. Wagner makes about 2 million a year I think that is fair to say. That works out to be about 7,592 per a day if I did my math correct.

    I just looked up a flight from Detroit to DC and the cost is 342 per round trip. The CEO does not travel alone lets say there are 5 others including 2 Atty’s a CFO for numbers and one middle management (cant travel without them). The last flight out of DC is at 4:35pm so they would have to stay the night. Hotel room $275 dinner $45 Breakfast $15. When you add this up you get $677 x 5= $3,385 still cheaper then the G4 at 20k.

    The first flight out of DC to Detroit is 7:45am and lands in Detroit at 1:25pm then you have a hour drive to the office you have now missed 7 hours of work. For the CEO that is 949 an hour x 7 = $6,643 lets just say for the other 4 atty and staff it is 1k x 4 of lost time. What is the final cost to fly coach with a night stay $14,028.00 you saved the company 6k and were unable to talk any business other then in your hotel room.

    PS it does not cost 20k to fly from Detroit to DC. That would make $23 per mile and I think that is high (I checked the Gulfstream web site). When you lease a plane you pay a set price and if you do not use it you still pay it. It was a good call to fly a private Jet.

 

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