Jet city....

Some people view corporate jets as being in the same category as champagne and expensive cigars. Much has been made of the executives flying to their begging session in these jets, but here is a good defense of that "perq", especially the Cessnas that can land in 3250 feet:

That figure — 3,250 feet — means business aircraft can alight on any of the 5,000 or so public-use airports scattered throughout the nation’s suburbs, small towns and back country, as well as land at small city airports abandoned by airlines decades ago. By contrast, the airlines fly to only about 500 airports, and of those, fewer than 70 get about three-quarters of all traffic.

If two companies are competing for business, the one using a business aircraft can fly directly to one of those smaller airports and get to lunch with the client before the other guys taking the commercial airlines show up.

And the business people with the corporate jet won’t just arrive faster; they’ll also show up better prepared. After all, most companies send teams of people, and in their own airplane they’re free to discuss confidential information or polish up that PowerPoint presentation. What’s more, they can use the phones, their BlackBerrys and the Internet en route. In other words, these jets are offices that move.

Of course, only the last part of that applies to landing in Washington to beg, and I'm still not very sympathetic to taxpayer handouts to ANY corporations....but I don't like thoughtless sneering either.

HT MR.