John M. White (aka JetAviator7) has written a thought provoking post to ask if corporate jets are a thing of the past thanks to their demonizing as “being toys of the rich” or examples of “corporate greed.” Specifically, White pointed out calls for the reduction or elimination of tax benefits for companies acquiring corporate jets despite the fact that:
- Business aviation and aircraft manufacturing account for thousands of jobs along with a healthy portion of the USA’s international trade and exports.
- The manufacturers of corporate jets will account for approximately $23 billion in sales each year for the next decade.
- Most of these business jet manufacturers are (still…) located in the United States.
White then noted an article by Joe Sharkey for the New York Times that described the mood at the recent NBAA (National Business Aircraft Association) convention in Las Vegas as “looking as grave as an assembly of undertakers who had just checked their 401(k)s.”
White then included the following quote from Sharkey’s article:
Now, whenever I write that corporate aircraft, including charters, can make sense in many business situations, I get furious e-mails accusing me of going to the dark side. So let me hasten to say that I’m leaving Las Vegas in a middle seat on a commercial plane, in a row back by the restrooms, for a trip to New York that will take 12 hours, with connections.
Hence, we want to ask you our readers what you think: Are corporate jets soon to be a thing of the past thanks to all of the recent criticism of them? Moreover, have you noticed any rise in negative commentary or chatter about corporate jets or corporate jet use in the UK or Europe or is this just American politics or the politics of class gone wild (again…)?