[Doohickey]

Truth be told, these CEOs can't trust the commercial aviation industry to get them there on time or at a specific time. And their time is money.

Truth be told, companies that are hemorrhaging cash need to make sacrifices to survive. That includes at the executive level. Taking the company jet to go beg for money is beyond the pale. Northworst Airlines hubs out of Detroit, so getting a first class nonstop to IAD or DCA is not an issue.

Executives don't answer their own phones or read their own mail. There are CrackBerries and laptops for these clowns to whatever crisis that can't be resolved by anyone but the CEO.

These guys are arrogant. The rules that all of their employees follow don't apply to them. It's the same attitude that Congress has.

[hoosierham]

The international corporation where I currently work has instituted drastic measures including all but the very top plant managers being responsible for keeping their spaces orderly :there is now one janitor for a 100 acre complex staffed by several hundred persons.Of course,staff has been cut;salaried personnel basically had to self-evaluate and justify their continued employment as beneficial to the bottom line.A number decided to find employment elsewhere,and a few became consultants.Corporate use of consultants also was cut to nearly none.One corporate car turned back to the leasing company,catered dinners for staff and visitors reduced from common to unusual.Strict monitoring of computer use and reduction of printers/printing.You wouldn't believe how much productive time was being wasted surfing,emailing,and how much un-needed and personal print jobs wasted cases of paper.

Companies,like individuals, cannot forever spend more than they make.

[taildragger]

I am not sure 1st class is an option...

My take is this:

I know retired big-3 corp pilots and for the record I have not had the chance to talk to them. However, my guess is their "Key Man Insurance" for these Exec's forbid them from riding on the likes of Northworst. Notice they all took separate planes, Why? Remember when Disney lost a good chunk of their top management team when the Corp helicopter went down? These guys for better are worse are an asset to the organization and shareholders and are protected as such, ergo the separate Jets.

As far as traveling commerical, especially if this was a working flight, that is a no go. Was it Bagala or Dean who got their @$$ handed to them as someone recorded their conversation on a flight and it made it to the New Media?

Now put yourself in the position of these guys responsible for the shareholders, what they talk about may be properitary and with all sorts of audio and digital recording devices at commoditized prices available to anyone, it is to much of a risk IMHO for any Corp Exec to submit themselves to such a recording and the damage control that would have to be developed from speaking freely and saying something the PC police might use to destroy them.