Unfortunately, jumping on the Senate band wagon on the use of corporate jets led to the demise (or didnt help the cause) of many corporate flight departments--including mine. Although we had not been making the projected revenue to that made in 2006 and 2007, the image alone of corporate air travel was at least a final nail in many coffins.
After being laid off, I found it a bitter pill to swallow watching the many senators, and even the top man himself (who by the way we used to fly and his family and staff) completey disregard the benefits to corporate aviation. Speed, flexibility, and time savings. All tools for the corporate tool box, the same as any mechanic using top of the line tools to complete his or her project. The better the tools, the more efficient a job gets done, and efficiency=time=dollars.
Most of know that if you were to break down some of the CEO's salary to an hourly wage, it is alot. And we dont need these guys sitting in an airport 2 hours ahead of schedule, to get on an already delayed flight, to fly to an airport that may or may not be near their place of business. As a former airline pilot, and most recent corporate pilot, I can see the benefits to corporate aviation. Im surprised not many of our esteemed government officials that have flown on these aircraft, and know the value did not step up to the plate in our defense. I guess what is right is sometimes not popular, and what is popular gets the votes.
I do hope they realize that it wasnt just the planes and it's pilots, but an armada of a workforce that goes into corporate aviation (aircraft manufacturers, avionics, sales, FBO's, etc). There are alot of faces involved, and in one fellow swoop, were "thrown under the bus".
What I would have liked to have seen is a congressional committee member asking where "Mr CEO" is, with a response "He's flying standby on brand X airlines because the previous flight was cancelled".