Numerous reports this morning about the delays plaguing our nations airports, combined with the near misses because of the overwhelming number of airplanes clogging our skies. Scary stuff. But why?
Well, the New York Times offers one answer: Private corporate jets. Those sleek Gulfstreams and cool Lears, where no one sits in coach and the word “stewardess” can still be heard, have become increasingly visible in a world of one size fits all flying.
According to the FAA, the model for airport use is “first come, first served,” meaning that the private jets are just as likely to hold up a plane filled with hundreds of people as the other way around. And why would the FAA allow this?
Well, the New York Times offers one answer: Private corporate jets. Those sleek Gulfstreams and cool Lears, where no one sits in coach and the word “stewardess” can still be heard, have become increasingly visible in a world of one size fits all flying.
According to the FAA, the model for airport use is “first come, first served,” meaning that the private jets are just as likely to hold up a plane filled with hundreds of people as the other way around. And why would the FAA allow this?
The users of corporate jets defend this practice, saying they deserve equal takeoff rights. “On a business flight, you might have people going to Wall Street from companies who are creating jobs and generating billions of dollars in commerce,” Mr. Brown [senior vice president for operations at the National Business Aviation Association, a group representing owners of private business aircraft] says. “People on a commercial flight might be going on vacation or going to New York to go to the theater.”
There you have it. The people in those corporate jets are important. You are not. So if you find yourself sitting on the tarmac in the hermetically sealed cabin, wondering when the nuts are going to get passed around, ponder our Government’s view of how priorities should be set in the use of public facilities. And if you can get a second bag of nuts, go for it. You may be hungry again later.
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One reason there are more and more private jets is that airline service has become so shoddy and unreliable.
Indeed it has, yet the universe of private corporate jet users remains relatively select. There aren’t too many folks who can afford a $7,000 per hour flight.
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