When the bank and finance Execs met with Paulson to get their bailout,

[Critters2]

did they fly commercial?

[TahitiNut]

1. Naww... but they're ENTITLED, dammit.

Those dirty manufacturing company execs should go to China with the rest of the dirty manufacturing plants.

[amandabeech]

2. Maybe they took Amtrak.

Or better yet, a convoy of black Suburbans down I-95.

As I've written in other threads, if companies the size of the Big 3 with a widely dispersed operations, particularly when you consider suppliers and overseas units, have a smallish corporate fleet I'm not going to get too upset. I can understand using a fleet to haul groups and individuals to places with limited air service or to fly from one small place to another without wasting a lot of time changing planes in O'Hare or Hotlanta. Sometimes, time is money.

My guess is that by taking the company plane to DC, the execs, and I'm sure that there was a decent sized team for each even if they weren't in the hearing room, could continue to prepare for the hearing without worrying about divulging proprietary information to outsiders and without disruption. That seems like a reasonable use of a fleet airplane.

What would bother me is if any of these guys had his own plane at his beck and call at all times. That is just ridiculous, and is a waste of corporate assets completely.