April 8, 2011
To the Editor:
About your April 5 article on so-called “executive perks:”
It’s easy to find a way to paint a caricature of business aviation that is totally unrepresentative of the essential nature of business airplanes to America’s economy. But the truth is use of an airplane for business is an important competitive advantage for tens of thousands of companies, mainly small to mid-size businesses. Whether it is visiting customers in several cities in a single day, doing business in the more than 100 U.S. cities that have lost scheduled airline service in recent years, moving a team quickly with a need to work on a confidential project en route, or moving equipment that can’t be flown on an airline – using a business airplane is prudent and cost effective. Corporate boards of directors recognize these and other factors in decisions to include use of company aircraft as part of their management planning.
Sincerely,
Ed Bolen
President and CEO
National Business Aviation Association
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.