I used to work for a company that sold private jets. They tried hard to find a way to incorporate good economic reasons for the aquisition of a corporate jet into their sales pitch, but a corporate jet is so expensive to purchase, maintain and operate that there's no way they could pitch it as a cost savings in any way, even if you grant the fact that in one flight you can carry an executive and his assistants, and also the theory that they can conduct business on the flight and their time is so valuable. What usually clinched a sale for them was executive ego. Pointing out that so and so from xyx corp had purchased a new corporate jet with x number of luxury accoutrements - that was often the motivating factor and clinched the order.

If we grant the fact that a corporate jet may be necessary sometimes I just think it was extraordinarily tactless to turn up in a private jet begging for money. If times are tough the executives are going to need to give up some of these perks. BTW they don't only get the use of the private jet for business, it's at their (and their wives') disposal for personal travel too.

I'm sorry, but when their companies are facing bankruptcy I think they could have made do with a first class ticket.