GM to return two leased jets amid criticism

[mgescuro]

Originally Posted by steined

Can't Lutz fly him in one of his personal jets? Assanine point anyhow. CEO time is money and private jets are the quickest way to point A and B. Sitting 5 hours in an airport hardly seems like a valuable use of time. It is no big deal for a Congressman or Senator because their time is actually worth MORE occupied than in session. They waste/spend less of my money the longer they are in an airport.

It is against most major companies regulations that no more than 1 person in a C-level position can be on the same flight at any given time because if the plane were to crash and Wagoner and Lutz were both on the plane, there would be a power vacuum at the top of GM.

Not a good thing.

[PontiacBixler]

Originally Posted by joemac

It's a joke that this is an issue at all.

It's a cost issue. At the rate of pay for a CEO, idle time costs money. You can either pay for more efficient time use (private jet). Or you can waste time, sitting at an airport, delays, etc.

At the per hour rate of most CEO's it's a better cost effective use of time to use the private jet.

We could say the same to ourselves. Why do we fly instead of drive? Time efficiency. Time is money. What's one's time worth. That's the key.

If I'm a business owner I want my people to be working with minimal idle time, best effective, efficient use of their time. The overhead getting on a plane today commercially is extreme often taking longer to get on the plane than the flight itself.

I travel quite a bit for work and I can tell you this, we look at cost and time and evaluate the most cost effective route, not so much based on time.

Rick should have flown business class. I'm sure a direct flight from Detroit to DC could have easily been found even if he had to leave the night before.

As for idle time, that's what cell phones and laptops are for in today's world. So that is a non-excuse.

Information pertaining to GM and Ford saying that their executives can't fly public and need to fly private is yet another showing of the excess these companies have indulged in. Take a look at this story for how someone handles economics the right way:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bus...eo.pay.cut.cnn

[tgagneguam]

I recall reading an interesting story about Sam Walton soon after Wal-Mart surpassed Sears as the world's largest retailer. It detailed the rise of Wal-Mart and how the man behind the scenes conducted himself. He traveled coach, and he stayed in Red Roof Inns and shared the suites with other Wal-Mart executives! Imagine that! He ran the company like it was going out of business... yet it was growing at a feverish pace.

Now, clearly Sam could have afforded the posh accommodations that Detroit executives have come to expect, clearly the money saved from Sam's trips was insignificant compared to the vast and rapidly accelerating sales and revenue of Wal-Mart, clearly comparing the cost of a trip to Washington for Rick to the overall numbers of a giant company like GM results in astronomical differences, but I think it speaks volumes to the mindset of the individuals running those companies.

It may have been dramatic for Rick to ride a pre-production Volt to D.C., but these are dramatic times.

[96_impala_ss]

Originally Posted by lio45

Chevrolet Aveo.

errr ummm

Pontiac G3

[PontiacBixler]

Originally Posted by mgescuro

It is against most major companies regulations that no more than 1 person in a C-level position can be on the same flight at any given time because if the plane were to crash and Wagoner and Lutz were both on the plane, there would be a power vacuum at the top of GM.

Not a good thing.

But at this point in the history of GM maybe not an entirely bad thing either.....

If everyone below C-Level are considered expendable by that level of executive, then so are the C-Levels. There are plenty of people who work right below C-Level that could easily rise to the moment and take GM by the reigns and lead it down the road.

[JeffInDFW]

The CEO of my corporation (Michael Isner) showed up at my workplace one time, and he arrived with a fleet of black Suburbans and a large security detail. So, you expect him to have flown on Southwest Airlines? Some guy who bought a 1993 Grand Am and is mad at GM jumps out of coach and stabs Rick Wagoner in the chest! Come on, these guys do have security concerns. Bob Lutz is the only one that passed on Gm supplied security!

[jbartley]

this is so retarded. i miss the days when the news on tv...was actually news.

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[jbartley]

Originally Posted by PontiacBixler

I travel quite a bit for work and I can tell you this, we look at cost and time and evaluate the most cost effective route, not so much based on time.

Rick should have flown business class. I'm sure a direct flight from Detroit to DC could have easily been found even if he had to leave the night before.

As for idle time, that's what cell phones and laptops are for in today's world. So that is a non-excuse.

Information pertaining to GM and Ford saying that their executives can't fly public and need to fly private is yet another showing of the excess these companies have indulged in. Take a look at this story for how someone handles economics the right way:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bus...eo.pay.cut.cnn

No that makes no sense. I don't want the CEO of my company sitting in public discussing high-level business matters, especially while being briefed and re-hearsing for a SENATE HEARING. seriously people!

[2000GTPBROTHER]

Originally Posted by jbartley

No that makes no sense. I don't want the CEO of my company sitting in public discussing high-level business matters, especially while being briefed and re-hearsing for a SENATE HEARING. seriously people!

If I remember correctly, the auto extremist web site had a story a while back along those lines.

Two guys on a flight discussing a new major theme ad campaign. Unknown to them in the seat in front of them was someone with another compay. Stole the campaign theme and idea and got it out before the target date the guys were talking about.

Wasn't there also a lost laptop in an airport scare for one of the manufaucturers?


How do you think they would react in Washington, if GM said lets do the next one by webex?

[Mr. Burns]

Originally Posted by mbukukanyau

It was a Lexus LS

I think it was a Mercedes S-class.

[maherj2]

Guess how Nancy Pelosi get's back and forth when she goes to California? And last time I checked, the company she's running isn't making any money either.

Some may say that perception is reality, I refuse to let anyone off the hook that easily.

[460ford]

Originally Posted by mgescuro

Mullally arrived in a Hybrid something. I saw the arrival briefly.
I know I was seeing things, but it looked like a Hybrid "Superman" Taurus!!

It was a Fusion Hybrid that he arrived in

[triadecho]

I watched Johnny Carson get on a commercial flight at LAX years ago.
He sat curb side in a chauffered Rolls until just a few minutes before departure.
Security then quickly walked him through the terminal and put him in the first seat in First Class.
When we got to New York, he was gone in an instant.

I guess it can be done if there is a will.

[sigma]

Originally Posted by triadecho

I watched Johnny Carson get on a commercial flight at LAX years ago.
He sat curb side in a chauffered Rolls until just a few minutes before departure.
Security then quickly walked him through the terminal and put him in the first seat in First Class.
When we got to New York, he was gone in an instant.

I guess it can be done if there is a will.

That was a long long time before airport security. It could not and would not be allowed to happen today.