Bank Execs Take Corporate Jets To World Economic Forum In Davos

Amid public furor over giant Wall Street bonuses and lingering anger over the trillion-dollar bailout of financial firms, a number of prominent bankers are using their corporate jets to fly to Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum.

According to the Wall Street Journal, executives from at least two TARP recipients are opting to take private flights rather than fly commercial. Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit will travel to Davos via corporate jet, as will all of the Bank of America executives who will be in attendance. Citigroup lost 7.8 billion last quarter, while Bank of America posted a $5.2 billion loss.

Citigroup has a history of grabbing unflattering headlines for its corporate jet policy. A year ago, shortly after accepting $45 billion in bailout money from the federal government and announcing it would cut 75,000 jobs, Citigroup execs moved to purchase a new $50 million private plane. President Obama balked at the proposed purchase, and the bank canceled its plan. But a week later, news broke that Sandy Weill, Citigroup's former CEO and chairman, used a company jet to vacation with his family in Mexico just weeks before.

In response to public outcry over the trip, Weill's office said he would relinquish the perk.

The annual Davos forum at the famed ski resort brings together industry insiders and government officials to discuss the world's most urgent economic issues, but for bankers, the forum often serves a second purpose: to mingle with clients and lobby government regulators.

Leslie Gaines-Ross, a public relations strategist, warns that major financial firms should be careful to manage the optics of the trip. As she told the WSJ:

"They don't want be seen skiing or with a drink in their hand," says Ms. Gaines-Ross. "They should fly commercial and double or triple up in cars. They need to make sure this is all business."

Comments

[munki]

11:59 AM on 01/27/2010

If you own at least 1 share of Citicorp... put your voice for the upcoming board meeting to stop this hideous action by executives...

Getting bank into deficit, slumming stock prices, hindering our economy...

Do you think you deserve to be treated better than our lawmakers?

NO... greed and abuse... when will it stop...

Greed to generate employment is ok, but NOT when abuse it...

[tkondaks]

12:29 PM on 01/26/2010

I am more outraged when I read that environmentalists fly in private jets.

For example, I read a few months ago that Gov. Schwarzennegger commutes EVERY DAY between Sacramento and his home near L.A. in a private jet.

Is this true? If so, that's a completely unnecessary carbon footprint, doncha think? And a pretty big one, too!

[lvdragonlady]

12:22 PM on 01/26/2010

WE can always hope that they NEVER come back.

[KellySuggMcDonald]

12:32 PM on 01/26/2010

Like.

[spinns17]

11:31 AM on 01/26/2010

I

[spinns17]

11:31 AM on 01/26/2010

ALL WHO HATE WALL STREETERS SAY I

[inorbit]

10:25 AM on 01/26/2010

Enjoy your flight to Davos, suckers.

Your time is almost over.....

[spinns17]

11:30 AM on 01/26/2010

2nd that.audit the fed ,and wall street .

[jsarets]

10:20 AM on 01/26/2010

There are vastly more egregious misappropriations of public funding by bailed-out financial institutions than using private jets for intercontinental transportation.

A case can be made against such institutions financing new purchases of private aircraft while on the public dole, but I don't see why they shouldn't use the vehicles they already own.

[TimnySlagle]

10:12 AM on 01/26/2010

So what are we saying? That Corporate jets are only for Party members like Al Gore and Nancy Pelosi?

This kind of bias is getting really dangerous, we're devolving into a two class system like the former Sov!et Un!on.

[helonias]

10:07 AM on 01/26/2010

Just rewards for the folks not getting into the kingdom of heaven

[steven11]

09:32 AM on 01/26/2010

Why the bashing? These execs taking a private jet is MORE EFFICIENT and SAVES MONEY. These execs get paid thousands of dollars an hour. If you have a gropu of them wasting time with getting to the airport early, going through security, dealing with delays, ect..., then you are wasting their valuable time, from an economic sense.

Further, on a private jet, one can actually get work done. The execs are not siipping champagne, they are working the whole time and having meetings. Which again, is nearly impossible to do on a commercial flight.

Bashing execs for private plans is ignorant and low brow. It needs to stop.

P.S. We can bash all the celebrities for flying private because their time is actually worthless.

[newtom]

09:36 AM on 01/26/2010

It's good to see there's someone else with common sense enough to see the big picture here. Flying commercially is a phenomenally huge waste of time.

[whitemale08]

10:05 AM on 01/26/2010

This is why we should've never bailed out these bankrupt banks in the first place.

We should've put these banks into receivership and bankruptcy re-organization and let them pay for their own private jets.

NOT WITH TAXPAYERS MONEY!!!!

YOU GO INTO RECEIVERSHIP!!!!!!

GOLDMAN SACHS HAS TO PAY BACK THE AIG BACKDOOR BAIL OUT TOO!!!!!

YOU DON'T TAKE MONEY NEEDED FOR OUR SOCIAL PROGRAMS TO PAY FOR CORPORATE LUXURIES OR PRIVATE BUSINESS PERIOD - IT'S FASCISIM!

[steven11]

10:20 AM on 01/26/2010

Please do not reply to posts that you do not even read. Like I said above, it saves money for these execs to fly private.

[Berettasskeeter]

01:43 PM on 01/26/2010

Please explain how this article relates to fascism. Please, first, read the definitions of fascism.
While I agree that the banks should not have been rescued with our tax dollars, I also do not agree with your premise that the money used should have gone to any social programs. It was, first and foremost, an unconstitutional taking of our money, and would have been so if it had been taken for your "social programs"!
Semper fi

[StuManChu]

09:23 AM on 01/26/2010

I bet the people employed at the airfields were happy about this.

[spinns17]

11:33 AM on 01/26/2010

lol those chump tax payers

[walt1944]

09:14 AM on 01/26/2010

Typical!

The Wall Street executives who were bailed out by WE, THE PEOPLE, continue to live well while WE, THE PEOPLE, who rescued their butts continue to lose our jobs, our homes, and any dignity we have left.

Just so they can live VERY WELL!!!!!!

[rushour2]

09:25 AM on 01/26/2010

You are right. They should take the train.

[newtom]

09:36 AM on 01/26/2010

To Europe.

[spinns17]

11:28 AM on 01/26/2010

walk

[voteblue4evr]

09:10 AM on 01/26/2010

How much taxpayer money was spent on government employees flying to Copenhagen? Before you people get outraged about private funds being spent on Davos, why don't you look in the mirror.

[spinns17]

11:29 AM on 01/26/2010

oh ya the gods are better than the rest of us.lol

[GatorAtLarge]

09:04 AM on 01/26/2010

So?

[rf dude]

08:27 AM on 01/26/2010

'
If we'd ALL just take our personal (er, "corporate") jets,

the security lines at the airports would be much shorter - but who'd care...