Sept. 25, 2014
When The Wall Street Journal ran a story including a CEO’s mischaracterization about business aviation earlier this month, NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen responded with the letter below.
Dear Editor:
Regarding comments about business aviation in a recent Journal story (“Sprint CEO Aims to Return Carrier to Its Roots,” Sept. 11), I want to make a point your readers might have missed.
Every company has to make its own decisions about the use of any number of competitive assets, including a business airplane. Strategies and tactics for business aviation use may vary, but one fact is certain: study after study has shown that companies using business airplanes outperform, by a host of measures, comparable companies that do not use them.
There are good reasons this is the case. Business airplanes are time-saving machines, boosting the efficiency and flexibility of travel. Business airplanes are productivity tools, allowing employees to work and collaborate with one another en route to a destination, without fear of corporate espionage. And use of the aircraft more easily facilitates the face-to-face meetings that business leaders commonly agree are the most effective types of employee interactions among colleagues or customers.
In short, while views about business airplane use may differ, there’s no denying why a business airplane is key to the success of companies of all types and sizes, all across the country.
Sincerely,
Ed Bolen
President and CEO
National Business Aviation Association
Washington
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.