Nov. 14, 2019
When Vanity Fair published a recent article misrepresenting the people and companies relying on business aviation, NBAA was quick to respond.
“A credible look at any industry, including business aviation, requires a level of journalistic rigor that was missing in this case,” said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. “Here’s the truth about business aviation: it provides a transportation lifeline for companies in thousands of communities with little or no airline service. It is a tool that helps teams of employees reach multiple destinations within a single day, as efficiently as possible. It helps support more than a million jobs, and $200 billion annually in economic activity.”
Read Bolen’s letter in its entirety.
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Dear Editor,
Your Nov. 6 story unfortunately offered a narrow, sensationalized depiction of business aviation.
Like holding up a few, top-of-the-line luxury cars to describe the auto industry, the article failed to mention that the vast majority of business airplanes are flown by entrepreneurs and companies, for legitimate business reasons. Where was the account of the recycling company in upstate New York that needs its small airplane to expand its territory for acquiring scrap metal? Where was the story about the Arizona-based small business that relies on its airplane to get teams of doctors to rural hospitals in 15 states?
Readers could also be forgiven for having no idea that the best-selling business jet on the market today – an airplane far different than any featured in your story – is one that that seats four or five people, has a cabin the size and configuration of an automobile, and typically makes flights spanning a few hundred miles, very often into small-town airports.
Here’s the truth about business aviation: it provides a transportation lifeline for companies in thousands of communities with little or no airline service. It is a tool that helps teams of employees reach multiple destinations within a single day, as efficiently as possible. It helps support more than a million jobs, and $200 billion annually in economic activity.
A credible look at any industry, including business aviation, requires a level of journalistic rigor that was missing in this case.
Sincerely,
Ed Bolen
President and CEO
National Business Aviation Association
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.