The news that General Motors and Ford are shutting their flight departments has rattled the business aviation community. Some attributed the actions to the sensational media coverage the “Big 3” (General Motors, Ford and Chrysler) executives faced after flying to Capitol Hill in private jets, while others blamed the subsequent $14 billion House bill that called for the distressed companies to sell their aircraft as a condition of the bailout. But regardless of the reasons, the industry is now pondering how the closures–and the economic conditions that were to blame–will affect business aviation at large.
Both GM and Ford released statements on December 2, noting their intent to close the flight departments. GM said the company’s travel volume no longer justified the existence of a company flight department, while Ford simply said it had “made the decision to immediately sell all five of our company planes and to close our flight operations.”
