“We like to keep a low profile for our jet use.”
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard variations on that line since I arrived at Business Jet Traveler in 2004. It has been a constant challenge to find business jet owners and passengers willing to be profiled in our pages and companies that will go on the record about their use of private aviation. “The less said the better” seems to be the prevailing philosophy.
Many businesses do more to hide their jet use than just telling their executives to zip their lips. Some companies, for example, employ charter and jet cards largely because they don’t want owned aircraft to show up as assets on the balance sheets that stockholders and board members will scrutinize.
In my opinion, all of these companies are making a big mistake. My late father, Chester Burger, spent most of his career advising public relations firms and departments, including those of the military services and government agencies. He was adamant that the only right way to do PR was to deal honestly and openly with the public, shareholders and employees.
If you’re doing something wrong, he would tell his clients (and me), admit it as quickly as possible and stop doing it. If you’re doing something ethical and justifiable, communicate the reasons and air the facts. Those are really the only two alternatives that make sense, he said. Any other option is an invitation to trouble down the road.
Obviously, there are cases where flying privately does not make sense and cannot be justified as a contributor to the corporate bottom line. If that’s the situation at your company but you’re employing business jets anyway, then you need to admit the mistake and stop using business aviation, not hide what you’re doing.
But as we explained in Business Jet Traveler’s “Bizav Advantage” special issue last year (October/November 2010), the vast majority of companies that rely on private aviation do so because it makes excellent sense for the corporation. It allows highly paid executives to use their time more efficiently, to go places airlines don’t go, to conduct business meetings onboard, to do more deals in less time and more.
If you’re reaping benefits like these at your firm, you should not be trying to conceal the fact that you’re employing a powerful business tool. Instead, you should forthrightly explain to employees, shareholders and the public that you certainly do use business jets. And you should tell them exactly why.
It either makes sense or it doesn’t.
Jeff Burger joined Business Jet Traveler in March 2004, a few months after the publication’s launch. Besides editing the magazine, he has written many articles for it and conducted its interviews with such luminaries as Sir Richard Branson, James Carville, Suze Orman, Donald Trump, F. Lee Bailey, and Steve Van Zandt. Burger helped to oversee the introduction of BJT’s annual Readers' Choice surveys and Buyers’ Guide.
During his years with the magazine, it has won well over a hundred editorial awards. In 2011, Burger received the Gold Wing Award for Reporting Excellence from the National Business Aviation Association and the Aviation Journalism Award from the National Air Transportation Association. He has also won writing and editing awards from the American Society of Business Publication Editors. BJT, meanwhile, was named Best International Publication in 2017 in the Aerospace Media Awards. It was also a Magazine of the Year finalist in 2011, 2013, and 2016 and an Overall Excellence winner in 2018 in competitions sponsored by the American Society of Business Publication Editors.
Before coming to BJT, Burger spent 14 years at Medical Economics, the nation’s leading business magazine for doctors, where he served on the editorial board; directed staff recruiting; oversaw a $2 million annual budget; and was financial editor, news editor, and director of special projects. He has been editor of several publications, including Phoenix Magazine in Arizona, and has been a consulting editor at Time Inc. His articles have appeared in more than 75 magazines and newspapers, among them The Los Angeles Times, Barron’s, Reader’s Digest, Gentlemen’s Quarterly , and Family Circle. Chicago Review Press published his books, Springsteen on Springsteen: Interviews, Speeches, and Encounters, Leonard Cohen on Leonard Cohen: Interviews and Encounter, Lennon on Lennon: Conversations with John Lennon, and Dylan on Dylan: Interviews and Encounters. His music writing appears on multiple websites, including his own byjeffburger.com.
Burger, a summa cum laude graduate of the State University of New York at Albany, lives in Ridgewood, N.J. He and his wife, Madeleine, have two grown children. His off-hours passions include cooking, travel, technology, movies, and music.
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