

In defense of the corporate jet - jsomers
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/01/opinion/01garvey.html?scp=1&sq=mile-high%20office&st=cse

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sgman
If I'm a shareholder, I don't want to see profits (ha!) invested in a
corporate jet. Fly commercial or better yet cut out travel altogether.

~~~
pfedor
I don't think it's the best use of the CEO's time to wait a couple of hours
for the connection every time there's no direct flight from point A to point
B, or wait 1h for the checked-in baggage to arrive (more than once if it's an
international flight to the US with a connection in the US). I also don't
think it would be good for business if they miss meetings every time they miss
a connection. I'm not talking about waiting in the check-in line or for the
security, because I assume people flying first class don't do that--but
there's no way first class can save you from missing connections.

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donaq
You have a point, but then again, I don't think it's the best use of the CEO's
time (or the company's money) to fly somewhere just to talk to people (some of
whom have also flown there) when there are things like video conferences,
emails and IM.

~~~
gravitycop
Indeed. Why fly, when one can instantly Halo?
[http://www.hp.com/halo/pdf/Halo_Collaboration_White_Paper_3_...](http://www.hp.com/halo/pdf/Halo_Collaboration_White_Paper_3_21_06.pdf)
[PDF]

 _Travel almost immediately declines, which is why many believe that the
decline in travel costs alone constitutes Halo’s return on investment. [...]

While Halo has proven to reduce travel costs, it is also reported to bring new
levels of group productivity. As informal social networks begin to meet in
Halo rooms, they accelerate innovation, problem solving and project
completion. [...] Face-to-face interactions that occurred quarterly or semi-
annually now occur on a daily basis allowing informal social networks to
flourish. Travel time and its physical effects on individual productivity are
eliminated. Finally, loss of productivity from being away from the home office
is avoided, while improved quality of life is realized, both of which
contribute to productivity on the job._

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anamax
> Indeed. Why fly, when one can instantly Halo?

Do you always take a vendor's claims as gospel?

Me - I have a strong bias toward whatever decision is made by someone who has
significant skin in the game. Sure, they make mistakes, but they've got far
more relevant experence and incentive to get it right than someone in the
cheap seats.

If you think that Halo is usefully better, use it and drive the fossils who go
face to face out of biz.

~~~
gravitycop
_I have a strong bias toward whatever decision is made by someone who has
significant skin in the game._

The people with skin in the game are using telepresence, instead of flying.

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=470063>

 _High-definition (HD)-based video meeting services will replace 2.1 million
airline seats annually over the next three years [...] Gartner was saying the
technology would take away $3.5 billion from the airline industry - this year.
And that's just airline tickets. The total figure of corporate savings would
also include room, board and other travel-related expenses._

