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Original poster

To wonder if friend is lying about private jet?

77 replies

Harlowwolrah · 05/09/2022 00:19

So I’ve never had my friend down to be a liar but I feel like this doesn’t sound true.

She told me the company she works for has their own plane and she travels from London to Glasgow each week.

Shes on a salary below £40K (earns more than me) and I just can’t believe a company would pay private jet prices for someone on that salary . I work for a global company and the private jet is only used by the ceo and executives.

OP posts:
Cazziebo · 05/09/2022 07:14

Not that uncommon. Can make sense for a business (particularly in Scotland) to have their own plane (or charter one) if they have to be in a location like Wales or Norfolk or Hampshire. Can mean one day away rather than a whole day travelling either side of a meeting.

Probably happening less now with the advent of Zoom and Teams.

MargaretThursday · 05/09/2022 07:17

Private jet isn't necessarily 1 person.
It probably is that they have a small passenger plane that because they have a lot going on in Glasgow does regular shuttle journeys and if they need to go to Glasgow to work they book themselves on the flight.
Df's company had similar and any employee going to the other site could choose to book themselves on, no matter what their salary was.

figmaofmyimagination · 05/09/2022 07:21

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And there was me thinking the Queen got the no 27 bus up to Balmoral with her free bus pass.

Lonecatwithkitten · 05/09/2022 07:21

My DH has worked for several companies that have their own jets. He hasn't been on a commercial flight for over 15 years - we stay in the UK for our holidays.
The current company has a Gulf Stream and 2 Citation planes. It makes the relentless travel of his role slightly easier as check in much shorter and as he travels main by Gulf Stream the long haul flights are slightly shorter.

greenacrylicpaint · 05/09/2022 07:23

I used to work for a company that had their own small aircraft.

intranet would list the (business) journeys and seats left to book for leisure for other staff.

only sensible to use the whole of the plane instead of having it half empty.

MonkNun · 05/09/2022 07:25

If they owned the aircraft and it wasn’t being used why wouldn’t they?

As for her role, I earn double what my brother earns but he has an £80k company car. Big difference is I don’t need one - I do everything from the same office - he travels here there and everywhere.

Butitsnotfunnyisititsserious · 05/09/2022 07:25

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Is anyone meant to be shocked by that? I'd be shocked if they didn't 🤦🏻‍♀️
OP I can believe her. It's becoming more common for companies to have their own jets. Air fare is expensive, if lots are travelling constantly, it could work out cheaper.

Throwawaytoday · 05/09/2022 07:28

I know the CEO of a small.vompqny (approx 20 people) and he had a jet on their 'payroll" for use by the team.

DoThePropeller · 05/09/2022 07:31

I know of multiple companies - especially in the aerospace, defence and engineering sectors - who run daily private jet shuttles between some of their sites. Any employee who needs to go from A to B can use them, it’s not only for people earning a certain salary.

So I don’t think your friend is necessarily lying, no.

RoseAndRose · 05/09/2022 07:35

It's utterly normal to fill up seats on a plane when it's flying a route.

Assuming that it was private to her and at her beck and call would be improbable, but that's not what she said.

Summerof22 · 05/09/2022 07:39

How often do you speak with her?

because if I was in a private jet, I would tell my friends the first time I got on it, not after having used it for weeks.

TheGuv1982 · 05/09/2022 07:41

It’s more than possible. I used to be able to use one for Boeing and they had regular flights in the UK.

greenacrylicpaint · 05/09/2022 07:42

our company's private jet was more like a small passenger plane with 50 seats or so.
not sleek thing that you see in movies.

KassandraOfSparta · 05/09/2022 07:46

greenacrylicpaint · 05/09/2022 07:42

our company's private jet was more like a small passenger plane with 50 seats or so.
not sleek thing that you see in movies.

Exactly this. If you have staff you need to move from one end of the country to the other, it's probably cheaper to hire your own plane than try to get 40-50 seats on a commercial flight, or pay for the train at short notice.

I tihnk OP you are imagining that your friend is the only person on this flight and being wined and dined all the way, but that's probably not the case.

fucap · 05/09/2022 07:46

Why would she lie about that?
She didn't say they were flying her on her own in a private jet.
It's probably a small passenger plane and is probably used for several employees who need to move between Glasgow and London - probably makes more economic sense in the long run because the Glasgow to London journey is long and very expensive.

LoisLane66 · 05/09/2022 08:01

It depends on whether it's imperative that she gets from A to B on time and if she's a PA then maybe she travels with her boss and works en route. It would make sense if other employees are on the same plane and it probably makes financial sense for the company rather than train travel which could be plagued by strikes or driving which takes forever.

Somegirlsarebiggerthanother · 05/09/2022 08:02

This sounds completely plausible: especially if she isn’t known for lying and does travel each week

Kennykenkencat · 05/09/2022 08:25

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if you are saying some particular sector of industry is corrupt then why would they fly someone up and down the country.

What is in it for them.

Lalliella · 05/09/2022 08:26

This post is weird. Why would you think your friend would lie about this? Not much of a friendship if you think that. Are you jealous of her?

ShandaLear · 05/09/2022 08:29

Lots of the big companies (e.g. pharmaceutical companies) have private jets that regularly fly in and out of London. I wouldn’t be that surprised by this, especially if she’s flying with senior staff or for classified work.

newnamethanks · 05/09/2022 11:22

I'm assuming it's a small charter plane. It costs a fortune and takes a long time to drive, (ditto train, cost is beyond) from the south to Glasgow and back. Flying is the cheapest and quickest option.

10HailMarys · 05/09/2022 11:43

They wouldn't do it just for her, but it's certainly possible that they have a corporate jet and use it to fly a whole bunch of people up to Glasgow each week, and that she is one of the junior people in that group that also includes some people on much higher salaries.

Companies might do this for a number of reasons, but if they have, say, 15 or 20 people on various salaries who need to be in Glasgow one day a week, they would be losing a lot of productivity if they were spending several hours of that time sitting on a train and unable to do much work, and if they had to provide a hotel overnight because it's too much on the train as a day trip, that would also be expensive and probably annoy employees who wouldn't want to spend a night away from home every single week.

Environmentally it's a nightmare though and I wouldn't feel proud to work for a company that did this. I doubt there's anything they need to be in Glasgow for, every single week, that can't be done as a video call.

ScholesPanda · 05/09/2022 11:50

The company I work for owns two corporate jets that they use for regular shuttle flights from their HQ to a secondary site. They allow workers to travel easily between the sites in a single day, and to hold meetings or carry on working whilst they fly . The people who fly on them are the people who need to fly on them, regardless of grade or salary and definitely people on less than £40k.
TLDR, depending on the industry and size of company I would believe your friend.

SleeplessInEngland · 05/09/2022 11:52

The OP seems to have fucked off after being asked some very reasonable questions.

Isis1981uk · 05/09/2022 11:58

To be fair, before I started working at my old company they used to have a private jet for work travel (they were located right next to a small airport) and it worked out cheaper for them, pre-virtual meetings, if several people (on any salary) had meetings in our Amsterdam office, to send them all together on the jet. I'd be surprised if it would happen in today's world of Zoom & Teams.

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