Companies are spending big on private jets

While most of his attention is on the metaverse, Mark Zuckerberg has been doing some serious globe-trotting in the real world.

Corporate spending on private jets for CEOs and board members in the US hit a 10-year high in 2021, per Financial Times. Meta led the pack, and was the only tech company in the top five.

The S&P 500…

… spent $33.8m as a group, up 35% YoY. The increase has been attributed to the pandemic, as companies have tried to limit the risk of executives getting covid on commercial flights.

This has resulted in a nice windfall for private jet operators, including:

• Wheels Up, which became the first private aviation company to go public in 2021.
• Jettly, which offers an Expedia-like platform to simplify private jet bookings.

Jettly CEO Justin Crabbe doesn’t seem concerned about demand slowing anytime soon, telling FT, “it’s quite difficult to go back to flying commercial” after experiencing private flights.

Private jet expenses…

… are just one piece of CEO compensation, which has reached record levels in recent years.

At Meta’s latest annual meeting, 86% of shareholders voiced support for executive pay — the lowest number in the company’s history.

Perhaps shareholders would prefer Zuck spend more time jet-setting through digital worlds.