Thursday, September 13, 2007

NASA gives Google founders a coveted parking place for their private jet

In the annals of perks enjoyed by American corporate executives, the founders of Google may have set a new standard: an un-crowded, federally-managed runway for their private jet that is as close as can be to being in the company's own backyard.

It is a perk that is likely to turn other Silicon Valley tycoons green with envy, but one that may not sit well with a community that generally considers itself proud to have Google in its midst.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration confirmed earlier this week that H211, a limited liability company that counts Google's chief executive, Eric Schmidt, as one of its principals, had secured rights to operate a refurbished wide-body Boeing 767-200 out of Moffett Field, an airport that is run by NASA and is generally closed to private aircraft.

The Google founders and billionaires, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, through another limited liability company, own just such a plane, which is unusually large and rare by private jet standards....

From the International Herald Tribune
HT: CorpWatch.

"Evil," says Google CEO Eric Schmidt, "is what Sergey says is evil."-Source

Here's the plane, via Gizmodo:272253498x276.jpgIf you're a Google god like Larry Page or Sergey Brin, you already own a double-wide Boeing 767-200 for personal use—which is less the equivalent of a stretched Hummer limo than, say, a stretched school bus limo. Once one has reached the level of stretched school bus limo airplane, how much higher can luxury ascend? Top the deal off with exclusive third-party access to NASA's runway on Moffett Field. And the terms of the agreement aren't all that steep