Skip to main content

For Google’s Founders, What’s Cooler Than a Private Jet? A Private Terminal

 This week, a little-noticed vote by the San Jose City Council paved the (run)way for one of the sweetest perks in the history of the tech industry. Call it Terminal G.
Google’s top three executives already have a Boeing 757 and this Boeing 767 among the private jets in
their collection. Now they’ll be able to board them in plebian-free bliss at their own private terminal at Mineta San Jose International Airport.
The 29-acre development on the airport’s west side won’t be entirely private: Other private jet owners will also have access. But Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and international nerd of mystery Eric Schmidt will certainly be the most prominent regulars. The City Council’s 10-1 vote approved a 50-year lease agreement with Signature Flight Support, a white-shoe service provider for government, military and private air travel. Signature is partnering on the $82 million facility with Blue City Holdings, which airport officials describe as a Mountain View, California-based corporation “representing the personal aircraft of the principals at Google.”

The San Jose Mercury News reports that five of seven hangars planned for the site will house Google aircraft. The deal also means about $3 million in annual rent and fees for Mineta San Jose, which despite its Silicon Valley location has struggled as the Bay Area’s off-brand airport. The Google jets are reportedly parked now at NASA-owned Moffett Field, where their lease is set to expire.
The Google’s founders jets have long been a magnet for conflict.
Residents near the San Jose airport are worried the new terminal will generate extra noise. Noise was also the issue when NASA took the unusual step of giving private aircraft access to Moffett.
Depending on Google’s results today when it reports its latest quarterly earnings, some shareholders might complain about the company’s leaders taking part in such a lavish undertaking. But they’ll have little recourse, since the planes aren’t owned by the company.
Years ago, Page and Brin apparently even argued about the relative size of their beds on the 767.
While such spats sound like typically frivolous rich-person pouting, the image of the legendary co-founders fighting over how to pimp their private plane doesn’t exactly comport with Silicon Valley’s image of itself. Yes, Steve Jobs once took a $40 million private jet as a bonus on top of his $1 salary. But in a tech subculture that likes to think it sees merit and skill as the measures of a person, not the size of that person’s bank account or toys, a private air terminal stands out as remarkably conspicuous example of conspicuous consumption.
The jokes are already flying about Facebook getting jealous. But maybe posh air travel is not as much a part of Facebook’s DNA. Though he no longer works for the company, Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz is at least one billionaire who says he still flies coach.
Enhanced by Zemanta

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

LG’s first flexible OLED phone due before the year is out

LG plans to launch a flexible OLED smartphone before the end of the year, the company’s VP of mobile has confirmed, though it’s unclear to what extent the work-in-progress handset will actually flex. The OLED panel in question is the handiwork of LG Display according to VP of LG mobile Yoon Bu-hyun, the WSJ  reports, with the proposed device set to launch sometime in Q4. LG Display’s work on flexible OLEDs has been underway for some time, though the company’s efforts have perhaps been overshadowed somewhat by rival Samsung’s YOUM development. Last year, according to a Korea Times report, LG Display was preparing for

Bing Apps for Windows 8 get major updates

Late least year, Microsoft rolled out a half dozen Bing Apps for Windows 8 users, each one focused on a specific category, such as travel and sports. The apps were designed to offer “immersive vertical experiences,” and now, about six months later, a big line of updates for them is being pushed out. Users can grab the updates now by heading into the Windows Store and selecting the updates notification.
Flexible displays are the Future of IT Industry! A part from 4k and smart home appliances, the CES 2013 saw a lot of attention being drawn towards bendable, flexible displays. The elasticised display idea isn’t something new as we have seen hoards of device concepts being crafted around flexible, bendable and even foldable displays. These concept devices give us a futuristic feel, be it a flexible phone to be worn around the wrist or a phone that opens up to turn into a tablet or PSP-like device. But how far is this future? Nokia has been toying with the idea ever since we remember. The technology sounds very fascinating and the possibilities and the extent to which bendable displays could be used are vast and leave us spellbound. However, these have always been concepts and we haven’t seen any device materialise in the real world. There have been several technologies that were conceived in these years and all have been put to their practical use. But the bendable d