Despite AGCO crash, jets soar - Departures - use of executive jets - Brief Article

Chief Executive, The, March, 2002 by Sonja Sherwood

JOHN SHUMEJDA, 56, president and CEO of AGCO, a farming equipment manufacturer in Duluth, Ga., and Ed Swingle, senior vice president for sales and marketing, died Jan. 4 when the company's Canadair Challenger turbojet flipped during take-off in England. AGCO named its executive chairman, Robert Ratliff, 70, interim president and CEO.

Despite the tragedy, Molly Dye, an AGCO spokeswoman, says the company will continue to use executive jets in addition to commercial air travel. In a show of confidence, AGCO used a private jet to bring family members to a memorial service on Jan. 12.

"This is a business, and flying is a part of commerce today," Dye says. "It's a function of convenience and efficiency."

More than 9,300 U.S. companies use private aircraft to transport executives between business sites, up from 6,500 in 1991, according to the National Business Aviation Association in Washington, D.C. Most corporate aircraft have safety records comparable to major airlines and incur fewer accidents than commuter planes or air taxis, according to accident data analyst Robert E. Breiling of Boca Raton, Fla.

Interest in private aircraft got a boost after September 11, not only because of concerns over terrorism but also because heightened airport security made commercial air travel time consuming. Epps Aviation in Atlanta, which manages corporate aircraft for AGCO and 450 other companies, has seen usage jump 25 percent.