US corporate spending on private flights for executives has ballooned in recent years

In 2025, Corporate America’s top executives aren’t trying to get their carry-ons gate checked. And as far as perks go, they expect a bit more than free coffee and granola bars.

Hence the steady rise of spending on private and chartered flights by the US’s 500 largest companies (by revenue). According to data provided to Sherwood News by executive intelligence firm Equilar, companies’ median spending on private flights for execs jumped 19% from 2021 to 2024. When factoring the change from 2020, when travel was depressed because of the pandemic, the jump is 66%.

(The Wall Street Journal had analyzed Equilar data to first report that spending on private flights for execs had, collectively, jumped nearly 77% from 2020 to 2024.)

Last year, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was paid a salary of $1, the same pay he’s collected going back to 2013. But in proxy statements, Meta reported that it spent $1.5 million chartering business travel flights for Zuckerberg and $2.6 million on private jets for his personal use. Tyson paid $2.98 million last year for the use of corporate jets for Chairman John H. Tyson’s personal travel, and Tootsie Roll doled out about $1.8 million for CEO Ellen Gordon to fly on its company aircraft for both business and personal uses.

But these aren’t the only execs kicking back in PJs on company dime. Per Equilar, the median private flight expense has increased in nearly all industries across Corporate America.

And, as WSJ notes, at the same time that execs’ private flight perks have surged, much of Corporate America has slashed costs and laid off workers.