Boeing finds executives got an extra $500,000 in perks from private jets

livemint.com:

An internal Boeing review found that Chief Executive David Calhoun and other top executives took personal trips worth more than $500,000 on the company’s private jets and other planes that were improperly recorded as business travel. The review and correction, which Boeing disclosed in a securities filing, was prompted by a Wall Street Journal investigation last year into the executives’ use of the company’s fleet of private jets, people familiar with the matter said. Boeing’s review found that some flights by the executives in 2021 and 2022 “were not previously classified as perquisites by the company but should have been classified as such in accordance with SEC rules and guidance," the company said in its proxy filing April 5.

Executives may dart between their residences, work sites and personal destinations such as vacation spots with portions of the trips being officially counted as personal or business trips. In general, private-jet flights taken for commuting purposes may be considered a perquisite, while flights between two company offices may not be. The pandemic and increased working from home has complicated the matter.

The company’s executive flight operations unit and its board of directors scrutinize personal use of company aircraft, the Journal previously reported. Boeing said in its proxy that flights to attend outside board meetings or speaking engagements may count as perquisites under SEC rules. Boeing’s board requires Calhoun to use the company’s private jets for personal travel, not just business, for security reasons.

The company recently said the CEO was stepping aside, part of a shake-up after a Jan. 5 midair blowout and production problems. Other executives in the revised disclosure—finance chief