New York Post Article Spurs More Bad Press For BizAv

The New York Post took a decidedly aggressive tack in reporting Monday that Citigroup plans to take delivery soon of a new Dassault Falcon 7X business jet, only months after the embattled investment firm received $45 billion in federal, taxpayer-sourced bailout money.

The tabloid correctly notes the aircraft was ordered two years ago, when Citigroup was in no apparent danger of going bankrupt. Still, in an article headlined "Just Plane Despicable," writers Jennifer Gould Keil and Chuck Bennett take obvious umbrage to the fact executives apparently plan to take delivery of the plane, and not cancel the order.

"Beleaguered Citigroup is upgrading its mile-high club with a brand-new $50 million corporate jet -- only this time, it's the taxpayers who are getting screwed," the article states."Even though the bank's stock is as cheap as a gallon of gas and it's burning through a $45 billion taxpayer-funded rescue, the airhead execs pushed through the purchase of a new Dassault Falcon 7X, according to a source familiar with the deal."

A bit further down in their story, Keil and Bennett note Citigroup's corporate fleet subsidiary has two, 10-year-old 900EX jets listed for sale, each worth roughly $27 million.

A company spokeswoman told the paper she couldn't comment on "brokering both sides of the deal"... which would appear to indicate Citi hopes to pay for the new plane, at least in part, through the sale of the two older aircraft from its fleet.

Then again, that information doesn't make for a very exciting headline.

In response to the Post article -- which was subsequently picked up by most major media outlets -- Citigroup issued a statement Monday saying the company has slashed its corporate fleet by two-thirds since 2000, and has strict policies dictating the appropriate use of business aircraft.

When queried by the Post about the sale, CitiFlight head Bill McNamee bristled. "Why should I help you when what you write will be used to the detriment of our company?" McNamee replied. "What relevance does it have but to hurt my company?"

FMI: www.citigroup.com