Mixed messages from Lord Sugar
Lord Sugar appeared on stage yesterday at the British Business and General Aviation Association’s annual conference in St Albans. During his informal interview by George Galanopoulos (MD of London Executive Aviation) he made a series of surprising and contradictory statements. He certainly knows his stuff when it comes to business aviation but, in this instance, I couldn’t help but wonder: Was Lord Sugar making any sense?
At the outset of the interview, Lord Sugar wooed the audience of private jet operators and service providers by describing how he was introduced to private aviation. He talked about how, in the early days of his career, he was required to visit an factory in Aalborg, Denmark twice a week. By chartering a private jet he was able to leave his home at 8am, fly directly to the factory, spend a full day’s work in Denmark and still be home by 6pm. Inflexible airline schedules and long ground transfers were just not an option for his business needs and there was a clear argument for private jet charter in order to significantly increase his efficiency.
This was the music to the industry’s ears and the room was warming to our celebrity business guru. However then Lord Sugar switched approach rapidly and stated that, actually, he and other business leaders used private aviation fundementally because they were lazy and enjoyed the luxury of avoiding busy airports and the masses.
So which Sugar is your cup of tea?
Lord (white) Sugar A: “Private aviation is all about efficient use of executive times”
Lord (brown) Sugar B: “Executives use private aviation because we are lazy and enjoy the luxury of avoiding airports and people”
Self-deprecating humour perhaps? Or playing up to the bloated tycoon stereotype? Many of us in the room weren’t quite sure.
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