Park the executive jet – buy a bus ticket…

No, this isn’t an appeal from environmentalists, nor a warning of another industry feeling the pinch - though I would be a little surprised if I heard about a boom in the market for private jets at the moment.

Rather, it’s a reminder how much attitudes are changing as tough times start to bite. US car company bosses made an unintentional PR (public relations) blunder last week when they turned up in Washington to ask for the American taxpayer for a $25bn bail out: they flew over in their executive jets. The result was this grilling by hostile legislators.

It’s a reminder how attitudes can and do change rapidly: from a sexy status symbol, the executive jet could instead become a symbol of the ‘corporate excess’ some are blaming for our current predicament.