McDonald's And Starbucks Are Buying Private Jets Again

Major U.S. corporations including McDonald's and Starbucks are reinvesting in private jets after several years of delaying upgrades to their aircraft, Bloomberg's Thomas Black reports.

McDonald's purchased a Bombardier Challenger 605 - which carries up to 13 passengers - to replace an existing jet in February, and Starbucks Corp. bought a Gulfstream G550 in June, according to the report. Johnson & Johnson bought the same Gulfstream model, which seats up to 18 passengers, in August.

The purchases signify a bright spot in an otherwise bleak outlook for private jet sales, which have remained stagnant throughout the economic downturn after a period of growth in the early 2000s.

"The ultra-rich and the bigger corporations came through the downturn of 2008/2009 fine and can still afford expensive biz jets," George Ferguson, a senior analyst at Bloomberg Industries told Black. "The aspirational buyers had incomes change the most due to the downturn and they haven't returned to the market."