The uproar that was whipped up at this month's Detroit motor show, concerning Ford of America president Mark Fields' personal use of Ford's company jet, has at last been put to rest. In an internal web cast that went out to Ford employees on Friday, Fields said he 'would be stopping using the company aircraft for his personal use.'
When the news that Fields was flying privately from Detroit to Florida every weekend to visit his family emerged, it angered many US motor industry pundits because it brought into question his commitment to returning Ford to profitability. There was nothing illicit about the flights; the use of the jet was written into his contract as a perk when Fields took up the post in September 2005. However, it's still estimated to have cost the company in excess of a million dollars since then.
A Ford spokesman told US media that Fields 'didn't want this or any other issue to distract the team from its main mission, which is to… return the North American business to profitability. As of last weekend, Fields will fly commercial.'
Either that or help himself to the shiniest Ford GT in the car park, we assume.
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