- Dec 21, 2002
- 5,998
- 347
This article is about richard Branson and Virgin USA: I just wanted to post it so you can read the part about executive salary being $60,000.00.
EXECUTIVE SALARY AT $60,000.00
Wait til this outfit starts up in the USA. How much can AA employees can expect to give back to offset these guys' costs?
Governor courts Branson's airline
Bay Area potential site for Virgin USA
Robert Salladay, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau
Saturday, January 17, 2004
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sacramento -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is pushing Richard Branson, the maverick founder of Virgin Atlantic Airways, to base the company's new domestic carrier near San Francisco International Airport and provide a centerpiece for the governor's promise to make California business-friendly.
Schwarzenegger and Branson reportedly met on the set of the upcoming movie "Around the World in 80 Days," in which both have small parts. Since then, Schwarzenegger has lobbied Branson personally, offering financial incentives if Virgin USA opens its headquarters in San Mateo County instead of two other sites being considered -- Boston and a Washington suburb near Dulles International Airport.
The tussle over Virgin USA is turning into a classic case of economic courtship, with taxpayer money as the biggest lure dangled before Branson as he attempts to build a domestic U.S. airline.
For Schwarzenegger, capturing the new company will test his negotiating skills after promising to travel the world to promote California as a good place to do business.
For SFO, winning Virgin USA would boost its business and help it compete against Oakland International, the Bay Area's fastest-growing airport. Low- cost carrier Southwest Airlines pulled out of SFO several years ago in favor of Oakland, which also gained JetBlue Airways.
SFO, by far the region's major gateway for international travel, has battled back by luring ATA and American West.
Schwarzenegger, along with a group of economic development officials, has offered Virgin USA about $18 million in state and local money to train new airline workers. Boston is offering inexpensive leases at a city-owned industrial park, a $3,000 tax credit for employees who live in the area and $1. 5 million for training, the Boston Globe reported.
A decision from Virgin USA is expected within a few months, after another round of tours and counteroffers from the three areas. Executives from the fledgling airline, which has only a small office in New York, are planning another trip to California within a few weeks to hear another pitch.
"The one thing that has really surprised me most about this whole effort is how much attention the governor has put on this," said Deberah Bringelson, head of the local group trying to lure Virgin USA and president of Samceda, an economic development group in San Mateo County. "He's been great to work with, and it's a huge change from the last administration."
Because he is a British citizen, Branson cannot own more than 49 percent of a U.S. airline or control more than 25 percent of its voting stock. He still is looking for a U.S. partner or group of investors to own the rest of Virgin USA, which would compete with other American carriers for domestic routes.
The Virgin USA headquarters is expected to employ between 400 and 500 people, a portion of the 3,200 flight attendants, pilots, mechanics, managers and others that the new company plans to hire during the next three years. They want about 80,000 square feet of office space for the headquarters and about 30,000 square feet for a pilot-training center with flight simulators.
The new Virgin USA headquarters could mean an economic boost of tens of millions of dollars for the Bay Area. Assuming an average salary of $60,000 for executives and others at the headquarters, the company could spend at least $30 million a year on local payroll.
Corporations almost always make decisions based on the bottom line, so it's unclear if Schwarzenegger's celebrity will play any role in luring the company. Virgin USA reportedly wants a flashy opening to launch its new carrier in the United States -- something Schwarzenegger could provide perhaps more than the governors of Massachusetts or Virginia.
Todd Pawlowski, an executive with Virgin USA, said the company started paying attention to California as a possible headquarters after it became clear Schwarzenegger was going to win the recall election in October and kept saying he wanted to make California friendly for businesses.
"So when Gov. Schwarzenegger came into office, he set up a team to really focus on us," said Pawlowski, director of customer service for the new company. "And I think the fact that your top elected official is taking an active interest, especially someone like Gov. Schwarzenegger, it can't hurt, let's put it that way. It's very flattering."
Pawlowski said the company is nevertheless "looking for anything we can. Anytime you start a company, you want to conserve cash." He said the company is interested in job recruitment, employee screening and training money, tax incentives and marketing help.
The high cost of housing, however, remains a problem for the Bay Area's bid.
"We made it clear to the team that this is something we are trying to overcome," Pawlowski said. "You have a lot of positive aspects, a very educated workforce, a great lifestyle. ... The bulk of the people we are going to be hiring are from the area. Those people are already there. You don't have to worry about buying a new house in the area. But the high cost of living does translate into a higher cost of doing business."
Branson has asked Schwarzenegger for help with a problem at Los Angeles International Airport, which Branson says has been "the slowest of all" airports in preparing for the new Airbus A380 jumbo jet.
Branson wants Virgin to fly the 555-seat double-decker jets from London to Los Angeles by 2006, but is concerned the airport is not working fast enough to accommodate the wingspan, size and weight of the new plane.
No major airline has its headquarters in California, but officials have been working for months to lure Branson and Virgin USA. During a visit to the Bay Area last year, Virgin USA executives attended a Giants game at Pacific Bell Park, where the company's logo was flashed on a video screen, Pawlowski said.
Schwarzenegger also discussed Virgin USA when he met in December with the British ambassador, Sir David Manning, and the ambassador called Virgin after the conversation, aides to the governor said.
"It's the governor's top priority to bring jobs to California," said Margita Thompson, the governor's spokeswoman, "and when there is an opportunity, he's eager to work with the local entities to make those jobs a reality."
Bay Area economic development officials pitched San Mateo County as cheaper than the rest of the Bay Area but also easily accessible by train and BART from as far away as Gilroy and Contra Costa County. Because of the weather, they said, energy costs will be lower than on the East Coast. They also put together about $18 million in worker-training money from various sources, including the state's Employment Training Panel.
But they also pitched the Bay Area as a nice fit for a maverick company like Virgin.
"Virgin really fits into the entire climate of the Bay Area, in that it's creative, innovative, a little off the wall," Bringelson said. "They really fit in with the companies you find here."
E-mail Robert Salladay at [email protected].
EXECUTIVE SALARY AT $60,000.00
Wait til this outfit starts up in the USA. How much can AA employees can expect to give back to offset these guys' costs?
Governor courts Branson's airline
Bay Area potential site for Virgin USA
Robert Salladay, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau
Saturday, January 17, 2004
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sacramento -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is pushing Richard Branson, the maverick founder of Virgin Atlantic Airways, to base the company's new domestic carrier near San Francisco International Airport and provide a centerpiece for the governor's promise to make California business-friendly.
Schwarzenegger and Branson reportedly met on the set of the upcoming movie "Around the World in 80 Days," in which both have small parts. Since then, Schwarzenegger has lobbied Branson personally, offering financial incentives if Virgin USA opens its headquarters in San Mateo County instead of two other sites being considered -- Boston and a Washington suburb near Dulles International Airport.
The tussle over Virgin USA is turning into a classic case of economic courtship, with taxpayer money as the biggest lure dangled before Branson as he attempts to build a domestic U.S. airline.
For Schwarzenegger, capturing the new company will test his negotiating skills after promising to travel the world to promote California as a good place to do business.
For SFO, winning Virgin USA would boost its business and help it compete against Oakland International, the Bay Area's fastest-growing airport. Low- cost carrier Southwest Airlines pulled out of SFO several years ago in favor of Oakland, which also gained JetBlue Airways.
SFO, by far the region's major gateway for international travel, has battled back by luring ATA and American West.
Schwarzenegger, along with a group of economic development officials, has offered Virgin USA about $18 million in state and local money to train new airline workers. Boston is offering inexpensive leases at a city-owned industrial park, a $3,000 tax credit for employees who live in the area and $1. 5 million for training, the Boston Globe reported.
A decision from Virgin USA is expected within a few months, after another round of tours and counteroffers from the three areas. Executives from the fledgling airline, which has only a small office in New York, are planning another trip to California within a few weeks to hear another pitch.
"The one thing that has really surprised me most about this whole effort is how much attention the governor has put on this," said Deberah Bringelson, head of the local group trying to lure Virgin USA and president of Samceda, an economic development group in San Mateo County. "He's been great to work with, and it's a huge change from the last administration."
Because he is a British citizen, Branson cannot own more than 49 percent of a U.S. airline or control more than 25 percent of its voting stock. He still is looking for a U.S. partner or group of investors to own the rest of Virgin USA, which would compete with other American carriers for domestic routes.
The Virgin USA headquarters is expected to employ between 400 and 500 people, a portion of the 3,200 flight attendants, pilots, mechanics, managers and others that the new company plans to hire during the next three years. They want about 80,000 square feet of office space for the headquarters and about 30,000 square feet for a pilot-training center with flight simulators.
The new Virgin USA headquarters could mean an economic boost of tens of millions of dollars for the Bay Area. Assuming an average salary of $60,000 for executives and others at the headquarters, the company could spend at least $30 million a year on local payroll.
Corporations almost always make decisions based on the bottom line, so it's unclear if Schwarzenegger's celebrity will play any role in luring the company. Virgin USA reportedly wants a flashy opening to launch its new carrier in the United States -- something Schwarzenegger could provide perhaps more than the governors of Massachusetts or Virginia.
Todd Pawlowski, an executive with Virgin USA, said the company started paying attention to California as a possible headquarters after it became clear Schwarzenegger was going to win the recall election in October and kept saying he wanted to make California friendly for businesses.
"So when Gov. Schwarzenegger came into office, he set up a team to really focus on us," said Pawlowski, director of customer service for the new company. "And I think the fact that your top elected official is taking an active interest, especially someone like Gov. Schwarzenegger, it can't hurt, let's put it that way. It's very flattering."
Pawlowski said the company is nevertheless "looking for anything we can. Anytime you start a company, you want to conserve cash." He said the company is interested in job recruitment, employee screening and training money, tax incentives and marketing help.
The high cost of housing, however, remains a problem for the Bay Area's bid.
"We made it clear to the team that this is something we are trying to overcome," Pawlowski said. "You have a lot of positive aspects, a very educated workforce, a great lifestyle. ... The bulk of the people we are going to be hiring are from the area. Those people are already there. You don't have to worry about buying a new house in the area. But the high cost of living does translate into a higher cost of doing business."
Branson has asked Schwarzenegger for help with a problem at Los Angeles International Airport, which Branson says has been "the slowest of all" airports in preparing for the new Airbus A380 jumbo jet.
Branson wants Virgin to fly the 555-seat double-decker jets from London to Los Angeles by 2006, but is concerned the airport is not working fast enough to accommodate the wingspan, size and weight of the new plane.
No major airline has its headquarters in California, but officials have been working for months to lure Branson and Virgin USA. During a visit to the Bay Area last year, Virgin USA executives attended a Giants game at Pacific Bell Park, where the company's logo was flashed on a video screen, Pawlowski said.
Schwarzenegger also discussed Virgin USA when he met in December with the British ambassador, Sir David Manning, and the ambassador called Virgin after the conversation, aides to the governor said.
"It's the governor's top priority to bring jobs to California," said Margita Thompson, the governor's spokeswoman, "and when there is an opportunity, he's eager to work with the local entities to make those jobs a reality."
Bay Area economic development officials pitched San Mateo County as cheaper than the rest of the Bay Area but also easily accessible by train and BART from as far away as Gilroy and Contra Costa County. Because of the weather, they said, energy costs will be lower than on the East Coast. They also put together about $18 million in worker-training money from various sources, including the state's Employment Training Panel.
But they also pitched the Bay Area as a nice fit for a maverick company like Virgin.
"Virgin really fits into the entire climate of the Bay Area, in that it's creative, innovative, a little off the wall," Bringelson said. "They really fit in with the companies you find here."
E-mail Robert Salladay at [email protected].
