At Google, the executive jet lends science a hand

Published 9:50 pm Thursday, September 13, 2007

SAN FRANCISCO – Google Inc. co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin try to foster an egalitarian spirit at their company, but the duo apparently don’t frown upon special treatment for their private airplane an Everett-built Boeing 767 that is three times larger than most executive jets.

The plane’s sprawling size prompted the billionaires to negotiate an unusual two-year deal that will allow them to take off, land and park the Boeing at a NASA-managed airport located within a 10-minute drive of Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, Calif.

Moffett Federal Airfield is usually off-limits to private planes, but Page and Brin got around that restriction by agreeing to pay NASA $1.3 million annually and making a commitment to fly the space agency’s equipment on research missions.

Besides the Boeing 767-200, NASA also will place instruments on two smaller Gulfstream jets that are sometimes used by Page and Brin.

The deal became effective Aug. 1, but NASA’s Ames Research Center didn’t announce the agreement until this week following reports that the large jet had been spotted at Moffett Field.

The news raised concerns about noise problems and favoritism in cities neighboring the former naval air station.

“This wouldn’t be a problem if this was just about them providing flights to study the ozone layer, but if this is a party jet, that raises questions,” said Lenny Siegel, director of the Pacific Studies Center, which has long opposed civilian flights from Moffett. “It sets a troubling precedent and it looks like a cushy deal for some very rich people.”

Page and Brin, both 34, are worth nearly $17 billion each, according to Forbes magazine’s most recent rankings of the world’s wealthiest people.

The men generally aren’t ostentatious. They limit their salary to $1 annually and regularly show up to work in T-shirts and jeans.

But they indulged themselves by buying a Boeing 767-200; an airplane big enough to carry 180 passengers. After extensive remodeling, the plane now reportedly can accommodate 50 people. Google, the owner of the Internet’s leading search engine leader, has no ownership interest in the plane.

Page appeared uncomfortable Thursday when an Associated Press reporter asked him about the deal.

“It’s really nice for us to be able to collaborate with NASA and help them with some science and for us to use the resources that they have,” Page said in Los Angeles, where Google announced it’s sponsoring a $30 million spaceflight contest. “Beyond that, I don’t think I should comment.”

Steven Zornetzer, associate director of for institutions and research at Ames, said the $2.6 million to be paid by Page and Brin will help defray Moffett’s operating costs.

“I think there are a lot of people who think this is a sweetheart deal for them and it isn’t,” Zornetzer said. “They are paying a premium.”

In a statement, NASA said the agreement complies with federal law, as well as its own policies. The agency also emphasized the number of flights allowed in and out of Moffett Field will remain within its current limit of 25,000 annually.

“If NASA scrutinized it like they said they did, I am sure it’s probably a clean deal,” said Carl Honaker, who formerly worked at NASA and also was the executive officer at Moffett while it was still a naval station in the early 1990s.

He said few, if any, California airports can accommodate a noncommercial Boeing 767, a factor that probably caused them to explore their options at Moffett.

NASA said it already has taken advantage of its new arrangement with Page and Brin, using the plane on Aug. 31 to help study the Aurigid meteor shower. Zornetzer said NASA Ames will have instruments to monitor the climate and perform other research on every flight the Google co-founders take from Moffett. “We see it as a win-win situation.”