I believe both of you totally misread the whole thing.
1. Allowance for private jet does not mean private jet ownership.
2. The article link made no mentioning about private jet.
My original point was many top silicone valley exec. don't fly private jets so they have top status with airlines. Another example - Jan Koum, CEO of WhatsApp & Managing Director in Facebook, Inc. He is a FTer and should be still a M&M Senator (*G):
Thoughts about my free iphone app - WhatsApp ...