What we’re talking about this week on the VIPSeat:

Charter Flights Won’t Descend on Burning Man this Week

In a shift from previous years, Burning Man decided to launch its own airline and charter flights into the pop-up airport for the event, 88NV, this week. The two 6,000-foot fields are made from a dry lakebed, watered every night by volunteers, and monitored by privately contracted Oshkosh AirAdventure air traffic controllers. In an initial search, the website doesn’t make clear who is operating the aircraft or if they have the authority to operate flights by the seat as required by DOT consumer disclosures.

Polaris Dawn: the First Private Spacewalk

Private flights to space are expected to be the norm one day if SpaceX and billionaire Jared Issacman have anything to do with it. After purchasing the first orbital spaceflight with private passengers in 2021, Jared is taking off with SpaceX again, this time in the first commercial spacewalk. The flight is 600 miles farther than the International Space Station and will be the farthest anyone has flown since the Apollo missions 60 years ago. Issacman also owns his private air force and is the only owner and operator of a Mig-29 in the United States.

International Repo of Global 6000 expected to be one of many

The Nigerian government and Chinese investment firm Zhongshan Fucheng have been involved in a decades-long fight over the ownership of a Free Trade Zone in Nigeria. After winning numerous international cases, Zhongshan Fucheng is now taking action to recoup its losses by seizing assets of Nigeria, including Presidential homes and aircraft. A Bombardier Global 6000 formerly purchased by the ill-gotten gains of Former Oil Minister of Nigeria, Dan Etete, was seized this week in Canada, with more seizures expected in the US and Belgium in the coming days.

XWing/Joby demonstrates another autonomous flight in Cessna Grand Caravan

In its third Agile Flag 24 mission exercise, autonomous flight developer Xwing flew its modified Cessna Grand Caravan 208 over 3,900 miles in California and Nevada this week. eVTOL manufacturer Joby purchased Xwing in June of this year. Pilot unions are launching campaigns to ensure two pilots are always in commercial aircraft, but industry experts believe fully autonomous or highly autonomous aircraft will be the norm by the 2040s. Bankers have estimated autonomous flights could save the industry more than $35 billion annually.

New Starbucks CEO Negotiates Private “Supercommute” Benefits

Environmentalists and media outlets were outraged this week when Starbucks’ new CEO, Brian Niccol, will work from his home in California and commute by private jet to the office in Seattle. The SEC filing noted the details of his offer, including a $250,000 allowance to use the company jets for personal use. The company later clarified that most of Niccol’s time would be spent at the Seattle office, he would have a home in Seattle, and the offer letter was consistent with existing hybrid-work policies. While using a private jet always seems to grab negative press attention, many proponents say it’s a genius negotiation tactic to entice superstars to their ranks.

At his former employer, Chipotle, Niccol doubled revenues and increased the stock value by over 800%. If Niccol achieves anything near that success at Starbucks, which generates $32 billion annually and has churned through three CEOs in two years, $250,000 in corporate jet benefits seems like a small investment for major growth.