gravy plane

n. a boondoggle, junket, or other (perceived) waste of money associated with air travel, benefitting a privileged group or person. Subjects: English, Aviation, Slang

Etymological Note: Frequently coined anew as a play on “gravy train,” a desirable situation or income achieved with little effort.

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Citations: 1948 Washington Post (June 27) “Gravy Plane Due Sept. 1 For Postoffice” p. 19M: The United States Postoffice Department is getting on a gravy plane come September 1.…Under the 1938 CAA Act, the Postoffice Department has to pay the airlines enough revenue to keep an air transportation system in effect, in the interest of national defense. And up until now, the department has been paying for airline space it hasn’t been using. 1951 Galveston News (Texas) (Sept. 14) p. 8: O’Mahoney opposed the flight pay amendment. Senator Douglas (D-Ill) who sponsored the amendment, declared it was aimed at removing “gravy plane trips” for airmen who go up only for the bonus pay and would save 100 million dollars a year. 1989 Mike Steketee, Tom Burton Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) (Feb. 18) “Mates—Networks Of The Nice Little Earners” p. 79: In the hierarchy of desirable Government appointments, Qantas runs second only to Yarralumla. The queue to get on this gravy plane makes Sydney Airport’s congestion seem minor. 1991 Michael Bliss Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada) (Oct. 18) “Bliss On Books Leaders And Lepers” p. P93: As Fife and Warren pour out details and examples-the GST exemptions, the “gravy plane” junkets, “double-dipping” through piling patronage jobs on top of generous pensions-you really do lose your faith in parliamentary democracy. 1992 U.S. Newswire (Jan. 16) “Book Calls For Action on Fast Trains” (in Washington, D.C.): You’ve heard of the “gravy train?”…Well, my book reveals the “gravy plane”—it is to my knowledge the first definitive work in the United States on the massive subsidies that flow from various federal agencies, 50 state governments and municipalities—subsidies that help aviation. These subsidies are much bigger than any to Amtrak or any rail passenger carrier of the past. 1993 Joe Kafka @ Pierre, South Dakota (Associated Press) (Mar. 23) “Resolution Passes Honoring National Guard”: Democrats have criticized the all-GOP trip. Because most of those on board contributed heavily to the Mickelson campaigns, Democrats labeled it the “gravy plane.” They said it was purely a political junket. 2000 Murray Sperber Beer and Circus: How Big-time College Sports Is Crippling Undergraduate Education (Sept. 20) p. 22: Also a large number of other athletic department personnel and their spouses made the junket. Also on the “gravy plane” were members of the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents and spouses, school administrators and spouses, plus the so-called Faculty Board of Control of Intercollegiate Athletics and their spouses, and many hangers-on (termed “friends of the program”) and their spouses. 2005 Laurie Roberts Arizona Republic (Phoenix) (Nov. 30) “Dig deeper to help Phoenix junketless this holiday season”: Now, however, the gravy plane has been grounded. As a result of the reporters’ questions, City Manager Frank Fairbanks has decided that the city ought to actually put some limits on city junketeers. 2006 SABCnews.com (South Africa) (Dec. 18) “Committee to probe Mlambo-Ngcuka’s flights”: Mosiuoa Lekota, the defence minister, has appointed a committee to probe costly flights by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the deputy president, and other VIPs, he announced today.…“It will place the public in a position where objectively the public may be able to determine whether there is a deliberate and illegal or corrupt attempt to provide what people call the gravy plane to certain individuals.”

Posted 14 Feb 07 | Permalink | Tell a Friend