Fun anecdote: friend of mine's dad is a ~billionaire, and not only does he still fly commercial, he flies coach. And has family come pick him up from the airport. Epic tightwad. Never spends money unnecessarily. To his credit, he also works at the local soup kitchen once every week like clockwork. How he does that while maintaining a 90 hour a week schedule, I have no idea.
I also have a billionaire friend who only flies coach. Personally I think he’s a moron for doing so, but respect that he’s so cheap. You generally keep your wealth by being cheap, but realistically business versus coach won’t fundamentally change anything. It’s more the principal.
We're talking about the richest guy on the planet. Of course he's not like everyone else.
I do not believe you are correct on the designation for a commercial flight if the president were on board. There is 'Executive One' if he flies on a US civil aircraft, but that is still federally owned.
> On December 26, 1973, to "set an example for the rest of the nation during the current energy crisis" and to "demonstrate his confidence in the airlines", then-President Richard Nixon became the only sitting president to travel on a regularly scheduled commercial airline flight when he flew on a United Airlines DC-10 from Washington Dulles International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport.[2] A Nixon aide carried a suitcase-sized secure communication device on board the plane, so that the President could remain in contact with Washington in the event of an emergency.
That way nobody would know he was aboard.