|
They probably won't get much sympathy from their hard-pressed fans, but America's stars of stage and screen are being forced to give up one of the traditional benefits of their celebrity status: private jets.
The soaring price of aviation fuel, which is now twice the cost of a year ago, is adding tens of thousands of dollars to the cost of a typical flight, prompting members of Hollywood's élite to think the unthinkable and ground their personal Gulfstreams.
Last week, the hip-hop artist P Diddy joined the ranks of high-profile private jet refuseniks when he revealed that he's been forced to mothball his plane, after the cost of his twice-monthly trips from his headquarters in New York to Los Angeles hit nearly a quarter of a million dollars.
"Gas prices are too high," he told subscribers to his blog. "As you know, I do own my own jet. But I've been having to fly back and forth to LA pursuing my acting career. Now, if I'm flying, like, twice ...