Oprah: Fantastic to Have Your Own Jet

Everything Oprah Winfrey endorses turns to gold: Barack Obama. The book industry. KFC grilled chicken. If the queen of media's history is any indication, the ailing private-jet industry may have its day in the sun. During Sunday's address to Duke University graduates at Wallace Wade Stadium, Oprah extolled the joys of private jet travel and wasn't afraid to let everyone know she's sitting pretty.

"And I will have to say, it is a wonderful thing to have a beautiful home, or homes, a wonderful thing to have a beautiful home which just escaped the fire in Santa Barbara. And it is really fantastic to have your own jet, and anybody who says it isn't is lying to you. That jet thing is really good."

This message may not resonate with Oprah's core audience, which is predominantly middle-class, married white women, but to her credit, it's honest, especially during a time when the well-heeled are cutting back on conspicuous consumption and wallowing in their luxury shame.

At the same time, Duke University costs about $51,000 per year. That fact, coupled with the current economic crisis, makes it safe to say that most of those graduates will be spending many years paying off student loans and pulling themselves out of debt. They will never see the inside of a private jet.

Maybe Oprah's championing of the private-jet industry will do little to boost it. The market continues to see steep year-over-year declines. The Aviation Research group estimates that for the past 12 months, flight activity has declined by 1.76 percent per month—"with total flight activity declining 20.45 percent year over year."

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