The heads of the "Big 3" automakers ate some serious crow last week when they were publicly lectured about their tone deafness for flying on private jets to Washington to ask for government loans. They and their PR departments were asleep at the wheel to not consider the kind of symbolism that choice reflected.

Despite their cluelessness for the "Jetgate" incident and at the risk of my raining on the populist anti-perk parade, there are some practical reasons for senior executives to occasionally use (but not necessarily to own) private jets. Many companies have operations in far-flung, remote areas in which commercial airlines either don't fly or which would require multiple connections and all-day airport sitting.

If I'm a stockholder, I'd rather have my high-priced CEO doing value-added CEO work instead of wasting time waiting for yet another flight connection.

The official rationale for the auto executives, though, had nothing to do with making effective use of time. Rather, each of the companies cited "security" reasons for the need to avoid the airlines. In fact, many of the Fortune 100 companies require CEOs to travel on private jets in the name of security.

Granted, it wasn't that long ago that terrorist-led hostage taking of wealthy or public figures for ransom was a threat, especially in Europe. But is it really a clear and present danger for American CEOs when they fly from Detroit to Washington or from Cleveland to Des Moines in a post-9/11 transportation system?

Aside from avoiding an overblown security threat, the practice of cocooning senior executives in private planes further insulates them from one more set of the daily hassles, challenges and indignities that we all face. But in addition to the human condition, that also is a source of some potentially valuable insights for them.

I'm almost certain that if the airline CEOs occasionally flew coach in cognito on their own airlines without all of their handlers to get the real customer experience, we'd see a lot of improvements to that customer experience.

That would be good for the airlines and good for the customers. It's like getting free and unfiltered marketing data. It's turning the CEO into the ultimate mystery shopper.

Have Bob Nardelli or Rick Wagoner ever put on phony mustaches and baseball caps and gone by themselves into dealerships somewhere away from Detroit posing as a customers? How often does Michael Dell spend a few hours wearing a headset listening in on tech support help line calls? Does CEO Eddie Lambert ever put on a plaid shirt and walk through Sears stores unannounced?

Getting REAL close to the customer in that way is what good CEOs do. That high touch personal experience just doesn't show up in the marketing department's Power Point decks. "CEO" also should stand for Chief Experience Officer.

Like Mark Twain's classic tale, The Prince and the Pauper, there is real value in otherwise protected and buffered senior business leaders taking regular walks outside the palace gates.

Opinions expressed solely are those of the writer. Mike Hoban, of Crown Point, is a senior consultant for an international leadership development and training firm. Send mail to him c/o The Times, or e-mail him at business-at-large@sbcglobal.net.