Hammered by the financial crisis, some of America's biggest companies are dumping their corporate jets. While the move can have the immediate effect of boosting the balance sheet and eliminating a symbol of corporate excess, it can also put a company at a practical disadvantage to its jet-setting competitors.

True, a business jet is one of the largest non-revenue-producing assets any company can own. Disposing of one in a crisis can make a lot of sense for some companies. Add to the equation the public flogging business aviation has endured -- especially those jet trips by Detroit's Big Three CEOs -- and it isn't hard to understand why the used-plane market suddenly has a glut of inventory.