Top-spending CEO had $800,000 budget for air travel last year

Some of us may have job perks like casual Fridays or being able to help ourselves to an unlimited number of neon highlighters from the office supply cabinet. And then others get $800,000 to use for private planes and corporate jets. By "others," I mean Eric Foss, the CEO of Aramark, the executive who was on top of Bloomberg's Pay Index for spending the most on airplane travel last year.

Foss – one of the country's 100 top-paid execs – earned $33.8 million last year as the boss at Aramark (even if you don't recognize the company name, you've probably eaten their cheeseburgers and other concessions at professional sports arenas, in your college cafeteria or, um, that time you were in jail). Foss's pay package included $1.1 million in perks, which included a car allowance and the use of a company plane. Karen Cutler, an Aramark spokesperson, told Bloomberg:

Aramark’s board of directors established a policy in the best interests of the company for the CEO to use a company plane for all air travel for security and safety purposes – as well as to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of conducting business.

The other executives that made up the top five for the largest amount of air-travel spending were Michael Saylor (MicroStrategy), Philippe Dauman (Viacom), Martin Franklin (Jarden) and Jeffrey Immelt (GE).

But the some of the other perks of being a CEO don't require a runway. Stock compensation "typically makes up about 60 percent to 70 percent of a CEO’s pay package." Well, unless you're Doug Parker. The American Airlines CEO announced this week that he will be forfeiting the cash portion of his salary and will be paid only in stock this year. In a letter he sent to employees, Parker said:

I believe this is the right way for my compensation to be set -- at risk, based entirely on the results achieved, and in the same currency that our shareholders receive.

Last year, Parker reportedly earned $12.3 million  – which included $4.92 million in cash. Whatever. How many highlighters did he get to take this morning?