Starbucks removes CEO travel cap and requires company jet for personal flights

Businessinsider reports that Starbucks is directing CEO Brian Niccol to use the company’s private jet for all air travel, including personal trips, and has removed his $250,000 annual limit on personal travel spending.

A Monday filing said that before September Niccol’s non-work use of the plane was capped at $250,000 and he had to reimburse the company for any excess. After September the board removed that cap and replaced it with "a more frequent quarterly review of Mr. Niccol's personal flights by the chair of the Compensation Committee," and the company has not imposed a new maximum spending limit.

The filing said the change was "driven by the security study's recommendation that Mr. Niccol use Company aircraft for all air travel, including personal travel, and the Company's ongoing monitoring of Mr. Niccol's security situation," and a Starbucks spokesperson said the board recently decided to enhance security measures and made private-aircraft use a requirement. The filing also noted Niccol was paid about $31 million in 2025, down from $95.8 million in 2024, and that his August 2024 offer letter allowed commuting by company jet from his California home; the company last year advertised for a Gulfstream pilot with a salary range of $207,000 to $360,300.

Key Topics

Business, Brian Niccol, Starbucks, Gulfstream Jets, Private Jet, Executive Compensation