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WAL-MART - With more than 3,800 domestic store locations and counting, Wal-Mart's travel program takes employees to the nooks and crannies of the United States—locales not always closely served by commercial airports. While the world's largest retailer relies heavily on airlines, the company also operates 22 jets in the United States, comprising part of the largest corporate fleet in the world, according to director of global travel services Duane Futch.

"It is a huge operation," Futch said. "There are 22 corporate jets based in the home offices, two jets based in the Canada home office, one jet based in our Mexico home office and a turboprop at our Wal-Mart Brazil unit."
Although Futch encourages travelers to fly commercial airlines when a direct flight is available—given the high demand for corporate aircraft and higher operating margins—its corporate fleet has become a source of relief for time-strapped associates needing to get in and out of stores on short notice.
"Efficiency of time is one of the main reasons we have the corporate fleet," Futch said, "but if someone is traveling to a city where we have nonstop airline service out of Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport, which is our home airport, we will ask that person to go on the airlines rather than use the company jet. We think that's more efficient use of money and more efficient use of the corporate fleet."
While many companies reserve corporate jet usage for its most senior executives, Futch said regional vice presidents—typically responsible for up to 500 stores—and division vice presidents—each responsible for roughly 100 stores—and their teams are the most frequent flyers on corporate aircraft. This makes use of planes less about status and more about need, Futch noted.
MP: The Big Three got a lot of criticism recently for the use of costly corporate jets, but Wal-Mart shows another side to the practice - it operates a fleet of 25 corporate jets to increase efficiency and reduce costs. And Wal-Mart earned $35 billion in profits over the last three years, while GM lost $51 billion.