When the chief executives of the Big Three automakers went to Washington, D.C. with tin cups in hand asking for a $25 billion government bailout, they triggered public outrage when it was revealed they’d flown in on luxury private jets. With shareholder and taxpayer frustration growing, companies are starting to see corporate jets as a liability.

That’s where Silicon Valley’s XOJET airline comes in. The San Carlos, Calif.-based airline provides a kind of private jet time-sharing service for corporations. Sure, it’s not your typical Silicon Valley start-up. But it’s an example of how innovative thinking can re-engineer an entire industry.

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What if a plane flight were networked and became a social experience with its own economy?

For part of a book I’m finally starting to work on, I’ve been thinking about how companies and industries can be remade with Googlethink and social smarts (note how I’m not saying Web 2.0). It’s harder to re-imagine some than others. The benefits of tearing apart and rebuilding cable companies are obvious. But I just about gave up on airlines, dooming them to their status as the new buses. What can one do with such a commodity service, and one that has deteriorated so badly?

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