Perception can be a lot more powerful than reality. Mark Fields, chief of Ford Motor’s North American division, found that out the hard way this month, when he was forced to give up his weekly corporate jet trips from Motown to his Florida home.Fields succumbed to pressure from Ford Motor (nyse: F – news – people ) workers and dealers about his increasingly well-publicized perk and asked that it be removed from his contract. News source: Forbes.com The thing about corporate jets is that they often save companies money as they whisk top executives from place to place in the lap of luxury. But given Ford’s recent financial problems, it rubbed those far below the C-suite the wrong way that Fields was getting a trip home on the company’s dime, no matter that it will probably cost the automaker more to send him to and from Florida every week on commercial flights. Fields, 45, initially defended his use of the company plane. “My commitment is to leading a turnaround in Ford North America,” he told the Associated Press. “As part of that, I am using my compensation plan for what’s best for my family.” That’s a tough argument to make, however, to workers whose jobs and benefits are on the line. (See “Ford Exec Gives Up Jet Commute”)Ford has revealed that its corporate jet cost the company $214,479 for the final quarter of 2005. The carmaker is expected to reveal a full-year cost for 2006 later this year under new government regulations for disclosure of executive compensation. Fields’ trips home are only a part of the total, and how big a part is not clear. What is clear is that Fields, who was put in charge of Ford’s largest unit in October 2005, has presided over an increasingly steep slide in sales and profitability. Ford lost $3.3 billion in North America through the first nine months of 2006, part of a $7 billion overall deficit. For the corresponding period in 2005, Ford lost $1.3 billion in North America.Fields’ total compensation in 2005 was about $3 million, including a $1 million retention bonus. Previously, he was head of the company’s European and luxury-brand operations, which he was credited with bringing back to profitability.He was previously head of Ford’s European and the premier automotive group for 17 months, where he was credited with turning around those businesses. Since he’s left, Ford’s Premier Automotive Group, which controls such marks as Aston Martin, Jaguar and Volvo, has slipped into the red, losing $518 million for the first nine months of last year. The Associated Press contributed to this article.

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