Retired bank chief still flying pretty high

Bank of America Corp. picked up a $723,699 tab in private jet costs for former chairman Charles K. Gifford last year, and kicked in another $151,705 for the taxes associated with the travel benefit, the bank disclosed in a regulatory filing Monday .

Gifford, the former chief executive of FleetBoston Financial Corp. when it was sold to Bank of America in 2004 , is allowed 120 hours of private jet time per year as part of the retirement package he got from the bank. A Bank of America spokesman declined to disclose how many hours Gifford flew last year, nor would he say where, with whom, or why he flew.

The bank also declined to say what type of plane Gifford used . Gifford did not return calls yesterday. He retired in 2005 as chairman and remains a director.

A top-of-the-line Gulfstream V jet can run upwards of $14,000 an hour to hire; mid-range private jets cost much less. Commercial travel is even cheaper. For $723,699, Gifford could buy at the last minute 58 first-class round trips between Boston and Beijing on United Airlines, at prices on the airline's website yesterday. Closer to home, the money could cover 388 round trips for two between Boston and Long Beach, Calif. , on JetBlue Airways .

He also received $50,000 in consulting fees from the bank last year and $212,954 for office expenses. His total compensation and retirement benefits in 2006 were valued at $1.38 million . The 120 hours of flight time drop to 100 hours a year after his fifth year in retirement.

Keith Reed can be reached at reed@globe.com.