Beware The Flying Men

"Beware the flying men! Beware the flying men! The Bird men are coming!" --San Francisco Hobo in "Around the World in 80 Days," with cameos by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Richard Branson.

Only a few months ago, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger cooed about helping to persuade Virgin America to open its U.S. headquarters near the San Francisco airport. "That means 1,700 new jobs in California and that is music to my ears," Schwarzenegger said in October. Luring Virgin to California became a signature example of Schwarzenegger's efforts to boost job creation in California. Nevertheless, Schwarzenegger's office carefully noted that all this was pending regulatory approval by the federal government.

Indeed, those federal regulators appear to have grounded the infant domestic airline and those 1,700 new California jobs. The Dept. of Transportation tentatively has rejected the application, ruling that Virgin America probably would violate the 1926 Air Commerce Act, which requires all domestic airlines to remain controlled by U.S. citizens. (Billionaire Virgin founder Richard Branson, pictured, was to have a minority share of the airline but veto power over decisions.) The company reportedly has revised its proposal and removed Branson's veto power over the company.

Schwarzenegger personally pitched the California location to Branson, wrote letters on the company's behalf, appeared at the unveiling of their first jet, and helped round up more than $15 million in development money as a sweetener. (City officials and state lawmakers invested a lot of political capital in getting the company to California as well.) The two men are connected beyond the airline. Branson, who personally has supported Schwarzenegger's efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions, bonded with the governor on the set of "Around the World In 80 Days." Schwarzenegger played the lascivious "Prince Hapi" and Branson played "Balloon Man."

(Photo: Christopher Furlong / Getty Images)