The inauguration of President Barack Obama attracted a full-on airborne migration of well-heeled travelers this week. Robert Frank at the Wall Street Journal reports around 600 private jets landed in D.C. in the days leading up to the inauguration ceremonies. One of the four runways at Dulles was even closed off for extra parking.

It’s a veritable record, and more than twice the 300 private jets the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority logged for George W. Bush’s second inaugural. Private flyers have come under recent scrutiny (who can forget some recent pointed ironies), but the deep-pocketed contributors to Obama’s campaign (and lobbyists looking for a new pal in Washington) had no intention of missing the inaugural celebration.