Steve Jobs Gassing Up The Gulfstream Again

More fuel for the Apple rumor mill: Steve Jobs spent a lot of time flying on company business last spring. So where was he going, and what was he doing?

The background: Steve bills Apple (AAPL) for use of his personal jet when he's on company business, and the tab shows up in each quarterly report. Morgan Stanley analyst Kathryn Huberty thinks that the more Steve flies, the more reason AAPL investors have to be excited about the stock, because that means he's involved in face-to-face discussions with potential partners.

In the last three months of 2007, Steve racked up $550,000 in expenses. That dropped to $30,000 in the first three months of this year. Now it's back up: He's billing Apple $102,000 for the June quarter.

What does that mean? Perhaps he's been jetting off to China and/or Russia, where Apple still doesn't have iPhone deals with carriers. Or perhaps he's working on the mysterious wonder gadget, referred to this month by Apple officials as a "future product transition". You got us. Speculate away.

See Also: Steve Jobs Travel Update: Private Jet Grounded This Winter
Steve Jobs: Frequent Flier