Book Read Free

Hard Landing

Page 63

by Thomas Petzinger, Jr.


  44. a paperweight: “Eastern Sticks to Its Gamble,” BW, Jan. 11, 1982.

  45. dismissed as “dipshits”: Conaway, New York Times Magazine, May 9, 1976.

  46. “Have you fixed it”: Quoted in Serling, From the Captain, page 487.

  47. a cup of coffee: Borman, Countdown, pages 336-37.

  48. not a trace of ostentation: A number of these examples appear in Borman, Countdown, and Conaway, New York Times Magazine, May 9, 1976.

  49. “Everyone whose mission”: “ ‘Moon Man’ Turns Around Eastern,” Time, Feb. 7, 1977.

  50. memorable … television advertisements: Kunstler 9/7/93 interview; Serling, From the Captain, page 505.

  51. struck him as weird: Borman 1/29/94 interview.

  52. “never go anywhere”: Ibid.

  53. Borman quit anyway: A decade later Borman would get the last laugh as Thayer became one of the first people sent to jail in Wall Street’s insider trading scandal.

  54. fired or demoted: Borman, Countdown, page 323.

  55. curtly fired … Nicklaus: Borman 1/29/94 interview.

  56. most lucrative airplane deal: The terms are described in “Eastern to Pay No Lease Fee for Airbus A-300s,” by Jeffrey M. Lenorovitz, Aviation Week, May 30, 1977; and “Airbus Cracks the U.S. Market,” by Rosalind K. Ellingsworth, Airline Executive, May 1978.

  57. “kiss the French flag”: Quoted in BW, Jan. 11, 1982.

  58. “One of the great joys”: Borman, letter to employees, Eastern Air Lines, Jan. 25, 1977.

  59. “meet our payroll”: Memo from Frank Borman to employees of Eastern Air Lines, June 10, 1975.

  60. “very serious threat”: Frank Borman, letter to employees of Eastern Air Lines, July 1, 1976.

  61. “It’s quite clear”: Frank Borman, letter to employees of Eastern Air Lines, Nov. 2, 1978.

  62. “he alone resuscitated”: Hatton, Miami Herald, July 31, 1977.

  63. “remarkable turnaround”: Time, Feb. 7, 1977.

  64. “Magellan of our time”: Bryan 5/13/93 interview.

  65. “Earth to Frank”: “IAM District 100 vs. Eastern and the Banks,” by Andrew R. Banks, in Labor Research Review, Winter 1984.

  66. When Lyndon Johnson: Reggi Ann Dubin Associates, The IAM: Another Look, for Texas Air Corporation, Feb. 1988.

  67. “utmost respect”: Quoted in Charlie Says …, published privately by Eastern Air Lines.

  68. “Gestapo tactics”: Ibid.

  69. briefcase … of proxies: “Labor-Management Cooperation at Eastern Air Lines,” by Beverly Smaby et al., Harvard University, U.S. Department of Labor contract, May 1987.

  70. “just to get attention”: Bryan 5/13/93 interview.

  71. “You made history”: Quoted in Banks, in Labor Research Review, Winter 1984.

  72. “Quit fucking with people”: Bryan 5/13/93 interview.

  73. Borman had been smarting: Borman, Countdown, page 351.

  74. reverse thrust: Borman 1/29/94 interview; Borman, Countdown, pages 351-52.

  75. slot machine: Bryan 5/13/93 interview.

  76. in the Florida Keys: Borman 1/29/94 interview.

  77. “take me … feet first”: Quoted in “Grinning and Bearing It,” by Jess Blyskal, Forbes, July 21, 1980.

  78. spent several days: Acker 6/3/93 interview.

  79. best moneymaker: “Braniff Leads Medium Trunk Assault on International Airline Economics,” by Joseph S. Murphy, Airline Executive, May 1978.

  80. fire the guilty party: “Eastern’s Smooth Latin Landing,” BW, Dec. 13, 1982.

  81. pronunciation guide: Falcon, Eastern Air Lines, May 12, 1982.

  82. noisily demonstrating: “Eastern Air Had 1st Period Loss of $514 Million,” by John D. Williams, WSJ, Apr. 28, 1982.

  83. “here it comes again”: Barber 6/21/94 interview.

  84. “a few six-packs”: Smaby et al., May 1987.

  85. NO DEPOSIT, NO RETURN: Banks, in Labor Research Review, Winter 1984.

  86. aides were jubilant: Magurno 3/11/94 interview.

  87. Both groups indicated: Borman, Countdown, page 390.

  88. “kill these guys”: Magurno 3/11/94 interview.

  89. In good faith I took: The poem appears in Banks, in Labor Research Review, Winter 1984, and is used with permission.

  90. “the end of Eastern”: Borman, Countdown, page 389.

  91. “If the union doesn’t accept”: Quoted in Smaby et al., May 1987.

  92. “personal guru”: Borman, Countdown, page 385.

  93. Born in Wyoming: Barber 6/21/94 interview.

  94. “In business schools”: Quoted in Borman, Countdown, page 385.

  95. brought in some pals: Barber 6/21/94 interview.

  96. 12 days’ worth of cash: Smaby et al., May 1987.

  97. contract to kill: Borman 1/29/94 interview.

  98. 9 mm … pistol: Ibid.

  99. fact-finding mission: Borman 1/29/94 interview.

  100. Willard C. Butcher: Ibid. Borman also discussed the meeting in Deposition of Frank Borman, Apr. 26, 1988.

  101. not a strikebreaker: Borman 1/29/94 interview. Butcher denies making any inflammatory remarks but does not dispute the gist of Borman’s account.

  102. ballots recounted: Smaby et al., May 1987.

  103. lording their victory: Banks, in Labor Research Review, Winter 1984.

  104. “We were raped!”: Borman, Countdown, page 391.

  Chapter 8: Stormy Weather

  1. “Safety … lay in speed”: Lindbergh, The Spirit of St. Louis, page 290.

  2. cigarette smoke: Grey, The Facts of Flight, page 24.

  3. Each square foot: Serling, Loud and Clear, page 40.

  4. Air Florida Flight 90: The account of the crash is based mostly on the Aircraft Accident Report of the National Transportation Safety Board, NTSB-AAR-82-8, Aug. 10, 1982. Additional insights were obtained from an excellent reconstruction in Nance, Blind Trust.

  5. after leaving Braniff: Though not affirming legal travails as the reason for his departure from Braniff, Acker provided the details of his post-Braniff career in the 6/3/93 interview.

  6. reminded Acker of … Southwest: Ibid.

  7. “worse than dope”: Quoted in “At the Controls of Pan Am,” by Thomas L. Friedman, NYT, Aug. 28, 1981.

  8. controlling interest: Acker’s turnaround moves at Air Florida were detailed in the Acker interviews of 1/7/93 and 6/3/93 and, among other places, in “Air Florida, Soaring Out of Obscurity, Becomes Profitable, Feisty Contender,” by Roger Thurow, WSJ, Aug. 17, 1978; and Friedman, NYT, Aug. 28, 1981; “Air Florida’s Fortunes Soar in Six Market Areas,” by Joseph S. Murphy, Airline Executive, May 1980.

  9. “a warm climate”: Thurow, WSJ, Aug. 17, 1978.

  10. “flights for a kiss”: “Highly Publicized Cuts in Airline Fares Mask Rapid Escalation of Ticket Prices,” by William M. Carley, WSJ, Oct. 8, 1980.

  11. dog-eared copy: Friedman, NYT, Aug. 28, 1981.

  12. “darling of deregulation”: Ibid.

  13. “ablest of the entrepreneurs”: “Putting Pan Am Back Together Again,” by Louis Kraar, Fortune, Dec. 28, 1981.

  14. “corporate success stories”: “Air Florida’s Future Open to Question Following Acker’s Surprise Departure,” by Chester Goolrick, WSJ, Aug. 27, 1981.

  15. profits were subsidized: Lloyd-Jones 3/10/94 interview.

  16. “talked to Cunard Lines”: Quoted in “Pan Am’s Brash New Pilot,” Newsweek, Sept. 7, 1981.

  17. dentist in Key West: Air Florida System, Inc., proxy statement, Dec. 29, 1978.

  18. access in the Keys: Acker 6/3/93 interview.

  19. “kids are just crapping”: The NTSB transcript says “are just #.”

  20. reservations evaporated: “How Two Airlines Lost Their Way,” BW, Apr. 19, 1982.

  21. revenue vanished: Ibid.

  22. saw no merit: The account of Acker’s turnaround moves is based on the Acker 6/3/93 interview; “Risky Flying: In Bid to Save Pan Am, New Chief Trims Fares Instead of Op
erations,” by William M. Carley, WSJ, Dec. 11, 1981; and “Putting Pan Am Back Together Again,” by Louis Kraar, Fortune, Dec. 28, 1981.

  23. flight to … Bermuda: Shugrue 9/8/93 interview.

  24. “just tell them”: Acker 6/3/93 interview.

  25. cigarette butts: Shugrue 9/8/93 interview.

  26. counted his chauffeur: Acker 6/3/93 interview.

  27. hundreds of ticket stubs: Shugrue 9/8/93 interview.

  28. away from the gate: C. Edward Acker, speech to Pan Am Management Club, Miami, Oct. 13, 1981.

  29. “powerful force”: Quoted in “Clipped Wings: Is Pan Am’s Strategy the Airline’s Salvation or Its Death Sentence?” by William M. Carley, WSJ, Feb. 12, 1986.

  30. “does he work for us?”: Wolf 6/4/93 interview.

  31. turned around to see: Gitner 3/31/93 interview.

  32. “What’s that doing here?”: Ibid.

  33. search plane: Shugrue 5/14/93 interview.

  34. Wolf’s … sanctimony: Wolf 6/4/93 interview.

  35. “no choice”: Kraar, Fortune, Dec. 28, 1981.

  36. “terrific travel bargain”: Acker speech, Oct. 13, 1981.

  37. flipped the pages: Acker 6/3/93 interview; Kraar, Fortune, Dec. 28, 1981.

  38. Laker’s operation was dead: Laker’s failure, which was due to a number of causes, generated a thicket of antitrust litigation as well as a U.S. grand jury investigation that caused diplomatic stress between the United States and Britain. Ultimately President Reagan quashed the probe at the urging of Prime Minister Thatcher. These intrigues are worthy of a book in their own right, but not a glossed-over account in this one.

  39. “I didn’t mind”: Acker 6/3/93 interview.

  40. ACKER BACKER: Kriendler 5/12/93 interview.

  41. “dedicate ourselves”: Letter from C. Edward Acker to Pan Am employees, May 10, 1982.

  42. heavily unionized airline: “The Golden Years,” Avmark Aviation Economist, June 1986.

  43. operate forklifts: Shugrue 5/14/93 interview.

  44. close family friend: Shugrue 9/8/93 interview.

  45. serious bind: The description of the lie is based on the Shugrue 9/8/93 interview; “Pan Am Strike by TWU Is Viewed as Stemming from Personality Conflicts and Economic Woes,” by William M. Carley, WSJ, March 6, 1985; Carley, WSJ, Feb. 12, 1986; and Pan American World Airways, Inc., Financial Analysis, Lazard Frères & Co. Jan. 31, 1985.

  Chapter 9: Continental Divide

  1. imagined himself a builder: Lorenzo 5/5/88 interview.

  2. 51 percent: Bakes 5/12/93 interview. In 1982 Texas Air completed the takeover by exchanging some of its own shares for the remaining shares of Continental. The financial mechanics of the Continental perchange are detailed in Continental Airlines Preliminary Prospectus, Mar. 18, 1983.

  3. called Bob Six: Murphy, The Airline That Pride Almost Bought, page 25.

  4. Feldman was an engineer: The description of Feldman’s career and his turnaround moves at Frontier are based on several interviews with his friend Travis Reed and on a number of published accounts, including “Frontier’s Planning Serves It Well in Good Times and Bad,” by James P. Woolsey, Air Transport World, August 1980; and Murphy, The Airline That Pride Almost Bought, pages 9-11.

  5. purple vulture: Reed 5/31/94 interview.

  6. threw himself into his work: “Continental Air Chairman Found Dead in His Office, Apparently a Suicide,” by Roy J. Harris, Jr., WSJ, Aug. 11, 1981.

  7. “first time … I’ve ever lost”: Quoted in Murphy, The Airline That Pride, page 47.

  8. hottest free agent: Reed 6/2/94 interview.

  9. “necessary to renegotiate”: Quoted in Murphy, The Airline That Pride, page 38.

  10. “must tell you”: Letter from A. L. Feldman, Continental Airlines, to Francisco A. Lorenzo, Apr. 3, 1981.

  11. Lorenzo was bothered: “Texas Air’s Lorenzo Hopes to Pilot Continental Airlines into His Hangar,” by Roger Thurow, WSJ, Apr. 23, 1981.

  12. prove himself worthy: Bakes 5/12/93 interview.

  13. angry Continental employees: Murphy, The Airline That Pride, page 110.

  14. filled with dread: Bakes 5/12/93 interview.

  15. “authorized representative”: Bakes’s remarks, and those of Dennis Higgins that follow, are based on videotape shot by a television crew and later presented to Higgins.

  16. thronged by microphones: Lavender 6/16/93 interview.

  17. chilling glare: Bakes 5/12/93 interview.

  18. “made you feel dirty”: Bakes 5/12/93 interview.

  19. “Get the fuck:” Bakes 5/12/93 interview. Bakes is also the source of the Maxine Waters anecdote.

  20. around the Senate chambers: “How Texas Air Won Its Fight,” BW, Oct. 26, 1981, and Murphy, The Airline That Pride, pages 187-88.

  21. brother-in-law: BW, Oct. 26, 1981.

  22. see Rostenkowski: Bakes 5/12/93 interview.

  23. with Sen. Lloyd Bentsen: Lavender 6/16/93 interview.

  24. Bakes and Lorenzo collapsed: Bakes 5/12/93 interview.

  25. adventurous … vacations: Reed 6/1/94 interview.

  26. “100 percent immersed”: Reed 6/2/94 interview.

  27. “big drinks”: Ibid.

  28. nine banks … were withdrawing: Harris, WSJ, Aug. 11, 1981.

  29. before 6 P.M.: The facts of Feldman’s death are detailed in the report written by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office, Case No. 81-10225, Aug. 9, 1981.

  30. Lorenzo … had resisted: Bakes 5/12/93 interview.

  31. first for breakfast: Ibid.

  32. “I’ve just gotten word”: Ibid.

  33. “You killed him!”: Ibid. Lavender, in the 6/16/93 interview, recalled a member of his group turning to Bakes and shouting, “Are you happy now?”

  34. color vanish: Bakes 5/12/93 interview.

  35. “next plane out”: Ibid.

  36. “despondent since the death”: L.A. County Medical Examiner, Case No. 81-10225.

  37. “Why did you”: Reed interviews of 6/1/94 and 6/2/94. Ferris declined to discuss Feldman’s death.

  38. their first meeting: Bakes 5/12/93 interview; “Unfriendly Skies: Frank Lorenzo Tries to Navigate 3 Airlines Through Stormy Times,” by Roger Thurow, WSJ, Feb. 18, 1982.

  39. “Judging from these projections”: Bakes 5/12/93 interview.

  40. Fifteen percent: “Continental Air Lays Off 1,500, 15% of Employees,” WSJ, Jan. 26, 1982.

  41. give up $90 million: Continental Airlines Preliminary Prospectus, Mar. 18, 1983.

  42. “The fact is”: Letter from Frank Lorenzo to the Hon. Don Sebastiani, July 28, 1981.

  43. Lorenzo was eager: Bakes 5/12/93 interview.

  44. “going to be announcing”: Ibid.

  45. mother would later tell: The anecdote attributed to Wolf’s mother was told by her to a close acquaintance who prefers to remain anonymous.

  46. father walked out: Wolf detailed his early years in the 6/4/93 and 8/25/94 interviews.

  47. caught the attention: Casey 3/6/92 interview.

  48. walking down a … street: Gunn 4/28/93 interview.

  49. Wolf would take delight: Wolf 6/4/93 interview.

  50. Some of his peers: Baker 4/23/93 interview.

  51. wanted a promotion: Wolf 6/4/93 interview; Plaskett 1/14/93 interview.

  52. wanted to run something: Wolf 6/4/93 interview.

  53. “profound financial strengths”: Quoted in “Frank Lorenzo Lures a Copilot to Continental,” BW, Dec. 6, 1982.

  54. dry cleaner: Murray 9/4/93 interview.

  55. mastery of intricacy: J. Arpey 6/16/94 interview.

  56. sprawled on the floor: This story, heard by many Continental executives, was also reported in “Up in the Air,” by Mike Steere, Chicago, May 1991.

  57. One Sunday night: Bakes 6/16/94 interview.

  58. end runs around Wolf: Bakes 6/11/93 interview.

  59. calling him Steve: Murray 9/4/93 interview.

  60. “no plans to move”: Letter from
Frank Lorenzo to the Hon. Don Sebastiani, July 28, 1981.

  61. month-to-month lease: Wolf 6/4/93 interview.

  62. Burr read aloud: Burr 9/16/93 interview.

  63. eagerly seeking: Bakes 6/11/93 interview; Burr 9/16/93 interview.

  64. “one more of Frank’s deals”: Burr 9/17/93 interview.

  65. “way to jab Frank”: Ibid.

  66. swamp Lorenzo: Ibid.

  67. had a child: Dawsey 9/17/93 interview.

  68. “a screwup”: Murray 9/4/93 interview, and Deposition of Richard E. Murray, U.S. Justice Department, CID No. 5087, June 22, 1983.

  69. “suppression of all Continental fares”: Memo from J. L. Ott to L. A. Iovinelli et al, “Subject: Continental Fares,” American Airlines, Dec. 1, 1981.

  70. sheepishly approached Murray: Murray 9/4/93 interview.

  71. “sworn to secrecy”: Ibid.

  72. meeting with Bob Crandall: Murray 6/11/93 and 9/4/93 interviews.

  73. “put them out of business”: Ibid Anne McNamara, the general counsel of American, said she was unaware of this conversation ever occurring. In his May 22, 1995, letter to the author, Crandall called Murray’s recollection “flawed and slanted.”

  74. wanted to join: Murray 9/4/93 interview.

  75. tales of tweaking: Ibid.

  76. smoking gun: Ibid.

  77. touch on Wall Street: Continental’s extensive financing moves are described in Continental Airlines Preliminary Prospectus, Mar. 18, 1983.

  78. “laid on all the charm”: Bakes 6/11/93 interview.

  79. fitting metaphor: Ibid.

  80. average Continental pilot: Wage rates and work rules are taken from Affidavit of Philip J. Bakes, Jr., In re Continental Airlines Corp., U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Texas, Sept. 24, 1993.

  81. use of a private airplane: Bakes 6/11/93 interview.

  82. changed overnight: Ibid.

  83. “prepare for a strike”: Ibid.

  84. Lorenzo and Bakes were rejoicing: Bakes 6/16/94 interview.

  85. appellate court decision: Bakes 6/11/93 interview.

  86. “awfully big stick”: Quoted in “Continental Air Official Saw Chapter 11 as ‘Stick’ Against Unions, Hearing Told,” by Bryan Burrough, WSJ, Dec. 14, 1983.

  87. Lorenzo was nervous: Bakes 6/16/94 interview.

 

‹ Prev