52. power of the hub: Olsen 9/2/93 interview.
53. “fragment the market”: Ibid.
54. Crandall instantly grasped: Crandall 6/13/94 interview.
55. they would allow: Carty 4/29/93 interview.
56. “betting on the come”: G. Arpey 9/2/93 interview.
57. nearly half: “Wolf at the Gateway,” by Robert McGough, Financial World, May 14, 1991.
58. 20 percent ownership: Ferris 5/27/93 interview; Marshall 3/1/94 interview.
59. fastest friends: Olson 7/11/94 interview.
60. “intrinsically deceptive”: Comments of British Airways on PDSR-85, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Docket 42199, cited in David A. Schwarte, Global Alliances: Compatibility with U.S. Antitrust Law, presented to International Aviation Symposium, Apr. 13, 1994.
61. employed Acker’s son: Acker 1/7/93 interview.
62. little enthusiasm: “Pan Am, Passed Over as a Merger Candidate, May Be Running Out of Time to Show Profit,” by Randall Smith, WSJ, Mar. 26, 1987.
63. “clock is ticking”: Shugrue 9/8/93 interview.
64. at war: “Pan Am Board Battling Over Proposed Braniff Merger,” by William M. Carley, WSJ, Dec. 7, 1987.
65. sky-high wages: Coleman 2/16/94 interview.
66. Acker’s head: Ibid.
67. clean sweep: Ibid.
68. committee of the board: “Pan Am Is Said to Be Seeking New Chairman,” by William M. Carley, WSJ, Jan. 5, 1987.
69. broke Plaskett’s heart: Plaskett 8/31/93 interview; “An Airline of Firsts Folds Wings Which Once Sought Moon,” by Asra Q. Nomani, WSJ, July 12, 1991.
70. “When I arrived”: Plaskett, text of remarks, 1988 Employee Meetings.
71. no marketing plan: Ibid.
72. by the bucket: Ibid.
73. looked with foreboding: “Will Plaskett Save Pan Am?” ASTA Agency Management, June 1988.
74. with Malev: “DOT Confirms Approval of Pan Am-Malev Code-Sharing Agreement,” Aviation Daily, June 23, 1988.
75. partners said no: “Pan Am, Covia Group Trade Charges in CRS Dispute,” Aviation Daily, June 23, 1988.
76. “inconvenienced them”: Plaskett, 1988 Employee Meetings.
77. every 45 days: Ibid.
78. “a believer”: Ibid.
79. “professional manager”: Plaskett described himself thus in explaining his decision to leave American. Becker 9/3/93 interview.
80. “counting on you”: Plaskett, 1988 Employee Meetings.
81. led the pilots: Gandt, Skygods, page 271.
82. Flight 103 that day: The account of the disaster is based principally on Johnston, Lockerbie, passim.
83. cries of sorrow: Cross 1/16/94 interview. Cross was working as a consultant in the Pan Am building at the time.
84. “used to be enough”: Remarks of Thomas G. Plaskett, Harvard Business School Club of Dallas, Dec. 5, 1991.
Chapter 17: The Gilded Cockpit
1. “Could I interest you”: Olson 6/28/94 interview. Marshall declined to discuss the overture from United.
2. Olson’s motivation: Olson 6/28/94 interview.
3. wrestled with the question: Ibid.
4. its blessing: Luce 8/26/93 interview.
5. cared deeply: An executive who deals regularly with Crandall says he was rankled by the wealth that Wolf had accumulated in the industry.
6. exceeding $12 million: This is the author’s estimate, based on Crandall’s saying the figure was greater than the counteroffer he received from American, which was then valued at nearly $12 million.
7. Segall … proposed: Crandall 9/1/93 interview.
8. golden handcuffs: The details of Crandall’s stock award are taken from the Apr. 6, 1988, proxy statement of AMR Corp.
9. less money: Crandall 9/1/93 interview.
10. “thought very seriously”: Ibid.
11. executive-search consultant: Olson 6/28/94 interview.
12. “very unusual”: “Up in the Air,” by Mike Steere, Chicago, May 1991.
13. Wolf was lionized: “Union Busting vs. Unionism,” by F/O Jerry Baldwin, Air Line Pilot, Oct. 1985.
14. “unusual route structure”: Quoted in “Republic’s Stephen Wolf, the Right Man at the Right Time,” by David L. Brown, Airline Executive, Jan. 1985.
15. five box tops: “Republic Air Offers Rides to Youngsters for Cereal Boxtops,” by John Curley, WSJ, Feb. 3, 1982.
16. not look proper: Wolf 8/25/94 interview.
17. 95,000 shares: Wolf’s 1984 options award is detailed in various amendments to his employment contract, on file at the SEC, as well as in the March 28, 1986, Republic Airlines proxy statement.
18. “tasteful”: Wolf 8/25/94 interview.
19. “hit it off”: Quoted in “Republic Air’s Wolf Tackles Labor Costs, Undirected Growth to Cure Ailing Carrier,” by Harlan S. Byrne, WSJ, May 24, 1984.
20. “into their fold”: Brown, Airline Executive, Jan. 1985.
21. perfect moment: Wolf 6/4/93 interview.
22. family steak house: The account is based on ibid and on a telephone interview with Rothmeier on May 3, 1995.
23. $2 million in option profits: Republic Airlines proxy statement, Mar. 28, 1986.
24. not so fortunate: Northwest’s operating problems are detailed, among other places, in “Flying Solo: The Autocratic Style of Northwest’s CEO Complicates Defense,” by Richard Gibson, WSJ, Mar. 30, 1989.
25. Sperry computer system: “Northwest’s Merger Has Passengers Fuming,” by Patrick Houston, BW, Nov. 24, 1986.
26. “dangerously close”: Quoted in Gibson, WSJ, Mar. 30, 1989.
27. organically grown tomatoes: Wolf 7/20/93 interview.
28. all-cargo airline: The history of the Flying Tiger Line is told in Flying Tigers: 1945-1989, published by a group of Tiger employees.
29. “It’s over!”: Nagin 6/6/94 interview.
30. studying French: Wolf 8/25/94 interview.
31. visited regularly: Coltman 3/17/94 interview.
32. especially Burgundies: Wolf 6/4/93 interview.
33. compelling business reasons: Wolf gave these reasons to Coltman, whom he hired to run United’s European operation. Coltman 3/17/94 interview.
34. “keep our arrangement”: Wolf 7/21/93 interview; Marshall 3/1/94 interview.
35. one or two routes: Interview with Colin Marshall by Nadine Godwin, Travel Weekly, July 10, 1989.
36. “bizarre thing”: Quoted in Steere, Chicago, May 1991.
37. “if not strange”: Wolf 7/20/93 interview.
38. “Iacocca of the Airways”: “Taking Off: Under Its New Chief, United Airlines Begins to Pick Up Altitude,” by Robert L. Rose, WSJ, July 28, 1988.
39. Wolf as the bad guy: Babbitt 8/26/94 interview.
40. microphone cord: Wolf 8/25/94 interview.
41. Anti-Wolf stickers: “Strange Bedfellows: Can UAL Pilots Bury Their Old Animosities as Firm’s Co-Owners?” by Randall Smith and Judith Valente, WSJ, Sept. 18, 1989.
42. “Sweet Sixteen”: Quoted in “United Air’s Performance Has Taken Big Dive, Hurt by Pilots’ Union Action,” by Asra Q. Nomani, WSJ, Sept. 18, 1989.
43. pilots … invited him: Wolf 7/20/93 interview.
44. wanted no part: Ibid.
45. 25 percent of Northwest’s flights: Houston, BW, Nov. 24, 1986.
46. “play with toys”: Quoted in Smith and Valente, WSJ, Sept. 18, 1989.
47. “board has concluded”: Wolf 7/20/93 interview.
48. “greedy son of a bitch”: Ibid.
49. “not an inch”: Wolf 7/21/93 interview.
50. “very serious decision”: Wolf 7/20/93 interview.
51. “must now demonstrate”: Quoted in Smith and Valente, WSJ, Sept. 18, 1989.
52. “just a Wolf”: Quoted in “Inside Group Favored to Win Fight for UAL,” by Judith Valente, WSJ, Sept. 5, 1989.
53. 75 percent of the equity: “UAL Buyout Group Begins Campaign to Maintain Stake for British Airways,” by Randall Smith and Lauri
e McGinley, WSJ, Sept. 29, 1989.
54. “underestimated by 4,000 percent”: Wolf 7/20/93 interview.
55. second test: “A Slice of Skinner,” by Mead Jennings, interview with Sam Skinner, A irline Business, July 1991.
56. Mitsubishi Bank: “Flawed Portent: Banks Rejecting UAL Saw Unique Defects in This Buyout Deal,” by Jeff Bailey, Asra Q. Nomani, and Judith Valente, WSJ, Oct. 16, 1989.
57. ministry of finance: Wolf 7/21/93 interview.
58. bankers … began studying: Bailey, Nomani, and Valente, WSJ, Oct. 16, 1989.
59. not been warned: Olson 6/28/94 interview.
60. “I remind you”: R. L. Crandall, Address to Sales and Marketing Meeting, Aug. 2, 1988.
61. buy Air Wisconsin: McNamara 6/10/94 interview; Nagin 6/6/94 interview.
62. singling out United: Wolf 7/21/93 interview.
63. “Bashing of this type”: Letter to Hon. Sam Skinner from Stephen M. Wolf, March 27, 1989. Obtained from the U.S. Department of Transportation under the Freedom of Information Act.
64. friendly thank-you: Letter to Stephen M. Wolf from Samuel K. Skinner, May 8, 1989. Obtained from the U.S. Department of Transportation under the Freedom of Information Act.
65. only a single U.S. carrier: Wolf 7/21/93 interview.
66. some $6 million: “American Means Business in War for UAL’s O’Hare Turf,” by Mark Hornung, Crains Chicago Business, June 25, 1990.
67. Crandall … personally fired: D. Reed, American Eagle, page 260.
68. “worst screwing”: Crandall 4/23/93 interview.
69. “There was a sense”: Baker 4/23/93 interview.
Chapter 18: London Calling
1. crazy quilt: McAnulty 2/25/94 interview.
2. 55 control centers: “Europe’s Sky Wars,” by Kenneth Labich, Fortune, Nov. 2, 1992.
3. diluting the noise: House of Commons, Transport Committee, “The Future of the Air Services Between the United Kingdom and the United States of America,” Mar. 17, 1984.
4. a bank of video cameras: “Heathrow’s Terminal 4: A Simple Showplace,” by Jerome Greer Chandler, Airline Executive, Apr. 1987.
5. demanded some amendments: “Air Wars,” by John Newhouse, New Yorker, Aug. 5, 1991.
6. bizarre organization: The description of the attire, menu, and activities at the Conquistadores is based on interviews with Borman, Burr, Bakes, Plaskett, and Shugrue; on photos and other details appearing in the organization’s yearbooks; and on “Aviation Bosses Belong to Secret Club Where Dressing in Pink Frocks Is Okay,” by Roy J. Harris, WSJ, Sept. 17, 1985.
7. special … work rules: LaVoy 10/12/93 interview.
8. Plaskett considered: Plaskett 4/22/93 interview.
9. Plaskett approached … Wolf: Plaskett 8/31/93 interview; Wolf 7/21/93 interview.
10. not yet ready: Plaskett 1/14/93 interview.
11. cryptic proposal: Plaskett 8/31/93 interview.
12. evident to Plaskett: Plaskett 4/22/93 interview.
13. “That’s interesting”: Plaskett 8/31/93 interview.
14. absolutely no interest: Wolf 7/21/93 interview.
15. busy signal: Branson 3/1/94 interview.
16. most successful entrepreneurs: The account of Branson’s background is based on the Branson 3/1/94 interview; the Whitehorn 2/28/94 interview; Brown, Richard Branson; Sampson, Empires of the Sky; “How Richard Branson of Virgin Group Ltd. Is Taking Off in Britain,” by L. Erik Calonius, WSJ, Aug. 29, 1984; and “High Flier: Adventure Capitalist Is Nipping at the Tail of Big British Airways,” by Ken Wells, WSJ, May 22, 1992.
17. “I’m Richard Branson”: Quoted in Brown, Richard Branson, page 66.
18. sued … Lennon: Ibid., page 73.
19. night in jail: Ibid., page 107.
20. unrequited demand: Branson 3/1/94 interview.
21. lunch with Sir Freddie: Laker’s advice to Branson was described in the Whitehorn 2/28/94 interview and the Branson 3/1/94 interview.
22. Laker talked him out: Whitehorn 2/28/94 interview.
23. without a necktie: Ibid.
24. deemed them injurious: Brown, Richard Branson, page 299.
25. Marshall and his lawyers: Marshall 8/31/94 interview.
26. Absolutely not: Ibid.
27. expressed his view: Ibid.
28. plunged to 47 percent: “Action on the North Atlantic,” by Perry Flint, Air Transport World, June 1991.
29. “Wretched Robert”: This epithet has been publicly attributed to Marshall, but people inside British Air insist that it was the invention of Lord King.
30. leading success stories: “Wolf at the Gateway,” by Robert McGough, Financial World, May 14, 1991.
31. “I’m not allowed”: Crandall 4/23/93 interview.
32. medical claims: “Lost Horizons: A Grand Tradition Can Make a Fall That Much Harder,” by Brett Pulley, WSJ, Sept. 16, 1991.
33. “Who would ever”: Remarks by Plaskett, Harvard Business School Club of Dallas, Dec. 5, 1991.
34. weekend contemplating: Plaskett 4/22/93 interview.
35. “raiding party”: A photograph of the draped Concorde is on display in Branson’s home. The “attack” is also described in “King’s Last Days,” by Nick Rufford, David Leppard, and John Harlow, Times, Feb. 28, 1993.
36. “the boy”: Quoted in Rufford, Leppard, and Harlow, Times, Feb. 28, 1993.
37. approved a payment: “BA Paid 50,000 Pounds for Virgin Slurs,” by Frank Kane, Guardian, Jan. 15, 1993. Marshall refused to discuss any aspect of the Virgin dispute because it remained in litigation.
38. “drug dealing”: The report was obtained by Virgin, which provided the author with a copy.
39. PR operative circulated: “Agreed Statement in Open Court,” In the High Court of Justice, Queen’s Bench Division, Between Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. and British Airways plc, 1992 V no. 434, Jan. 11, 1993.
40. poaching passengers: Ibid.
41. “dirty tricks”: “An Open Letter to the Non-Executive Directors of British Airways plc,” from Richard Branson, Dec. 11, 1991.
42. patronizing letter: Letter to Richard Branson from Colin Marshall, Dec. 12, 1991.
43. touched off rejoicing: “Pan Am Misses $100 Million Payment as Talks Continue on Pact with United,” by Asra Q. Nomani and Laurie McGinley, WSJ, Mar. 11, 1991.
44. stationed in London: Feeser 3/3/94 interview.
45. played for a fool: Crandall 6/13/94 interview.
46. “dumb deal”: Ibid.
47. “that means us”: Crandall 4/23/93 interview.
48. George Bush: “U.K. Lifts Airline Curb at Heathrow, Aiding Pan Am, TWA Route-Sale Plans,” by Laurie McGinley, WSJ, Mar. 6, 1991.
49. missed a $100 million: Nomani and McGinley, WSJ, March 11, 1991.
50. forget it: Letter to the Hon. Samuel K. Skinner from Thomas G. Plaskett, Aug. 2, 1991.
51. “zero paper-clip”: Quoted in “Pinching Pennies Keeps Profit Flying at Delta Air Lines,” by John Koten, WSJ, Mar. 7, 1980.
52. “join an objective”: Quoted in “ ‘Family Feeling’ at Delta Creates Loyal Workers, Enmity of Unions,” by Janet Guyon, WSJ, July 7, 1980.
53. “lack of knowledge”: “Recommendations: International Advertising and Promotional Support,” Delta Air Lines, Oct. 31, 1988.
54. “you wouldn’t buy”: Wolf 7/20/93 interview.
55. “Is this legal?”: Wolf 7/21/93 interview.
56. “Screw it”: Plaskett 4/22/93 interview.
57. no joint deal: Some of the participants believed United and Delta did come to an understanding later that night, although within a day or two the deal was off.
58. Psychological stress: Pulley, WSJ, Sept. 16, 1991.
59. persona non grata: “Plaskett Is Attracting Flak for His Piloting of Pan Am,” by Asra Q. Nomani, WSJ, Aug. 12, 1991.
60. “evasive and incompetent”: Quoted in ibid.
61. raised his offer: “Higher Flier: Delta, Despite Victory in Pan Am Bid, Faces Some Big Challenges,” by
Bridget O’Brian, WSJ, Aug. 13, 1991.
62. water cannons: Pan Am’s final flights were described in Gandt, Skygods, page 316, and in a number of memos to the author from former Pan Am employees via America Online.
63. “some may preach”: Remarks by Thomas G. Plaskett, Harvard Business School Club of Dallas, Dec. 5, 1991.
64. “piece of flesh”: Kriendler 5/12/93 interview.
65. too conspicuous: Wolf 7/21/93 interview.
Chapter 19: Hard Landing
1. Putnam noticed: Putnam 10/13/93 interview.
2. accosted by Senator Kennedy: Peterson and Glab, Rapid Descent, pages 244-45.
3. Lorenzo made plans: “Still Grounded: For Lorenzo, Getting a New Airline Aloft Is Proving Treacherous,” by Bridget O’Brian, WSJ, Jan. 25, 1994.
4. Shortly after midnight: The DWI incident is detailed in “Current Information Report, Non-Public,” Houston Police Department, Incident No. 081184992, July 28, 1992.
5. pleaded no contest: O’Brian: WSJ, Jan. 25, 1994.
6. “most profitable airline”: “British Airways Has Time to Mull Moves,” by Brian Coleman, WSJ, Apr. 27, 1992.
7. an A rating: “Airline of the Year: British Airways,” Air Transport World, Feb. 1, 1993.
8. “started hammering”: Crandall, “President’s Conference,” Earl’s Court Park Inn, London, Mar. 2, 1994.
9. first global megacarrier: “G-GLOBAL: Britain’s Role in World Air Transport,” address by Colin Marshall, Royal Aeronautical Society R. J. Mitchell Lecture, Mar. 4, 1992.
10. “east of the Mississippi”: Quoted in “USAir’s Business Strategy Succeeds in Deregulation,” by Carole A. Shifrin, Aviation Week, May 14, 1984.
11. represented the largest airline: “USAir Will Get $750 Million from British Air,” by Brett Pulley, WSJ, July 22, 1992; “Air Raid,” by Paula Dwyer et al., BW, Aug. 24, 1992.
12. a single airline: Dwyer et al, BW, Aug. 24, 1992.
13. 20,000 pairs: Robert L. Crandall, “International Aviation at the Crossroads,” Remarks to Economic Club of Detroit, Nov. 11, 1992.
14. Crandall was convinced: Letter from R. L. Crandall to Hon. Jim Lightfoot, Aug. 28, 1992.
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