Hard Landing (80 page)

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Authors: Thomas Petzinger Jr.

Tags: #Business & Money, #Biography & History, #Company Profiles, #Economics, #Macroeconomics, #Engineering & Transportation, #Transportation, #Aviation, #Company Histories, #Professional & Technical

BOOK: Hard Landing
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56.
Puerto Ricans: Solberg,
Conquest of the Skies
, page 346.
57.
Second only to Coca-Cola: “Pan Am Corp. Will Sell World Services in Attempt to Give Plaskett More Time,” by James T. McKenna,
Aviation Week
, Jan. 23, 1989.
58.
spaceship: “An Airline of Firsts Folds Wings Which Once Sought Moon,” by Asra Q. Nomani,
WSJ
, July 12, 1991.
59.
largest commercial office building: Daley,
An American Saga
, page 440.
60.
“future of mankind”:
Text of Remarks of Participants at Christening Ceremony for Clipper Young America
, Dulles International Airport, Chantilly, Va., Jan. 15, 1970, on file in the Pan Am archives at the University of Miami.
61.
days later in New York: The ill-starred maiden voyage of the 747 is described, among other places, in a variety of articles in
WSJ, NYT
, and
Aviation Week
.
62.
“A dozen bathrooms”: Quoted in “Jumbo and the Gremlins,”
Time
, Feb. 2, 1970.
63.
the orchids … were dead: “The Tardy 747 Debut Makes the Going Grate,” by John Mullane and Doug Ireland,
New York Post
, Jan. 22, 1970.
64.
largest … commercial purchase: Daley,
An American Saga
, page 433.
65.
“smell normal”: “Nation’s Airlines Split Over Youth Fares,” by Ronald G. Shafer,
WSJ
, Dec. 5, 1969.
66.
“the all-steak airline”: Field 1/16/93 interview.
67.
Bloody Mary mix: Serling,
Eagle
, page 377.
68.
ramming them into the wall: Hedges 6/13/94 interview.
69.
Robert D. Timm: “Under New Chief, CAB Bids to Lift Profits of Airlines, Annoying Consumer Advocates,” by Albert R. Karr,
WSJ
, Aug. 7, 1973.
70.
golf junket: The scandal is detailed in “CAB Chief Takes Self Out of Investigation of Nation’s Airlines,”
WSJ
, Aug. 21, 1974; Brown,
The Politics of Airline Deregulation;
and a series of letters between Timm and the Ford White House, published in
Aviation Daily
.
71.
In a burst of reform: Robson’s background and his tenure at the CAB were described in the Robson 1/7/93 interview; in the Cohen 2/16/93 interview; and in numerous articles in
Aviation Daily
.
72.
The Last Hurrah:
“The Move to Airline Deregulation,” by John Robson,
The Bureaucrat
, Summer 1982.
73.
During the evening: These discussions were described in the Cohen 2/16/93 interview.
74.
absolutely no idea: Robson 1/7/93 interview.
75.
fact-finding trip: “CAB Chairman Tours Braniff, TXI Facilities,”
Aviation Daily
, Feb. 2, 1976.

Chapter 2: Cheap Thrills, Low Fares

1.
over cocktails: Southwest Airlines has created an entire mythology about Kelleher’s meeting over cocktails with Rollin King. Kelleher likes to tell people that the meeting occurred in a bar, although he’s not positive that it did. It is a fair bet, however, that alcohol was involved. It’s most likely that Kelleher and King were having cocktails in Kelleher’s office. See “Is Herb Kelleher America’s Best CEO?” by Kenneth Labich,
Fortune
, May 2, 1994.
2.
this particular day: The account of the meeting is based on the Kelleher 10/13/93 interview; the Barron, Barrett, and Parker interviews of 4/26/93; a variety of memorabilia hanging on the wall of Southwest
Airlines headquarters; and “A Boy and His Airline,” by Jan Jarobe,
Texas Monthly
, Apr. 1989.
3.
turboprop airplanes: Southwest’s original business plan contemplated the use of Electras. “A Study of Air Southwest Co.,” by Matthews, Nowlin, MacFarlane & Barrett, Sept. 30, 1967.
4.
Kelleher was bora: The details of Kelleher’s upbringing, education, and early career were described in the Kelleher 10/13/93 interview.
5.
refused to take the shot: This fact, confirmed by Kelleher in the 10/13/93 interview, was reported in Jarobe,
Texas Monthly
, Apr. 1989.
6.
“ancient truth”: “The Great Airline War,” by James Fallows,
Texas Monthly
, Dec. 1975.
7.
split four molars: Kelleher 10/13/93 interview.
8.
“undue prolongation”: Quoted in Fallows,
Texas Monthly
, Dec. 1975.
9.
show those bastards: Kelleher interviews of 10/13/93 and 10/14/94.
10.
cocktail party: Kelleher 10/13/93 interview.
11.
“if the sheriff”: Parker 4/26/93 interview.
12.
congregation in San Antonio: Kelleher 6/14/94 interview.
13.
fill a fogger: Kelleher 10/13/94 interview.
14.
airplane hangar: The anecdotes of Southwest’s slapdash beginnings come from
Twenty Years of Luv
, a video program produced by Southwest.
15.
“Our love service means”:
Ibid
.
16.
“Raquel Welch look-alikes”: Barrett 4/26/93 interview.
17.
shot from behind:
Twenty Years of Luv
.
18.
denied a job: Nielsen,
From Sky Girl to Flight Attendant
, page 8.
19.
“It strikes me”: Quoted in Musbach and Davis,
Flight Attendant
, pages 259-60.
20.
four-page guidebook:
Ibid.
, page 262.
21.
comforting properties: This purported attribute was identified in a court case involving Pan Am. “Court Lets Stand Order That Airlines End Anti-Male Bias in Hiring Cabin Attendants,”
WSJ
, Nov. 10, 1971.
22.
“give-and-take of marriage”: “The Jet Age Stewardess,” unsigned internal article, circa 1960, on file in the archives of American’s corporate communications department.
23.
“want your daughter”: Quoted in “Jets Across the U.S.,”
Time
, Nov. 17, 1958.
24.
alarm system: Serling,
Eagle
, page 284.
25.
demanded comeliness: “Ex-Pilot Bob Six Uses Iron Hand, Tough Talk at Continental Airlines,” by W. Stewart Pinkerton,
WSJ
, June 11, 1970.
26.
Meadows … was responsible: Davies,
Continental Airlines: The First Fifty Years
, page 51.
27.
“really move our tails”: Sexist airline advertising is described in a
WSJ
roundup of July 11, 1974.
28.
“we’ve got you”: Kelleher 10/13/93 interview.
29.
extraordinary proposal: The birth of Southwest’s “10-minute turnarounds” was described in the Barron and Parker interviews of 4/23/93. The particulars of the ground-handling procedures are described in “Southwest Cites Productivity as Key Factor in Profitability,”
Aviation Week
, Feb. 9, 1976.
30.
“brush their hair”:
Aviation Week
, Feb. 9, 1976.
31.
Lamar Muse: Muse’s background is based on, among other sources, Larry D. Sall, “Marion Lamar Muse,” in
Encyclopedia of American Business History and Biography
.
32.
bothered him: Barron 4/26/93 interview; Kelleher 10/14/93 interview.
33.
“chicken coop”: Testimony of Charles Murphy, executive director, Texas Aeronautics Commission, U.S. Senate, Subcommittee on Administrative Practice and Procedure,
Oversight of Civil Aeronautics Board Practices and Procedures
, Feb. 14, 1975.
34.
In addition to matching: Parker and Barrett 4/26/93 interviews; Kelleher 10/14/93 interview; Fallows,
Texas Monthly
, Dec. 1975.
35.
Chivas Regal distributor: Sall, “Marion Lamar Muse.”
36.
first employee-owned airline: Kelleher 10/14/93 interview.
37.
beauty parlor: The business background of Lorenzo’s family was described by Bakes, Burr, O’Donnell, and other people who worked closely with Lorenzo over the years.
38.
walls of his bedroom: “Top Gun,” by William P. Barrett,
Texas Monthly
, Mar. 1987. Other published accounts of Lorenzo’s early years include “TWA’s Rescuer Is a Street Fighter,” by James R. Norman,
BW
, July 1, 1985; and “Take-Off for Texas?”
Dun’s
, Oct. 1972. A number of details of Lorenzo’s life were also obtained from people who were close to him.
39.
buying airline shares: Norman,
BW
, July 1, 1985.
40.
Frankie Smooth Talk: Barrett,
Texas Monthly
, Mar. 1987.
41.
gentile fraternities: “Sophomore Elections Conspiracy: Decline and Fall of a Machine,” by Arnold Abrams,
Columbia Daily Spectator
, May 1, 1959.
42.
“discussed … voting twice”:
Ibid
.
43.
biographies of … Carnegie: Barrett,
Texas Monthly
, Mar. 1987.
44.
Lorenzo, Carney: Lorenzo’s early ventures were described by a number of former associates and detailed in a Jet Capital amendment to
Form S-2, filed with the SEC on Nov. 19, 1969, and in a Jet Capital prospectus dated Jan. 22, 1970.
45.
flew to New Orleans: Burr 9/16/93 interview.
46.
approached by Bob Carney:
Ibid
.
47.
fly over Mount Whitney:
Ibid
.
48.
gin-and-cigar junket:
Ibid
.
49.
Shares of Jet Capital: Lorenzo and Carney’s machinations with Jet Capital are described in Jet Capital’s Jan. 22, 1970, prospectus, as well as in a number of earlier and later filings that survive on microfiche at the SEC.
50.
flash money: Jet Capital Jan. 22, 1970, prospectus.
51.
Then one day: Lorenzo described his thought process in “Take-Off for Texas?”
Dun’s
, Oct. 1972.
52.
Mohawk … was the first: “Mohawk Airlines,” by William M. Leary, in
Encyclopedia of American Business History and Biography
.
53.
Lorenzo met with … Peach: The account of Lorenzo’s dealings with Mohawk and the sale to Allegheny is based on the Murray 9/4/93 interview and on interviews with other participants and eyewitnesses.
54.
killed himself: Leary, “Robert E. Peach,”
Encyclopedia of American Business History and Biography
. The fact of Lorenzo’s lunch date was confirmed by two close friends of Lorenzo.
55.
Vietnam troop buildup: Higgins 6/8/94 interview. Higgins piloted Trans-Texas DC-3S in the troop movements.
56.
Burr had an idea: Burr 9/16/93 interview.
57.
prescription … urged: The account of Texas International’s restructuring, including Jet Capital’s ownership arrangements and the contest with Hughes, were described by a number of participants and observers and detailed in a collection of decisions and exhibits filed as a CAB proceeding,
Control of Texas International Airlines
, 60 C.A.B. 20, decided Aug. 9, 1972. Additional details were obtained from Jet Capital’s 10-K report for 1971.
58.
The board … looked warily: CAB,
Control of Texas International
.
59.
Kelleher showed up: Kelleher 6/14/94 interview.
60.
hog-tied … with conflicts of interest: CAB,
Control of Texas International
.
61.
a proud moment: Lorenzo’s pride in his defeat of Howard Hughes was described by an eyewitness.
62.
youngest president:
Dun’s
, Oct. 1972.
63.
Burr had passion: Burr’s background and character are based principally on interviews with him and with many people who worked with him, including Bakes, Murray, Gitner, Dawsey, O’Donnell, Plaskett, Sullivan, and Lavender. Burr made a number of revealing comments about
himself in speeches and interviews with others, including on a privately produced videotape,
The People Remembered
, by JR Productions; “Bitter Victories,” an interview with Burr by George Gendron,
Inc.
, Aug. 1985; and “A Conversation with Don Burr,”
Scorecard: The Revenue Management Quarterly
, Fourth Quarter 1992. Burr has additionally been the subject of many in-depth profiles, the best of which include “Rapid Ascent: People Express Flies into Airlines’ Big Time in Just Three Years Aloft,” by William M. Carley,
WSJ
, Mar. 30, 1984; “That Daring Young Man and His Flying Machines,” by Lucien Rhodes,
Inc.
, Jan. 1984; and “A Yankee Preacher in the Pilot’s Seat,” by Stephen Koepp and Frederick Ungeheuer,
Time
, Jan. 13, 1986.

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