Hard Landing (90 page)

56.
stink lines: O’Donnell 6/9/94 interview.

57.
elderly woman had clunked: “Bumpy Flights: Many Travelers Gripe About People Express, Citing Overbooking,” by William M. Carley,
WSJ
, May 19, 1986.

58.
grew tardy: Dempsey,
Airline Deregulation
, page 83.

59.
Death Star: Burr 9/17/93 interview.

60.
“my children”:
Ibid
.

61.
“fucking minds”:
Ibid
.

62.
“I kept this”: Burr 9/16/93 interview.

63.
a go-between: “People Is Still Carrying Some Heavy Baggage,” by Chuck Hawkins,
BW
, July 28, 1986.

64.
titanic egos:
ibid
.

65.
“a final salute”: Reed 9/16/94 interview.

66.
“bittersweet moment”: “Texas Air Corp. Agrees to Buy People Express,” by William M. Carley, Teri Agins, and Daniel Hertzberg,
WSJ
, Sept. 16, 1986.

67.
flipped on: Burr 9/17/93 interview.

68.
they argued: Burr 9/16/93 and 9/17/93 interviews.

Chapter 13: The Southwest Shuffle

1.
Consultants and academics: Barron 4/26/93 interview.

2.
“Kelleher’s bullshit”: Bakes 4/23/93 interview.

3.
resolved to strike west: Southwest’s strategy is detailed, among other places, in “Flying on the Cheap: Southwest Airlines Is a Rare Air Carrier—It Still Makes Money,” by Bridget O’Brian,
WSJ
, Oct. 26, 1992; “A Boy and His Airline,” by Jan Jarobe,
Texas Monthly
, Apr. 1989; and “Changing Fortunes of a Dallas Star,” by Harold Shenton,
Avmark Aviation Economist
, Aug. 1987.

4.
He boned up: Kelleher 10/14/93 interview.

5.
“Those were the rules”:
Ibid
.

6.
visiting his daughter:
Ibid
.

7.
austerity program: “Southwest Airlines to Drop Flights, Limit Hiring to Cut Costs,”
WSJ
, July 23, 1984.

8.
dilute the purity: Barrett 4/26/93 interview.

9.
“involved in a crusade”: Kelleher 10/14/93 interview.

10.
screening procedure: The description of Southwest’s hiring procedures is based in part on the Barrett and Barron 4/26/93 interviews as well as on information from lower-level Southwest employees.

11.
every employee’s paycheck: Kelleher, “Life as an Airline Commissioner,” Address to National Press Club, Washington, D.C., June 8, 1994.

12.
William Tell Overture:
“Air Chortle Is Now Boarding,” by Adam Bryant,
NYT
, Oct. 2, 1994.

13.
leprechaun costumes: Jarobe,
Texas Monthly
, Apr. 1989.

14.
McGregor … encountered Kelleher: McGregor 6/10/94 interview.

15.
Kelleher’s own office: Kelleher 10/14/93 interview.

16.
different wall: Ed Stewart, Southwest public relations official.

17.
48,860 pairs: Brenner,
Analysis of Airline Concentration Issue
, July 1990.

18.
“whale shit”: Barrett 4/26/93 interview; Jarobe,
Texas Monthly
, Apr. 1989.

19.
“growing disadvantage”: “Southwest Air Is Facing Challenge of Its Making,” by Ralph Blumenthal,
NYT
, Mar. 17, 1986.

20.
“American now has fares”: Kelleher interviews of 10/14/93 and 6/14/94.

21.
office on Fridays: “These Two Airlines Are Doing It Their Way,” by Joseph Weber,
BW
, Sept. 21, 1987.

22.
“I’m immortal”: Quoted in O’Brian,
WSJ
, Oct. 26, 1992.

23.
“lost my color”: Kelleher made the comment during a cocktail party in front of a
60 Minutes
camera.

24.
“battle … is essentially over”: Airline Economics, Inc., “Airline. Consolidation: Where It Stands, What’s to Come,” 1987.

25.
“kill him”: Kelleher 10/14/93 interview.

26.
“You’re too young”:
Ibid
.

27.
say “up yours”: Kelleher 6/14/94 interview.

28.
“Dr. Ruth spoof”: Quoted in Jarobe,
Texas Monthly
, Apr. 1989.

Chapter 14: Operation Stealthco

1.
day of fishing: Reed 9/16/94 interview.

2.
“Being second”:
Ibid
.

3.
some of Crandall’s people: Gunn 4/28/93 interview.

4.
“to my grave”: Ferris 5/27/93 interview.

5.
glass of gin: Reed 5/31/94 and 6/1/94 interviews.

6.
no reason to doubt: Ferris 5/27/93 interview.

7.
“pass the dividend”: Luce 8/26/93 interview.

8.
“when does
management”: Ibid
.

9.
withholding the name:
Ibid
.

10.
favorite color: Ferris 5/28/93 interview.

11.
Linked by satellite: “United Air’s Parent Flies off Handle at Its PR Concern,” by Michael J. McCarthy,
WSJ
, Feb. 19, 1987.

12.
“It’s a name”: Quoted in
Ibid
.

13.
Egregious Corporation: “How Dick Ferris Blew It,” by Kenneth Labich,
Fortune
, July 7, 1987.

14.
glasses of wine: ALPA’s takeover effort is intricately detailed in “Revolt at Allegis: How Labor and Wall Street Stopped Ferris,” by Mark Hornung,
Crain’s Chicago Business
, Nov. 30, 1987.

15.
“new toy”: Roger Hall, “History of the ESOP,” in May 1994 newsletter of ALPA’s United affiliate.

16.
hired help: Rick Dubinsky, speech before the Harvard Trade Union Program, Feb. 28, 1991.

17.
an also-ran: Interview with Rick Dubinsky by Richard Rolfe,
Airline Business
, Dec. 1989.

18.
Eastern unions … provided: Hall, May 1994 newsletter.

19.
“buy our jobs”: Rolfe,
Airline Business
, Dec. 1989.

20.
Operation Stealthco: “United Airlines Pilot F. C. Dubinsky Flies Unfriendly Skies in Buyout Effort,” by Judith Valente,
WSJ
, Apr. 8, 1987; “How Labor, Wall Street, Changed Allegis’s Course,” by Robert Kearns,
Chicago Tribune
, Sept. 21, 1987.

21.
flying to Des Moines: Ferris 5/27/93 interview.

22.
three-page letter: Kearns,
Chicago Tribune
, Sept. 21, 1987.

23.
“chain reaction”: “Cloudy Skies: Rising UAL Turmoil Threatens Ferris’s Job as the Chief Executive,” by Judith Valente, John Koten, and Scott Kilman,
WSJ
, Apr. 17, 1987.

24.
“in jeopardy”:
Ibid
.

25.
Luce was horrified: Luce 8/26/93 interview.

26.
community of interests: “Coniston to Seek Control of Allegis Board, Says It Would Sell All or Part of Concern,” by Laurie P. Cohen and Judith Valente,
WSJ
, May 27, 1987.

27.
must not divide: Luce 8/26/93 interview.

28.
drafted a response:
Ibid
.

29.
“anti-management bias”: Charles F. Luce, “UAL Board Backs Chairman,” letter to the editor,
WSJ
, Apr. 20, 1987.

30.
Boeing now had two thirds: “Boeing’s Roll to Continue, Analysts Agree,” by Mark Lyon,
Airline Executive
, Dec. 1986.

31.
clinch its standing: “Boeing’s Accord with Allegis Reflects Stiff Competition Among Aircraft Firms,” by Eileen White,
WSJ
, May 14, 1987.

32.
“Coniston Schmoniston”: Ferris 5/27/93 interview.

33.
Allegis Visa card: Kearns,
Chicago Tribune
, Sept. 21, 1987.

34.
under advisement: “Canceled Flight: Allegis Shakeup Came as Shareholder Ire Put Board Tenure in Doubt,” by Judith Valente, Laurie P. Cohen, and Scott Kilman,
WSJ
, June 11, 1987.

35.
win a proxy fight:
Ibid
.

36.
“sell something”: Olson 6/28/94 interview.

37.
“own the company”: Hornung,
Crain’s Chicago Business
, Nov. 30, 1987.

38.
“Don’t worry”: Luce 8/26/93 interview.

39.
“lost our confidence”: Quoted in “Allegis Considers Raising Payout Offer in Wake of Pilots’ Proposal,” by Judith Valente and Laurie P. Cohen,
WSJ
, June 8, 1987.

40.
Cooley … agreed: Luce 8/26/93 interview.

41.
“alternative to Dick”: Olson 6/28/94 interview; Luce 8/26/93 interview.

42.
“If you don’t”: Olson 6/28/94 interview.

43.
“principal motivation”: Luce 8/26/93 interview.

44.
“getting weird”:
Ibid
.

45.
“my friend”: Olson 6/28/94 interview.

46.
“best interests”: Luce 8/26/93 interview.

47.
McGillicuddy … suggested:
Ibid
.

48.
“there’s no point”:
Ibid
.

49.
“You got it”: Ferris 5/27/93 interview.

50.
“big bad wolf”: Lum 6/7/94 interview.

51.
fabulously lucrative: Olson 6/28/94 interview.

52.
Teton Valley: Reed 6/1/94 interview.

53.
“human being”:
Ibid
.

54.
more than $4 million: The company paid Ferris a settlement equal to his salary of $650,000 over five years, plus $792,640 in stock-option profits. Allegis Corp. proxy statement, Apr. 27, 1988.

Chapter 15: Fly Now, Pay Later

1.
feeder airlines: “The New 20,000-Pound Gorilla,” by Alison Chambers,
Commuter World
, Dec. 1987.

2.
17,000 … terminals: Lee Howard, “The Changing U.S. Airline Picture,” presentation to
The Future of Aviation
, Fifth International Workshop, National Academy of Sciences, Oct. 6-8, 1987.

3.
assembled with debt: Statistics on the magnitude of Texas Air’s debt are taken from “House of Mirrors: Lorenzo’s Texas Air Keeps Collecting Fees from Its Ailing Units,” by Thomas Petzinger, Jr., and Paulette Thomas,
WSJ
, Apr. 7, 1988.

4.
“merger escapades”: Robert Crandall, American Airlines, address to Fall Planning Conference, 1986.

5.
“legalized warfare”: Plaskett, American Airlines, address to Fall Planning Conference, 1986.

6.
into a mausoleum: Bakes 6/16/94 interview.

7.
revitalization plan: Bakes 9/7/93 interview.

8.
“one-trick pony”:
Ibid
.

9.
“a cancer”: “Texas Air Demands Deep Cost Cuts at Eastern,” by Paulette Thomas,
WSJ
, Jan. 22, 1989.

10.
“a nonissue”:
Ibid
.

11.
“Weapons formed”: A transcript of Bryan’s comments at the rally was published in the IAM District 100 newsletter of Jan. 12, 1987. The exact King James scripture is, “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper.” Isaiah 54:17.

12.
company ID badge: Letter from John Adams to Charles E. Bryan, Eastern Air Lines, Jan. 13, 1987; memo from A. M. Shade-Griffith to security officers, Jan. 13, 1987.

13.
“public soap operas”: Adams to Bryan, Jan. 13, 1987.

14.
“white paper”: Reggi Ann Dubin Associates,
The IAM: Another Look
, Mar. 1, 1988.

15.
“false pretenses”: Memo to Clark Onstad, Texas Air Corp., from Reggi Ann Dubin, Mar. 1, 1988.

16.
“never tells one person”: Murray 9/4/93 interview.

17.
“If we can’t cut”: Quoted in Bernstein,
Grounded
, page 59.

18.
simply stopped coming: Magurno 3/11/94 interview; Bakes 7/16/94 interview.