Hard Landing (92 page)

115.
“outstanding job”: Quoted in “Ruling Lorenzo Team ‘Incompetent,’ Judge Orders Trustee to Run Eastern,” by James T. McKenna,
Aviation Week
, Apr. 23, 1990.

116.
“issue in reality”: “Examiner’s Analysis,” Mar. 1, 1990.

117.
burned up $1.2 billion: Cited in “Answer of the Air Line Pilots Association,” Apr. 26, 1993.

118.
pay phone: Bakes 6/16/94 interview.

119.
establishing a foothold: SAS had previously purchased an interest in Texas Air and established a joint marketing arrangement with Continental.

120.
once reckoned: Murray 9/4/93 interview.

121.
Texas Air joined Continental: By the time it had filed for bankruptcy, Texas Air has been renamed Continental Airlines Holdings, Inc.

122.
“We can say to them”: Crandall videotaped presentation to new captains,
Facing Crucial Issues
, Mar. 15, 1994. When passenger demand is strong and flights are selling out, American has the power to restrict the assignment of seats. Favored travel agencies can be rewarded with special treatment at such times.

Chapter 16: “To Fly, to Serve”

1.
remained decidedly imperial: “Nostalgia Is Not What It Was!” by Capt. Laurie Taylor,
Air Line Pilot
, Nov. 1992.

2.
separate computer … system: A. Reed,
Airline
, page 134.

3.
gentleman’s airline: A. Reed,
Airline;
Campbell-Smith,
The British Airways Story
.

4.
“management by consent”: Wheatcroft 2/24/94 interview.

5.
a drab, depressing place: Marshall 3/1/94 interview.

6.
sailed 21 voyages: Campbell-Smith,
The British Airways Story
, page 82.

7.
as he would later suggest: Interview with Marshall in
BA News
, Jan. 21, 1983.

8.
then in Toronto: Marshall’s titles and assignments through the years are drawn in part from the British
Who’s Who
, published by A&C Black, London.

9.
a pan-European market: Marshall’s view of Hertz’s evolving European market was described by Frank Olson, who ultimately became the chairman of Hertz, as well as by Marshall himself. Olson 6/28/94 interview; Marshall 3/1/94 interview.

10.
“fiefdoms”: Marshall 3/1/94 interview. Marshall also discussed his Hertz years in “Managing Across Borders,” by Joan M. Feldman,
Air Transport World
, June 1, 1992.

11.
get lost: Marshall 3/1/94 interview.

12.
barely a dozen: Marshall 3/1/94 interview.

13.
dirty knuckles: James 6/20/94 interview.

14.
free cars: This and other questionable practices are detailed in an amendment to a Form S-8 registration statement filed by Avis, Inc., with the SEC in Nov. 1976.

15.
“a paste jewel”: James 6/20/94 interview.

16.
secret file: James 7/1/94 interview.

17.
“ambition was tickled”: Morrow 3/7/94 interview.

18.
“improper” … payments: Details of the audit committee report to the SEC are included in the amendment to Avis’s SEC Form S-8.

19.
attention of the SEC: The existence of an investigation by the SEC was confirmed by the SEC in a response dated Sept. 6, 1994, to a Freedom of Information Act request submitted for this book. In addition, the fact of the investigation was reported in “Avis Inc. Discloses $470,958 Payment Studied by the SEC,”
WSJ
, May 3, 1977. Marshall, in the 3/1/94 interview, said, “I don’t recall an SEC investigation.” He subsequently declined to discuss the matter whatsoever. Morrow discussed the payment in the 3/7/94 interview. Additional details are reported in the amendment to Avis’s SEC Form S-8. The Italian tax payment was first publicly revealed in “Audit Aftermath: Avis’s Payoff Inquiry Has a Lingering Effect as Questions Remain,” by Priscilla S. Meyer,
WSJ
, Mar. 15, 1977.

20.
reached any government officials: Amendment to Avis’s SEC Form S-8.

21.
“confidence in Mr. Marshall”: “Avis’s Trustee Endorsed President, Chief Officer,”
WSJ
, Mar. 28, 1977.

22.
“deep odor”: Morrow 3/7/94 interview.

23.
prosaic brands: Marshall 3/22/94 interview.

24.
complaining to others: Olson 7/11/94 interview.

25.
Gravely unhappy:
Ibid
.

26.
“like to be the chairman”: Marshall 3/1/94 interview.

27.
time traveling:
BA News
, Jan. 21, 1983.

28.
When his old boss at Avis … heard: Morrow 3/7/94 interview.

29.
vaguely noble: Campbell-Smith,
The British Airways Story
, page 25.

30.
hunted in Leicestershire: “Co-Pilots on a Private Flight,” by Arthur Reed,
Industry Week
, Jan. 23, 1984.

31.
attacked … with abandon: A. Reed,
Airline
, pages 40-41.

32.
like an archaeologist: The description of Marshall’s state of mind as he joined British Air is based on interviews with Marshall; on the text of the Royal Aeronautical Society R. J. Mitchell Lecture given by Marshall on Mar. 4, 1992; on an account written by Marshall and published in
NYT
on Sept. 19, 1988; and on extensive comments by Marshall in Corke,
British Airways: The Path to Profitability
.

33.
internal politics: Marshall,
Times
, Sept. 19, 1988.

34.
“morale outweighs matériel”:
Ibid
.

35.
“Putting People First”: The courses were described in interviews with Marshall and other British Air employees; various editions of
BA News;
and Corke,
British Airways
, pages 113-16.

36.
groaning and shrugging: Marshall 3/1/94 interview.

37.
“there will be a businessman”: Comments of Dr. Nick Georgiades, British Air’s director of human resources, in Corke,
British Airways
, page 114.

38.
“Caledonian girls”: Coltman 3/17/94 interview.

39.
emphasis … on youth: Campbell-Smith,
The British Airways Story
, page 148.

40.
requirements … were reduced: A. Reed,
Airline
, page 80.

41.
“grooming room”:
BA News
, June 22, 1984.

42.
“look right”:
Ibid
.

43.
“warmth of the welcome”: Quoted in Sampson,
Empires of the Sky
, page 281.

44.
same design firm: James 6/20/94 interview.

45.
horrible and garish: “British Pride Hurt in BA’s Color Change,”
Airline Executive
, Jan. 1985.

46.
Marshall instructed: Marshall 3/22/94 interview.

47.
would be three classes: Detailed in Batt 3/2/94 interview.

48.
British Airways suffered: The account of terrorism’s cost to British Air and the company’s marketing response is based on Harvard Business School Case No. 9-589-089, as well as on interviews with company officials and contemporaneous press coverage.

49.
American behavior: Marshall 8/31/94 interview.

50.
15 percent more revenue: Batt 3/2/94 interview.

51.
American picked up: American had also briefly served Europe in the C. R. Smith era. The evolution of American’s international strategy was detailed in interviews with Crandall, Carty, Olsen, and G. Arpey, and is described in “Competitive Anger” by Suzanne Loeffelholz,
Financial World
, Jan. 10, 1989.

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
.