Hard Landing (93 page)

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: I
bid
.

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 Laurie 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
.