Hard Landing (94 page)

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.

15.
maintenance facility: D. Reed,
American Eagle
, pages 235-36.

16.
Clinton campaign: Address by Stephen Wolf to United pilots and flight attendants, Marriott Hotel, Dulles International Airport, Mar. 12, 1993.

17.
“bargaining chip”: Marshall 8/31/94 interview.

18.
Lord King convened: Lord King’s downfall is detailed in “King’s Last Days,” by Nick Rufford, David Leppard, and John Harlow,
Times
, Feb. 28, 1993, and Gregory,
Dirty Tricks, passim
.

19.
Princess of Wales: A photograph of the note appears in
ibid
.

20.
signed a statement:
Ibid.
, page 350.

21.
ninth wealthiest person: “High Flier: Adventure Capitalist Is Nipping at the Tail of Big British Airways,” by Ken Wells,
WSJ
, May 22, 1992.

22.
“People keep saying”: Branson 3/1/94 interview.

23.
28th busiest: “The State Bird of Texas,” by Thomas G. Donlan,
Barron’s
, Oct. 19, 1992.

24.
Spiegel … established: “Business Soars Where Airline Flies,” by Del Jones,
USA Today
, Sept. 17, 1993.

25.
friends nowadays preferred: Coltman 3/17/94 interview.

26.
“just unbelievable”: Roger Hall, “History of the ESOP,”
The Leading Edge
, UAL-MEC, May 1994.

27.
Wolf sent spies: Wolf speech, Dulles International Airport, Mar. 12, 1993.

28.
cultural change: Wolf 7/21/93 interview.

29.
called together the … unions: Preliminary Prospectus, UAL Corp., June 1994.

30.
“Downsizing … means war”: Hall,
Leading Edge
, May 1994.

31.
“You’ve never been”:
Ibid
.

32.
crew base in Miami: Lum 7/7/94 interview.

33.
“canned act”:
Ibid
.

34.
ultimately voted against: Olson 7/11/94 interview; Preliminary Prospectus, June 1994.

35.
bone up: Wolf 8/25/94 interview.

36.
“I accept it”:
Ibid
.

37.
in Barbados: “Course Correction: Tired of Airline Losses, AMR Pushes Its Bid to Diversify Business,” by Bridget O’Brian,
WSJ
, Feb. 18, 1993.

38.
“will not yield”: transcript of question-and-answer period, Crandall speech to American Airlines Management Club, Jan. 28, 1986. Crandall made the point in equally strong terms in “The Volatile Airline Industry,” speech to Economic Club of Detroit, Feb. 23, 1987.

39.
“out the window”: Crandall 4/23/93 interview.

40.
“radical thinking”: Amster 4/29/93 interview.

41.
answers that came back: The results of the marketing studies conducted at American in the summer and fall of 1991 were described in interviews with American executives, as well as in speeches by Crandall, published interview comments, and a series of papers, entitled “Critical Issues,” prepared for American employees in 1992.

42.
pricing at Southwest: American itself acknowledged this point in “Joint Statement of Issues,”
Continental
v.
American
, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Case No. G-92-259, Feb. 8, 1993.

43.
$20 million: “American Airlines Flies with Value Strategy,” by Jennifer Lawrence,
Ad Age
, Apr. 27, 1992.

44.
scheduled into the studio: “Airlines’ Ad Spending Takes Off, But It May Be Just a Short Flight,” by Joanne Lipman,
WSJ
, April 21, 1992.

45.
on his treadmill: Crandall 4/23/93 interview.

46.
Amster was in Europe: Amster 4/29/92 interview.

47.
handled a record: AT&T 1992 Annual Report.

48.
drove to the airport: “Flying Low: Simplifying Their Fares Proves More Difficult Than Airlines Expected,” by Bridget O’Brian and James S. Hirsch,
WSJ
, June 4, 1992.

49.
help Washington understand: Kelleher 6/14/94 interview.

50.
100 city pairs: Michael Gunn, presentation to managers, American Airlines, Oct. 5, 1993.

51.
“normal profit motive”: Simat, Helliesen & Eichner, Inc.,
Review of AMR Transition Plan
, July 27, 1993.

52.
“never see me”: Crandall, videotaped presentation to new captains,
Facing Crucial Issues
, Feb. 22, 1994.

53.
“less than a mail carrier”: Pamphlet by Association of Professional Flight Attendants, Euless, Texas, Aug. 1993.

54.
abusive husband: “Coffee, Tea, and Solidarity,” by Judy Mann,
Washington Post
, Nov. 26, 1993.

55.
“regularly polled”: Crandall 6/13/94 interview.

56.
“supercharge”: Baker 6/10/94 interview.

57.
own labor negotiators:
Ibid
.

58.
“lied to us”: Edwards 6/13/94 interview.

59.
“strike was a tragedy”: Crandall, “President’s Conference,” Mar. 2, 1994.

60.
most often watching: Gunn 9/1/93 interview.

61.
Kelleher’s net worth: Southwest’s May 18, 1995, proxy statement lists Kelleher’s stock and option holdings at 2,758,268 shares.

Postscript: Magic Act

1.
uncanny resemblance: I am grateful to Jim O’Donnell for this analogy.

2.
moviegoing stimulates: “The Twain Shall Meet,” by Paul Klebnikov,
Forbes
, Feb. 27, 1995.

3.
promote air travel: Carty 4/22/93 interview.

4.
11 percent: Michael Gunn, videotaped presentation to management conference, American Airlines, Irving, Texas, Oct. 5, 1993.

5.
“monster jets”: “Monster Jets Are Coming!”
Weekly Reader
, Sept. 11, 1992.

6.
“fire Orville”: Quoted in “Kelleher Mixes Wit, Wisdom,” by Del Jones,
USA Today
, June 8, 1994.

7.
with galleys and lavatories: “You Can Look but You Can’t Touch,” by Fred Reed,
Air & Space
, Apr./May 1994.

8.
two inches narrower: Demonstration for the author at the British Airways Cabin Service Development Center, Mar. 2, 1994.

9.
$182 million: “Tracking Travel,” by Daniel Pearl,
WSJ
, May 3, 1994.

10.
“fantasies of childhood”: “Coming Home,” by Joyce Carol Oates,
USAir Magazine
, May 1995.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books

Allen, Oliver E.
The Airline Builders
. Alexandria, Va.: Time-Life Books, 1981.

Bashe, Charles J., Lyle R. Johnson, John H. Palmer, and Emerson W. Pugh.
IBM’s Early Computers
. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1986.

Banks, Howard.
The Rise and Fall of Freddie Laker
. London: Faber and Faber, 1982.

Bender, Marilyn.
At the Top
. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1975.

Bender, Marilyn, and Selig Altschul.
The Chosen Instrument
. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1982.

Bernardo, James V.
Aviation in the Modern World
New York: E. P. Dutton, 1960.

Bernstein, Aaron.
Grounded: Frank Lorenzo and the Destruction of Eastern Airlines
. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1990.

Boase, Wendy.
The Sky’s the Limit: Women Pioneers in Aviation
. New York: Macmillan, 1979.

Borman, Frank, with Robert J. Serling.
Countdown: An Autobiography
. New York: William Morrow, 1988.

Braybrook, Roy.
Pocket Book of Aircraft
. London: Kingfisher Books, 1985.

Breyer, Stephen.
Regulation and Its Reform
. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1982.

Brown, Anthony E.
The Politics of Airline Deregulation
. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1987.