Attention All Passengers (35 page)

Lorenzo, Frank, 133–34

Lufthansa, 116, 273, 276, 296–97

Lund, Mark, 191–92

McCain, John, 75–76

McCaskill, Claire, 196–97

McCullough, Bernadette, 61–62

McKenzie, Dan, 64–65, 130

MacLean, Robert, 262–63

MacLeod, Sarah, 183, 186

McMullin, Dianne, 245

maintenance, 1, 42, 54–56, 135, 169–97, 248

crashes and, 169–72, 175–76, 184, 188, 215–16, 220, 295

media and, 170, 176–77, 182, 186, 212, 220, 288, 290–91

outsourcing of, 5–6, 23, 44, 55, 73–75, 110–13, 118–19, 122, 133–34, 141, 164, 169–80, 182–97, 208–11, 218, 220, 229, 265–67, 287–88, 291, 307, 311

regional airlines and, 139, 160, 166, 176

safety and, 8, 74, 110, 171, 173, 182, 184, 186–89, 193, 201, 208–11, 215–20, 229, 291

Mann, Bob, 38, 123, 146, 150, 276

Marcus, Jeff, 202, 205

Marshall, Nora, 238–39, 243

media, 67–68, 76, 82, 84, 285–303

airfares and, 80–81, 293

air traffic control and, 277–78

business journalism in, 290–92

carbon emissions and, 274, 283, 288

crashes and, 200, 215–16, 220, 235–36, 289–90, 298, 302

deregulation and, 45–47, 299

ethics in, 300–301

maintenance and, 170, 176–77, 182, 186, 212, 220, 288, 290–91

nonprofit, 299–300

outsourcing and, 170, 176–77, 186, 220, 288–89, 291

safety and, 209, 212, 215–16, 219, 226, 229, 246, 288–89, 291, 293, 295, 302–3

security and, 252, 255, 257, 260, 262–63, 288

spoon-fed news in, 292–95

tarmac delays and, 36–37

wining and dining of, 295–300

Mesa Airlines, 153, 161–62, 171, 315–16

Mesaba Airlines, 140, 147, 163, 315

Mews, Lamar, 46

Mica, John L., 126–27, 261, 270

Midwest Airlines, 14–15, 64, 176

Mikkelson, Dawn, 113, 291

Mitchell, Kevin, 6–7, 51, 98, 174, 232, 287

Moore, Chris, 184, 208

Moss, Diana, 46, 66–67

Mueller, Brad, 195

Mueller, Scott, 14–16

Nachtomi, Morris, 250–51

Nader, Ralph, 25–26, 48, 74, 133–34, 210–11, 259, 264, 312

Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen), 277–78, 311

Nield, Jeff, 280

Northwest Airlines (NWA), 49, 73, 78, 83, 144–45, 296–97

employees and, 135–36, 265, 290–91

maintenance of, 174, 190–93, 195, 208, 265–66, 290–91

in mergers and acquisitions, 64, 67, 69, 136, 190, 192

outsourcing of, 191–93, 208, 265–66

Obama, Barack, 41, 43, 73–75, 165, 212, 273

employees and, 120, 126–27, 129

Oberstar, James, 44, 67

O'Leary, Michael, 95

Oster, Clinton V., Jr., 78, 80

outsourcing, 33–35, 42–44, 51, 61

crashes and, 169–71, 188

employees and, 16, 74–75, 110–23, 128–29, 131, 133–34, 136–38, 172–73, 176–77, 183–84, 187–88, 194, 196, 208–9, 265, 307–9

of maintenance, 5–6, 23, 44, 55, 73–75, 110–13, 118–19, 122, 133–34, 141, 164, 169–80, 182–97, 208–11, 218, 220, 229, 265–67, 287–88, 291, 307, 311

media and, 170, 176–77, 186, 220, 288–89, 291

regional airlines and, 23, 139, 141, 146–48, 155–56, 158, 164

safety and, 43, 74, 110, 120, 182, 186–88, 193, 208–11, 218, 220, 229, 309

security and, 256, 265–67

overbooking, 24–25, 39, 91, 152–53, 312

Pan Am, 2, 4, 27, 32, 38, 45, 54, 107, 121, 145, 158, 289–90, 305

employees and, 108–9, 131–32

mergers and, 63–64

safety and, 204–5

shutdown of, 52, 58

Parker, W. Douglas, 124

passenger loads, 22–26, 29, 31–32, 64, 102, 104, 246, 305

bankruptcies and, 59–60

deregulation and, 43, 47, 49

passenger rights, 75–76, 267, 287, 302, 312

LaHood and, 41–42, 75, 307

tarmac delays and, 36–38

passengers, 3–5, 20, 24–28, 30–39, 83–85, 103, 189, 309–11

airfares and, 3, 80, 87–89, 94–98

airline consolidation and, 62, 68

airline lobbying and, 72–73

amenities for, 3, 32, 47, 148, 153–55

baggage and, 11, 13–19, 33–34

carbon emissions and, 282–83

codesharing and, 82–83

crashes and, 141–44, 200, 224, 232, 235, 241–42, 244–45

deregulation and, 47–48, 50–51

employees and, 110–11, 119–22, 129, 133, 135, 137

media and, 287–88, 290–91, 293, 302

outsourcing and, 118–21, 137, 172–73, 176, 186, 193

poaching of, 77–78, 149

regional airlines and, 139–44, 146, 148–53, 157–58, 164

safety and, 197, 200, 209, 216–17, 225, 227, 229, 232, 237–39, 244–46

seating and, 25–28

security and, 252–54, 256–61, 263, 267

tarmac delays and, 36–39, 293, 302

terrorism and, 250–51

see also
customer service

Perkins, Ed, 44

Petersen, Randy, 101

Peterson, Barbara, 260

pilots, 1, 30, 42, 79, 246–47

crashes and, 137, 142–43, 207, 235, 238, 241, 264

incomes of, 123, 128, 132, 138, 143, 162–63

labor relations and, 130–32, 134–35

maintenance and, 172, 186, 217

regional airlines and, 123, 138, 142–43, 145, 160–63, 165–66

safety and, 201–5, 207–8, 211, 217, 241, 244, 246

training of, 137–38, 143, 145, 161, 165–66, 207, 217, 265

Pinnacle Airlines, 144, 147, 161, 163, 315

Pistole, John, 253, 263

Post, Peggy, 32, 121

Putnam, Carleton, 109–10

Putnam, Howard, 31, 59, 71, 79

Raytheon Aerospace, 169–71

Reagan, Ronald, 8, 75, 125–26, 197

regional airlines, 5–6, 42, 46, 65, 138–67, 176, 288, 315–16

carbon emissions and, 148, 158–59, 271

codesharing and, 81–82, 139–40, 144, 150–52, 161, 165

congestion issues and, 156–58

crashes of, 123, 141–45, 150–52, 160–63, 165–67

customer service and, 148, 152–55, 164–65

employees and, 122–23, 138, 140, 142–43, 153, 160–65, 311

outsourcing and, 23, 139, 141, 146–48, 155–56, 158, 164

safety and, 140, 142, 145–46, 148, 150–52, 154, 160–67, 199

transparency issue and, 148–52, 165

regulation, 4–5, 7, 11, 21, 36, 38, 45–46, 49–50, 65–66, 75, 81, 98, 254, 307–11, 313

carbon emissions and, 269, 280–82

crashes and, 142–43, 170, 200

maintenance and, 54, 170, 173, 177–78, 183

regional airlines and, 139, 142–43, 157, 160, 165–66, 311

reregulation and, 52–55, 58, 196, 309–10

safety and, 197, 206–7, 210–14, 219, 225

Republic Airways, 36, 64, 69, 84, 124, 147, 161, 271, 315–16

reservations systems, 54, 79–80, 88, 91, 119

Rickenbacker, Eddie, 25

Roach, Robert, 51, 54, 135–37

Rockefeller, Jay, 197, 204

Ryanair, 4, 95

safety, 4–8, 17, 31, 36, 42–43, 48, 56, 69, 75, 95, 140–42, 199–221, 257, 263, 309–10

airfares and, 90, 226–28

air traffic control and, 202, 204–5, 229, 277, 279

ATOS and, 218–21

crashes and, 199–202, 204–7, 211–13, 215–20, 223–27, 232–34, 236–46

employees and, 8, 110, 120, 183–84, 197, 204, 208–9, 211

FAA and, 15, 200–221, 224, 226–32, 237–38, 241, 243, 245, 307, 310

foreign airlines and, 205–7

for infants and children, 42, 154, 223–34, 237, 243, 293, 307

maintenance and, 8, 74, 110, 171, 173, 182, 184, 186–89, 193, 201, 208–11, 215–20, 229, 291

media and, 209, 212, 215–16, 219, 226, 229, 246, 288–89, 291, 293, 295, 302–3

outsourcing and, 43, 74, 110, 120, 182, 186–88, 193, 208–11, 218, 220, 229, 309

pilots and, 201–5, 207–8, 211, 217, 244

regional airlines and, 140, 142, 145–46, 148, 150–52, 154, 160–67, 199

regulations and, 197, 206–7, 210–14, 219, 225

risk and, 200–202, 214, 220–21, 227, 236, 245, 253, 279, 291

simple steps in, 240–46

Schare, Mitchell, 236–37

Schiavo, Mary, 190, 196, 242, 244

Schneier, Bruce, 257–59

Scott, Chadd, 300

security, 4, 6–8, 126, 251–68, 288

baggage and, 13–15, 258, 261–62

of cockpit, 141, 161, 258, 264–65

federal air marshals in, 6, 253, 256, 262–65

passenger screening in, 258–60, 267

Shaw, Earlene, 215, 217–18

Shellenberger, Rolfe, 24, 94, 104–5

Shepherd family, 170–71

Silverthorn, R. Bruce, 133

Slater, Steven, 28–30, 294

Smisek, Jeffery, 124, 137, 163–64, 298

Snyder, Brett, 37, 39, 96–97

on media, 292–93, 300–301

Sorensen, Jay, 98, 104

Sosa family, 223–25, 227, 232, 234

Southwest Airlines, 19, 21, 24, 45–46, 55, 84, 87, 110–11, 124, 277–78, 294

airfares and, 92–93, 99–101

employees and, 122, 131–32, 136–37

finances of, 57–59

maintenance and, 184, 189–90, 219–20

mergers of, 64–66, 68, 188

safety and, 201, 203, 219–20, 227, 237

Spirit Airlines, 26, 35–36, 39–40, 66, 84, 95, 97

Stephens, Greg, 171

Strong, John S., 78, 80

Sullenberger, Chesley “Sully,” 137, 235

Sullivan, Brian, 256, 260

Swelbar, William, 124–25, 132, 147, 150, 161

terrorism, 4, 200, 247, 250–58, 289

on 9/11, 59, 73, 111–12, 141–42, 153, 167, 252, 254, 256–58, 262, 264–65, 287

security and, 253–58, 263–64, 266

Tilton, Glenn, 61, 63, 66–67, 84, 97, 122, 128–29, 163–64, 194

Tower Air, 137, 236, 241, 247–51

security and, 259–60

Townsend, Corky, 239–40, 243

Trejos family, 225, 227, 232, 234, 244–45

Trippe, Juan, 2, 63

Trump, Donald, 112

TWA, 29, 45, 94, 107, 134–35, 297

bankruptcies and shutdown of, 52, 59, 62, 135

crashes and, 201–2, 289–90

employees and, 113, 135

mergers of, 63–64, 135

“Two Sets of Rules” (McGee), 206

United Airlines (UAL), 27, 37, 52–53, 57, 59–65, 75, 84, 88, 93, 102–3, 111–13, 128, 193–94, 264–65, 279, 305

codesharing and, 81–83

crashes of, 223, 234–35

employees and, 112–13, 119–20, 129, 131, 137

maintenance and, 74, 122, 182, 184–85, 194, 210, 212, 266

media and, 296, 301–2

mergers of, 62–65, 67–68, 137, 147, 164, 291

outsourcing and, 33–35, 74, 112–13, 119–20, 122, 184–85, 194, 210, 266

regional airlines and, 140, 147, 154, 163–64, 315–16

safety and, 210, 212, 244

United/Continental, 24, 63, 65, 68, 84, 95, 97, 100, 124, 130, 270

Urbanski, Robin, 120

US Airways, 3, 24, 31, 33, 56–57, 59, 79, 81, 83–84, 89, 100, 103, 111, 124

crashes and, 144–45, 169–71, 223–25, 234–35, 302

employees and, 119, 123

maintenance of, 176–77, 184–85

mergers of, 64–65, 68–69, 291

regional airlines and, 144–45, 147, 151, 154, 156, 163, 176, 315–16

ValuJet, 188–90, 193, 219

Van Beek, Stephen, 31, 261, 279, 312–13

Virgin America, 55, 66, 88, 131, 155, 237, 280

Virgin Atlantic Airways, 27, 55, 245, 273–74

Voss, Bill, 161–63, 279

safety and, 210, 214, 218–20

Vyas, Shainon, 114–16

Waitz, Ian, 272, 274, 276–77, 282

Winship, Tim, 68, 103–4

Wright, Orville and Wilbur, 48, 56, 162, 285–86

Wyeroski, Richard, 203, 266

Zutell, Irene, 40

Acknowledgments

Foremost, I'd like to express gratitude to my family, who made this and so much else possible: my parents; my brothers and sisters—Bob, Judy, Kathy, Rich, Mike, Janice, Pat, Margie, John, and Nancy; and their families. And Nick, for giving up the dining room table.

At HarperCollins, I've been very lucky to work with Colleen Lawrie, who always exhibits a fine eye for editing, as well as endless patience and good humor. Special thanks to Shannon Ceci, Beth Harper, Katie O'Callaghan, and Mark Ferguson, in addition to Matt Inman and Julia Cheiffetz for early assistance.

I have also been lucky to undertake this journey with Rob Weisbach and David Groff, both of whom have never failed to provide encouragement, support, and wise counsel.

Unflagging support above and beyond the call were provided by Irene Zutell and Larry Bleidner, and Andrew “Andy Five Angels” Postman. Many thanks to Kevin Mitchell, John Conley, Gabe Bruno, John Goglia, and Bogdan Dzakovic. Invaluable assistance was provided by Tom Wojtaszek, Wes Gill, Marlys Harris, Judy Stone, Barbara S. Peterson, Nick Galifianakis, Mario Santamaria, and Beau Brendler.

Among my aviation friends and colleagues, there are way more than a few who cannot be named, as well as Lieutenant Kevin Coughlin, Jackie Sullivan, Ray Hodgert, and the late Ron Bello. The many others know who they are. Any measure of realism is due to their efforts; any inaccuracies are solely mine. In addition, this book was aided immeasurably by the cooperation of the brave men and women who are FAA, TSA, and airline whistle-blowers—I'm humbled by the trust they placed in me.

Special thanks to Linda Burbank, Debra D'Agostino, Lizz Dinnigan, Pam Fehl, Sue Juliano, Doug Love and Lisa Pulitzer, Donna Marino Wilkins, Michele McDonald, Alex Postman, and Stacy Small. And Dawn Barclay, Mercedes Cardona, Phyllis Fine, Mike Milligan, and Melissa Ng. At Hofstra, I'm very grateful for the support from my colleagues Joe Fichtelberg, Julia Markus, Erik Brogger, Martha McPhee, Pat and Paul Navarra, Rich Pioreck, Linda Reesman, Phillis Levin, Craig Rustici, Denise LoMonaco, Paula Curci, Ginny Greenberg, Meghan Curley, and Connie Roberts. And, of course, my talented students, particularly those in Hofstra Writers (please note: an entire book that does not contain the words
amazing
or
awesome
). From the Columbia MFA program, I'm especially indebted to Lis Harris for her unswerving faith and commitment, as well as Stephen Koch for early and much-appreciated support. And thanks to Chuck Bell, Ellen Bloom, and Lisa Freeman at Consumers Union and Ben Abramson at USAToday.com.

Finally, I'm grateful to Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences for a much-needed Faculty Research and Development Grant that assisted with the research and travel necessary for this book.