Hard Landing (89 page)

40.
cancel … 500 flights: Smaby
et al.
, May 1987.

41.
Colonel’s long-range vision: Kunstler 9/7/93 interview.

42.
Crandall’s coterie: Kaldahl 4/27/93 interview.

43.
“Caribbean marketing”: Gunn, presentation to 1984 marketing meeting.

44.
“beyond Band-Aids”: Quoted in Smaby
et al.
, May 1987.

45.
just $3,000: “Eastern Air Union Leaders Are Taking Steps Toward Possible Bid for Control,” by Gary Cohn,
WSJ
, Jan. 9, 1986.

46.
“Fix it”: Magurno 3/11/94 interview; Borman,
Countdown, passim
.

47.
“talk to you”: Borman,
Countdown
, page 420.

48.
Lorenzo wanted System One: Borman 1/29/94 interview. Borman and Lorenzo discussed the possibility of using System One as the foundation of a multiairline reservations network to compete with Sabre and Apollo. Lorenzo had assumed an active role among the non-CRS airlines in proposing this system, known as the Neutral Industry Booking System, or NIBS. According to Richard Murray, who represented Lorenzo in these discussions, “We were using NIBS as a way of getting to System One. We knew NIBS would never happen: there were too many different philosophies and cultures.… NIBS was a way of keeping a finger on System One.”

49.
Borman took … to Lorenzo: Borman,
Countdown
, page 421.

50.
as if … making a joke: Borman reconstructed his conversation with Lorenzo in Deposition of Frank Borman, Apr. 26, 1988. Additional details are based on Borman,
Countdown
, page 421, and in the Borman 1/19/94 interview.

51.
“ace in the hole”: Borman,
Countdown
, page 421.

52.
Borman excitedly described: Magurno 3/11/94 interview.

53.
“just using me”: Borman,
Countdown
, page 423.

54.
potential buyers: Borman 1/19/94 interview.

55.
“loony tunes”:
Ibid
.

56.
“What do you think?”: Bakes’s conversations with Lorenzo, and Lorenzo’s state of mind, were described in the Bakes 6/11/93 interview; Deposition of Phillip [sic] Bakes,
Air Line Pilots Association
v.
Eastern Air Lines
, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Civil Action No. 87-2002, Aug. 10, 1988, as well as numerous public comments by Lorenzo.

57.
remotely plausible: “Sabre Rattling,”
Economist
, Nov. 7, 1987.

58.
Borman had known … Winpisinger: Borman,
Countdown, passim
.

59.
“Charlie hears voices”: Quoted in Borman,
Countdown
, page 377. Winpisinger confirms making the remark.

60.
bulletproof vest: Borman 1/19/94 interview.

61.
Bryan … was vomiting: Bryan 5/13/93 interview.

62.
pondered the variables:
Ibid;
Barber 6/21/94 interview.

63.
On Sunday: The account of the fateful Eastern board meeting is based, among other sources, on copious contemporaneous notes by Randy Barber, who was an eyewitness to many of the events, as well as on a 23-page monograph written by Barber on Mar. 7, 1986; on the Borman
1/19/94 interview; the Bryan 5/13/93 interview; the Magurno 3/11/94 interview; Borman,
Countdown;
Bernstein,
Grounded;
and the first in-depth published account of the meeting, “Classic Mistake: Eastern Air’s Borman Badly Underestimated Obduracy of Old Foe,” by Gary Cohn,
WSJ
, Feb. 25, 1986.

64.
track down someone: Magurno 3/11/94 interview.

65.
“change his mind”: Barber notes.

66.
Borman pulled Bryan:
Ibid
.

67.
offered a proposal: Bryan 5/13/93 interview.

68.
“What’s going on?”: The account of the phone conversation is based on the Bryan 5/13/93 interview; the Borman 1/19/94 interview; and Borman,
Countdown
, pages 430-31. Winpisinger confirms the gist of the conversation and provided some details.

69.
“you destroyed this airline”: The exchange is based on the Barber notes. A similar account appeared in Cohn,
WSJ
, Feb. 25, 1986.

70.
clients some comfort: Magurno 3/11/94 interview.

71.
“Hold it!”: Bryan 5/13/93 interview.

72.
“Bryan’s offer”: Borman,
Countdown
, page 435.

73.
in the open:
Ibid
.

74.
“Any allegation”:
Ibid
.

75.
“Don’t you agree”: Magurno 3/11/94 interview.

76.
“submit my resignation”: Borman,
Countdown
, page 436.

77.
“volunteering to leave”: Barber notes.

78.
“promises are no good”: Barber monograph, Mar. 7, 1986.

79.
“They did it!”: Barber notes.

80.
“sorry to tell you”: Quoted in Bernstein,
Grounded
, page 50.

81.
tears streaming: Babbitt 8/26/94 interview.

82.
“I’m sorry”:
Ibid
.

83.
“might be surprising”: Quoted in “Editorial: The Eastern Strike,” by James Woolsey,
Air Transport World
, May 1989.

84.
never receive an answer: Bernstein,
Grounded
, page 53.

85.
“union buster”: A transcript of the press conference appears in the
Falcon
, Eastern Air Lines, Mar. 5, 1986.

86.
Colonel wanted … to remain: Borman 1/19/94 interview.

87.
No, Lorenzo said:
Ibid
.

88.
sick to his stomach: Bakes 6/16/94 interview.

89.
a cesspool:
Ibid
.

90.
reputation had suffered: Bakes 6/11/93 interview.

91.
“got to have a meeting”: Bakes 9/7/93 interview.

92.
“Get to the point!:” An account of the exchange appears in the IAM District 100 newsletter of Jan. 12, 1987.

93.
sat down with Lorenzo: Memo to file from David Kunstler, Eastern Air Lines, July 22, 1986.

Chapter 12: Nosedive

1.
“I’ll shoot you!”: Burr 9/16/93 interview.

2.
In the New York area: “Rapid Ascent: People Express Flies into Big Time in Just Three Years Aloft,” by William M. Carley,
WSJ
, Mar. 30, 1984.

3.
Hundreds of passengers: The scene is described in “That Daring Young Man and his Flying Machines,” by Lucien Rhodes,
Inc.
, Jan. 1984.

4.
“High growth is important”: Quoted in “Arrant Burr,” by James K. Glassman,
New Republic
, Oct. 6, 1986.

5.
“two bull elephants”: Quoted in “People Express’s Newark-Chicago Entry Underscores Shift in Strategy of Carrier,” by William M. Carley,
WSJ
, Aug. 9, 1984.

6.
6,000 potential passengers: Carley,
WSJ
, Mar. 30, 1984.

7.
Burr … finally got religion: Burr 9/17/93 interview.

8.
“mini-Manhattan Project”:
Ibid
.

9.
“a dry hole”:
Ibid
.

10.
“give a shit”:
Ibid
.

11.
little rhyme and reason:
People Express Airlines: Rise and Decline
, Harvard Business School Case No. N9-490-012, Mar. 1, 1990.

12.
evaluated against the Precepts: Burr 9/17/93 interview.

13.
from
The Greatest:
Harvard Business School Case, Mar. 1, 1990.

14.
shoes and socks removed:
Ibid
.

15.
“personally and painfully”: Quoted in
Ibid
.

16.
“brought together”: Quoted in
Ibid
.

17.
Crandall had not forgotten: Crandall 4/23/93 interview.

18.
nearly 1,500 departures: “Revenue Control: Mining Gold at the Margin,” by Samuel M. Fuchs,
Airline Executive
, Jan. 1987.

19.
assigned to Barbara R. Amster: Amster 4/29/93 interview.

20.
had to be eradicated: Crandall 4/23/93 interview; “American on the Offensive,”
Financial World
, Feb. 20, 1985; “American Tries to Muscle In on the Low-Cost Carriers,” by Reggi Ann Dubin,
BW
, Feb. 4, 1985.

21.
Crandall was concerned: Crandall remarks to 1985 Fall Planning Conference, American Airlines, draft dated Sept. 26, 1985.

22.
“brains of Southwest”: Amster 4/29/93 interview.

23.
“devised the fare”: Carty 4/29/93 interview.

24.
new pricing strategy: “American Airlines Slashes Fares on Many Routes; Industry Stock Prices Slip as Rival Carriers Follow,” by Laurie P. Cohen,
WSJ
, Jan. 18, 1985.

25.
Within minutes: “Airlines’ Bookings Soar on Discounts, But Increases in Profits Aren’t Certain,” by Laurie P. Cohen,
WSJ
, Jan. 28, 1985.

26.
“the price card”: Remarks by T. G. Plaskett to Lenders’ Meeting, May 7, 1986.

27.
“across our bow”: Burr 9/17/93 interview. Some of Burr’s comments also appear in “A Conversation with Don Burr,”
Scorecard: The Revenue Management Quarterly
, Fourth Quarter 1992.

28.
posing as American customers: Burr 9/17/93 interview; Speech by Burr to the Wings Club, transcribed and printed in
Airport Press
, Feb. 1989.

29.
Burr was shocked: Burr 9/17/93 interview.

30.
dying at the thought: “Bitter Victories,” an interview with Burr by George Gendron,
Inc.
, Aug. 1985.

31.
“had your Kool-Aid”: Burr interview,
Inc.
, Aug. 1985.

32.
Burr’s mother called: Burr, Wings Club.

33.
tennis club: Burr 9/17/93 interview.

34.
“air bridge”: Quoted in “Will Frontier’s Fall Ground People Express, Too?” by Mark Ivey, James E. Ellis, and Chuck Hawkins,
BW
, Sept. 8, 1986.

35.
“Over time”: Quoted in Byrne,
BW
, Nov. 25, 1985.

36.
his horror: Burr, Wings Club.

37.
“remarkable offer”: “People Express Merger Might Cause Problems,” by William M. Carley and Teri Agins,
WSJ
, Oct. 14, 1985.

38.
standing ovation:
Ibid
.

39.
day’s notice: “People Express, Signaling New Strategy of Acquisitions, Will Purchase Britt Air,” by William M. Carley,
WSJ
, Dec. 30, 1985.

40.
buying time: Burr 9/17/93 interview.

41.
“raider-type stuff”:
Ibid.;
Byrne,
BW
, Nov. 25, 1985.

42.
“new wave capitalist”: Byrne,
BW
, Nov. 25, 1985.

43.
10-foot screen:
Ibid
.

44.
“most comprehensive”: Quoted in
ibid
.

45.
Burr had vowed: Burr 9/17/93 interview.

46.
like Herb Kelleher:
Ibid
.

47.
Some pilots swore: Lavender 6/16/93 interview.

48.
century-old home: Burr 9/16/93 interview.

49.
“my moat”: Burr 9/17/93 interview.

50.
“Kibbles’N Bits”: Dempsey,
Airline Deregulation and Laissez-faire Mythology
, page 97.

51.
boxed lunches: “Continental Air Will Offer Rivals’ Fliers Free Lunch,”
WSJ
, Mar. 14, 1986.

52.
“boom” the market: Burr 9/17/93 interview.

53.
anywhere from Denver: “Skirmishing That Only Looks Like a Fare War,” by Todd Mason,
BW
, Dec. 2, 1985.

54.
“beat the shit”: O’Donnell 6/9/94 interview.

55.
“change this board”:
Ibid;
“How I Spent My Spring Under a Billboard,” by Francis C. Brown III,
WSJ
, Apr. 8, 1986.