Hard Landing (85 page)

107.
whole new route system: Putnam expressed his views in the Feb. 1, 1982, conversation with Crandall.

108.
“American only gives you”: The spot appears in the Public Broadcasting System production
Tailspin
, Jan. 1982.

109.
Crandall … saw the ad: D. Reed,
American Eagle
, page 189.

110.
“raise your drink prices”: Putnam 10/13/93 interview. According to former government lawyers, Putnam also disclosed the conversation to the U.S. Justice Department. In a May 22, 1995, letter to the author, Crandall called Putnam’s recollections “flawed and slanted,” but otherwise declined comment. Anne McNamara, the general counsel of American, said she was unaware of an earlier conversation ever occurring with Howard Putnam.

111.
Ferris too was dismayed: Ferris, in the 6/7/94 interview, recalled Putnam’s informing him of the conversation with Crandall but did not recall his response.

112.
“dumb as hell”: This account of the conversation is based on a transcript included in
United States
v.
American Airlines Inc. and Robert L. Crandall
, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas, CA383-0325D, Feb. 23, 1983. Stammers appearing in the transcript have been removed by the author. Crandall has long declined to discuss this conversation with any reporter.

113.
“need your support”: PBS production
Tailspin
.

114.
sneered at by salesclerks: The hazing of American employees was described in the Becker 9/3/93 interview, the Plaskett 8/31/93 interview, the Gunn 9/1/93 interview, the Crandall 9/1/93 interview, and the Kaldahl 4/27/93 interview.

115.
children were harassed: Kaldahl 4/27/93 interview.

116.
local media war: Becker 9/3/93 interview.

117.
casually remarked: Schlender,
WSJ
, Mar. 12, 1982.

118.
Sunday night at Billy Bob’s: Appears as a scene in the PBS production
Tailspin
.

119.
“parking ticket”: Quoted in
BW
, Aug. 23, 1982.

120.
“We’re getting off”: Crandall 9/1/93 interview.

121.
dabbing his eyes: PBS production
Tailspin
.

122.
American was soon carrying:
BW
, Aug. 23, 1982.

123.
a system restart: Murray 9/4/93 interview.

124.
remembered the incident:
Ibid
.

Chapter 7: Workingman’s Blues

1.
“command approach”: Magurno 3/11/94 interview.

2.
“mission control”: “Borman to the Rescue,” by James Conaway,
New York Times Magazine
, May 9, 1976.

3.
came into the world: Eastern’s history is told in “History of Eastern Air Lines,” an internally produced article dated January 1986; Davies,
Airlines of the U.S. Since 1914;
Rickenbacker,
Rickenbacker
, and Serling,
From the Captain to the Colonel
.

4.
stopped at nothing: Rickenbacker,
Rickenbacker
, pages 190-95.

5.
Laurance became Rickenbacker’s principal: Collier and Horowitz,
The Rockefellers
, pages 217-18.

6.
“bums on seats”: Quoted in Sampson,
Empires of the Sky
, page 19.

7.
a
no-reservation
Merry-Go-Round: The birth of the Eastern shuttle is detailed in Johnson,
The Abominable Airlines
, pages 84-86.

8.
“social calls”:
Ibid.
, page 85.

9.
“the greatest advance”: Quoted in
ibid.
, page 86.

10.
celebrity-spotting venue: “The Northeast Corridor After Eastern” by Barbara Sturken Peterson,
Frequent Flier
, May 1993.

11.
hopelessly late: “Another Tailspin at Eastern,” by Neil A. Martin,
Dun’s
, Nov. 1973; Borman,
Countdown
, page 270.

12.
W.H.E.A.L.: Serling,
From the Captain
, page 277.

13.
“The Great Stingy Fleet”: “Floyd Hall’s Problems at Eastern,”
BW
, Aug. 18, 1973.

14.
drowning himself in martinis: Serling,
From the Captain
, page 331.

15.
nipping quite a bit:
Ibid.
, pages 383-84.

16.
“scientific management”:
BW
, Aug. 18, 1973.

17.
Rosenthal china: Serling,
From the Captain
, page 406.

18.
born in Gary: The facts of Borman’s early life and military career are based principally on his memoir,
Countdown
. Borman is also profiled in “Lost in Space,” by Rowland Stiteler,
Florida
, Nov. 1, 1987, and “Frank Borman: Is He Really Captain America?’ ” by Nancy Webb Hatton,
Miami Herald
, July 31, 1977.

19.
happiest moments: Conaway,
New York Times Magazine
, May 9, 1976.

20.
sponsorship of a judge: “Frank Borman,” by W. David Lewis, from
Encyclopedia of American Business History and Biography
.

21.
threatened to kill him: Borman,
Countdown
, page 29.

22.
an alcoholic: Bryan 5/13/93 interview. Most of the details of Bryan’s early life and career are based on this interview.

23.
sleeping on an army cot: “Charlie Bryan Has Ideas—And Lorenzo Is Listening,” by Pete Engardio and Aaron Bernstein,
BW
, Nov. 21, 1988.

24.
“deserted island”: Bryan 5/13/93 interview.

25.
engraved invitation: Rickenbacker,
Rickenbacker
, page 207.

26.
seminal event: Bryan 5/13/93 interview.

27.
Charles Leader: Bryan in the 5/13/93 interview said he listed his surname as “Leader” because at the moment the phone company asked him to designate a name, he was holding a record album cover identifying the recording company as a “leader” in high fidelity.

28.
extemporaneous: Ibid
.

29.
overtime records:
Ibid
.

30.
“awesome experience”: Quoted in “Paradise Tossed,” by Alex Gibney,
Washington Monthly
, June 1986.

31.
I billion people: Lewis,
Encyclopedia of American Business History and Biography
.

32.
dousing her fears: Borman,
Countdown
, page 295.

33.
“didn’t blow it”: Quoted in Serling,
From the Captain
, page 468.

34.
“below average” rating: Borman,
Countdown
, page 276.

35.
two warring camps: The management strife at Eastern was described in the Borman 1/29/94 interview, the Kaldahl 4/27/93 interview, and the following publications, among others: Borman,
Countdown;
Serling,
From the Captain;
and “Can Frank Borman Make Eastern Take Off?”
BW
, Dec. 22, 1975.

36.
Borman was shocked: Borman 1/29/94 interview.

37.
“impossible to manage”: Quoted in Borman,
Countdown
, page 280.

38.
“like the Captain”: Quoted in Serling,
From the Captain
, page 480.

39.
nothing less than a spy: Borman,
Countdown
, page 318; Serling,
From the Captain
, page 467.

40.
pull the plug: Deposition of Frank Borman,
In the Matter of: Preliminary Investigation of Texas Air and Its Subsidiaries
, U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket No. 45581, Apr. 26, 1988.

41.
“the only man”: Quoted in Stiteler,
Florida
, Nov. 1, 1987.

42.
“I’ll do my best”: Quoted in Serling,
From the Captain
, page 472.

43.
“a certain romanticism”: Memo to senior staff from Frank Borman, Eastern Air Lines, Nov. 5, 1976.

44.
a paperweight: “Eastern Sticks to Its Gamble,”
BW
, Jan. 11, 1982.

45.
dismissed as “dipshits”: Conaway,
New York Times Magazine
, May 9, 1976.

46.
“Have you fixed it”: Quoted in Serling,
From the Captain
, page 487.

47.
a cup of coffee: Borman,
Countdown
, pages 336-37.

48.
not a trace of ostentation: A number of these examples appear in Borman,
Countdown
, and Conaway,
New York Times Magazine
, May 9, 1976.

49.
“Everyone whose mission”: “ ‘Moon Man’ Turns Around Eastern,”
Time
, Feb. 7, 1977.

50.
memorable … television advertisements: Kunstler 9/7/93 interview; Serling,
From the Captain
, page 505.

51.
struck him as weird: Borman 1/29/94 interview.

52.
“never go anywhere”:
Ibid
.

53.
Borman quit anyway: A decade later Borman would get the last laugh as Thayer became one of the first people sent to jail in Wall Street’s insider trading scandal.

54.
fired or demoted: Borman,
Countdown
, page 323.

55.
curtly fired … Nicklaus: Borman 1/29/94 interview.

56.
most lucrative airplane deal: The terms are described in “Eastern to Pay No Lease Fee for Airbus A-300s,” by Jeffrey M. Lenorovitz,
Aviation Week
, May 30, 1977; and “Airbus Cracks the U.S. Market,” by Rosalind K. Ellingsworth,
Airline Executive
, May 1978.

57.
“kiss the French flag”: Quoted in
BW
, Jan. 11, 1982.

58.
“One of the great joys”: Borman, letter to employees, Eastern Air Lines, Jan. 25, 1977.

59.
“meet our payroll”: Memo from Frank Borman to employees of Eastern Air Lines, June 10, 1975.

60.
“very serious threat”: Frank Borman, letter to employees of Eastern Air Lines, July 1, 1976.

61.
“It’s quite clear”: Frank Borman, letter to employees of Eastern Air Lines, Nov. 2, 1978.

62.
“he alone resuscitated”: Hatton,
Miami Herald
, July 31, 1977.

63.
“remarkable turnaround”:
Time
, Feb. 7, 1977.

64.
“Magellan of our time”: Bryan 5/13/93 interview.

65.
“Earth to Frank”: “IAM District 100 vs. Eastern and the Banks,” by Andrew R. Banks, in
Labor Research Review
, Winter 1984.

66.
When Lyndon Johnson: Reggi Ann Dubin Associates,
The IAM: Another Look
, for Texas Air Corporation, Feb. 1988.

67.
“utmost respect”: Quoted in
Charlie Says …
, published privately by Eastern Air Lines.

68.
“Gestapo tactics”:
Ibid
.

69.
briefcase … of proxies: “Labor-Management Cooperation at Eastern Air Lines,” by Beverly Smaby
et al.
, Harvard University, U.S. Department of Labor contract, May 1987.

70.
“just to get attention”: Bryan 5/13/93 interview.

71.
“You made history”: Quoted in Banks, in
Labor Research Review
, Winter 1984.

72.
“Quit fucking with people”: Bryan 5/13/93 interview.

73.
Borman had been smarting: Borman,
Countdown
, page 351.

74.
reverse thrust: Borman 1/29/94 interview; Borman,
Countdown
, pages 351-52.

75.
slot machine: Bryan 5/13/93 interview.

76.
in the Florida Keys: Borman 1/29/94 interview.

77.
“take me … feet first”: Quoted in “Grinning and Bearing It,” by Jess Blyskal,
Forbes
, July 21, 1980.

78.
spent several days: Acker 6/3/93 interview.

79.
best moneymaker: “Braniff Leads Medium Trunk Assault on International Airline Economics,” by Joseph S. Murphy,
Airline Executive
, May 1978.

80.
fire the guilty party: “Eastern’s Smooth Latin Landing,”
BW
, Dec. 13, 1982.