Hard landing: the epic contest for power and profits that plunged the airlines into chaos

736 Pages·1996·4.18 MB·English

by  Thomas Petzinger

CRITICAL ACCLALM FOR
THOMAS PETZINGER, JR.’S
HARD LANDING
“Vivid and detailed.… Unlike many dry analyses of deregulation,
this book is foremost a tale, fashioned around the ambitions,
schemes, and failures of the mercurial men who have dominated
aviation for the last 30 years.”
—The Washington Monthly
“Petzinger tells his story with the clarity and attention to detail that
makes The Wall Street Journal, for which he writes, so readable
and entertaining.… There is much here that, in this reporter’s
memory, the public didn’t know.… Hard Landing is recommended
reading for those whose profession requires an understanding of the
airline business—or for anyone interested in how big business really
works when the TV lights are o(cid:56) and the boardroom door is
closed.”
—Newsday
“None tell it better than Wall Street Journal columnist Thomas
Petzinger, Jr. In his well-written tome that is organized and reads
much like an intriguing novel, Petzinger shows how the airline
industry painfully changed over the last 25 years.”
—Chicago Tribune
“This is an impressive and wonderfully readable book … the best
picture to date of the dramatic changes in U.S. civil aviation over
the last two decades. Much of it reads like a novel-only it is all true.
… The overall effect is enthralling.… Read this one!”
—Airways
“Petzinger’s reporting shines. The book is (cid:61)lled with the
reconstructed conversations of the men who led America’s airlines
through the last three decades. Its sweep is breathtaking.”
through the last three decades. Its sweep is breathtaking.”
—Milwaukee Journal
Sentinel
“Lively and absorbing … required reading.”
—Boston Globe
“A sharply drawn, engaging book about air wars largely led by
some colorful brigands.”
—Kirkus
“Petzinger focuses on the people in the epic contest. And that’s
what makes the book so fun, and elevates Hard Landing above the
typical aviation or business book.”
—Dallas Morning News
“A wonderful book that explains why the airline business is such a
crazy industry.”
—St. Petersburg Times
“This riveting book is replete with little-known facts.… An
important book [that] reads like a novel and leaves the reader
eager for his next.”
—Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
“Fascinating insights from a journalist who obviously well
researched the topic.”
—Airliners
“What makes this frank, matter-of-fact volume engaging is its
detailed analysis of the politics and big-business duplicity behind
those flashy ads.”
—Air & Space
“Colorfully chronicles the changing alliances and enmities of these
men as they battle to win at any cost and change the way the world
men as they battle to win at any cost and change the way the world
travels.”
—Booklist
“In this comprehensive exploration of the industry, Petzinger
focuses on the brilliant but sometimes seriously (cid:69)awed leaders who
have revolutionized the business of moving people in (cid:69)ying
cylinders.… Intriguing.”
—Orange County Register
ALSO BY THOMAS PETZINGER, JR.
Oil and Honor: The Texaco-Pennzoil Wars

Copyright © 1995, 1996 by Thomas Petzinger, Jr.
Grateful acknowledgment is made to Warner Bros. Publications U.S. Inc. for permission
to reprint four lines from “God Save the Queen” by Johnny Rotten, Paul Cook, Steve
Jones, and Glen Matlock. Copyright © 1977 by Glitterbest Limited and WB Music Inc.
All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of Warner Bros. Publications U.S. Inc.,
Miami, FL 33014.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by
any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publisher.
Published by Three Rivers Press, New York, New York.
Member of the Crown Publishing Group.
Random House, Inc. New York, Toronto, London, Sydney, Auckland
www.randomhouse.com
THREE RIVERS PRESS is a registered trademark and the Three Rivers Press colophon is
a trademark of Random House, Inc.
This work was originally published in hardcover and in slightly different form by Times
Books in 1995. Originally published in paperback by Times Books in 1996.
Library of Congress Cataloging in-Publication Data
Petzinger, Thomas, Jr.
Hard landing : the epic contest for power and profits that plunged the airlines into
chaos / Thomas Petzinger, Jr.
1. Airlines—United States—History. 2. Aeronautics, commercial—United States
history. 3. Aeronautics, commercial—Deregulation—United States history. I. Title.
HE9803.A4P48 1995
387.7′0973—dc20 95-13684
eISBN: 978-0-307-77449-1
v3.1
To Paulette
And to Beatrice, Eva, and Janis
It was a love of the air and sky and (cid:19)ying, the lure of adventure, the
appreciation of beauty. It lay beyond the descriptive words of men
—where immortality is touched through danger, where life meets
death on an equal plane; where man is more than man.
—C L ,
HARLES INDBERGH
The Spirit of St. Louis, 1953
This is a nasty, rotten business.
—R C ,
OBERT RANDALL
American Airlines, 1994
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS