Word: lorenzo
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That perception has propelled some passengers toward rival ticket counters. Texas Air has suffered three consecutive quarterly losses exceeding $200 million, is expected to lose an additional $50 million by year's end, and could fare far worse if a recession comes along. Lorenzo concedes that the merger of four major airlines has produced more lapses in service than he anticipated. Says he: "There is no sugar-coating. We did not do a good...
...Lorenzo, an avid runner, has been racing to improve his airlines' mediocre performance, and there were signs last week that he has achieved some success. A study released by the Department of Transportation showed Eastern and Continental outperforming the industry average in two areas: making sure that flights arrive within 15 minutes of schedule and keeping baggage from getting lost. But agency critics question DOT's reliance on airline-supplied figures for the report, which marks the first Government effort to quantify the service of U.S. carriers...
...similar malaise afflicts some workers at Continental. Employees still resent the way Lorenzo busted the pilots' union during its two-year strike that ended in 1985; the walkout began when he put Continental into bankruptcy proceedings and forced workers to accept 50% pay cuts. Some employees contend that Continental too is sloppy about maintenance. In October, one pilot says, he was told to fly a jetliner with a broken radar device into an area that was being buffeted by thunderstorms. When he refused, supervisors had the balking captain switch planes with another pilot, who agreed to fly the aircraft with...
...Lorenzo dismisses such worries as ridiculous. "Continental is the safest airline in the sky," he asserts. "Nothing has a higher priority." He attributes much of the grousing to propaganda emanating from the Air Line Pilots Association as it tries to reorganize Continental's 3,500 pilots. So far, ALPA claims, 35% of the line's pilots have shown interest in joining up. An election could be held next year...
...were signed by Lorenzo, who critics suggest is responsible for many of Texas Air's woes. Few airline executives elicit as much personal enmity from the troops as he does. And high-level subordinates have not found it easy to deal with the workaholic chairman, who often telephones them late at night with probing questions. Tom Volz, a former Continental senior vice president who now runs Las Vegas-based Sunworld Airways, says Lorenzo is "more interested in new deals than food quality and cleaner planes...