Word: lorenzo
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During the week, Continental Chairman Frank Lorenzo, looking weary and discouraged, shuttled between Denver and Houston for what proved to be unproductive talks with striking pilots. A crew shortage forced Continental to defer its plans to add ten flights to the 158 remaining on its schedule. Pilots who had crossed picket lines were already flying at the rate of 83 hours a month, well under the federally mandated limit of 100 but still some 28 hours more than Continental's pre-strike average. In view of the turmoil throughout the industry, the Federal Aviation Administration stepped up its safety...
Still, Director Irvin Kershner allows the film to run on too long and too predictably. And, much too quickly, Screen writer Lorenzo Semple Jr. sets aside all considerations of the toll that age may have taken on its hero. It would have been funny (and perhaps even touching) to see him run out of breath in the midst of a chase. Or, when 007 hit the sack, have him reach for a good book instead of a bad blond...
...striking the carrier. The pilots' strike could stop the New Continental from staying airborne, but there were signs that the airline might have enough pilots to keep flying despite the walkout. A Continental spokesman said only 350 pilots were needed to keep the down-scaled airline going. Declared Lorenzo after the pilots said they would strike: "Continental has more than enough pilots and flight attendants to sustain its operating level and increased service." He said that starting this week the airline actually would increase its domestic flights 20% by adding ten extra flights in eight major markets, restoring...
...their own routes to survival are closely watching Continental's bankruptcy and reorganization. Former Astronaut Frank Borman, 55, chairman of Eastern Air Lines, which is $2 billion in debt and lost $94.4 million in the first half of this year alone, has already said he might follow Lorenzo. Two days after Continental's ploy, Borman told Eastern's 37,500 employees that if they do not accept pay cuts of at least 15%, the company will be forced to either shut down à la Braniff or go into bankruptcy à la Continental. Eastern, one of the most...
...Lorenzo claims that Continental's wage rates were more than just burdensome. His high-cost airline simply could not compete with the low-cost carriers. An unforeseen consequence of deregulation had given the new, nonunion airlines an important cost advantage over the old ones, and Lorenzo believed that he had no choice but to take drastic steps to reduce Continental's costs. Says he: "Some very, very brutal things have happened to this industry. I have the job of trying to steer through some stormy waters." But if Continental is successful in breaking its union contracts through bankruptcy...